Get out your island fancy clothes and mark your calendar for Feb. 4. That’s the date of the eighth annual Friends of V.I. National Park Gala.
“Locals and visitors alike should come join us for this event not only because it is a fun and fabulous evening, but because by attending, bidding on items, and buying raffle tickets each and every person is ensuring that we can continue our work supporting programs requested by the National Park Service here on the Virgin Islands,” Friends development director Heather Ruhsam said.
Tickets are $200 each. Ruhsam said tickets are selling at a pretty fast rate, so she suggested that people planning to attend shouldn’t wait to buy their tickets.
The gala will be held at Judy and Michael Skurnik’s home, Marea, on Ditleff Point. It begins with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6 p.m. Dining and dancing under the stars will follow.
St. John’s In the Sand Band and New York City’s Jon Herington Band will perform. Herrington was a member of Steely Dan, a rock band popular in the 1970s.
Shuttle service will be provided from the Cruz Bay ferry dock at 6:20 p.m. and 7:20 p.m. for those coming from St. Thomas or the Cruz Bay area. Return shuttles will leave in time for the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. ferries to Red Hook. Parking will also be available at the gala site.
The raffle will feature items from local vendors, as well as a few silent auction items. If you can’t make the gala, raffle tickets may be purchased in advance at $25 each or five for $100.
In conjunction with the gala, the Friends will hold a special limited ticket jewelry raffle of an 18-karat gold chain with 66 carats of polished emerald nuggets. It was handcrafted by R&I Patton jewelers and is valued at $4,200. It’s available for viewing at R&I Patton in Mongoose Junction shopping center. Tickets for this special raffle run $50 each. Only 100 will be sold. You do not have to be present to win.
Money raised at the gala, and through the raffle, will help support Friends’ work on behalf of V.I. National Park.
Gala and raffle tickets are available at Connections in Cruz Bay, Friends of the Park Store in Mongoose Junction shopping center or by calling the Friends office at 779-4940.
