Last year's Love City Live headliner Third World, above, got the crowd in the Winston Wells ball field to its feet and kept them there.

Get ready to party St. John!

The island’s premier reggae festival is about to kick off and no one will want to miss any of the events.

Global Ventures Consultants’ Glen “Wasi” Philbert is back with the Second Annual Love City Live! on Saturday, January 28, featuring reggae roots legends Morgan Heritage performing together for the first time in five years.

“The concert will be their reunion performance because the band has not played together for about five years,” said Philbert. “This is their introduction back into the industry as a group. The band members had been working on solo projects, but they’re coming together again.”

And Morgan Heritage is just one of the four amazing acts set to take the stage in the Winston Wells ball field on Saturday night, January 28. Gates for the main concert open at 6 p.m. and Niyorah Olivacce will start the show, taking the stage at 7 p.m. Olivacce, from St. Thomas, is sure to impress with his distinct brand of roots reggae which has lately been  garnering increased attention both locally and globally.

Luminaria bags, in memory of cancer patients and those who have lost the struggle, are for sale each weekend at The Marketplace for $5.

The Second Annual St. John Relay for Life is just around the corner — mark those calendars for February 11 at 4 p.m. — and the luminaria committee is hosting a special event this week.

The luminaria ceremony is always poignant part of each American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Luminaria bags are available for $5 each and are purchased with a particular person in mind.

“People buy the luminaria bags in honor of someone who is battling cancer or someone who has lost their struggle with cancer,” said Karen Radtke, St. John Relay for Life luminaria committee chair.

At 9 p.m. on February 11, those bags, bearing the names and pictures even of loved ones here and lost, will line the make-shift track in the center of Winston Wells ball field. The lights will go out, small candles in the luminaria bags will be lit and survivors alone will walk a lap.

To ensure that everyone is able to decorate their bag in honor of a loved one, Radtke is bringing arts and crafts materials with her on Saturday, January 28, to her luminaria sale table on the first floor of The Marketplace. Stop by Radtke’s table outside of Starfish Market between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and buy a luminaria bag, $5 each, and decorate it for someone special.

“People can bring photos of loved ones or any kind of tokens or anything to make their luminaria bag special,” said Radtke. “We’ll have glitter and pens and markers and all sorts of stuff for people to decorate with.”

Several local artists will also be on hand to offer decorating advice and pointers, Radtke added.

Anyone who misses the craft table, can still purchase luminaria bags. Radtke will be at The Marketplace selling the bags each Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to noon, and each Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. until February 11.

And be sure to get those teams signed up and funds raised in time for the 18-hour event. The Second Annual St. John Relay for Life will start at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 11, and wrap up after 18 hours of entertainment and music at 10 a.m. on February 12.

For more information call Radtke at 779-4419.

Donna Drake, above, teaches GBS fourth graders some dance moves while Michael Shawn Lewis, below, rehearses song lyrics with the students.

“Why are there so many songs about rainbows,” sang the fourth grade class at Guy Benjamin School on Tuesday morning, January 17.

With two weeks of intense training to go before the big premier show, five Broadway actors, singers and dancers were busy bringing out the best voices and dance moves from GBS fourth grade students last week.

“One more time with the music,” called out Michael Shawn Lewis, who was leading the vocal lesson at GBS.

Lewis, along with John Tartaglia, Laura Barnao, Donna Drake and Rhonda Miller arrived on St. John the first week of January with the original musical production “World of Dreams” in hand.

The five thespians — each of whom has impressive acting, dancing, singing and choreography credits to their name — are working with fourth graders at all three island schools for a total of three weeks. Then it’s show time!

The students, along with St. John School of the Arts students, will perform “World of Dreams” on Friday, January 27, at the Westin Resort and Villas ballroom.

The production is a fundraiser for St. John School of the Arts, which provides essential arts education to children across the island. The sale of $200 angel tickets for the 6 p.m. show — which includes a champagne reception and dinner at one of the island’s best restaurants — and $100 raffle tickets — for a three-night trip to New York City with theater tickets, dinners, airfare and hotel stay included — will help SJSA continue to provide classes in a wide range of disciplines for students across Love City.

The Second Annual St. John Relay for Life is just around the corner and music committee chairperson Phillip “Grasshopper” Pickering has a full slate of talented bands and singers lined up to entertain the crowd all night long.

The fundraiser for the local chapter of the American Cancer Society kicks off at 4 p.m. on Saturday, February 11, at the Winston Wells ball field. Teams will set up their tents and get ready to have one teammate walking the make-shift track on the field all night long.

The event is designed to remind the community that “Cancer Never Sleeps” as teammates continually walk the track until the closing ceremony at 10 a.m. on Sunday, February 12. The local Relay planning committee has been hard at work for months making sure walkers are entertained with plenty of music, singing, dancing and even some acrobatic stunts.

Evanna Chinnery and Carl Powell are slated to get the event off on the right foot singing and playing a rendition of “Because We Believe” as the children of St. John show off their dance moves with Liz Putnam.

Survivors will take to the track for the first lap of the event and will then be joined by family members and friends. The Ah We Band is sure to get those Relay walkers moving and shaking with their up-tempo set, slated to take teams through sunset to around 6 p.m.

The Love City Pan Dragons will take over entertainment duties as cancer survivors and caregivers enjoy the special survivor’s dinner.

The new St. John girl band Island Girl Swagg will show off their skills until around 7:30 p.m. when Koko and the Sunshine Band are set to take the crowd back with some old-school scratch music.

Around 9 p.m. the lights in the field will dim as officials get ready for the emotional luminaria ceremony. Luminaria bags, each in memory of someone who has lost their battle or continues their struggle with cancer, line the inside of the track as a constant reminder of the event’s importance.

Reef Bay ranger-led hike vouchers are available at the Friends of the VINP Store.

Friends of Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands National Park announced last week a change in reservation policy for the National Park Service ranger-led hike to Reef Bay, the premier hiking opportunity in VINP.

Reservations and purchase of transportation vouchers for the Reef Bay Hike, led by VINP rangers, will now be done through the Friends of the Park Store on the first level of Mongoose Junction.

Vouchers for transportation will need to be purchased at the time of reservation for $30 per hiker.

The maximum number of hikers on any given trip will be 31. Friends will maintain a waiting list once hikes are filled to capacity and will notify those on the list as vacancies occur.

Vouchers for the Reef Bay Hike will be available on the day of the hike on a space available basis; but this is a very popular activity and advance reservations are highly recommended.

Enquiries about reservations for the hike at the VINP Visitor Center will be directed by counter staff to the Friends of the Park Store.
The schedule for trips will be as follows: January – March: four trips/week (Mon, Tue, Thu, & Fri); April – July: three trips/week (Mon, Tue, & Thu); August – October: two trips/week (Mon & Thu); November – December: three trips/week (Mon, Tue, & Thu)