Dear Source,
Congratulations to Vera Falu, Lawrence Bastian and the rest of the Festival Committee for an outstanding job. This was clearly one of the best-organized and most enjoyable festivals in many years. Everything seemed to fall into place and it was truly a community event.
The business sector responded with financial support. Civic groups, especially the Rotarians and Gentlemen of Jones, did their part in decorating the streets and parks. Government agencies, especially Public Works and the Police, did their jobs superbly well. The parades were just outstanding with the participation of all sectors of our community.
Indeed, we all needed a good festival to forget the pain and troubles of this past year.
Now, as we savor the sweet success of this event and start planning for the 50th anniversary of the Crucian Festival, I will take this opportunity to make a strong pitch for a permanent, well-constructed festival village in Frederiksted. It is time for us Crucians to build a world-class festival village that truly reflects the beautiful and diverse culture of our people.
This world-class festival village must be properly designed by well-chosen architects, engineers and culturally savvy icons of our community — such as Wayne James, John Abramson and others.
In my vision, this new village will have a majestic entrance, and its grounds will be covered with decorative stones, outdoor tiles and strategically placed palm trees and plants.
It will have ample, clean and well-lighted bathrooms just like at a modern airport. There will be clusters of beautiful well-constructed booths dedicated to each of our ancestral and cultural groups.
There will be sections of this village with overhead covering and comfortable seating for the weary and especially for our seniors. The children's sections will be located at the Midre Cummings Youth Park. There will be a magnificent stage with a state of the art sound system.
The fort, beach, and other amenities in the area will become natural extensions of the new festival village.
The time is right to elevate this traditional cultural event — the Crucian Festival — to a new level of excellence and pride. As I have said on many occasions, the St. Croix Christmas Festival can become the most attractive and fun-filled winter event in the entire Caribbean and southeastern USA.
Let’s do it.
Please note, these are my personal views, not necessarily those of the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce or of any other institution or employers that I may be affiliated with.
Carmelo Rivera
St. Croix
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