The Mango Joy Ride Tour is visiting Tallahassee. Here's how to get a taste

This upcoming three-day weekend just got a little sweeter.

The National Mango Board , a mango research and promotions group, is parading through Tallahassee this Labor Day weekend as part of its first "Mango Joy Ride Tour."

"In the first round of doing this, you know, it's just a lot of excitement," Dan Spellman, director of marketing for the National Mango Board, told the Tallahassee Democrat this week.

Since 2005, the National Mango Board has used education, promotions and research to share the juicy benefits of what they dub as "the world’s most joy-infused super fruit" into people's lives.

The fruit, first harvested in India over 5,000 years ago and often recognized as a symbol of love, contains over 20 different vitamins and minerals. According to its site, the organization hopes to turn the "exotic fruit (into) a kitchen staple . "

South Floridians are more familiar with the fruit, which grows in many people's back yards, but north Floridians may have less knowledge: Mangoes require the warmer temperatures of longer growing seasons.

But this year, the board took it up a notch by inviting mango enthusiasts and those looking to expand their taste buds to join in the weekend's festivities which includes receiving free Florida state and mango-centric swag, a chance to win prizes, and to snap a few photos at the selfie station.

The main attraction is a mango "fixings bar" where guests get a fresh cup of chopped mangoes and can dress them up with a variety of toppings, including tajín, a Mexican spice mix of lime, salt and chili pepper; coconut shavings and chocolate syrup.

With a goal to "spread the joy of fresh mangoes," through taste tests, demonstrations and education, the mobile mango truck has already made its first debut in Texas. The tour includes eight cities, with Tallahassee scheduled for its third stop. Pensacola is the only other Florida city that will get the "mango experience."

Spellman says the first two stops at a Texas neighborhood Kroger and a minor league baseball game went well, with nearly 700 mangoes consumed just at the sports event.

Spellman, who happens to be a Florida State alum, says the initiative came into fruition when members of the National Mango Board asked, "How do we tie everything we do together?"

Between retailer relationships and college sports partnerships with the Florida State Seminoles and Ole Miss Rebels at the University of Mississippi, the start of a fresh football season felt like the perfect way to get things kicking off.

The National Mango Board visited the Seminoles last football season with a booth at a couple of the home games. They discovered that out of the 2,000 they had stop by, a quarter of them were trying a mango for the very first time.

Spellman jokes that he is happy to be "getting people out there as we spread the word of mango."

If you go

• Sunday : 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Publix Super Market at Bradfordville Center, 6753 Thomasville Road
• Monday: 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.; Doak Campbell Stadium, 403 Stadium Drive, ahead of the 7:30 p.m. kickoff against Boston College.

Kyla A Sanford covers dining and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. She can be reached at ksanford@tallahassee.com . New restaurant opening up, special deals, or events coming up? Let me know!

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: The Mango Joy Ride Tour is visiting Tallahassee. Here's how to get a taste