The sixth annual St. John Arts Festival runs from 10 February through 17 February 2006 and has childrens artistic education and advancement as the main theme.
Highlights of this years Festival include two childrens workshops: the first in Cruz Bay at the beginning of the week and the second at the end of the week in Coral Bay (terminating in Cruz Bay): two art exhibits at the old Danish Battery in Cruz Bay- the first showing works of the St. John Artists Association members followed by an exhibit of textiles from Ghana, West Africa, and childrens art.
On Sunday afternoon 12 February, there will be a choral concert in the Nazareth Lutheran Church, Cruz Bay with choirs from all the St. John churches.
Complementing the above events will be the traditional food and craft fairs everyday in Franklin Powell Park, by the waterfront, accompanied by a variety of live music concerts.
The first childrens workshop will be given by Bertha Agyepong, a community artist, in Accra, Ghana, as a special guest of the Festival, who will be teaching children at the Julius Sprauve School in the making of Ewe Kente, Ashanti Kente and adinkra textiles. Then another special guest from Ghana, at the Battery on the 15-17 of February, Widdup Coubagy, curator of the Asafo Gallery in Accra, will be exhibiting Ghanaian textiles and prints produced from original paintings by children from over twenty-five countries, exhibited at the Capital Childrens Museum and at the Art Gallery National Theatre, Ghana.
The second of the two childrens workshop will take place in Coral Bay and will be organized by Jill Olesker a former teacher at Guy Benjamin School, who plans to bring a group of artists, musicians and storytellers from the United States to teach approximately 300 children from all the island schools in a half-day workshop at Coral Bay on Thursday, 16 February in the morning, with kite flying in the ball field in the afternoon.
Then on Friday, February 17, the visiting group of teachers will give performances to children at the Julius Sprauve School in the morning, followed by an exhibition of the childrens work in the Franklin Powell Park.
A special St. Valentines Day program in the evening, at the St. John School of the Arts, includes Children in Motion, Two to Tango and Quadrille Dancing in keeping with the spirit of the day.
I hope you enjoy this unique program.
Sincerely,
Frank J. Langley, President
Special Thanks
A special note of thanks and appreciation is due to: Mr. Julien A. Harley, Administrator of St. John and Sis Frank, Director of the St. John School of the Arts for their consistent encouragement and support; also Commissioner Pamela Richards and the Department of Tourism and Director Betty Mahoney and the Virgin Islands Council on the Arts (VICA) and Tom Moore, General Manager of Gallows Point Resort for their sponsorship of this years Festival.
Program Acknowledgements
A big thank you to Corine Matthias (Secty), Rich Greengold (Restaurant Music Program) and Lee Stanciauskas of St. John Printing & Design for their outstanding efforts in compiling and publishing this program and also those who supported it through their advertisements.
Please note that program events and times may be subject to change. Although every effort will be made to give advance notice, St. John Arts Festival cannot accept responsibility.
