December and January on St. Croix mean food, fun and Festival:And this year is no exception.
While some events in “A Vision Beyond the Horizon — St.Croix Festival 1999-2000" have already been held in the last few weeks, the sure sign that party time had officially arrived was the opening of the Festival Village Sunday evening.
The custom is for Christiansted and Frederiksted to alternate hosting the event. This year it’s Frederiksted’s turn and on Sunday the lights of the Festival Village were turned on — despite a power outage that put a damper on things around 7:30 p.m.
Hundreds of residents turned out to the village next to the Paul E. Joseph Stadium to sample a variety of drinks and local delicacies like fish and fungi, conch and Johnny cake from dozens of booths and listen to music form the Digital Band.
"This is the beginning of Festival," said Kurt Vialet, chairman of the St. Croix Festival Committee. "Any type of food you can find in the village."
The first tramp of the season, lead loudly by China Dan, livened things up as dozens of people followed in a musical procession from the Post Office to the village.
Back this year are the thrill-inducing carnival rides that were absent from the Festival Village in Christiansted last time around. Children of all ages lined up for rides on the the Ferris wheel and carousel.
"We made a real big effort to bring back the Coney Island activities," Vialet said.
Other Festival events include: Jan. 4, Quelbe tramp and cultural night, 7 p.m. in Frederiksted. Jan. 5., King and Queen of the Bands, 8 p.m. in the Festival Village; Jan. 6, J’ouvert, 6 a.m. in Frederiksted; Jan. 6, Food, Arts and Crafts Fair, 11 a.m. at the Ann Heyliger Vegetable Market in Frederiksted; Jan. 6, Calypso Monarch finals, 8 p.m. at Island Center; Jan 7, Children’s Parade 11 a.m. in Frederiksted; Jan. 8, Adult’s Parade in Frederiksted.
