Mark Your Calendar: Community Events Briefings

Here are some community events you should know about.

Veterans Day at Christiansted National Historic Site

Tuesday, November 11 – All day

In observance of Veterans Day, the Christiansted National Historic Site is open to the public today for FREE. Operators invite the public to spend the day at the site and enjoy free tours of its historic buildings and waterfront. All national parks on St. Croix are free to the public today. The National Park Service offers tours of the National Historic Site by calling 340-773-1460. The park can also arrange tours of Free Gut by appointments made by calling the Eastern National Bookstore on St. Croix at 340-719-4091.

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“Forgotten In Paradise” Public Premiere Tonight

Tuesday, November 11 at 7 p.m.

The documentary film “Forgotten In Paradise” will be presented to the public at Sand Castles at the Beach Side Café at 7:00 p.m. The film chronicles nearly 75 years of mental health services in the U.S. Virgin Islands and sheds light on hundreds of Virgin Islanders who were sent off island in the 1940’s to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington D.C., for mental health treatment. The current status of mental health services, social stigmatization, and the impact on the prison system are also captured in the hour-long feature film, which interweaves first-hand accounts from individuals with mental illness, their families, mental health providers, and activists. To RSVP, please call 340-772-1200 or send email to [email protected]. Admission is FREE but seating is limited. A cash bar will be available.

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Salt River Bay ‘Cape of the Arrows’ Commemoration

Friday, November 14 beginning at 8 a.m.

The public is invited to an education day to commemorate the ‘Cape of the Arrows’ incident, when Amerindian Virgin Islanders took the lives of two members of Christopher Columbus’ expeditionary force on November 14, 1493. The FREE event is hosted by the the National Park Service each year, and will feature a lecture, an exhibit, and the reopening of the Salt River Bay Visitor Contact Station above Columbus Landing.

• 8:00 a.m. – Plum Landing, a WTJX public television programming initiative, will be welcomed to Salt River Bay with an environmental education fair at Columbus Landing beach.
• 5:00 p.m. – Visitors are invited to see a small replica village and installation developed by Opi’a Taino International from St. Thomas. An exhibit that demonstrates the development of Amerindian villages across the Caribbean developed by Dr. Joshua Torres, Cultural Resource Program Manager for NPS on St. Croix, will also be on display. Both exhibits can be seen at the Salt River Bay Visitor Contact Station above Columbus Landing.
• 6:00 p.m. – Dr. Reniel Rodriguez Ramos, University of Puerto Rico-Utuado, will present a lecture on his research on the peopling of the Caribbean before European colonization. The lecture will be followed by a performance by the PerAnkh’s Bambula drummers.

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San Juan VA Regional Office Veterans Health Administration Town Hall Meeting

Veterans, their families and survivors, as well as organizations or individuals who work with or on behalf of veterans are invited to attend territory-wide town hall meetings this week. The gatherings are being hosted by Regional Office Director, Mr. DeWayne Hamlin, in an effort to share information and address concerns relative to the medical needs of local veterans.

St. Croix:

Thursday, November 13

6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

at American Legion Post 133 in Fredericksted

St. John:

Friday, November 14

from 10:30 a.m. to 12 Noon

at the Legislature Conference Room

St. Thomas:

Friday, November 14

from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

at Patrick U. George Post 90 American Legion Hall in Sub Base 

For more information, please contact the Office of Veterans Affairs on St. Thomas, 774-6100 and St. Croix,  773-6663.