Screen scenes: The Reichhold Center's first International Film and Video Festival, which opens Sunday evening and runs nightly through Saturday, Feb. 12, has attracted what appears to be an impressive array of entries — films and videos in feature, documentary and short-subject formats. Many have won awards at other — bigger, well-known — film festivals, and several have been shown at Sundance and Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame competitions. A search by titles finds reviews of a number of them on the Internet, often with kind words from critics.
Four of the films were directed and/or produced by native Virgin Islanders — Flicks Productions owner Eric Zucker, who still calls St. Thomas home; New York independent producer Lilibet Foster, who has two entries and whose parents are John and Claire; and Edward LaBorde Jr., who lives in Oakland, Calif.
For a comprehensive preview of the films and videos and the festival itself, see the separate story in this "Things to do" section of the Source.
Crystal clear: Stained-glass art goes way beyond "sun catchers" and church windows, as the current show at Mango Tango Gallery clearly shows. It features the intricate and exquisite creations of "Shomo," which is actually two persons, partners in life and art H.R. and Lenyse Shomo.
Essentially, they are showing two types of artwork: relatively large rectangular window or wall hangings, and small decorative boxes, hand mirrors and other accessories incorporating shells as well as glasswork. Some derive their expressiveness from shapes, textures, and variations in reflected or refracted light. Others represent a type of portraiture achieved by combining different shades and thicknesses of cut glass.
"Dread and Son" is one of the latter, the sole portrait in the show that is distinctly Caribbean in imagery. Other hanging pieces with island themes depict a colorful frog, a cresting ocean wave, parrots and marine life. H.R. Shomo, who prefers to be called just Shomo, explains that his wife created most of the pieces in the show, "because I'm still putting in a lot of time rebuilding the house from Hurricane Marilyn, if you can believe that."
Believe it, because he was a woodworking craftsman before he became a self-taught stained-glass artist. But their home and studio in Estate Mafolie are nearly restored, and he looks forward to getting back to his art. "I want to do more pieces that are St. Thomas specific," he says.
With natural or artificial illumination, the colors of the hanging works literally glow. But the show also includes several dramatic "uncolor" hanging pieces. A beveled abstract with Victorian intimations, a nude in a strongly Art Deco design, and an undersea image of fish and corals are all done in textures of clear glass or in blacks and whites. Colorless chip glass, bevel glass and sparkle glass combine to form shimmering scenes that take on different looks depending on the source, intensity and direction of light.
The hanging pieces are priced in four figures. Romantic one-of-a-kind boxes and shell hand mirrors range from $120 to about $425. A series of individual stained-glass fish for wall hanging, each about a foot wide, run $190 and $200.
The Shomos' work shares the current Mango Tango show with nine "junkyard steel" sculptures by mainland artist I. Joel Amstell — who didn't come down, himself, for the opening reception last Sunday. A couple of his welded works are painted or enameled, others have been left raw to rust in the open air, and one incorporates burnished stainless steel shapes. The smallest, an "Akuba doll" figure, is $350; the larger pieces are in four — and in one case, five — figures.
The exhibition will hang through Feb. 24. Next up will be a solo show by St .Thomas painter Jens-Peter Kemmler.
Mangrove moves: Mangrove lagoon-area restaurants on St. Thomas's East End have gotten together with local businessman Jimmy Loveland to develop a unique marketing tool: a mini-ferry that cruises from one spot to the next in half-hour circuits that allow customers to pub crawl on their own schedule between 6 p.m. and midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
The six stops allow access to Raffles and Hemingway's in Compass Point, Bottoms Up at Independent Boat Yard, Ernie's at LaVida Marina, Schnitzel Haus at Trawlers in Paradise, Sato's Japanese food and sushi bar aboard the old Puzzles riverboat at Saga Haven Marina, and Sea Side Inn and The Patch at Humphrey's Marina. Customers can board initially at any stop, but the only one offering free parking is Compass Point. The $5 "ride all night" fee even includes two rum drinks.
The yellow Merry Ferry, as they've dubbed it, is known as Launch Time during the rest of the week, when it provides service between Crown Bay Marina and Water Island.
The lagoon shuttle has inspired some of the venues to offer live music. Starting this Friday, Raffles will have weekly live jazz and blues with Bill Johnson on clarinet and saxophone; it also has guitar and vocal music on Saturdays. At Ernie's you'll encounter Nicky "Mighty Whitey" Russell on Fridays and the Pop Tarts on Saturdays. Some customers come out just for the fun of making the rounds: "We're finding groups of diners doing progressive dinners," Loveland says.
As the four-week trial period comes to an end, the project's success virtually guarantees that the service will continue, Loveland says. And starting this weekend, there's even Saturday- only "connecting service" from and back to the Crown Bay and Yacht Haven marinas.
The connection is via land transportation — a safari bus that will depart Crown Bay at 6:30 p.m., make a pick-up at Yacht Haven at 6:45, drop everybody off at Compass Point and come back to pick them up at midnight. The round-trip fare is $8, separate from the $5 ferry fee. "It's aimed at boaters, but locals can park at either marina and ride, too," Loveland says. "For $8 you get a designated driver for the evening."
For those who aren't ready to call it a night at midnight, the safari driver will make a side trip to Duffy's Love Shack in Red Hook for a drop-off. "But from there, you're on your own getting home," Loveland adds. To learn more, call 775-9500.
In the name of love:Just a little over a week away is Valentine's Day weekend — Feb. 14 falling on a Monday this year. If you're planning to give your love a red rose bouquet, or even one perfect long-stemmed bud, order ahead.
A number of night spots will be offering lover-ly enticements. The two major productions announced are fund raisers for community service agencies, both on Saturday, Feb. 12 — the Humane Society of St. Thomas's venerable "doggie ball" at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort and Family Resource Center's first-ever "It's All About Love" dinner dance at the Ritz- Carlton.
The Humane Society event, dubbed the Millennium Ball this year, will have music by the Starlites, a sit-down dinner, silent auction, balloon-pop raffle, ticketed raffle (top prizes include a cruise and $2,500 cash), and door prizes. Tickets are $100 per person, and they won't be sold at the door. Outlets are Home Again, Imperial Animal Hospital, Jan-Michael's Hair Studio, The Leather Shop, Soft Touch Boutique, Dr. Andrew Williamson's Animal Hospital and the Humane Society shelter. Or you can call the shelter at 775-0599 or ball committee chair Dellia Holodenschi at 777-9988. To donate raffle prizes, call the same numbers. Raffle tickets are also being sold at the shelter — $5 each or a book of 11 for $50.
The Family Resource Center function will feature music by the Sea Breeze band, a seated dinner and a raffle. Hours are 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. and dress is semi-formal. Tickets are $85 per couple and $50 per individual; they're being sold at Sweets 'n'
Eats, Draughting Shaft/Havensight, Blazing Photos/Nisky Center and the FRC offices. For more information, call board president Sheena Conway at 775-2515 (home) or 777-5737 (work) or the center office at 776-3966.
Both agencies provide critical "public services" in the community, but both in recent years have been getting less and less government funding for doing so, even though the demand for those services has grown. Human Services Department funding to Family Resource Center has repeatedly been cut; the Humane Society is owed $75,000 for picking up stray animals on contract a year ago.
Ya gotta have heart in some art: On Sunday, Feb. 13, Bajo el Sol Gallery in Mongoose Junction and the St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council will host a reception opening a "Hearts & Flowers Valentine Art Exhibition." Hours are 4 to 7 p.m. There'll be complimentary hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar, and attendees will get to cast their ballots for a people's choice judging of the entries. The show will hang through March 4.
Virgin Islands artists are invited to submit one two-dimensional and/or one three- dimensional work, but entries must reflect the "hearts and flowers" theme. There's an entry fee of $10 per piece, with revenues to be returned as prize money. Artwork, entry forms and fees must be delivered to the gallery on Friday, Feb. 11, or Saturday, Feb. 12, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Entry forms are available at the gallery. If you'd like one faxed or want to know more, call 693- 7070 or 693-7765.
Poet, you know it: This month's Poetry & Conversation gathering takes place on Friday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. at L'Hotel Boynes on Blackbeard's Hill. This being Black History Month and that being Valentine's Day weekend, those planning to attend can anticipate an emphasis on selections appropriate to the two themes.
A new, mostly poetry, book by a local author is coming off the presses this weekend and could provide fodder for would-be readers in the romantic mode. Titled "I've Lived on a Lovely Island," it's a collection of poems and essays written over the course of half a century by now- retired attorney Clarice "Mickey" Bryan. Produced by Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands to be sold as a fund raiser, the 64-page tome probably won't be available in bookstores.
Poetry & Conversation readings, sponsored by the University of the Virgin Islands Humanities Division, are held on the second Friday of each month. Because there's such a demand to take part, those wishing to read — their own works or others' — are asked to sign up in advance. To do so, call Mary Alexander at 693-1340.
Tree talk: Posters on utility poles and elsewhere around St. Thomas are telling us. . .
– On Sunday, Feb. 20, at Local Bodyz on the St. Thomas waterfront (the former Images nightclub location), Fifth Element Promotions will present a duel of deejays featuring World Clash competitors Poison Dart out of Tampa, Fla. (with Notorious Kirky-C., Redman, Bobby and Dups), and Jamaica's Kilamanjaro (with Ricky Trooper and Keith Hype). Show time is 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Outlets are Essence of Beauty, R & J Pet Supply and 3 G's Jewelry and Repair. To learn more, call 775-9406.
– Starting Feb. 8 and 9, there will be a weekly Rhythm & Blues Harbor Cruise aboard the Kon Tiki each Tuesday and Wednesday featuring the music of the Rob Paper Band. That's Paper on guitar and vocals, Amin Gumbs on drums and Morgan Rails on guitar. According to Paper associate Maria Hileman, the party raft will board on the St. Thomas waterfront across from the Hard Rock Cafe both nights, departing at 7 p.m. and returning at 10. The Tuesday cruise is $30 and includes unlimited rum punch and beer; Wednesday's outing includes dinner aboard with unlimited champagne, wine and beer and is priced at $50.
Hileman says there's an added perk — anyone with a Tuesday ticket (before the cruise) or ticket stub (after) can enjoy 2-for-1 dinner specials at Hard Rock. And those on the dinner cruises can enjoy karaoke with 2-for-1 specials at the restaurant afterward. Reservations are requested, with 771-2557 the number to call; tickets may be purchased in advance at the Hard Rock.
– On Sunday, Feb. 20, there'll be a "Moonlight Jazz Soiree" at Villa Blanca with music by vocalist Cynthia "Jus Cynthia" Saunders and the Louis Taylor Trio with Joe Ramsay and Friends. The hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $30, with proceeds to go toward the production of Saunders' first CD album. For ticket outlets and other information, call 777-5556 and leave a message for a call-back.
Canvases of contemporary Cuba: Tillett Gallery is about to hold the first showing of art from Cuba on St. Thomas in four decades. The claim can't be for the whole territory only because a similar show was mounted on St. Croix last year at the Whim Museum. Latin American art dealer and part-time St. Croix resident Gloria Frank, who arranged that exhibition, also acquired the art for this one — and will put together another St. Croix show later this spring.
The Tillett Gallery's month-long exhibition of 41 paintings by seven artists working in Cuba today is being presented as an Arts Alive event. The works will go on exhibit with a preview the evening of Friday, Feb. 18, when the Charlie Musselwhite Blues Band will be performing in Tillett Gardens. There'll be public receptions on Saturday, Feb. 19, from 5 to 8 p.m., and on Sunday, Feb. 20, from 4 to 7 p.m. The St. Thomas-St. John Arts Council is co-hosting the Sunday event as an "Arts Not Quite After Dark" offering that will also include an informal lecture by Frank at 3 p.m. about the artists and their work.
The largest painting, in a naif style, is the only one by Salvador Vasquez. Pelly Blanco Aroche is also represented by just one piece, a small representational work. There are three by Pablo Hernandez, who signs his work "Pablo H." His stylized imagery employs rather endearing round-headed figures in curious costumes and symbolic settings with suggestive titles to the works. All three are from a series he calls La era de la ira del tiempo (literally, "the era of the anger of our time").
Jose Fuster, who recently had a show in Chile, is represented by eight pieces that suggest the influence of Picasso. The three colorful works by Santiago Diaz Lopez have the almost paisley appearance of African-print fabric. Jorge Sanfiel, also represented by eight works, grafts urban architectural strings onto natural extensions such as tree branches and octopus tentacles, often in somber monotones. Most of Jose Montebravo's 17 paintings are small works depicting priestess figures of santeria, the religious practice blending African tribal beliefs and Roman Catholicism — a variation on Brazil's umbanda, macumba and candomble — and our own obeah.
The artists are from throughout Cuba — Cienfuegos, San Cristobal and Santa Clara as well as Havana. All but Pelly — the only one Frank didn't meet — are members of an artists' group led by Pablo H. Under license from the U.S. Treasury Department to make a buying trip to Cuba and import the artwork to the United States, Frank bought the works directly from the artists. Still, she said, "the state gets 70 percent, the artist gets 30 percent."
Preliminary steps toward STARdom: STARfest6, the Reichhold Center's sixth annual V.I. talent revue, isn't until Mother's Day weekend, May 13-15. But for anyone interested in taking part as a performer, two critical deadlines loom. Auditions will be held on Sunday, Feb. 27. But in order to audition, you have to submit an audition entry form, which must be turned in by Friday, Feb. 18.
Musicians, singers, dancers, comedians and other performing artists willing to commit to rehearsal and performance schedules are encouraged to try out. There are entry forms at B
lockbuster Video, Krystal & Gifts Galore, Marina Market, both Modern Music stores, Parrot Fish Records, and the UVI bookstore and Student Affairs Office on St. Thomas; and at Connections on St. John. To learn more, call 693-1550.
To be seen by the herd: Scene & Herd appears weekly in the Source, previewing arts and entertainment events, reviewing art shows and reporting behind-the-scenes happenings on St. Thomas and St. John. To have material considered, submit it in writing by the Monday preceding desired posting date. Fax to 776-4812 or e-mail to jetsinger@viaccess.net.
