The Virgin Islands Carnival

In collaboration with american website www.gourmetcookingandliving.com

Compared to other Carnivals, which are celebrated in the month of February in the rest of the word, the Carnival of the American Virgin Islands occurs late in the year. This Carnival celebration, in particular the one in St. John, which begins on the last week of June and continues through the first week of July, is a very important event that reaches its height on Independence Day. It’s a mix of similar elements of carnival events that proceed it on the other two islands of the archipelago, St. Croix and St. Thomas, which celebrate a truly special event: Emancipation Day, the anniversary of the freeing of the slaves.

In what is the most “virgin” of the Virgins Islands, not only the smallest but also the roughest and wildest, each year the popular festival of cultural parades and fairs represents the whole island tradition, with crafts, history and cuisine. From bicycle races to loud parades of flashy, colorful costumes, which engage the crowd from the middle of the night until early in the morning, from the food merchants to the fireworks and the live concerts of different types of music on Openheimer Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches on St. John—all of this is Carnival. The festival takes place in a small sheltered inlet of the island, entirely in Cruz Bay, a town that overlooks the marina of the same name. Each year, the festivities open with the rather well known Food Fair & Coronation, a celebration of authentic regional flavors.

Caribbean cuisine, in fact, is a true “melting-pot” of tastes that has rotated throughout the islands due to the different invading rulers—the Danish and the Spanish, followed by the French, British and Dutch. Each migratory wave carried with it something unique from the food of each place: new cooking methods, new spices or simply new ways of presenting food. In no way, however, can the Creole soul that characterizes the islands’ cuisine be forgotten, found in simple chicken salads with curry and coconut or black beans.

“Bay rum” leaves, passion fruit and limes were already being used by the island natives before the establishment of the European colonies. Among the many culinary wonders that must be tasted are conch fritters, made from a local marine shellfish, or better yet, a typical fried bread, Johnny cake, and finally bush tea, a special herbal tea of the Virgin Islands that is accompanied by banana bread. The islanders not only have favorite drinks, but they also have good remedies for ailments, which today are still widely used and have been since the time when medicine didn’t exist on the islands.

What represents the true meaning of Carnival the most, however, is the variety of delicious rums that the island offers its visitors. This liquor, the fortune of many merchants, but at the same time, the misfortune of many slaves, long exploited on the sugar cane plantations, today it is somewhat of a symbol of their liberation that on St. John was also so hard to obtain. During the celebration, particularly along the roads, you can sample conquito, a local drink made with rum, coconut and sugar as well as the even more popular tropical rum punch.

By Adv Service
With the contribution of U.S. Virgin Islands - Tourism Office
www.isoleverginiusa.it