Construction crews and booth owners spent much of Saturday putting finishing touches on the 30-odd booths that will serve up many drinks and all sorts of food in the next week as Carnival 2000 reaches its climax.
A few booths were already ready open for business, albeit unofficially, over the weekend.
By Monday evening, the parking lot will be formally transformed into Carnival Village. Dedication ceremonies are set for 6 p.m.
The village will honor longtime Carnival stalwart and radio personality Irvin "Brownie" Brown. For years, Brown has hosted a music show on WSTA radio that has advanced the appreciation and development of calypso music in the islands.
A former member of Milo and the Kings, Brown is also an avid golfer. He has also served as Master of Ceremonies for Carnival events for years, a task he continues to do this year, despite the honor he will receive Monday evening.
In fact, the tributes to Brown will continue later this year, when he is honored by the Committee for the Betterment of Carenage during the annual Father's Day Festivities in Frenchtown.
On Monday, the focus of Carnival will switch from the Lionel Roberts Stadium to "Brownie's-ville" where nightly entertainment from the island's major bands is scheduled. The only break will be on Thursday night when the V.I. Calypso competition is held at the stadium, the venue of major Carnival events of the last two weeks. The events wrap up this weekend with Pan-O-Rama on Sunday night.
During Friday's Calypso Revue I, the V.I. Carnival Committee paid tribute to Calypsonian "Lord Kitchener," Aldwyn Roberts, who died earlier this year in Trinidad. He had been a Carnival favorite for years.
In Saturday's Calypso Revue II, the committee honored St. Croix's Prince Galloway for his contributions to developing the art of calypso.