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St. Thomas Scene!

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St. Thomas Scene!

Alphonso Wade on the buffet line at Barefoot Buddha. (Photo courtesy of Grow VI)This past weekend was busy, busy, busy, with events happening all over St. Thomas.

The highlight event was the outdoor concert at Yacht Haven Grande featuring the Jamaican reggae band, Third World. My BFF, Jamaican-born Robert Chen and I joined the hundreds of fans who poured into the marina "with a sense of purpose," even as the rains threatened to drench us all to the bone. Security person, Milton Jellow attached one of those silly little wrist bands, as a well-cloaked Katt Houston kept watch at the entrance as it continued to drizzle. Luckily, the skies cleared as the band hit the stage. And it was on!

At the staging area, we were greeted by Nevin Phillips who was there with his wife, Lourdes; then we ran into Jennifer Murdock, Arlene Auguste, Karyl Connor, and Eileen Short.

We spotted Josalyn Bitterman of YHG and West Line’s Jose Rosario standing next to the control booth with their eyes and ears glued to the stage. It seemed like halfway through the evening’s performance they were finally able to relax and breathe easy. On the other hand, Josiah Tobias of Fat Turtle, the original Mr. Cool, strolled calmly through the crowd to check the stage from different vantage points, while he also checked out the audience.

Enjoying the evening’s rich rhythms and sensuous sounds were major TWB fan Marie Pinney with her Willis, Ruth Watson and Sidney Commissiong, Lisa Melchior, Anne Nayer, Frank Jackson, Billy Biscoe, Erie Matthias, Roy Hodge, Whadablee, Margaret Moore, Lonnie Hudspeth, Calvin Dallas, Ayesha Morris, Jahweh David and Heather Hogarth-Smith, as well as the crew from Oceana, Edgardo, Barbara, Denzel and Leo with chef, Jennifer Litwin, along with Mohammed and colleagues from Stereo. It was good to see the staffs of popular establishments enjoying their nights off, hanging with their "regulars."

Several of the crews from visiting yachts were still in town following the very successful yacht show staged by Erik Ackerson of the VI Charter Yacht League, and they were partying their flip-flops off … literally. We looked for Insatiable crew members Louis and Nick, who were particularly gracious when we stopped by their vessel earlier in the week, but if they were there it was too dark and crowded to spot them.

After an interesting encore called by the MC, rather than the audience, the show came to a close and satiated fans wended their way back out of the marina … just as the heavens began again to drip, drip, drip in advance of the heavy downpour. Perfect timing.

Earlier in the day on Sunday a “Slow Down Dinner” was celebrated at the Barefoot Buddha bistro. This event is created to highlight locally harvested produce. Local farmers have an opportunity to showcase their products, while chefs and cooks get together to make memorable meals. Among the farmers in attendance were Bordeaux farmer and We Grow Food, Inc. President Gerald “Roy” Hodge, as well as Dorothea farmer Alphonso Wade, who is also a celebrated cook.

The menu included yellow tail ceviche with lemon sage topped with guavaberry-dressed sprouts, as an appetizer; followed by pumpkin stew with yams and dasheen. The elegant salad was comprised of Asian greens, cranberry hibiscus, moringa flowers and leaves, sorrel leaves, Swiss chard and toasted pumpkin seeds tossed in lime honey and guavaberry dressing.

The buffet offerings were equally as enticing and included a veggie stack with eggplant, sweet potato, seasoned pepper, cherry tomatoes, layered in a spinach basil pesto; a green plaintain tostada; chaya and mustard greens with orange thyme and green papaya slaw.

The Slow Down dinner was a fundraiser for Grow VI whose officers are Chloe Beyer, Elena Serrant, Swazi Clarity and Shanna James, owner of the Barefoot Buddha.

On Friday evening there was a special Scorpio celebration held to honor our chief executive, Gov. John de Jongh Jr. The "surprise" birthday party, organized by First Lady Cecile was held at what looked like campaign central in Frenchtown. Throngs of friends, family and supporters joined in the celebration, which featured bands from St. Thomas and St. Croix providing music for dancing late into the night.

Happy birthday, Guv!

Send invitations for your events and celebrations to June Archibald at [email protected] or [email protected]

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