Aug 22, 2024 | Island News
Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism Inc. (CHANT) has begun revitalization efforts of seven historic homes on Hospital Street on St Croix. CHANT is working with the property owners to renovate seven homes in the Free Gut area of Frederiksted that were originally built by freed slaves. These homes will be renovated into rental units as part of a preservation training program offered by CHANT. The nonprofit has provided educational and art programming as well as workforce development training to the island’s youth. The training is focused on preserving some of the wooden homes that are still standing on Hospital Street that were built by freed slaves during the Danish colonial era. The trainees learn woodworking, masonry, and other transferrable skills related to historic restoration and preservation. Read articles on WTJX here and on St. Croix Source here.
Photo from WTJX features trainees enrolled in a preservation training program offered by CHANT
Aug 21, 2024 | Island News
What do you do when you see a rare bird? Until I read this story, it would certainly be a mystery to me! A remarkable, rare White Fern sighting at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge by St. Croix Environmental Association executive director Jennifer Vallulis is not only exciting for bird enthusiasts, but also for everyone who enjoy nature and the wildlife on island. According to the VI Consortium, Ms. Valiulis took several photos of the visitor, and tried to verify the bird’s identity. She ultimately shared the images she had captured with a local birding group chat. Ornithologists in the group concluded after further research that the bird was indeed a White Tern, which is usually found in the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii. It has also been spotted in the southern Atlantic region, but much less commonly.
Take a look at this inspiring story and learn what to do when you spot a rare bird! Read the St Croix Source article here and the VI Consortium article here.
Also check out other birding organizations if you want to connect with the birding community:
American Birding Association, American Bird Conservancy, National Audubon Society, and BirdsCaribbean
Aug 7, 2024 | Island News
In this recent op-ed article in the VI Consortium, the USVI Hotel & Tourism Association (USVIHTA) expresses its full support of the plans for essential and long-needed improvements to the airport experience on St. Thomas and St. Croix and provided information on the private/public partnership plans. We find the statistics provided by this op-ed piece to be very interesting. It indicates that the Cyril E. King Airport (CEKA) in St Thomas was built to process 600,000 arriving and departing passengers a year. In 2022, more than 1.65 million passengers used the terminal. Although the numbers were down in 2023, arrivals of 285,150 passengers through April 2024 are 26.2% higher year over year. The CEKA terminal was last updated in 1989. We are glad to see the HERA domestic lounge enhancements in 2021, but the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX) terminal has not been updated since 2000 according to the article.
Living on St. Croix, we have noticed an increased number of visitors. Tourism is an important part of the local economy and the redevelopment and modernization of the USVI’s airports are good news for the territory. The airports are a gateway for travelers, both tourists and residents alike. We are excited at the prospect of enhancements that will better the travel experience for everyone. We recommend you to read the full article here.
Aug 5, 2024 | Island News
The newest restaurant in downtown Christiansted is sure to invoke a sense of joy when you enter its doors! Introducing Jubilee by Yaadie in St. Croix, this fine dining space is the brainchild of Chef Ashley Ellis. Originally from Jamaica, Chef Ashley relocated to St. Croix in 2019 for a fresh start in a new place as a sous chef at one of the island’s resorts. Equipped with her bachelor’s degree in food service management and culinary arts from the University of Technology in Jamaica, she decided to add to her wealth of work experience. After all, she gained valuable experience at Sandals Resort and a prominent chocolatier in Jamaica followed by a well-known resort in South Florida.
Pop-up dessert sales were the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey on St. Croix. Shortly after, she started a weekly lunch delivery service, providing dishes inspired by her Jamaican roots with a unique twist. Fast forward to mid-2020, Chef Ashley’s lunch deliveries kicked into high gear during the pandemic, especially for hospital frontline workers who were still reporting to work daily. Private chef catering at on-island villas was the next step in her St. Croix culinary journey, providing freshly made meals and snacks for visitors to the island. From there, she dove into marketing her brand on social media with a more concentrated focus on food rather than desserts. As a result, Yaadie in St. Croix emerged with an assortment of culinary offerings including hosting pop-up events like Brunching on the Farm where 80 percent of the dishes prepared were locally sourced. Seeing the way her food and service brought joy to those she prepared dishes for led to her tagline, “Great food with good vibes.”
All these steps led to the grand opening of Jubilee by Yaadie in St. Croix on December 24, 2023 – 12 days after her birthday. While Chef Ashley notes that opening the restaurant has been one the hardest things she’s ever done in her life, she leans on her passion for culinary arts and lessons learned from her late grandmother to keep her going. “I learned about hospitality from my grandmother,” said Chef Ashley. “She was always making sure everyone had great food and were well taken care of when she entertained at her home in Jamaica.” Patsy Pasta is her favorite dish on the menu named after her grandmother who would make pumpkin every Saturday morning. Made with pumpkin cream sauce, fettuccine pasta is tossed together with lobster, spinach, and other veggies. “My grandmother was such a huge part of my culinary journey that having a dish named in her honor was a no-brainer,” recalled Chef Ashley.
Jubilee by Yaadie in St. Croix is in downtown Christiansted at 45 King Street. Their summer hours are Thursday to Saturday from 5pm to 9pm and Sunday Brunch from 10am to 3pm. For reservations, call 340-713-3205. You can visit their Facebook page for updates and specials at facebook.com/TheChefAshleyExperience.
Written by Anquanette Gaspard
Jul 23, 2024 | Island News
We were delighted to come across a blog article from award-winning travel writer Candyce Stapen describing her recent vacation to St. Croix with her family that included grandparents, parents, and young children. She called the trip ‘magical’ and we can understand why. We’ve lived in St. Croix for over 20 years and we have seen multigenerational families vacationing on our beautiful island. Some friends of ours recently bought their children to visit St. Croix and told us how much fun everyone enjoyed sunny weather, water activities, and “less touristy” atmosphere. Another family we know on St. Croix often see their children and grandchildren visiting the island during school vacation weeks. We met their grandson last year and he told about the magnificent mangroves he saw and the bioluminescence tour (read here).
We recommend reading Candyce Stapen’s article here. She highlights her trip that included visits to these wonderful attractions:
Buck Island Reef National Monument: nps.gov/buis/index.htm
Caribbean Sea Adventures: www.caribbeanseaadventures.com
Buccaneer Beach and Golf Resort: www.thebuccaneer.com
Savant: www.savantstx.com
Duggan’s Reef: www.duggansreefstx.com
Jul 9, 2024 | Island News
The 3rd annual Emancipation art exhibition “Blackfullness” at Fort Frederik Museum celebrates USVI’s cultural heritage from July 12 through October 2024. The exhibition showcases a diverse array of artwork from local and regional artists, including Waldemar Brodhurst, Jeffrey Rezende, Victoria Rivera, Elisa Mackay, and many more.
“Blackfullness” is a word coined by the late Black feminist Audre Lorde to describe what she loved about her chosen home of St. Croix. Specifically, the Black community that provided her with a sense of great belonging and purpose that transcended place. The late artist and poet’s experience of St. Croix as a healing space and a source of inspiration is echoed in the works of many artists who have drawn from the island’s vibrant community and history.
According to the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resource, this year’s exhibition spotlights the spirit of resistance that is at the core of Virgin Islanders’ identity and that is etched into everything that makes Virgin Islands’ cultural production so powerful.
Read the full article on the VI Consortium here.
