Photo Focus: 70th Crucian Christmas Festival 2022-2023 Opens the “Daddy Jones Musical Kingdom”

By Diana Dias
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We Deh Yah Cultural Dancers enjoying their time at the opening night of the “Daddy Jones Musical Kingdom.” (Photo provided by: We Deh Yah Cultural Dancers)

The 70th Crucian Christmas Festival 2022-2023 opened the “Daddy Jones Musical Kingdom” on Friday. Named in honor of Alwyn “Daddy Jones” Baptiste Jr. of Vio International, the cultural night was off to a great start as hundreds of people gathered on the village grounds.

Packed Village (V.I. Source photo by Diana Dias)

Cultural night showcased beauty queen winners throughout the season, including Miss St. Croix Rynel Harris. There were performances from Jam Band, Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights, Fusion Band and DJ Karl and Selecta Kuff.

Village Rides at the “Daddy Jones Musical Kingdom.” (V.I. Source photo by Diana Dias)

The beloved rides were popular with the younger crowd and the booths filled with patrons waiting in line for food.

Booth number 2 at the festival village. (V.I. Source photo by Diana Dias)

Booth owner Ricardo “Ricky Sounds” Romero, who has assisted Julio Ojeda of booth #2 for the last five or six years, said that it feels like having the festival village back in full swing.

“Only thing missing are two family members that we’ve lost,” said Romero, referring to his brother and Ojeda’s wife.

To see a full list of what’s going on at the “Daddy Jones Musical Kingdom” by night, you can visit the USVI Festivals page on Facebook.