Events

 

Friends hosts a number of exciting events throughout the year. Most noteworthy are the Friends Annual Meeting (January), the Earth Day Environmental Fair (April), the Beach-to-Beach Power Swim (May), and VI Coastweeks (September. Keep an eye on the Newsroom to stay up to date with upcoming events.

The Friends Annual Gala
The Friends Gala is St. John’s premier event of the season and the 2012 event will be exception. The gala will be held on Saturday, February 4th at Judy & Michael Skurnik’s stunning new home, Marea on Ditleff Point. As always, we will wine and dine the night away under the stars! This year’s event will feature two live bands, our local group “In the Sand Band” and the “Jon Herington Band” straight out of New York City! (Jon is also a long time guitarist with Steely Dan). In addition to our regular raffle and silent auction, R & I Patton Goldsmithing has selected an exceptional piece for a special raffle this year. Stop by to see it and buy a ticket at the Friends Store! Plan on joining us this year to celebrate our successes and our partnership with VI National Park, and thank you, our donors! For a recap and pictures from the 2011 gala, click here
 

Friends Online Auction
In 2009 Friends decided to take our auction to the web! Through Bidding for Good, Friends hosts an annual online auction, just in time for vacation planning and the holidays! An array of items from hotel and villa stays, to jewelry and artwork, to exciting excursions will be up for bid. Our auction will be live from November 18, 2011 at 9 am EST through December 4th, 2011 at 8 pm EST. Click HERE to go directly to the auction site! 
 
Friends Annual Meeting
This year the event was held on Sunday, January 16th, 2011 at the T’ree Lizards Restaurant at Cinnamon Bay Campgrounds as usual. The event serves as a way to keep Friends members and the VI community informed of the Friends and VI National Park’s past year’s accomplishments and goals for the coming year. The meeting  featured Friends’ president Joe Kessler, VINP superintendent Mark Hardgrove, and our esteemed guest speaker, Neil Mulholland, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. It is a great way to meet other Friends members and learn more about the Friends and the Park. Shuttle service was provided from Cruz Bay.
 
Earth Day Fair
The Earth Day Environmental Fair for kids is held in April to celebrate Earth Day at the National Park Service ball field in Cruz Bay. For the past four years, this event has demonstrated its effectiveness as a fun way to create environmental awareness among young children. Through hands-on teaching methods, story-telling, and interesting demonstrations, children learn about alternative energies, landscaping with native plants, and participate in mock archeology digs, and much more.
Earth Day 2011
Beach-to-Beach Power Swim
The annual Beach-to-Beach Power Swim takes place on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Join us for this challenging open water swim in the pristine and protected waters of VI National Park. There are three courses to choose from, all of which start at Maho Bay Beach. Swim to Cinnamon Bay, swim to Trunk Bay, or go all the way to Hawksnest Bay!
2011 Results
2012 Information
V.I. Coastweeks
The third Saturday in September marks the beginning of V.I. Coastweeks. During this three week period, community members rally together to remove debris from beaches and coastal shores in an effort to protect marine species and habitats and collect valuable information on the amount and type of debris found. Be a part of the growing success of this event and join a Friends’ sponsored beach cleanup or consider joining our Adopt-A-Beach/Trail Program and adopt a beach or trail to clean throughout the year. To find out more about VI Coastweeks, coordinated cleanups throughout the territory, or Friends’ Adopt-A-Beach/Trail Program please contact Audrey at the Friends, 340-779-4940.