The parking lot next to the Cruz Bay Tennis Court made a spacious setting for the fifth annual Love City Seafood Festival. By mid-day Saturday the scene was filled with tempting sights, sounds — and smells.
Freshly seasoned fish sizzle in a pan wielded by Maxine Richardson while an early afternoon lunch crowd perused the canopied stands.
Kallaloo soup proved an instant hit with tourists Bill and Sandy from Scituate, Mass. Bill — who didn’t give his last name — was asked if his love of seafood came from living near the North Atlantic.
“I’m on the coast; I look right out of my bedroom and there’s the ocean,” he said before diving back into the soup.
Over at the Sidewalk Grill Express’ Philuencia Boney fried up a specialty — shrimp and octopus kabobs. A few steps away Alysha Fleming ladled up a steaming bowl of chowder. Coworker Smiley Thomas listed the ingredients: lobster, crab, shrimp, mussels and squid.
Festivals like this are a good thing for the Little Olive food truck stationed at the tennis court parking lot daily. Val Parakis posted a sign asking visitors to ask for the weekend seafood specials.
By Saturday afternoon it was clear the Seafood Festival was the place to see and be seen on St. John. Gov. Albert Bryan, Jr. casually popped in for a moment, and Calypso Monarch Lucas Evans showed up with his own seafood crew — IlxndLyfe Finesse.
“I manage this,” he said, also mentioning his upcoming bid to retain his crown under his stage name — John Gotti
Live entertainment dropped on the first beat with help from DJ Lady Mix. Yisrael Petersen laced up his moko stilts for a romp around the grounds, and a pan-around-the neck troupe pounded tunes all the way from the ferry dock to the festival site.
The 5th Annual Love City Seafood Festival continues on Sunday.
