SOUL FEST AT SEA AND ASHORE? Everybody knows Sinbad has called off his soul music festival for this year. Anybody who listens to Sinbad's good buddy Tom Joyner on the radio knows his Tom Joyner Foundation has booked the S.S. Norway for a "Fantastic Voyage," also known as the "Old School Cruise," the week of May 27-June 3. Now, the Norway is calling at St. Thomas on Tuesday, May 30, and at St. Croix on Wednesday, May 31, and these are the only two real world ports of call on the week's itinerary (the first day out of Miami has a stop at Great Stirrup Cay, the cruise line's private Bahamas island, but that's a controlled environment and doesn't count). And a lot of people are willing to bet that the celebrities aboard will include not only Joyner, J. Anthony Brown, Miss Dupree, Myra J, Sybil Wilkes and bands to be announced, but the pharaoh of funk himself, Sinbad.
Are there inferences to be drawn here? Is the grass growing in Lionel Roberts Stadium? Manny Centeno, the one-man staff of the V.I. Film Promotion Office (which falls under the Tourism Department because both used to be under Economic Development and Agriculture), talks openly about plans — or at least hopes — for an "event" ashore on St. Thomas, noting that the ship is to be in port until 1 a.m. (after arriving at 1 p.m.). A concert-type event would have to be on a much smaller scale than last year's mega-tech Pay-Per-View productions and it wouldn't bring a soul to local hotels. But if the funk fest stadium audiences are any indication, it could draw 5,000 paying local customers, along with half that number from a full ship.
Of course, May 30 just happens to be Memorial Day, and Steve Bornn is out and about touting plans for a Cause Effective Arts Program "World Jam" music fest that day. First word was that it would be on Magens Bay, as CEAP's "Beach Jam 99" was. But now he's talking up a venue "with a waterfront view." Could be Crown Bay, where Sinbad was originally going to set up shop last year. Might be Long Bay, which is seven and a half acres of landfill behind the wall of weeds. To get highly hypothetical, it could come off as a collaborative effort with Joyner and crew. That sure would work a lot better for all concerned than competing events.
SCREEN SCENE I: The Reichhold Center's premiere Virgin Islands International Film and Video Festival has three nights to go. Thursday's first screening is of Ninth Street, a video documentary focusing on the down-and-outers of a wasted urban neighborhood in Junction City, Kansas, and their feelings about the area, which once flourished as the "Harlem of Kansas." The second is of La petite vendeuse de Soleil ("The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun"), the last work of acclaimed Senegalese filmmaker Djibril Diop Mambety. The Sun is the name of the newspaper the paraplegic child protagonist sells on the street; it's all about struggle, survival and triumph.
Friday brings two film documentaries by St. Thomas-born independent New York producer Lilibet Foster (the daughter of John and Claire). Soul in the Hole is about the dreams and nightmares of street basketball players in Brooklyn; Speaking in Strings examines the life and work of brilliantly eccentric classical violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Foster will be there to lead discussion afterward.
The festival concludes Saturday with A Day in Black and White, a feature film that mixes drama and humor in examining, without taking sides, how perceived reality is a function of racial and cultural filters. The whole idea is to open up dialogue, and producer Jon Gold will be on hand to take part in it afterward. Tickets for each night are $8 in advance (at the Reichhold box office) and $10 at the door.
SCREEN SCENE II: The night after its film and video fest concludes this weekend, the Reichhold Center returns to its "Cinema Sundays" format. This weekend's offering, the award-winning Mexican film Like Water for Chocolate, should have great appeal in a community such as ours, where food is fundamental to celebration as well as comfort. The 1993 release has a soap opera story line about a couple in love who cannot marry but find other avenues to satisfy their passion. Tita, the youngest daughter in a family, is bound by tradition to remain single and care for her aging mother; Pedro, her beloved, agrees to marry her older sister.
Tita, quite the cook, discovers that her culinary creations can have quite an influence on people, given the right ingredients. Food is a recurring metaphor for life here. The title relates the boiling point of water for melting chocolate with sexual arousal. Such a script could yield a hackneyed horror story, a tear-jerker or an X rating, but it does none of these, sustaining sweetness without becoming saccharine. The picture runs 123 minutes; it's in Spanish with English subtitles. Show time is 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5.
GREEN SCENE: Sunday brings a perfect picnicking opportunity at the University of the Virgin Islands — the food, drink, entertainment and family fun occasion known as "Afternoon on the Green."
The "green" is the Herman E. Moore Golf Course across from the athletic field. The dedicated duffers will take a break or move to Mahogany Run on Sunday as tables are set up to be laden with well over a hundred items of donated food and native drinks. After judges select the winners in eight categories, visitors can sample their way through main dishes, meats, poultry, seafood, casseroles, vegetables, side dishes, soups, breads, pastries and sweet treats for $2 a taste. The native drinks (no sodas, designer water or beer here) are $1 a serving.
Another $2 will get you a copy of the annual "Afternoon on the Green" cookbook, which features recipes of some of this year's offerings. The 20-page booklet is strong on Caribbean cuisine this year, UVI public relations staff member Patrice Johnson says, although the food to be served encompasses the ethnic cuisines of many parts of the world.
Providing live entertainment will be the P'Your Passion band at 1 p.m., calypsonian Louis Ible Jr. (backed by P'Your Passion) at 2, the Lashing Dog band from Tortola at 2:30, the Mungo Niles Dancers at a time to be announced and the UVI Steelband at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Created as a fund-raising mechanism for UVI's United Negro College Fund campaign in the 1980s, "Afternoon on the Green" had been an annual event until last year. It leap-frogged over 1999 because the decision was made to push it up on the calendar from the quiet-time August spot it had occupied in recent years to busy-season February.
CUBAN ART 101: What do you know about the contemporary art and artists of Cuba? Chances are, precious little. The Caribbean's largest island is "opening up" artistically as well as in other ways, but for Americans it's still pretty much untraveled terrain. That's one reason art lovers should be attracted to an exhibition opening Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Tillett Gallery. It consists of 41 original paintings and drawings by seven of Cuba's "leading emerging artists." The U.S. art dealer who visited their studios and brought back their work, legally, will be present to talk about all of the above.
An article in the April 1998 issue of Art Business News magazine reported that "more U.S. art dealers are traveling to Cuba to bring back artwork for sale legally." It noted that the U.S. Treasury Department now grants licenses to U.S. residents wanting to "identify commercial opportunities" or "execute and implement contracts within the field of artwork" — and that the policy came about after a number of individuals and organizations sued for the right to import Cuban art.
What art lovers with their new access to Cuba's art are finding, the article said, is &
quot;a rich and lively Afro-Euro-Caribbean culture that has not been erased by the decades of communism" — even in the case of "the weeds," the new generation of artists born into Castro's political system.
Hispanic art specialist Gloria Frank, who lives in New York and winters on St. Croix, mounted the territory's first Cuban art show in four decades last year at the Whim Museum on St. Croix. Now she is collaborating with Rhoda Tillett to bring a new collection to St. Thomas. Works by two of the artists represented, Jose Garcia Montebravo and Jose Fuster, illustrated the Art Business News article.
Frank will give an informal lecture and respond to questions at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, in the gallery. From 4 to 7 p.m., Arts Alive and the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council will host an "Arts Not Quite After Dark" reception with complimentary champagne and finger food. There's also a reception on Saturday, Feb. 19, from 5 to 8 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. The show will hang for a month. Student groups are welcome at prescheduled times. To learn more, call 775-1929.
BACK TO THE BLUES: Next up on the Tillett Gardens / St. John School of the Arts concert schedule is the Charlie Musselwhite Blues Band. Those who know the blues need no introduction to Musselwhite, who plays guitar and sings but has made his mark musically on the mouth harp. He's been impressing blues and crossover audiences since the '60s, when he was sitting in with the Chicago legends of the genre — Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Little Walter, to name a few.
The five-piece group (Musselwhite backed by guitar, bass, piano and drums) performs in concert Wednesday, Feb. 16, in Tillett Gardens; moves to the Westin Resort ballroom for a St. John School of the Arts concert on Thursday, Feb. 17; and returns to Tillett Gardens for a nightclub act on Friday, Feb. 18. Tickets are $25 both nights on St. Thomas (call 775-1929); they're $30 general admission and $25 for students on St. John (call 779-4322 or 776-6777).
WORLD OF SKY LIGHTS: Last month's dance party celebrating the full moon coupled with a lunar eclipse attracted quite a crowd to Coral World. So, Nestah Lee of Island Blitz Records reports, there'll be another — minus the eclipse — for February's full moon, on Sunday, Feb. 20. Three bands will rotate: the returning Soukous Fire from Dominica led by Brisbane, plus St. John's Cool Session and The Plus Band (formerly 17 Plus). Kary "Starman" Williams will have his telescope set up on the deck of the underwater observatory again, providing not only celestial sights but a running commentary on what's up where. Admission will be $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Call 775-1555 for outlets.
GUMBO FOR THE FEET: For such a small operation, the St. John School of the Arts comes up with a huge variety of learning and entertainment programs. The latest just might be the last word for those who love to dance. Heidi Ehrenreich will be giving three nights of Zydeco lessons, Monday, Thursday and Friday, Feb. 21, 24 and 25, with singles and couples of any and all dance skill levels welcome.
Zydeco is Louisiana's "funky French rocking boogie," a flyer explains, a blending of French and Spanish creole music with African rhythms and chants. The lead instrument is the accordion, with accompaniment on a rub board, drum and guitar. "The result is a hot, spicy musical gumbo that makes it impossible to sit still," the flyer says. It's partner dancing, and it's a traditional cornerstone of community and culture in Louisiana.
Ehrenreich will teach students to lead or to follow. Lessons are $10 per night. They'll be held Feb. 21 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Feb. 24 from 8 to 9:30 p.m. and Feb. 25 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The third night will conclude with a fais do do dance party. To register or learn more, call 779-4322.
ART FROM NEAR AND AFAR: Two years ago, longtime St. Croix artist Judith King was ready to move to greener pastures — in Hendersonville, North Carolina, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, to be exact. She found the locale "beautiful, well worth a visit" — but not a place she wanted to call home. So, back to St. Croix she has come, bringing along paintings and drawings of the Virgin Islands that she created, working from photographs and her mind's eye, during her "sabbatical" in the States.
The Color of Joy will host a reception on Thursday, Feb. 17, to open a showing of many of the works — about 20 oils and 10 whimsical drawings that King has collectively titled "Nostalgia from Afar." Living in North Carolina gave her a new appreciation for her island home, she says, in terms of both "the tolerance of the people for each other's cultures, lifestyles, races, religions" and the architectural style of the historic buildings.
The drawings, according to King, are contemporary slice-of-life: "the wrecked car in the yard with vines growing it, a Bob Marley T-shirt hanging on the line." Some of them dabble in fantasy — a shell that morphs into a quadrille dancer, a flambouyant tree "growing" mocko jumbies. Unable to find inspiration for that kind of creativity in North Carolina, she concluded that "American doesn't have style. All the towns are looking the same now."
The Feb. 17 reception, open to the public, is from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the gallery located in the main American Yacht Harbor building. On the deck outside, keyboardist Sally Smith will provide music; there'll be light refreshments, too. The show will hang through March 14. Teachers are invited to accompany their students to view the show, with reservations for groups requested. They can be made by calling 775-4020.
ART FROM ALL OVER: Twenty-three local artists have contributed 26 original works of art for the Safety Zone's 2nd annual auction fund raiser, set for Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Westin Resort. Among the works are Lisa Etre's conversation piece painting of a contented couple, titled "Happy Home," which appears on the posters and invitations for the event, and one of photographer Constance Wallace's controversial "Colorful Men of Cruz Bay" photo-collage portraits.
Also going on the block or up for silent bidding are five additional works of art from other sources, 2 jewelry items, a hand-carved bar and a roll-top desk both made of teak, lots of restaurant meals, 10 rounds of golf, 8 seatings for dinner in a private home, and 6 yards of concrete. There's also a weekend at Caneel Bay and a whole week at the Westin — the Westin Maui in Hawaii, including airlift.
The Safety Zone assists victims of violence and tragedy, providing crisis intervention, counseling and violence prevention outreach. The fund raiser will also include dinner and dancing to the music of Carl Powell and Margo Diaz. Tickets are $75; they're available at the Drug Center and Connections on St. John and at Sunrise Pharmacy and the Education Station on St. Thomas. For reservations or more information, call 693-7233.
BACK AT THE PIANO LOUNGE: The Inn at Blackbeard's Castle has taken up a tradition of the old Blackbeard's Castle owners — providing live jazz and cabaret music seven nights a week, with off-island artists rotating in a couple of weeks at a time. Pianist/vocalist Richard Berman ends his solo gig Friday night. Chanteuse Carol O'Shaughnessy, a popular act in the old Blackbeard's piano lounge, opens for a fortnight on Valentine's Day, Monday, Feb. 14. There's no cover. Dinner is served nightly until 10, with a bar menu available until 12:30 a.m. To learn more, call 776-1234.
HOME SHOW IS A NO-GO: It had appeared that St. Thomas and St. John admirers of Caribbean Dance Company would only be able to envy their St. Croix associates this coming Friday and Saturday night — unless they sprang for airfare and a weekend on the Big Island. The dance company, now in
its 22nd year under the direction of founding artistic director Monty Thompson, was scheduled to perform at Island Center, premiering a new work titled "Keepers of the Path" that was choreographed by Thompson and Nii Yartey, art director of National Dance Theatre of Ghana.
However, as it turns out, even those on St. Croix won't get to see the program. Thompson has canceled the performances. The first reason, he says, is that "we just financially can't do it." The second is technical — owing to the fact that Island Center has been unable to replace stage lights that were stolen several months ago. As it now stands, the lighting "is just inadequate" for dance company needs, he says.
It's not as if CDC had nothing else to do. With underwriting from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the company leaves on March 1 for a three-week tour encompassing performances at eight colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. In May, the troupe is off again, to take part in Norfolk's Virginia Waterfront International Festival and to perform in Cleveland.
This is the company that was invited to perform at the prestigious Spoleto U.S.A. festival two years ago, and that had a residency to create and perform new works on Martha's Vineyard last year. Thompson has scrapbooks full of clippings acclaiming the dancers and their repertoire in Europe, Israel and the U.S. mainland. He spent time in Ghana in 1996 and '97 collaborating with Yartey on new Afro-Caribbean works. Yartey was on St. Croix recently to work with Thompson on "Keepers of the Path."
Thompson has always made a point of presenting CDC as a "Virgin Islands dance company," not one from St. Croix. Ironically, Caribbean Dance has performed on St. Thomas (at the Reichhold Center, the only appropriate venue) only three times in its history — and never to a full house. And now there's not enough financial and technical support for them even to perform at home.
TO BE SEEN: Scene & Herd appears weekly in the Source, previewing arts and entertainment events, reviewing art shows and reporting behind-the-scenes happenings on St. Thomas and St. John. To have material considered, submit it in writing by the Monday preceding desired posting date. Fax to 776-4812 or e-mail to jetsinger@viaccess.net.
