Dec. 14, 2004 – Boats in the harbor will be dressed for the holidays Friday evening, decked out in twinkling lights and ornaments. A block inland, festivities of the Christmas kind will be in full swing as well, as steel pan drummers belt out songs of the season and mocko jumbies dance through the crowd.
It's time for the 13th annual Miracle on Main Street, a downtown celebration presented by the Destination Downtown Committee of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce.
"This year the committee is going to great extremes to insure a truly wonderful event to ring in the holiday season," said Joe Aubain, executive director of the St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce. "We anticipate that once again our streets and alleys will be filled with thousands of residents and visitors alike looking forward to an evening of shopping, dining and enjoying the holiday spirit," he said in a release.
Miracle on Main Street will kick off with a traditional arts, crafts and food fair in Emancipation Park beginning at 11 a.m. New this year to the Cultural Fair is a Sweet Bread and Tart Competition. Judges will sample these delicious goodies and award prizes for best taste and presentation.
Aubain says tourists and locals can expect to hear the sweet sounds of steel pan holiday music during the day, and, then, beginning at 6 p.m., bands, mocko jumbie troops, choirs and dance groups will be performing throughout downtown Charlotte Amalie.
And, for anyone with holiday shopping to do, most retail businesses, bars and restaurants in the district will be open for the evening.
Santa will also be presiding over the Miracle festivities, and can be visited in the Palm Passage parking lot between 6 and 7 p.m.
In 2000 the committee added the Parade of Lighted boats as part of Miracle on Main Street. Over 15 boats are scheduled to light up the harbor beginning at 7 p.m., trying to outdo each other in lighting, ornamentation and originality. The parade of lighted boats is sponsored by the V.I. Department of Tourism.
The men and women of the V.I. Police Department will be on hand to make sure traffic is running smoothly around the event. Dronningens Gade, also known as Main Street, will be closed to vehicles starting at 2 p.m., as will several side streets that intersect with Main Street, including Tolbod Gade, the street that runs along the western side of Emancipation Garden between the Waterfront and the Post Office; Nye Gade, from the Waterfront to Back Street; Raadets Gade, from Waterfront to Back Street; and Storetvaer Gade, from Waterfront to Back Street. Also, the parking area on the Waterfront side of Palm Passage will be closed to parking and vehicular traffic.
In a release, Sgt. Thomas Hannah, police spokesman, said, "Motorists are advised and encouraged to utilize the Vladimir A. Hill Sr. Highway and Veterans Drive to get to and from Charlotte Amalie" during these events.
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