Europeans introduced their version of Carnival to the Caribbean. Carnival was a festival with feasting and parties, marking the approach to Lent. In the islands, Carnival became a mix of European and Caribbean culture. At the end of slavery, the freed people were able to outwardly celebrate their own culture and their emancipation, and Carnival was transformed into a month-long celebration of folkloric characters, dancing, parades, and African drumming (which European authorities banned pre-emancipation.)
Today, Carnival in St Thomas is one of the largest celebrations in the Caribbean. People from all over the islands come to St Thomas for the festivities throughout the month of April and especially the last week. While there were tourists like ourselves there, it was clear that most of the celebrants were native to St Thomas and other islands. Kent and I unwittingly anchored just off the waterfront at Charlotte Amalie, the capital, only a few hundred feet from the main event area. Noisy, but we're glad we had front row seats! The loud, booming music, along with food booths, bright lights, and carnival rides, started at 6 p.m. and lasted until about 3 a.m.every night for more than a week.
The calendar for Carnival covered the month of April and included over a week of live nightly music, dancing, lots of food booths with delicious local dishes, and of course rum drinks. The last week of the month was filled with events such as food fairs, calypso contests, a toddlers' derby, a water show with high-speed watercraft making big noise, beauty pageants, dance performances, steel drums, farmers markets, King and Queen of Carnival contests, craft fairs, and colonial costumes. The celebration culminated with a children's parade, an adult parade, and an event called "Jouvert," all followed by fireworks.
Unbelievably, the early morning event called "Jouvert" is where literally thousands of people dance through the streets behind their favorite bands while others line up along the curb clapping and enjoying the music. It is pretty crazy. This year's Jouvert (or Roas-a-Time or Jump-Up) started at 4 a.m. and lasted until noon! (That is not a typo.) We're not sure when the people here sleep. We didn't attend that event but we heard it!
We were so lucky to be in the harbor with a perfect view of the fireworks. Our miniature pinscher, Trooper, was not so delighted.
The Carnival was spectacular. I don't believe we have anything quite like it in the US. Mardi Gras is similar in terms of intensity but does not last as long. I took so many pictures which I hope will capture just how fabulous a celebration this was. We really had no idea what Carnival was all about and are so glad we were in St Thomas to experience it.
This set of pictures was taken during the adult parade...
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| Kent's lunch: a delicious bowl of "goat water," much like a stew. |
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This next set of pictures was taken at what is called "The Village," where there are carnival rides, a large bandstand, and several food booths. Each booth is decorated with art and competes for prizes. I took these photos during the afternoon before the events started and when the food booths were not yet open. As you can see, the artwork is quite spectacular.
The following pictures were taken during the children's parade, which included children of all ages, including high schoolers and college kids.
The view from our boat looking across St Thomas Harbor at "The Village" area.
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| Homemade local Black Cake is an an island delicacy. The burnt sugar gives the cake its deep color and the mashed rum-soaked fruit makes it so moist. Literally black, it's amazing that the cake contains no chocolate! We found our heavenly cake at the farmers market. We ate a small slice with breakfast each day this week, trying to make it last. |
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| More farmers market finds. Kent's favorite pick: the big jar of spicy pickled okra on the left. |
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| We love those homemade chutneys. One hot; one not. |
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| Soursop preserves, papaya jam, cashews in sweet syrup. Homemade local specialties. |
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| The Black Cake before we dove into it. It was a steal at $10. I now wish we'd bought two and frozen one. |
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| Local honey and homemade hot sauce, staples in our galley. |
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| My only hesitation was paying $10 for that yummy pineapple. A little pricey but ripe and ready. |
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| Lots of handwoven baskets for sale... |
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| We purchased a local cookbook supporting the students at the University of the Virgin Islands in St Thomas. |
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| There's that steel drum band again (from the parade). They were fabulous musicians and all young people. |
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| Crafts galore... |
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| Traditional children's dance in colonial dress |
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| Woodworking crafts |
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| Homemade sweets made of coconuts and fruit |
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| More traditional dress. Also, all those bottles are filled with rum infused with various spices and flavors. |
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| More sweets. Front and center are gooey coconut tarts. |
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| More steel drums... |
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| Interestingly, the steel drum band is sponsored year-round by the Supreme Court here in St Thomas. Its purpose is to support local youth, getting young people interested in learning the drums and enjoying music, and involving them in the communiity. |
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| Locals enjoying the performances and staying cool under the shade. |
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| A bird's eye view of the park |
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| Another example of the colonial dress |
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| We made some new friends, Lance and Pam, who live on their catamaran, Bon Temps, and are anchored near us in the harbor. We've enjoyed their company at Carnival this past week and are savoring our new friendship. |
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| Hungry anyone? The booths at the food fair offered all kinds of local dishes, including salt fish, lobster, jerk chicken, whelks, kallaloo, fungi, goat, pigeon peas, conch, puddings, chutneys, and on and on. We sampled as much as we could eat! |
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| Grilled lobster! |
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| "The Village" at night |
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| The view from our boat again |
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