New Division of Festivals Promises Grander, More Exciting Crucian Christmas Festival

St. Croix will be the place to be in December when the annual Crucian Christmas Festival kicks into high gear, organizer said.

December will boast a world of activities promoting the culture, traditions and cuisine of the largest of the U. S. Virgin Islands. According to the USVI Festivals Facebook page the St. Croix Festival activities officially begin with the Crucian Coconut Festival on Dec. 1 and continues through Jan. 6, 2020 when a free Crucian Rican breakfast party wraps everything up. In between there will be calypso shows, pageants, street parties, 13 days of Festival Village with nightly entertainment, break-of-dawn dancing in the streets called J’ouvet and even a day version of this event for those who are not early risers! There will also be the Food, Arts and Crafts Fair and the highlight of festival activities for many, the Children’s and Adult’s Parades.

In September 2019 the Department of Tourism appointed Ian Turnbull as the territory-wide director of the new Division of Festivals. Turbull now oversees the running and marketing of all official government events and festivals taking place in the territory including the Crucian Christmas Festival, St. Thomas Carnival and St. John Festival.

Turnbull said he and his team are very excited to organize the festivals under one umbrella which allows them to execute a “cohesive branding strategy and maintain continuity” among the V.I. festivals. He said he recognizes that entertainment tourism is prevalent across the globe and especially in the Caribbean region. The unified approach will allow the division to broker better deals with entertainers, including booking them at multiple venues simultaneously, he said.

“We are unique in the territory because we have three festivals and branding them together is a good thing for the people of the V.I.,” Turnbull said. He promised this year’s Crucian Christmas Festival will be “grander and more exciting.”

This year the division has listed all the major events of the Crucian Christmas season, even though some events are not organized by that government agency. Below is a list of all the activities.

Sunday, Dec. 1 – Crucian Coconut Festival,

Friday, Dec. 6 – Glow in the Park, Limpricht Park Christmas Tree lighting,

Saturday, Dec. 7 – Lechon Festival,

Saturday, Dec. 7 – Junior Calypso Show,

Sunday, Dec. 8 – Festival Prince and Princess Show,

Saturday, Dec. 14 – Christiansted Boat Parade,

Sunday, December 15 – Calypso Monarch Preliminaries,

Friday, Dec. 20 – Christiansted Jump Up,

Saturday, Dec. 21 – WTJX and Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights Frederiksted Serenade,

Saturday, Dec. 21 – Coquito Festival,

Saturday, Dec. 21 – Miss St. Croix Festival Queen Pageant,

Saturday, Dec. 21 – All White Party,

Saturday, Dec. 22 – WTJX and Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights Christiansted Serenade,

Thursday, Dec. 26 – Opening of Stanleyville, the Frederiksted Festival Village,

Friday, Dec. 27 – Calypso Monarch Competition,

Friday, Dec. 27 – “A Cultural Glow for the World to See”, Christiansted Lantern Parade,

Saturday, Dec. 28 – Sweet Bread & Jam Breakfast Fete,

Saturday, Dec. 28 – Latin Night in the Frederiksted Village,

Sunday, Dec. 29 – Cultural Night in the Frederiksted Village,

Monday, Dec. 30 – Reggae Night in the Frederiksted Village,

Tuesday, Dec. 31 – Girl Power in the Frederiksted Village,

Wednesday, Jan. 1 – J’ouvert,

Thursday, Jan. 2 – Food, Arts and Crafts Fair,

Friday, Jan. 3 – Soca Monarch Competition,

Friday, Jan. 4 – Children’s Parade,

Saturday, Jan. 5 – Adult’s Parade,

Sunday, Jan. 6 – Jou’Day,

Sunday, Jan. 6 – Crucian Rican Breakfast.