He’s spent more than 20 years in and around Carnival, played with Spectrum Band for 19 and won nine road marches – eight of them consecutive – but the thing that St. Thomas Carnival Village honoree Malvern Gumbs said Monday night that he’s most proud of, is the 24 years he’s spent teaching and nurturing a new generation of musicians.
Currently stationed at the Lockhart K-8 School, many remember Gumbs as Addelita Cancryn Junior High School’s animated music teacher, a role he’s also held at the J. Antonio Jarvis and Joseph Gomez schools, among others.
“That I can use my talent to inspire the youth of the Virgin Islands is something great, and watching them over the years succeed and excel is my biggest accomplishment,” he shared Monday at the Village’s ribbon-cutting.
Clad in a white suit for the opening of Malvern’s Melodious Musical Greathouse, Gumbs added that he’s humbled by seeing his name lit up in the Village lights – and emblazoned across many of the booths.
“It brings me so much joy that they would pay homage to me now,” Gumbs said. “I’m doing the Lord’s work, the work I love, and I’ll be doing it until the end.”
Gumbs was surrounded by dignitaries, family and this year’s Carnival royalty as he cut the ribbon to signal the official night in a week’s worth of dynamic performers. Meanwhile, the grounds around him were buzzing with excitement as residents and visitors alike strolled through, anxious to sample from their favorite booths or try food at new ones.
Many open Monday night said they had been in the Village for more than a decade and loved coming out each year to greet the community.
“We’re the booth with the vibes,” the crew from Booth 18 said gleefully as they began serving customers early. With an extensive menu, spanning from the staple johnny cakes and fried chicken leg to a full V.I. breakfast on J’ouvert morning, the crew said they “serve it all,” and after more than 15 years of cooking together, know to start prepping the week before.
“Then on cooking days, we’re getting ready the night before, and send the food to cook in the morning so we’re fully ready when customers start coming in,” said Tracy Bunch. Booth 18 is also the only one to take credit cards, she said and is known for its whelks dishes – but is most excited this year to begin serving lobster during the week.
Meanwhile, using fresh seasoning is the secret to Dourmet Benjamin’s best-selling flying fish at Booth 30, which has been open for the past 14 years.
“Cooking is in my blood,” Benjamin said Monday as his team piled fish into the warmer. “It runs in my family, so many of us were chefs or cooks and I grew up knowing how to get everything prepared. It’s important to have the seasoning as fresh as possible, so the fish tastes the best, and I know everyone loves it.”
Asked why he continues to return to the Village, Benjamin said simply, “It’s our culture. It’s Carnival, and you have the chance to do what you love to do, serve the community and see all your friends. It’s great every year.”
Just a few booths down, the team from Alassi of St. John was busy explaining the ingredients in “man soup,” a dish they said will most definitely “put the hair on your chest.”
“Ours is created with kingfish, conch and lobster, with vegetables and pasta – it’s really for the guys,” joked owner Alvin Newton, who brought his crew over from Love City and has been in the Village for 18 years. “It’s a taste of St. John, and we use only local seafood – but no octopus.”
The man soup is one of Newton’s favorites, along with the lobster salad, and the experience of coming together with his family every year – and seeing friends who frequent the booth – is enough to keep him coming back for more.
“It’s cultural,” he said. “And it’s something you just look forward to. It can be a lot of work, but this is what we do, and just seeing everyone love your food, laugh, and come back for more is always worth the effort.”
After the opening ceremonies, the infectious energy of Quelbe Resurrection’s scratch band erupted and the crowd surged towards the sidewalk paralleling the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Veterans Memorial Park.
There, the band’s festively decorated trolley was already jumping with the beat, and as the first notes pierced the night, residents couldn’t resist the call. Bodies swayed and feet tapped in time with the music, then a collective movement began – a human parade in motion as the trolley slowly cruised down the street, helping to officially kick off a first night of dynamic performances – including Trinidad and Tobago’s celebrated Machel Montano – with joy.
