The 30th anniversary of a St. Thomas holiday shopping tradition unfolded in a flurry of action Friday on Main Street. Miracle on Main Street has become an anticipated evening of fun, music, and neighborly get-togethers with gift shopping sprinkled in between.
Hundreds of residents and visitors would soon fill retail storefronts, bars and restaurants. By mid-afternoon, Main Street was alive with movement. Passers-by could hear the sound checks taking place at the bandstand in Emancipation Garden. Volunteers in Santa hats dragged decorated canopies into place along the roadside. Store clerks decked in Christmas sweaters strolled towards their stations.
A side-paneled truck rolled up to Alvaro de Lugo Post Office Square, laden with covered steel pans. Outside, a 14-foot decorated tree stood tall in the post office yard.
The office of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce served as action central. Organizer Leslie Fisher sat at a long table watching her cell phone ringing. She told the vendors to call her starting at 1 p.m. but decided to wait before answering.
She passed the phone to an assistant, telling her to let the caller know she would be available in 10 minutes.
“It is the 30th anniversary … I think I came in in 1996,” Fisher said. “The stores that decide to remain open are very busy.”
Participating stores had decorated doors with ribbons, wreaths and bows. At the Belgian Chocolate Factory, Sonia Israni passed a frosted brownie over the counter. The shop was already busy filling two giant orders for hand-dipped bon bons called in by customers. And if the night was as busy as Miracles of years past, there would be foot traffic in and out all night.
“That’s why I told everybody to hurry up and finish, so we can get ready,” she said. Former Chamber Director Joseph Aubain nodded when asked if one Miracle on Main Street night brought in as much cash as a five-ship port call in tourist high season.
At other shops, like Lucky Jewelers, glass counters gleamed and merchandise sparkled. Owner Pash Daswani sat relaxed, reflecting on holiday shopping nights like this.
“It’s more a community party; it’s more to bring the people together … It’s not really business; at the end of the day it’s not really money. I don’t think it brings as much money as people think it does — especially for jewelers — but for the perfume stores, for the gift shops, yes, I think it’s a huge plus.” Daswani said.
For him, Miracle on Main Street was a night to say hello to friends, greet clients and offer them a drink and say ‘Happy Holidays.’
And this year, it was also a chance to make space for the “Made in the V.I.” holiday pop-up store. Now in its sixth year, the showcase for local artists and cultural crafts workers had made its way from the corner of Store Tvaer Gade near Baa Library to a shop near Fort Christian.
And now, under the guidance of Nadine Marchena-Kean, “Made in the V.I.” was on display in glass cases, along the walls, and perched on countertops. “It’s an exciting time for us. We are larger than we’ve ever been. In fact, we thought we would have to cut off half the store and use that for storage, but we realized that we had so many vendors we had to stretch back — way back — into the store.”
Aubain thanked the Virgin Islands Police Department, Public Works, the Water and Power Authority and the many volunteers who worked until the last minute to make sure Main Street was at its pre-holiday best in time for the Friday night fete.
