St. Croix’s annual island-wide celebration, the Crucian Christmas Festival, kicks off Friday with the opening of the festival Mini-Village in Christiansted.
Explosive Band and Stroka Band will be on hand when the Mini-Village, located in the Christian "Shan" Hendricks Vegetable Market in Christiansted, opens at 8 p.m. Friday. The entertainment is slated to run through 1:30 a.m.
Saturday the festival gets into full swing with the Old Time Night Parade, which steps off at 7 p.m. from Times Square. It will proceed down King Street to Hospital Street and up Company Street to the Mini-Village, where the Saturday night entertainment will be by the UMB Soldiers and the Sugar Band from St. Kitts from 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Sunday’s entertainment is the Royal Vibes Band and Daddy Jones and the Crew featuring Pumpa. Again, the entertainment will run from 8 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
The theme of this year’s festival is, "See, Believe, Xperience It," a title which took on extra meaning when the festival committee announced that parts of the festival will be streamed live for the world to "see, believe and experience" on the Internet.
The Mini-Village is named for St. Croix Quelbe musician and cultural ambassador Wayne "Bully" Petersen. Local food and drinks will be on sale, and vendors will sell toys, Christmas gifts, T-shirts and other items.
The opening of the Mini-Village is just the first step in a month-long celebration of Crucian culture that culminates in the parades and boat races after New Years.
Here’s the rest of the schedule, as posted on the festival’s official website, http://www.stxfestival.com
• Calypso Monarch Elimination, 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, 8 p.m. at The New Drive-Inn
• Miss St. Croix Pageant & Coronation of Prince, Princess and Duchess, 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, at Island Center
• Old Tyme Sweet & Treat Food Fair, Noon Wednesday, Dec. 6, or Saturday, Dec. 19 at the Christian "Shan" Hendricks Vegetable Market in Christiansted
• Junior Calypso Competition, 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20 at the Island Center for the Performing Arts
• Coney Island Rides Open, 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 at the Festival Village in Frederiksted
• Festival Village Opens Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24
• Opening Tramp, 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 24, 7 p.m., beginning at the Frederiksted Post Office
• Christmas Concert, 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 25 at Buddhoe Park in Frederiksted
• Donkey Races, noon Sunday, Dec. 27 at the Paul E Joseph Stadium
• Latin Night, 8 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 27, at the Festival Village
• Quelbe Tramp, 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28, 7 p.m. from the Frederiksted Post Office
• Cultural Night, 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28, 8 p.m.
• King and Queen of the Band, 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29, at the Festival Village
• Roast-a-Time (J’ouvert) Wednesday, Dec. 30. Line up begins at 5 a.m. at Hannah’s Rest Corner
• Food, Arts & Crafts Fair, noon Wednesday, Dec. 30, at the Eliza McBean Clock Tower
• Reggae Night, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30, at the Festival Village
• Calypso Monarch Finals, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30, at the Island Center for the Performing Arts
• Caribbean Night, Thursday, Dec. 31, at the Festival Village
• Children’s Parade, 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 1, from the Claude O. Markoe School, Frederiksted
• Adult’s Parade, 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, from the Claude O. Markoe School through Frederiksted
• Boat Races, noon Sunday, Jan. 3, begining at the Albert Edwards Fish Market
