St. John Festival is underway.
Besides the annual climactic event, fireworks over Cruz Bay harbor on July 4th, the arrival of Festival means one big thing to locals – FEWER parking spots.
That’s because Festival Village is being set up in the free, public parking lot by the Customs House and across from the Post Office. So, the lot was closed Friday, the 19th. It will reopen July 7th.
The ‘Village’ is a bunch of plywood and paint booths which become businesses selling food and drink for the week leading up to the 4th. (Wonder if they’re licensed and pay Gross Receipts taxes. And, if so, does anybody audit their sales figures?)
Anyway, with the closing of the lot downtown, they’ve opened the athletic field at the Sprauve School for parking. As you can see from the picture above (red arrow), a few cars are able to use the lot, while a lot of space is taken up by Tropical Shipping trucks. (Inez, a Deputy Inquiring Iguana, took these pictures. Click on them for to see larger versions.)
Now, remember, the Sprauve School is adjacent to the Roundabout project. Fewer parking spaces downtown means more traffic searching for places, with many of them heading to Sprauve and getting tied up in that work.
Does anyone know where I can find a online schedule for the St. John Festival?
Sure. Just click the words “St. John Festival” in the story, or go here:
http://www.stjohnsuntimes.com/st_john_carnival_events_schedule
So sorry to hear that the St. John Festival is an inconvenience. To imply that participants do not have licenses or pay gross receipts is miss leading. I was a vendor durning the St. John Festival for over 30 years. I was licensed and always paid my gross receipts. Leona Smith who is now the Island Administrator was formally the DLCA representative for St. John. Licenses and Health Cards were checked and you can not renew your license without your gross receipts form. She was very strict about this.
Festival Village is part of the July 4 Celebration. It’s been a tradition on St. John for many many years. The only time of the year I can get my Whelks! Perhaps the planner (soon come) will be able to find another place to locate the Festival Village. However for the two weeks out of the year (slow season) that the village is in the parking lot, I suggest that we do as we were told about change…. get over it. Go get a plate of local food, listen to some local music, and most of all meet some of the hard working people who are doing this. They are also struggling to find a parking place!
I’m here now and think that the parking “problem” is no different than usual. Just need to prepare for it , relax, and walk some, it’s good for you!!
I’m here now, too, and have been since June 13th. With all the construction, I agree with Tim – it’s easier to park and walk . . . or stay on the Coral Bay side, which I prefer anyway.