March 4, 2002 – If you see solar power in your future or are seriously curious about this alternative source of energy, a weeklong workshop on building solar-energy systems that's set for April 22-26 at Maho Bay Camps on St. John might be just what you need to convert concepts into reality.
"At least half of it will include hands-on building of a solar-power system," said Jared Hill, Maho Bay environmental resource manager.
The course costs $500 plus $75 for materials.
Maho Bay has joined forces with Solar Energy International, a Carbondale, Colorado, not-for-profit organization that conducts workshops throughout the world on the how-to aspects of alternative-energy systems.
SEI's Renewable Energy Education Program teaches the practical uses of solar, wind and water power. The workshops give individuals the knowledge and skills to design, install and maintain renewable-energy systems and to build state-of-the-art solar homes that are efficient, practical and earth-friendly. SEI uses a how-to/hands-on approach with commercial products and field installations.
Hill said participants will build a small system to be installed at Maho Bay.
SEI director Johnny Weiss said that Maho Bay is the ideal setting for such a workshop. "The folks there are not just talking about being green," he said. "They're actually doing it."
Since its opening 25 years ago, Maho Bay Camps has been an innovator and a pioneer among ecologically sensitive resorts. With the opening of Harmony Studios, located adjacent to the campground, Maho was the first resort to operate entirely "off the grid," meaning that it uses solar power to generate all of its electricity. Maho Bay's Concordia Eco-tents also operates off the grid, and all of the Maho Bay properties practice conservation and recycling.
For information about solar power and other forms of renewable energy, see the Solar Energy International web site. It has lots of links to additional information about alternative energy systems.
Maho Bay is offering workshop participants a 20 percent discount on lodging. To register, call Hill at 776-6226 or e-mail him at erm@maho.org. For reservations at Maho Bay, call 800-392-9004. For information about Maho Bay, visit www.maho.org. For local solar-energy information, call the V.I. Energy Office at 714-2815.

March 4, 2002 – If you see solar power in your future or are seriously curious about this alternative source of energy, a weeklong workshop on building solar-energy systems that's set for April 22-26 at Maho Bay Camps might be just what you need to convert concepts into reality.
"At least half of it will include hands-on building of a solar-power system," said Jared Hill, Maho Bay environmental resource manager.
The course costs $500 plus $75 for materials.
Maho Bay has joined forces with Solar Energy International, a Carbondale, Colorado, not-for-profit organization that conducts workshops throughout the world on the how-to aspects of alternative-energy systems.
SEI's Renewable Energy Education Program teaches the practical uses of solar, wind and water power. The workshops give individuals the knowledge and skills to design, install and maintain renewable-energy systems and to build state-of-the-art solar homes that are efficient, practical and earth-friendly. SEI uses a how-to/hands-on approach with commercial products and field installations.
Hill said participants will build a small system to be installed at Maho Bay.
SEI director Johnny Weiss said that Maho Bay is the ideal setting for such a workshop. "The folks there are not just talking about being green," he said. "They're actually doing it."
Since its opening 25 years ago, Maho Bay Camps has been an innovator and a pioneer among ecologically sensitive resorts. With the opening of Harmony Studios, located adjacent to the campground, Maho was the first resort to operate entirely "off the grid," meaning that it uses solar power to generate all of its electricity. Maho Bay's Concordia Eco-tents also operates off the grid, and all of the Maho Bay properties practice conservation and recycling.
For information about solar power and other forms of renewable energy, see the Solar Energy International web site. It has lots of links to additional information about alternative energy systems.
Maho Bay is offering workshop participants a 20 percent discount on lodging. To register, call Hill at 776-6226 or e-mail him at erm@maho.org. For reservations at Maho Bay, call 800-392-9004. For information about Maho Bay, visit www.maho.org. For local solar-energy information, call the V.I. Energy Office at 714-2815.

The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island Branch of the V.I. Republican Party will hold a Food Sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, in the Fort Christian Parking Lot.
The general public is invited to partake of the native foods and drinks on sale plus learn what's happening in politics.

The St. Thomas-St. John-Water Island Branch of the Republican Party will hold a Food Sale in the Fort Christian Parking Lot.
There will be lots of native foods and drinks on sale. The general public is invited to come out and learn what's happening in politics.

Activities will be held at the Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School starting Thursday, March 7, to commemorate Black History Month.
March 7 – 9 a.m. – Black history Variety Show in the school auditorium.
March 7 & 8 – 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Exhibit of Cultural Wares by Mrs Maria Lewis in the school library.
March 7 through April 18 – 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., exhibit: 50 Years Gone By, a pictorial exhibit borrowed from the Virgin Islands Humanities Council on display in the school library.

The VI Ancestral Discovery Group and the Frederiksted Family History Workshop sponsored by the St. Croix Landmarks Society will meet at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, at the Whim Museum. Learn about the St. Croix African Roots Database Project planned for November.
for more information call Carol or Barbara at 772-0598.

The VI Ancestral Discovery Group and the Frederiksted Family History Workshop, planned by the St. Croix Landmarks Society Library & Archives, will be held at the Whim Museum.
For more information call Carol or Barbara at 772-0598.

March 4, 2002 – New York blues, improv, roots and rock are shakin' St. Croix this week, as the trio Gent Treadly makes the rounds of various venues.
The band, formed in 1994, consists of leader Greg Koerner on bass, Tom Kaelin on drums and Mike Jaimes on guitar. "Roots-based rock 'n' roll" is what it's all about.
Koerner is a veteran of New York bands Uncle Buzz, The Joneses, Crimson Rose and the Dark Star Orchestra. Kaelin formerly played with Gravity, Dreamspeak and The Hatters. Jaimes has been a mainstay of the New York scene for more than a decade as a founding member of Native and more recently as a sideman for Craig Dreyer and Fiends.
"This is not Gent Treadly's first trip to St. Croix," Koerner says. Aided by Crucian friends and fellow New York transplants Dean Fennessey and Karl Wiklund, he says, the trio visited two years ago and enjoyed themselves so much they decided they had to do it again. Most of their bookings this time are return engagements from that tour.
Now, if this sounds like the kind of sounds you like, the bad news is you've already missed their first appearances at Club 54 (Friday), the Divi Carina Bay Casino (Saturday) and the Lost Dog Saloon (Sunday). The good news is they've got additional gigs at all those night spots and more still to come this week. Here's the remainder of the schedule:
Monday – Divi Carina Bay Casino
Tuesday – Cane Bay Beach Club, 7:30-11:30 p.m.
Wednesday – Club 54
Friday – early show at the Christiansted Brew Pub, late show at Divi Carina Bay Casino
Saturday – Club 54
Sunday – early show Changes in Latitude; late show the Lost Dog Saloon.
"Gent Treadly is truly a unique act, and the players are the real deal," their publicity states. "Together, they've evolved into one of the most heralded units in Manhattan, offering a precocious blend of bluesy improvisational roots rock." Among those who've sat in with them over the years are members of The Grateful Dead, Phish, Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, Merl Saunders, The Band, Jorma Kaukonen, The Neville Brothers, Leftover Salmon and Milo Z.
The band is "truly a collaborative effort," Koerner says, promising that the "incendiary improvisational skills of each musician, an extensive and eclectic cover repertoire and creative original songs are sure to light up Cruzan nightlife."

March 4, 2002 – Recent paintings by St. Thomas watercolorist Corinne Van Rensselaer and new prints of her work will be showcased in the March art exhibition at Alexander's Cafe, which opens Friday with a meet-the-artist champagne reception from 5 to 7 p.m.
Van Rensselaer is known for her island images, especially hibiscus blooms and, more recently, harlequin-influenced marine abstracts. She is a self-taught watercolorist whose palette ranges from strong, vibrant tones to soft, pastel hues. "In all of my work, whether abstract or representational," she says, her objective is to convey "a feeling of joy, lightness and tranquility."
"Joy," in fact, has been a key word in her professional development. She titled her first solo show in the territory, at the Reichhold Center for the Arts in 1990, "The Color of Joy," and the name stuck. It's what she called her first studio/gallery/gift shop, in Tillett Gardens, and the name of the gallery/boutique/frame shop in American Yacht Harbor that she has owned and operated since 1996. And you'll find her web site on the Internet at thecolorofjoy.com.
She also owned and operated the Van Rensselaer Gallery in Havensight in the mid-'90s. Her prints are sold in gift shops throughout the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
Born and reared in England, Van Rensselaer studied at London's Bartlett School of Architecture. "However, the lure of the sea proved too strong," she says, and in 1978 she stowed her drawing board to take up the sailing life, first in the Mediterranean, then in the Caribbean. She put down roots in the Virgin Islands in 1982, running a charter yacht. She and her husband, Rik Van Rensselaer, lived aboard their sailboat, Flute, until 1996, when they moved ashore on St. Thomas with their two children.
She has had several solo shows and exhibited in Virgin Islands Art Expo and numerous Arts Alive fairs, taking the Best in Fine Art award in 1995. She is the only artist to have participated in all 13 of the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council's annual Caribbean Colour shows, winning a second-place award in 1996. A former Arts Council board member and an active member and former president of Rotary East, she is the founder of the weekly "Friday Night Alternative" gatherings on the American Yacht Harbor deck outside The Color of Joy.
Friday's reception at Alexander's Cafe, which is open to the public, will include complementary finger food, a champagne pour and a door prize gift from the artist. All of works in the show are available for purchase. It will hang in the Frenchtown restaurant through April 11. For more information, call 513-3925.

Applications are now available for Cultural King and Queen of the Band.
The deadline to submit applications is March 16.
On March 18 at 5:30 p.m. there will be a meeting at the GERS building for all applicants.