The COVID-19 pandemic became a real thing in the Virgin Islands just before the St. Thomas Carnival this spring. The annual celebrations on each island have always been a time for our communities to come together and the cancellation of both St. Thomas and St. John’s carnivals was a hard pill to swallow for everyone.
The St. John Festival always ends on the 4th of July with a 24 hour celebration of Emancipation Day on the third (We will be doing a piece on the history behind Carnival around the first of the month!).
To say that this gathering is needed this year is an understatement. With 1 new travel related COVID case on St. John this week and the extension of the State of Emergency to July 12th, the St. John Festival has been cancelled. But, the show must go on!
The USVI Department of Tourism and its Division of Festivals will host a virtual carnival, complete with local bands and DJ’s, virtual food fair and culture pop-ups! Tune in between June 27 and July 4 for a little slice of St. John culture on the USVI Festivals website or Facebook page. Here is the full schedule:
Hey Hillary- can you define “ State of Emergency until July 12th.? Does this mean no visitors?
Thank!