Photo Focus: The 2023 Boat Parade Donates to Charities

By Susan Ellis
-

Last week, the 2023 Boat Parade executive committee presented $1,000 checks to seven St. Croix-based charities – Coral Reef Academy, World Ocean School – Roseway, Toys for Tots, Special Olympics USVI, Boys & Girls Club of St. Croix and The Boy Scouts.

Boat Parade executive committee makes donations to local charities. Pictured: Quinn Perkins, Coral Reef Academy; Nadia Bougouneau, Boat Parade committee; Madeline Sandler, World Ocean School; Sal Sanpere and Trish Rhodes, Boat Parade committee; O’Neil Canton, Boys and Girls Club, and Resa O’Reilly-Shearn, Project Promise. (Photo courtesyTris h Rhodes)

This year’s parade included music with St. Patrick’s Steel Orchestra, R&B Connection, entertainment by the Guardians of Culture Moko Jumbies and a visit from Santa Claus. Fly The Whale, St. Croix’s newest airline performed a flyover before 24 highly decorated sailboats and motorboats slowly made their way to the Christiansted Boardwalk, where a crowd of thousands cheered. As usual, fireworks were the much-anticipated grand finale.