Author: Jenn Manes

If you are lucky enough to be on St. John over the next week, you are in for a treat because there are several great events happening!

Happening Now 

The carnival is still open daily from 5 p.m. or so until it closes, which is well after dark. Rides are $5 each, and it’s a lot of fun. The carnival will be open through July 5th. Click here to learn more about the first carnival St. John has had in more than 10 years! 

Opening Thursday

The St. John Celebration Village (simply called the Village around town) will open on Thursday, June 29th and will stay open through July 4th. The Village features a variety of local food and drink vendors, as well as live music every night. It opens at 6:30 p.m. and closes well after midnight.

Saturday, July 1st 

J’ouvert is happening a couple of days early this year. J’ouvert is an event that celebrates the first sunrise of freedom, so the event will kick off right around sunrise which is currently at 5:45 a.m. Slaves were emancipated on July 3, 1848, so the Fourth of July celebration on St. John is to celebrate their freedom.

Monday, July 3rd

There will be a cultural display at the park across from the ferry dock starting at 10 a.m. The 175th anniversary of emancipation will be celebrated with a program in the park at 1 p.m. The day will culminate with a torch light parade that begins at 7 p.m. at the entrance of the Village.

Tuesday, July 4th

The celebration parade will begin around 11 a.m. It starts in front of Mongoose Junction and takes a right at the Post Office. The parade will continue toward the ferry dock and will then take a left up the one-way and past Connections. It will continue up the street past Woody’s and Quiet Mon and will end somewhere around the roundabout.

Expect road closures throughout the latter part of the morning and into the afternoon. The road along the entire parade route will be closed for several hours, therefore you will have to take Centerline Road to get to the North Shore beaches. You will be unable to drive to the ferry dock during this time.

The fireworks are scheduled for 9 p.m. and will take place in Cruz Bay.

There are two more great events happening later next month. Stay tuned!

Looking to take a St. John island tour?

Get to know St. John. Visit beautiful beaches & centuries-old plantations. Perhaps stop at a tiki bar or two. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. 2023 & 2022 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Winner. Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour  

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Hello everyone, and happy Thursday! The tropics have been busy this week, and there are currently two storms in our area – Tropical Storm Bret and Tropical Depression Four. The good news is that Tropical Storm Bret is forecasted to pass to our south, and Tropical Depression Four is forecasted to pass to our north. Some rain would be great, but I can confidently say that none of us want high winds around here.

The ocean temps where these storms typically form are higher than normal, which means we will likely see more storms form earlier this hurricane season. (Hurricane sesson is June 1 through November 30.) Today I wanted to share some of my favorite weather apps with all of you, so you can keep your eye on our weather. You can even use these apps where you live.

Living Earth

This is a great app that shows a live, 3D simulation of weather around the world. It costs $4.99, but I think it’s well worth the price. You can pan to any spot in the world to see the current weather. It’s pretty cool. I use this to keep an eye on the west coast of Africa, which is where our storms typically form. I can then keep an eye on these storms to see if they grow as they near the US Virgin Islands.

Wunderground

I think that Wunderground is the best app and/or website to use to check out St. John’s weather. It seems to be the most accurate, in my opinion. You can look at real-time satelites, including rain, clouds, etc.

Windy

Windy is pretty straightforward. It’s an app and website that shows you the world’s current winds. You can also scroll ahead to see the wind forecast for up to five days wirth the free version, and up to nine days with the premium (paid version). It tells you what the wind direction is too, which is helpful when you are choosing which beach to visit here on St. John.

National Hurricane Center

And lastly, the National Hurricane Center is the best website to check out when we do have named systems. I’m sure you’re all familiar with this one.

So again, it does not look like Tropical Storm Bret or Tropical Depression Four will impact St. John. But it’s always good to have some tools when it looks like the weather will affect St. John.

That’s all I have for you today, folks. Have a great one!

This is really big news… The carnival is here! We have not had a single carnival ride on St. John in more than 10 years, so this is a really big deal for us. I spent way too much time and money over there on Sunday afternoon, but seeing the smiles on Dalton and his friends’ faces was worth every penny.

The carnival is located in the gravel lot near the car barge area. (Click here to find its location on Explore STJ’s Logistics Map.) It will be open from 5 p.m. until midnight every night through July 5th. Tickets are $5, and each ride takes one ticket. The price is the same for children and adults. There will not be a bracelet night, according to the carnival operator. The carnival is cash only.

(Monday evening edit: They opened late on Monday. So let’s say they will open at 5-ish every night.)

The carnival features a ferris wheel, an umbrella ride that goes rather high (I did it once, and that was enough for me!), a Himalayan-style music ride, teacups, motorcycles, and a Frozen-themed bounce house. One really cool thing is that the ride times were pretty long, so I felt we got our money’s worth every time.

There is also a spot where you can get all of the yummy carnival foods like cotton candy, candy apples, popcorn, soft-served ice cream, and more. This is also cash only. There is even a table where you can buy bubble guns, silly string, glow-in-the-dark toys, and other fun things.

Seriously, this was so much fun. Whether you’re here on vacation or live here, grab the kids (and a lot of cash) and go have some fun! And lastly, I’d like to give a huge THANK YOU to I Land Rides of St. Croix for bringing the carnival to us!

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Take an Island Tour!

Want to see St. John? Consider taking an island tour with Explore STJ. We are rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor. Full & half days are available. Check out www.ExploreSTJ.com/tour to learn more.

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