Dec. 30, 2006 — The resurrection of the traditional Ole Year's Night celebration has been highly anticipated, and after a short stall in its 10-year-plus run, Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights will return to Villa Morales to ring in the new year.
"The Ole Year's Night dance has been a mainstay in Crucian Culture as 'the' celebration to bid adieu to the old year, and to officially welcome in the new," said event coordinator Bridget Dawson.
The band, led by Stanley Jacobs, has been playing traditional quelbe music since the 1970s and has been performing its annual New Year's dance for years. Last year due to complications with Villa Morales' ability to host the dance, the Knights did not ring in 2006. According to Dawson, the band received "a lot of complaints and requests to do it again."
Jacobs said a call from Channel 12-TV Director Osbert Potter encouraged the band to have the dance again this year. "He wanted to record the dance," Jacobs said. Accompanied by the Image and Heart Attack bands, Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights will ring in the New Year with lively music and culture. "Expect the best Ole Year's Night party in the V.I. as it has always been," Jacobs said.
This year's celebration is being dubbed "Party with a Purpose," as the band is now ringing in the New Year to raise money for worthy causes. The celebration hopes to raise money for scholarships to help prospective fine arts majors realize their dreams, as well as creating a fund to aid the island's mentally ill indigent population, Dawson said.
During the year, Jacobs and company makes it their mission to keep the traditional sounds of the Virgin Islands alive, reportedly playing free of charge for children and seniors on the island on more than 100 occasions. Jacobs said playing quelbe music is essential, especially now. "Quelbe is one of the features of our identity," Jacobs said. "Heaven knows we need our identity."
The group has been teaching music students at St. Croix Educational Complex how to play its brand of music. "They already knew how to play," Jacobs said. "We just taught them how we play."
Stanley and the group have also helped create a quelbe band and quadrille dance group at the school. "Their intent is to keep the art form alive and progressing with the younger generation," Dawson said. Principal Kurt Vialet offered to pay the band for its time and efforts, but according to Dawson, the band refused and instead donated $1,000 to the school to continue the program.
Recently the band resurrected another tradition: serenading residents in the "'foreday" mornings before Christmas. The traditional serenade was stalled 14 years ago because of complaints from some residents. This year the band, with the help of the V.I. Police Department, once again serenaded Crucian residents in the wee hours of the morning, reminding them that Christmas was coming and it was time to be merry.
The band is widely respected, and Jacobs said that through a cultural exchange program with Denmark, the band will be traveling to the country at the end of June to share Crucian culture with those who have influenced its shaping. "Denmark has been a big influence in the V.I., and some of our music has Danish roots; and we want to keep our connection positive," Jacobs said. "We have a lot of friends there."
Stanley and the band will be ringing in 2007 on Sunday at Villa Morales on the St. Croix's West End. Tickets for the performance can be purchased at Pier 69, Alliance Clothing and from the band members. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door. For more information, contact Stanley Jacobs at 773-2378.
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