New Caledonia’s rural fairs: Mandarin Orange Fair in Canala
This year saw the 20th anniversary celebration of Canala’s now iconic Mandarin Orange Fair. OPT-NC is marking the anniversary with the issue of a sheet of 25 offset printed stamps subtly scented with mandarin orange and with a individual face value of 180 XPF.
For the last twenty years, the municipality of Canala has been paying tribute to one of New Caledonia’s most popular fruits with a festive weekend featuring tastings, events and competitions guaranteed to delight kids and adults alike. People from all over New Caledonia flock to the fair to sample and buy the latest harvest of these deliciously delicate fruits, which have brought renown to Canala’s fruit growers. More than four tonnes of mandarin oranges were snapped up by eager fairgoers over the first weekend of July this year.
Canala, a green tourism showpiece
The town of Canala is steeped in history. It was once known as Napoléonville and was, for a time, the capital of New Caledonia, prior to the establishment of Noumea. The municipality of Canala is home to 12 tribes and was a favourite spa resort for many decades due its health-giving hot springs at La Crouen. Nowadays, the local economy is based on nickel, produced by the region’s Nakety and Boakaine mines, but the region is also a sought-after tourism spot, with visitors attracted by the wealth of waterfalls and nature trails, the luxuriant countryside and, of course, the hot springs. Canala was therefore keen to showcase its expertise in growing prize mandarin oranges by holding a local fair which, over the last twenty years, has become one of the country’s top rural festivals, offering friendly fun, gourmet delight and nature discovery.
A design by Paula Boi-Gony
Paula Boi-Gony, a native of Koumac in the North Province, is a well-known New Caledonian artist who is at the forefront of contemporary Kanak art. Her work has been exhibited in Oceania, Australia and even Switzerland. Renowned for her paintings and engraved bamboo technique, Paula has held many one-woman and group exhibitions and also turned her talents to creating posters, album covers and book covers. She has already worked with OPT-NC, collaborating on the Yam Cycles stamp series issued from 2015 to 2018. For this special issue, Paula Boi-Gony has created a wonderfully evocative and very personal depiction of mandarin oranges which will delight stamp fans and collectors alike.