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Maho Bay

Party like an animal with the ACC

ChristmasforACC09POSTER A new 5-bedroom Chocolate Hole villa will be the site of this weekend's '60s Dance Party to benefit the animals.  Pony up $85 and you can join the fun and gawk at Tre Vista Estate from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday night.

The event begins at sunset and launches into a '60's dance theme, fueled by Preston Elliot (of Beatlemania), performing with his new local band, Illuminati. Far-out food & loose libations will be provided by Baked in the Sun, East West Catering, La Plancha, Lime Inn, Mathayom, Sugar Estate Distributors, Sun Dog Cafe, Susie Christi, Ted's Supper Club, and Westin St. John Resort

Event goers will also have a chance to win raffle prizes, including donations from Bajo el Sol, Biras Cree, Drift Away Day Spa, Calypso Charters, Jude Woodcock, La Tapa, Ocean Grill, and Zozo's.

The ACC is raising funds to both support its efforts to provide care for stray and homeless animals,. but also to fund a new building to supply additional service such as animal related vocational training, pet grooming, dog training, and pet boarding.

Holy cruise ship! Oasis of the Seas has arrived

Oasis

And YouTube was there.  See it here.

Celebrate Starfish Market’s update

Starfish3 Starfish Market is planning promotions this week to mark completion of its renovations. 

Food and wine samplings are part of a 'thank you' to the community as is a special, musical Pancake Breakfast on Sunday.


Each afternoon, Tuesday through Saturday, there will be free
tasting and activities.  Tuesday, it's wine and food. Wednesday will
feature free ham and turkey and wine pairings.  An afternoon of tea,
coffees and pastries is set for Saturday.  And Sunday morning, from 8
a.m. to 11 a.m. the St. John Pan Dragons will host a Pancake breakfast.

"Our customers have proven to be very resilient during our construction," said Nedra Ephraim, store manager.  We thank all of you for bearing with us while we make Starfish market even better." David Mugar, the store's owner, said he hopes people will like the market's face-lift.

The renovation included expanding the store's produce, dairy, grocery and frozen food department.  Additional storage space was also created to keep products on the shelves more consistently.

Friends start fund raising online auction

Fvinp You can "win" dinner for six at the new Catcus on the Blue Mexican restaurant, three nights at Caneel Bay or a sunset sail for four from the convenience of your PC this morning.

Those two items are part of a bunch of goodies included in the Friends of the Virgin Islands first online auction.  The bidding continues until Dec. 20.

You can see the offerings at http://www.cmarket.com/auction/item/Browse.action?auctionId=94096861

"You’ll find holiday weekends, spa days, boat trips, jewelry designed especially for the auction and fabulous art-work," said Noreen Cavanaugh, the Friends' development director. New items will be added throughout the auction, she said.
 
"By bidding in the auction you will help protect the natural and cultural resources of VI National Park and promote the responsible enjoyment of this unique treasure," she added.

Grande Bay: pool and parking

The owners of a unit at Grande Bay, the condominium development waterside in Cruz Bay, have said they expect the project's pool, hot tub and gym should be done by year end.

Grandebaypool In a posting on the forum of Virgin-islands-On-Line.com, CruzanLuvr said the gym will be on the second floor and face the water while the pool will have a cascading waterfall.  The post also included photos of the project including this one of the pool.
 
Predictably, the post also generated some negative comments about Grande Bay's being too big, gaudy, and extravagant for the island.

Hugo said he's heard "There is a possibility that Grande Bay might be denied their occupancy permit, due to more law breaking. They apparently never built the second level of parking required by DPNR, per Craig Barshinger last week, so they are in violation of their building permit."

Here's a link to Barshinger's complaint, published on the Islandia Real Estate blog.

"Grande Bay developers added double-decker parking to the blueprint in order to ensure sufficient parking would be in place," Barshinger said in a letter to Natural Resources commissioner Robert Mathes.

"In response to complaints, I examined the parking bays on the ground floor last week. There are no double-decker bays. Please do an official inspection of parking at Grande Bay."

Meet our new advertiser: Innovative Concrete Polishing

Innovative_concrete When Bob Melnick inquired about advertising on NewsOfStJohn.com, I thought here's a guy with a great idea. 

Being a villa owner for more than 30 years, I quickly recognized he's got a service that deserves notice. 

If you own a place or are thinking about building, give Bob and Innovative Concrete Polishing a call at 340-779-4089.  They've got an attractive, low-maintenance solution that's worth learning about, whether you've owned a villa for years or are thinking of new construction.

Tasty treats raised Rotary funds

Scallop-winner-small

St. John Rotary's annual fund raiser for scholarships and community activities produced a colorful and flavorful evening for some 250 people at the Westin Resort.

KatiThe chairman of the event featuring samples from dozens of island restaurants was Kati Steinborn of Kati's Catering.

Bob Schlesinger, an island photographer who does great work with weddings, called the evening" an epicurean delight for foodies."

Paradiso-guys"This year’s top People Choice's award went to Paradiso for their scallops (above) with cauliflower puree, candied dates and champagne bath," Schlesinger told the Inquiring Iguana.

There were also winners in individual categories. 

  • Happy Fish won for its appetizer. 
  • Rhumb Lines took the entree honors.
  • La Plancha del Mar's dessert was also a winner.

Rhumblines "Attendees got to sample dozens of fantastic culinary items from many local restaurants," Schlesinger said, "pairing them with their favorite beverages compliments of West Indies, Premier, Prestige, Bellows and of course, the Tap Room."

Proceeds from the annual event are used for the group’s scholarship program $55,000 in scholarships are given annually by Rotary to our islands youth and individual donations are appreciated.

Schlesinger also took photos at Flavors.  They are used here with his permission.



Tropical Focus Photography is the collaboration of husband/wife team Bob and Karin Schlesinger. Their style is uniquely St. John – relaxed and
natural, with a touch of fun and quality results every time.

Thankspigging in Coral Bay

 Ken_and_friends Skinny Legs is closed on Thanksgiving Day but not really.  Every year Ken gives thanks by offering Pigs, Potatoes and Beer!  This Thanksgiving Day was no different as the denizens of Coral Bay, and visiting snowbirds, celebrated their traditional way Thankspigging.

The "guest of honor."Ken_host



Bob Scheslinger a terrific photographer (and Rotary member) and his wife, Karin, joined the throngs at this year's celebration.  The photos are his.  The good times were everybody's.

BOB_9437a"At the opening of the buffet line, there was a huge crowd," Bob said. "Not to fear, the feast was enormous and no one went hungry."

There was a rumor that the Thankspigging tradition may not be eternal.  Folks attending the 9th event were asked to submit recipes for a cookbook to be made available at next year's feast which, the 10th, possibly, could be the last one.

Republic_coralbay The Republic of Coral Bay shows the pig roast T-shirt design from previous years.

Tropical Focus Photography is the collaboration of husband/wife team Bob and Karin Schlesinger. Their long-standing love affair with the islands and decades together as a working couple give them a synergy and island perspectives that others just dream of. Their style is uniquely St. John – relaxed and natural, with a touch of fun and quality results every time.

Silent auction shopping at Mongoose

ShariErickson-Umbrellas The holiday shopping season kicks off with energy and charity Friday at the annual Evening in the Courtyard at Mongoose Junction, from 4 to 9 p.m.

Mongoose merchants will donate items to be sold at silent auction with the proceeds benefiting the Gifft Hill School's scholarship fund and programs.  The evening will also feature music and dance performances by students. Auction and raffle winners will be announced at 8 p.m.

Many Mongoose shops will feature activities and presentations for the evening.

  • They include a book signing at the Friends of the Park Store by Caroline Rogers for her latest collection of gorgeous pictures in Coral Reef Stars, A Galaxy of Undersea Images and a special show at Bajo el Sol featuring Livy Hitchcock's pastel paintings. This will be called "A Puerto Rican Celebration" and will have new paintings by Livy whose inspiration is from a collection of black and white photos taken in the 1950's.
  • Sugar Birds is excited to be showing a series of brand new original watercolors by Shari Erickson, done especially for The Evening in the Courtyard, along with a collection of her original oil paintings.
  • Bougainvillea will have new holiday dresses and accessories.

Thanksgiving regatta begins

 
Regatta The island's competitive sailors were up early this morning to kick off the 28th annual Coral Bay Thanksgiving Regatta. The two-day event is sponsored by the Coral bay Yacht Club. 

During the day the sailors compete while in the evenings, it's party time at Skinny Legs with music provided by Chris Carsell and Friends and Hudson and the Hoo Doo Cats.

The race schedule, according to Denise Wright at Onlinevacations.com.

  • Friday, November 27: Gaffers, Single Handed 30 ft. and under, Single Handed over 30 ft. but under 40ft., Single Handed 40 ft. and over, and Multi-Hulls Race. Registration at 8:30 a.m. at Skinny Legs. Skipper’s Meeting at 9:30 a.m. at Skinny Legs.
  • Friday evening 5-7 p.m., mandatory registration for all Saturday Pursuit racers.
  • Saturday, November 28: PHRF I, PHRF II, and Pursuit Class Race. Skipper’s Meeting at 8:30 a.m. at Skinny Legs.

The awards ceremony is at Skinny's Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m.