Monday night was a family night at Schneider Regional Medical Center as the Division of Festivals hosted the V.I. Carnival Hospital Show. Mild spring weather and a new moon set in twilight provided the backdrop for an evening of outdoor entertainment.
Majorettes, moko jumbies and music captured the attention of spectators ringed around the hospital’s main entrance. Performers billed as entries in the upcoming Carnival Children’s Day Parade kicked off the evening with a parade around the parking lot and up to the stage, where hospital patients had a front-row seat to the action.
Organizers with the then-Virgin Islands Carnival Committee started the tradition in the early 2000s as a way to bring the celebrations to patients, the disabled, and the elderly so they could enjoy a taste of culture. Brensuili Marsh sat with his wife and daughter in her wheelchair.
“The family comes out to the show sometimes — it’s excellent,” he said, adding that his other daughter was on stage performing.
Sen. Ray Fonseca stood among the crowd, recalling the days of the first hospital show around the year 2002.
“This event has been going on for many years,” Fonseca said, “When I was here at the hospital in Health, working in this building, the event was going on … they bring the young children out, they perform — it’s a community event.”
Parents and grandparents shot photos and proudly told passersby their child was on stage with this group or that. As each group finished their performance, they were led out toward the parking lot, where vendor tents sold layer cake and popcorn.
Monday was also a first for newly-crowned Ambassadorial Carnival Queen Safiah Wharton. Fresh from a Saturday night win at the Elridge Blake Sports and Fitness Center, she strolled across the hospital lawn with First-Runner-Up Jahniya Williams and D’Quana Lewis. Wharton said she had performed in Children’s Day Parades in the past, but, “it is the first time I’m experiencing it from this point of view as a Queen.”
The first Carnival event of the season rolled out on Easter Sunday with the Children’s Fun Day, one of several family-oriented celebrations marking the season. Next up, said Festival Divisions Chief Ian Turnbull, is the Children’s Calypso Competition on Thursday at the Fort Christian Parking Lot.
“I have five contestants. We have a former Junior Calypsonian and a former St. John queen who is managing that; she is the committee lead for that,” Turnbull said.
