Back in the '80s, the full moon over St. Thomas meant live jazz poolside at Agave Terrace in the Point Pleasant Resort. There have been occasional efforts to revive the tradition on an ongoing basis, but none has taken hold.
Now that we're into the '00s (does that look strange, or what?), a couple of local entrepreneurs are going to give it another try — with a different site, more "with it" music and an emphasis on real, live moon-gazing.
The first full moon of '00 (and of the new decade, century and millennium, if that's the way you look at it) takes place Thursday, Jan. 20 — and it just happens to coincide with the first total lunar eclipse of said year, decade etc. The combination of occurrences has motivated astronomer Kary "Starman" Williams and Nestah Lee and Sayir Jamil of Value Foods/Island Blitz Records to plan a party under the moon and the stars at Coral World.
Williams owns what he describes as the most powerful telescope in the Caribbean, and it's one he can easily dismantle, carry to different sites and reassemble. He'll have it set up on the upper deck of the Underwater Observatory Thursday night so partygoers can take turns viewing the moon, Saturn, Jupiter and other heavenly bodies until around 11:45 p.m. After that, the focus will be on the eclipse.
"It will start around 10 p.m.," Williams says, "but the totality phase, when you can see all the colors, is from 12:05 until 1:23 a.m." And, he adds, there won't be another total lunar eclipse until May 16, 2003.
Guests will also get to enjoy a variety of live music. Two bands will take turns performing — the Starlites and Soukous Fire, a group out of Dominica led by Brisbane that plays soukous Creole music. There'll also be appearances by local reggae artists Phantom Cat and Zaba of Revelation Band.
The Underwater Observatory will be open for viewing of the nocturnal denizens of the not-too-deep, but Coral World's indoor marine exhibits will be closed.
Admission is $15, at the gate. There'll be two cash bars, and chicken wings, chips and other snacks will be available.
The party starts at 8 p.m. and is scheduled to go "until," which Williams speculates will be around 2 a.m.
Lee says he, Jamil and Williams plan to bring back full-moon parties on a monthly basis, on whatever night of the week that the full moon falls on. "A lot of people don't care to go out every weekend, but they would like something special to do maybe once a month," he says. "And this will be something with appeal for tourists, too."
