St. Croix’s ever popular Agriculture and Food Fair, also known as Agrifest, has returned with its 51st installment and back to its former glory! Since 1971, this three-day agricultural festival has attracted attendees from all over the world to the island to experience everything rooted in agriculture from locally grown fruits and vegetables to livestock, arts and crafts and local cuisine. Agrifest has returned to its original February dates which occur over President’s Day weekend. In prior years, devastating hurricanes and the recent global pandemic resulted in the event being postponed to Memorial Day weekend. The 2023 Agrifest will take place from Saturday, February 18th through Monday, February 20th at the Rudolph Shulterbrandt Agricultural Complex in Estate Lower Love. This year’s theme is “Agriculture: Growing Today for Tomorrow…You, Me, All Ah We… in 2023.” As food security becomes an important topic withing the Virgin Islands community, the theme shines a light on our need to focus on food sovereignty for locals and residents of the territory.
The rich, cultural experiences of St. Croix’s AgriFest are centered around the four F’s: food, fun, family and friends. Upon entry onto the fairgrounds, a myriad of captivating sights and invigorating smells welcome you with spirited delight. On the west side of the fairgrounds in the main exhibition hall is where the farmers market is held. This is where attendees will see an assortment of fruits, vegetables and spices with an assortment of plants on display and many available for sale. Several exhibits sponsored by local schools, youth groups, the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture, and the US Department of Agriculture can also be found on display.
There is no shortage of fun activities for Agrifest-goers. The livestock exhibits feature goats, chickens, rabbits and peacocks. Stop in at the petting zoo for an up-close-and-personal time with island wildlife, have your little one ride a donkey or enjoy one of the carnival rides for an extra dose of fun. Give your ears a treat with the sweet-sounding tunes from local musicians performing throughout the day and learn something new at any of the informational booths throughout the fairgrounds educating attendees on a variety of agriculture-focused topics.
“This is a true Virgin Islands reunion,” said U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture Commissioner Positive T.A. Nelson. “This is where you see it all – our traditions, our food, and our people.” Get your fill of local delicacies: one-pot dishes like kalalloo, red peas soup and crab & rice, sweet treats such as gooseberry and tamarind stews, tamarind balls, vienna cake and butter cookies and hearty plates of roast pork, stew chicken and conch in butter sauce with the crucial Crucian trimmings of season rice, baked macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and potato stuffing. Pair your meal with a tall glass of tamarind juice, bush tea lemonade, ginger beer, peanut punch or passion fruit juice. Come out and celebrate the 51st annual VI Agrifest from February 18th to February 20th. Admission is $6 Adults, $5 Seniors, $4 Children 12 and under; Three days passes are available for $12 Adults, $10 Seniors, $8 Children 12 and under. The fair will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit https://viagrifest.org.
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
Crucian culture, music, mas and revelry was on full display for the 70th Crucian Christmas Festival 2022-2023! After a two-year hiatus caused by the global pandemic, the festival returned with in person events ranging from beauty pageants, food festivals, parades and much more.
Events kicked off on December 11th with the highly anticipated Princess & Duchess pageants followed by the Miss St. Croix Pageant. Zy’Naii Prentice and Je’Talia Hanley were crowned Festival Princess and Festival Duchess, respectively, while Rynel Harris was crowned Miss St. Croix. The Festival Village opened with the richness of Crucian culture on Friday, December 30th with Cultural Night that featured Virgin Islands Ambassadors including Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights quelbe band, Jam Band, Instylez The Band, and newly crowned Festival Princess and Duchess and Miss St. Croix. Village attendees also saw a colorful display of local USVI madras in a lively fashion show while reveling in the magic of Crucian culture.
The Calypso and Soca Monarch competitions saw the best of the best in local music vying for their respective titles. Each night of the festival village carried various themes that highlighted reggae, latin and soca music featuring local and international artists performing for all in downtown Frederiksted. The foreday morning event known as j’ouvert took place in the wee hours of January 5th where revelers danced in the streets of Frederiksted from 5am. For those who still had energy, the Food, Arts and Crafts Fair took place immediately after j’ouvert at the Agricultural Fairgrounds in Estate Lower Love where a sense of community and togetherness could be felt by all in attendance. Local foods and drinks were on sale like fish and fungi, crab and rice, roast pork, kallaloo, tamarind balls, passion fruit juice and sorrel drinks, to name a few.
The Children and Adult Parades were the highlight of the 70th Crucian Christmas Festival where reigning queens, masqueraders, steel pan bands, majorettes, mocko jumbies and quadrille dancers came out in droves to express their indescribable joy due to the long-awaited return of the festival. The closing fireworks after the Adult Parade was the perfect ending to a safe and successful festival season. It left visitor and local attendees, both in person and virtual, making plans to be on island for the 2023-2024 Crucian Christmas Festival. It’s never too early to start making plans. We hope you’ll join us in the fun at the next Crucian Christmas Festival in December 2023.
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
Reflections of Culture, Music, Mas and Revelry! This vibrant, imaginative theme for the 2022- 2023 Crucian Christmas Festival is the perfect description of what the essence of festival season is all about. After a two-year hiatus, Crucian Christmas Festival returns with in-person events ranging from beauty pageants, a nightly cultural village, parades, a food festival, j’ouvert, street tramps, live musical performances from local and international artists and much more.
Festival events kicked off on December 11th with the highly anticipated Prince & Princess/Duke & Duchess pageants with the Miss St. Croix Pageant to follow on Sunday, December 18th. Pageantry has been a vital piece of Crucian Christmas Festival since its inception in 1952 when the first Miss St. Croix Festival Queen, Jessica Tutein Moolenaar, was crowned. Since then, more than sixty women have held this prominent title with a new queen to be crowned this year.
Another cherished tradition during Crucian Christmas Festival is the cultural village that is held in downtown Frederiksted. This year, the Crucian Christmas Festival 70th Anniversary Village opens on Friday, December 30th with Cultural Night at “Daddy Jones Musical Kingdom,” named in honor of legendary producer Alwyn “Daddy Jones” Baptiste. The full force of Crucian culture will be on display with live musical performances from Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights, Jam Band and other celebrated local talent. With a different theme each night, there’s something for everyone at the festival village including carnival rides and games and several booths serving local foods and drinks like johnny cakes, pates, seasoned rice, conch in butter sauce, coquito, passion fruit juice and more.
For those wanting even more Crucian flavor, the Food, Arts and Crafts Fair takes place on Wednesday, January 4th where the creme de la creme show off their fine culinary skills offering local delicacies like roast pork, stew chicken, fish & fungi, vienna cakes, tamarind stew and other delicious treats. Next up is j’ouvert on January 5th where revelers dance in the streets of Frederiksted from 5am into the late morning hours, ending with a cool dip at Frederiksted Beach. Crucian Christmas Festival culminates with the Children and Adult Parades complete with bright, colorful costumes, lively music, mocko jumbie performances, quadrille dancers and endless energy.
For more information about 2022-2023 Crucian Christmas Festival, visit USVI Festivals Facebook page at www.facebook.com/USVIFestivals.
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
For nearly 50 years, Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights (TSK) have serenaded the St. Croix community with the sweet sounds of Christmas quelbe music during the holidays. Over a two-day period, the band kicks off just after a midnight on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning spreading holiday cheer from one end of the island to the next.
TSK is the leading band in the U.S. Virgin Islands that performs the territory’s official music known as quelbe. Also known as scratch band music, this native grassroots form of folk music originated in the USVI and is a form of oral history. It is used to preserve significant historical events, tell stories and jokes (often with a bit of risque undertone) and relay the day-to-day trials and tribulations of island life. This iconic scratch band consists of ten members playing a variety of instruments including a triangle, squash, flute, guitar, steel bass pan, banjo and a conga drum, to name a few. African rhythms and the sound of Danish and British military bands influenced the sound of quelbe music, which has gained great popularity over the past decades.
Band member Kendell Henry shared that the band carried their instruments and walked from house to house when they started back in the 1970s. Today, the band travels across the island on a flatbed truck outfitted with speakers, weaving in and out of neighborhoods playing the sweet sounds of quelbe music. Typically, the serenade route kicks off in Christiansted on Christmas Eve making its way through the neighborhoods as they head east. A long line of vehicles often trails behind the band as they make stops at designated homes to enjoy traditional Christmas refreshments. On Christmas morning, the band heads west to Frederiksted stopping at designated homes once again with the addition of revelry and dancing in the streets. Crowd participation for the serenade has looked different in recent years due to the pandemic. However, the band expects to see the return of some of these traditions this year.
The serenade remains an important part of St. Croix’s culture because it keeps the tradition of quelbe music alive as it was done years ago. In June 2022, band founder Stanley Jacobs received the National Heritage Fellowship Award. As one of the ten fellows (chosen from 180), Jacobs was awarded a $25,000 one-time honorific grant. The National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship is the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts that celebrates artistic excellence and supports continuing contributions to the traditional arts heritage.
Back for the first time since 2019, the St. Croix Christmas Boat Parade is ready to light up the Christiansted Harbor once again with holiday cheer! This holiday tradition started back in 1994 as the local boating community’s gesture thanking the St. Croix people for the use of the beautiful waters surrounding the island. Nearly two decades later, what began with four to twelve boats decorated with lights has grown into one of the largest attended events on St. Croix and the largest boat parade in the Caribbean. Additionally, St. Croix Christmas Boat Parade, Inc. was established in 2011 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Their goal with the parade is to bring the people of St. Croix together to celebrate the start of the Christmas season and to support charitable children’s organizations to help with educational needs and more.
Starting around 6pm after sundown, Christmas themed boats light up the Christiansted Harbor for the crowds gathered along the boardwalk to see. Over 25 boats and vessels of varying sizes join in on the festivities competing in categories such as “Best Lighting,” “Best Music” and “Best Animation.” The fun starts long before the parade begins with a flurry of holiday merriment. From 1pm, attendees are enticed to come into downtown Christiansted for holiday shopping and live music. Mocko Jumbies parade through the streets greeting holiday shoppers, Santa Clause comes in on a dinghy to greet the crowd and share candy canes, street vendors are cooking up local Crucian flavors to tantalize your tastebuds and live music from local artists, bands and steel pan orchestras keep the energy at an all-time high.
The St. Croix Christmas Boat Parade will take place on Saturday, December 10th. The parade begins at 6pm after sundown and will culminate with a grand finale that lights up the sky with spectacular fireworks. For more information, visit the St. Croix Christmas Boat Parade Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STXBoatParade.
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
Swimmers near and far, beginners, amateurs or professionals, the 26th Annual Coral Reef Swim Race in beautiful and sunny St. Croix is waiting just for you! On Sunday, November 13th, one-mile, two-mile and five-mile race distances are being offered in the Coral Reef Swim Race for swimmers ready to make their way through St. Croix’s crystal-clear waters. Often referred to as “Buck to Buc,” swimmers participating in the five-mile race start at Buck Island National Monument and finish the race at The Buccaneer Beach & Golf Resort’s Mermaid Beach. The shorter distances begin in alternate locations; however, all races end along Buccaneer’s palm-lined beach.
The Buccaneer Beach & Golf Resort has been the host hotel of the race since its inception in 1995. Founded in the 17th century and family-run for generations, The Buccaneer offers elegant accommodations, golf, tennis, three exquisite beaches, two freshwater pools, kids’ program, fine restaurants, water sports, spa, and fitness center on a 340-acre tropical estate. The resort owner, Elizabeth Armstrong, established the Coral Reef Swim Race with fellow swimmer Kim Sanford as a fundraiser for the East End Marine Park. The park was the first territorial marine park established to protect the natural and cultural resources of the east end of St. Croix. Discounted rates are available to participants through the resort’s Swim Race Package. A minimum three-night stay and proof of registration is required.
Participants ages 11 and up can choose an assisted swim with fins and snorkel starting at $90 per person for the 1-mile race. The two-mile and five-mile races are $130 and $150, respectively. To learn more about the race, visit the event website at www.swimrace.com. Those interested in registering for the race can sign up through the event website via Active.com.
Photo from Bucaneer Hotel, their 2022 Coral Swim Package here.
Article written by Anquanette Gaspard (agaspard@cruzanfoodie.com) for Coldwell Banker, St. Croix Realty
