Carnival In Saint Barth

Carnival festivities began in mid-January with weekly parades organized on Sunday afternoons in Gustavia by the group, La Pointe en Mouvement, and continued on February 20—the last day of school before vacation—with a children’s parade in the streets of town. The following Monday, the traditional parade in pajamas drew a large crowd, while on Mardi Gras—or Fat Tuesday—numerous floats and marching groups took part in the Carnival parade. The costumes displayed a lot imagination, with some of the disguises rendering the revelers incognito. The Carnival fêtes concluded on Ash Wednesday, with a costume parade in black and white, leading to Shell Beach where Vaval, the King of Carnival, was burned in a big bonfire.

Chorale Aux Bons Chœurs

The local choir, La Chorale Aux Bons Chœurs, held two special concerts on February 27 and 28 at the Anglican Church, in celebration of the tenth anniversary of “Ounalao,” the non-official hymn of Saint Barthélemy, which is often sung on official occasions. Isabelle Déravin, who was named Woman Of The Year in 2000 by the local Lyceum Club International, wrote the words, while Charles Darden, director of the choir, composed the music. For these two concerts, the choir sang with special guest, Jane Thorngren, a soprano from New York who has performed in several opera evenings organized by Frances DeBroff for the Saint Barth Music Festival. Accompanied by Sana Roy on piano, Jane sang a partition written by Roger Lacour’s grandfather, who was a classical music composer. The choir also sang selections from Carmina Burana by Carl Off, excerpts from West Side Story, and the premiere of “Les Enfants de St. Barthélemy,” a song whose words and music were written by Jean Belotti, a former pilot who is currently the judicial mediator for the Collectivity of Saint Barth.