July 4, 2008 — Frederiksted was the place to be on St. Croix for the Fourth of July.
During the afternoon, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow held a "Youth Independence Day," showcasing young musicians and talent on stage next to Buddhoe Park.
The St. Croix Rising Stars steelpan band marked the end of its first full year of existence with two full, rousing sets, filling the air with the bell-like rhythms and melodies of the pans.
The young Miss Juanita Gardine Elementary Sweetheart, Aquilla Buntin, performed a dance routine. Before Buntin got on stage, her mother, Nicole Jacobs, helped her put on a pink jacket embroidered with Asian designs atop her black silk dance outfit. Fearless in front of the crowd, she presented a routine of her own devising, blending hip-hop dance with martial-arts moves and gymnastic splits, to a thumping urban beat.
"I’m from the streets myself," she said before going on stage. "That’s why I like to dance hip hop."
"Come on everyone, let’s give it up for Miss Aquilla," said Pamela Richards of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. "I took 12 years of dance and never got so I could do splits like that."
Buntin said she loved the 4th of July.
"The fireworks are my favorite part," she said.
In the Triangle Park across from Buddhoe Park, the youngest children played in two inflated bouncing rooms, while others ran to and fro around the parks’ trees, benches and outdoor play equipment.
"This is all about giving our young people an opportunity to showcase their talent," announced Mary Moorhead of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow from the stage. "If you or anyone you know has a talent to share, remember to call and let us know and they can be on next year’s program."
Call Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow at 340-277-7485.
As the afternoon wore on toward dusk, Strand Street began slowly filling with families, teenagers, couples and groups of friends.
By 3 p.m. half a dozen sailboats were anchored off Fort Frederik, and by 6 p.m. there were a dozen.
Children’s shouts and laughter could be heard and the aroma of barbecue could be smelt upon the lightly stirring tropical air. In between the two, as the sun set spectacularly, purple, orange and yellow splashes of color fading to darker oranges and purples over a sea gradually moving from blue to black. There were women pushing baby carriages, older children walking on either side; clusters of teenage boys in their coolest knee-length tee shirts; groups of girls in knee-length jeans, shorts and halter-top tees decorated with sparkly slogans; Arab women in cream-colored headscarves, chatting with one another and watching their younger children; young mousse-haired continental men in khaki shorts, tropical shirts and flip-flops; Puerto-Rican families speaking Spanish amongst themselves picking out good viewing spots and setting up folding chairs. Many couples held hands in the cool evening breeze.
Blue Moon, Pier 69, Aqua West and the other Strand Street restaurants filled and the cooks, waiters and bartenders began to hit high gear, focusing their minds and speeding up their hands and feet for the waves of hungry and thirsty revelers. Then at 8:30 on the nose, the first firework cannon went chonk, spitting a line of orange sparks high into the air beyond the tip of the Ann E. Abramson Pier.
For the next 45 minutes, a huge cross section of the island, from all walks of life, joined together, oohing and ahhing in the universal, timeless joy of a big fireworks display. Customers left their tables to get closer. Cooks and waiters abandoned their posts to come look. Young ladies spoke on their cellphones with their friends while they watched.
Suddenly a whole slew of charges went off –- chonk, chonk, chonk, chonk, chonk, chonk — and the sky filled with many-colored lights, illuminating the smiling faces of the crowd. The inevitable climax and finale had come. In no hurry, the crowd slowly began wandering off to their cars, to their homes or to their favorite watering hole on King or Strand. The show was over until next year.
