For more than a dozen years, Cruz Bay bars and restaurants have banded together to help their friends and neighbors fight cancer. The Saturday night Fight for the Cure Block Party drew a festive crowd of locals and visitors out for a good time.
And since the annual fundraiser took place during Breast Cancer Awareness Month — also known as Pinktober — supporters turned out in their berry best.
Earline Frett showed up in support of the block party, saying she had benefited from the fund’s generosity. ”I’m having a good time,” Frett said.
Crowds lined the sidewalks near Woody’s Seafood Saloon and the Tap and Still to cheer on an energetic performance by St. John’s Dynamic Dancers.
Next door and up a flight of steps, tavern owner Todd Beaty welcomed guests to the newly-opened Blind Donkey saloon.
Beaty said he and others have supported the cause for many years. “It started years ago at Woody’s when my brother and I owned the place. We started the block party from back then,” he said, calling the cancer fund an outlet for St. John residents in need. “There’s no judgment there; if you have cancer, nobody gets told ‘No.’”
On the veranda, deejay Adonis Morton pumped out the dance tunes for a festive foursome celebrating a birthday.
Across the street, Alexander Cameron sported a top hat decorated with rabbit ears while teammate Meg Baggett described their curbside display.
“It’s an ice tea stand; we have different varieties of iced tea. We also have an Alice in Wonderland display tent and we’re selling pink to pink bracelets,” she said, adding her team has come to the block party for the past 12 years.
A few steps away hung a sign whose image sent a clear message.
Up towards the top of the block, a stage was set, awaiting an appearance by the Jam Band. The October block party is one of two major fundraising events put on by the St. John Cancer Fund. Since 2012, their efforts have furnished financial support to cover expenses cancer patients incur while seeking treatment for their ailments.
