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Gala Planned for National Park's Birthday

Sept. 25, 2006 — Although 50th anniversary celebrations have happened throughout the year, the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park plan two events for Dec. 1, the park's actual birthday.
"If it wasn't for the national park, St. John would look like a lot of other islands in the Caribbean that are overdeveloped," Development Director Karen Brady said Monday. Much of St. John remaining protected gives cause for celebration, she said, calling the anniversary a reminder that people need to preserve the park for future generations.
The Dec. 1 celebration will start with a barbecue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the park's ball field, located adjacent to the visitor's center in Cruz Bay. The free barbecue will include food, live music and a program celebrating the park's 50th anniversary.
The park will also dedicate a garden to be constructed next to the Visitor's Center and launch a new patrol boat, Brady said. They're naming the boat "In the Line of Duty" to honor rangers throughout the National Park Service who have died on the job.
The visitor's center will also premier a new movie that details the history of its founding. The park got its start through the efforts of Laurance Rockefeller and several others. They purchased land that they then donated to the federal government. On Dec. 1, 1956, Caneel Bay Resort, then known as Caneel Bay Plantation and owned by Rockefeller, opened its doors at the site of an old fishing camp.
Fifty years later, the Friends will hold a gala at Caneel Bay Resort's Turtle Bay Estate House beginning at 7 p.m. Dec. 1. Tickets run $150 each, and include dinner, dancing and a silent auction.
Call the Friends at 779-4940 or visit their website.
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