The future of Virgin Islands fetes is in good hands.
St. Croix youth proved once again Friday that they can troupe and tramp with the best of them during the 2026 Crucian Christmas Festival Children’s Parade, filling Frederiksted with twirling batons, dazzling costumes and singing steel drums.
Christmas Festival royalty led the way and offered stately waves to throngs of onlookers lining King Street. They were soon followed by parade staples including the St. Croix Majorettes and Sparkle Lite Twirlers, as well as newcomers from the SLT Legacy Majorettes.
SLT Cofounder and Director Kalifah Ferrance told the Source that it was the group’s first time making the walk, though they’ve been performing since March. Ferrance said she and her sister have been majorettes for their entire lives.
“Our mom founded and directed majorettes for 22 years, so we decided to take the torch, carry it on and start our own majorettes,” she said.
One standout in the sea of dance routines came from the CMCArts and Claude O. Markoe Elementary School after-school program troupe, which put on a walking play of the story “How Anansi Got a Thin Waist.”
Choreographer and narrator Sayeeda Carter said the theme was Anansi and the Storytellers, “so we started by reading several Anansi stories and then we chose the one that they liked the best and we changed it into a short play.”
“And then we did the voice-overs with my high school students … and then the students basically learned how to pantomime to the tale they created,” she said. “I really enjoy working with CMCArts the most, because all of the costumes are a hundred percent handmade by the children, keeping the tradition … everybody can order something, but I love the fact that we had the children sit and make these costumes with their own hands. It leads to more of a desire to really invest in the Carnival season.”
The festivities are slated to continue Saturday when the Adults’ Parade sweeps through Frederiksted at 11 a.m.
