The Agricultural Festival in Abadiyeh

On the occasion of the Tourism Year and the emigrants' summer, the Agricultural Cooperative Society in Abadiyeh held, on September 17 last, a crowded festival whose proceedings were marked by an excellent positive spirit, evident in the work of the farmers — the outcome of the great effort the society is making, awakening in the farmers the spirit of self-reliance and of following the most modern scientific methods in fighting agricultural and animal pests, and raising production to a level that assures the farmer a secure modern life. The first credit for spreading this spirit belongs to the agricultural engineer Mr. Fouad Najjar, who has never ceased to watch over the institution and devote himself to its service, sparing neither his time nor his energy for the sake of its progress and prosperity — assisted by a select band of the people of the region, who believed in his mission and set to work under his direction, so that their labors have borne the finest fruit...

Mr. Fouad Najjar is assisted in these constructive projects by his energetic wife, Mrs. Anissa: his constant task is guiding the farmers, hers their women and children. And here she seizes the opportunity of the agricultural festival to mount an exhibition of handwork made by the women of the region, awarding prizes for the most beautiful and most finely wrought piece...

And she holds a second competition, for the most beautiful child in the neighborhood; and the children compete — rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes... and, now and then, tearful ones!!

And the festival, into which the neighboring villages streamed in their entirety until the streets grew crowded beyond all telling, ends with an invitation to a generous buffet heaped with piles of grapes, apples, and figs —

A "village cocktail" — nothing more delicious or more appetizing! Would that this innovation were adopted at every party?!!