Panorama in St. John.
St. John has come alive with cultural events and activities marking this year’s carnival festivities. On Sunday the cultural Food Fair, which was held in Frank Powell Park in honor of Enid Doway, ushered in the carnival season.
Honoree Enid Doway — who for over 20 years has been the key individual in organizing and executing pageantry in St. John — expressed gratitude to her family, community and the festival committee for their support in all of her endeavors.
During the ceremony, a number of leaders spoke about the importance of cultural events and their impact on unity. “Festivals are important, and as this is one of the first ones out of the pandemic, we are pleased to have our residents from St. Croix, our residents from St. Thomas come over to join our residents from St. John. To welcome wonderful people who visit this beautiful territory and have the time of their lives. We encourage you to keep coming," said Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach.
Governor Albert Bryan stated, “It’s great to be outside with everybody enjoying and it actually feels good to be able to hug and kiss people again. Before you didn’t even know what to do and as we get closer away from the pandemic and closer back to where our standard of living and [how] life was, I am just so pleased.”
St. John Carnival, also known as the St. John Celebration is the second of the three annual carnivals held on the major islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The celebration in St. John will feature a number of events, including the following:
- June 26: Pan-O-Rama, a pre-Carnival steel pan celebration; Food Fair featuring local vendors
- June 30: Village Opens with more than 18 local vendor booths of food, drinks, family friendly day events and nightly performances
- July 2: J'ouvert, the pre-dawn celebration
- July 3: Emancipation Day Cultural Program
- July 4: Parade Day and Fireworks
Among other artists, the St. John Village will feature reggae legends Morgan Heritage and Soca star Nadia Batson.
