St. John Carnival Village Opens, Honoring Gwenda Dagou and Kicking Off 70th Festivities

Hosted by Shatik Stevens, who was crowned St. John Queen during the 40th Carnival celebration in 1994, the St. John Village Opening signaled the start of the 70th year of festivities on the island. This year, the village honors Gwenda Dagou. Introduced by her granddaughter Linique as a hard worker who has instilled that quality in all her descendants, Ms. Dagou briefly thanked the St. John Festival committee, as well as the Division of Festivals, for the recognition with “such an extreme title.” A longtime vendor and booth proprietor for the Celebration, the evening’s honoree also thanked her many patrons over the years, and exhorted them to stay safe while eating, drinking, and enjoying the festivities.‌ In his remarks, Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte disclosed that he intended to take up her recommendation for the lobster in butter sauce that evening, while Senator Angel Bolques Jr. spoke about Ms. Dagou’s long history of feeding the people of St. John. “I’ve been tasting Ms....