Close to 400 costumed and bejeweled revelers danced the night away Saturday at Mardi Gras, Virgin Islands style at the Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort. The first-time event was staged by the All Saints School Capital Development Committee.
Party-goers were able to return again and again to a sumptuous grand buffet of more than 20 offerings ranging from creole duck, to mounds of chilled plump oysters on the half shell with exceptionally hot, hot sauce on the side, and whole crayfish, dirty rice, voodoo jambalaya, pecan crusted roasted leg of lamb and much more. Music was provided by P'Your Passion and kept the people jumping.
Upon arrival, each guest was given traditional feathered Mardi Gras masks and was adorned with strands of beads. The decorations, designed by Judith Watson and Maribel Okiye, parents of All Saints School children, transformed the room into a New Orleans street scene. Everywhere was a mass of the traditional Mardi Gras colors of green, purple and gold.
More than 100 businesses contributed prizes for the silent auction, and one of the most popular-selling auction items was a cruise for two donated by WICO, which started a hotly contested bidding war among Dr. Sydney Comissiong and Ronald Lockhart, both alumni of the school, and Mr. and Mrs. Michael Simmonds; Lockhart won.
Some of St. Thomas and St. John's finest eateries donated dinners for two: Hotel 1829, Craig & Sally's, Alexander's, and Chloë and Bernards, on St. John. Ticket and door prizes included a trip to any domestic location that Delta flies and a trip to Chicago or Washington, D.C., from United Airlines, among others.
The event was planned by Judith Watson, chair of the Mardi Gras committee, with assistance from Capital Development Committee members, parents, alumni, students, teachers and the school principal, Mrs. Louise S. Brady.
A moment of silence was held in memory of Winston "Malik" Leonard, a popular former teacher who resigned from the school last month, and who was killed earlier in the week in a motorcycle accident.
The signature event was staged to enhance the current school plant and to build a new one on the 6.5 acres in Fort Mylner generously donated by the Harthman family.
Ten businesses purchased tables for their use: A. H. Riise Stores, Chase Manhattan Bank, Crown Mountain Water, Dudley, Topper & Feuerzeig, Innovative Telephone, Randolph H. Knight, Royal Caribbean, Seslia/Moorhead Family, The Lockhart Companies and Tropical Shipping. A. H. Riise and Crown Mountain Water were noted as providing donated proceeds to make it easier for All Saints staff to attend.
At least one partygoer, Lou Ellen Brown, asked for her name to be put on the top of the list to be the first to buy a ticket for Mardi Gras 2002 — a sure sign that the event was a fun-filled one.
