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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesPRESERVE THE CARNIVAL CULTURE, GOVERNOR URGES

PRESERVE THE CARNIVAL CULTURE, GOVERNOR URGES

In his first public address of the V.I. Carnival season, Gov. Charles W. Turnbull expressed his wishes for "friendliness, fun and glorious and sensible moderation" during the festivities.
Speaking at Sunday's coronation of the 2000 V.I. Carnival queen, prince and princess in Emancipation Garden, the chief executive asked some 400 people in attendance to "make this Carnival memorable due to positive experiences."
The governor, a historian and educator by profession, appealed to the public to treasure the annual cultural fete and preserve it for future generations. He also urged his listeners not to abandon participation in Carnival events for fear of a small number of troublemakers and their bad deeds.
Turnbull met on Friday with top law enforcement officials to plan increased security at Carnival events in light of a recent rash of violence on St. Thomas.
The governor congratulated the V.I. Carnival Committee, chair Kenneth Blake, executive director Caswill Callender and all the volunteers "for accomplishing what is mostly a tireless and thankless assignment." The committee had a quarter million dollars less in government support with which to do it this year because of Government House budget cuts.
Crime and the fiscal crisis aside, the order of the day was to witness the crowning of new Carnival royalty, and in this the governor took obvious delight. He began by commending the new queen, Chanika-Chisa George, recalling that as a child himself he had known her great-grandparents.
As the ceremony ended, the chief executive stood to the front of the David Monsanto Bandstand to congratulate Prince Greglan Ward and Princess Stephanie Brathwaite and all of the other contestants who competed in the queen and prince and princess pageants.
He paused at the top of the bandstand steps to pose for pictures with the new queen, along with Richard Doumeng, president of the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association. For several years, the association and its member hotels have sponsored the queen competition.

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