It was a glorious sunny day on Saturday, March 7 and several soup entry tents and tables were positioned throughout the Emancipation Garden for the Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra’s first signature fundraising event: the “VI Soup Masters Competition.”
Restaurant and non-restaurant teams brought their best delicious soups to compete in the event. The public was invited to purchase Tasting Tickets, select the soups they wanted to taste, and vote for their favorite. They included: Pumpkin, Vegetable, Vegan, Chicken, Corn, and Fish soups. There were also entries for Seafood and Conch Chowders, and one for Goat Water, which sold out fast. The unique fundraiser was coordinated to raise funds to cover expenses for the after-school youth orchestra music program,
This year’s soup competitors were: Love Livin’ Vegan, Rancho Latino, We Grow Food, St. Thomas Federal Credit Union, Hart’s Kitchen, BurgerMaxx, An Hour Late, Celecia Hernandez, and Nomads Bar & Grille. After the tasters cast their votes, the results were tallied based on various soup categories. Four of the competitors were victorious.
The First Place winners were:
Cecelia Hernandez won first place in the Vegan Category for her incredible Vegan Red Peas soup with trimmings
The St. Thomas Federal Credit Union surpassed the competing teams by winning three soup categories. They won in the Fish Soup category for their Fish Soup, the Red Meat Category for their Goat Water, and the Vegetable Category for their Corn Soup.
Harbor Hart, Head Chef of Hart’s Kitchen won first place in the Poultry Category for his Chicken Soup. He was unable to attend but entered his soup in the competition.
The Nomads Bar & Grille took home their first place victory with their Conch Chowder, which won in the Seafood Category. The Nomads added the U.S.V.I. Office of Gun Violence Prevention to its team.
The president of Partners for Strings, Inc., said, “Congratulations to all of our first place winners, as well as to every team who put in hours of work making their dynamic soup. I want to thank every participant seen and unseen. So much goes into these events, so I don’t take anyone’s contributions for granted. I truly appreciate all of the support from the students, parents and the community. We all should be proud to say that we are a caring and compassionate community., Restaurants and non-restaurants donated their time effort, and great tasting soup to support the cause of transforming the lives of young people in the Virgin Islands through music.”
Partners for Strings runs the Partners for Strings Virgin Islands Youth Orchestra. The free after-school program for at-risk youth, ages 6 to 17, offers weekly training in orchestral instruments at G-Clef Music Academy on St. Thomas.. These instruments include the violin, cello, brass, woodwinds, percussion, and steel pan. The Intermediate/Advanced and Primers/Beginners Ensembles performed in the iconic Gazebo. The student members extraordinarily performed their selections, ranging from Classical to Reggae, including the Jazz standard, “Take Five”; the uniquely arranged Quelbe medley, “Sly Mongoose” and “Queen Mary,” and Steel Pulse’s Reggae classic, “Roller Skates.” Attendees enjoyed the extra treat of fun activities through Happy Times Entertainment, and some young talented performers took the stage and wowed the attendees.
Ms. Gumbs added special thanks to the supportive sponsors: G-Clef Music Academy, J. Benton Construction, Keswick Insurance, A90films, Happy Times Entertainment, KLR Restaurant Supplies, Rashida A. Hodge Charitable Fund, Discover Fund Management, LLLP, Thriving Charity Advocates, House of Patries and Deli, Lew Henley’s Sewage Disposal, and the U.S.V.I. Office of Gun Violence Prevention. For more information about Partners for Strings, Inc.’s and if you’d like to donate and support this youth orchestra music program, please call (340) 228-1126 or visit www.partnersforstrings.org
