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Taste of Lovango Happening Tomorrow!

Lovango is just a quick, 10-minute ferry ride from St. John.

The Lovango Resort & Beach Club is bringing in an impressive line up of chefs to head up this year’s Taste of Lovango event, and the next dinner is happening tomorrow night. Tickets are still available, so check it out of you can!

Tomorrow, March 20th Taste of Lovango Event: 

Chef Bhavin Chhatwani is a rising star whose journey spans culinary cultures and continents. Chef Bhavin currently serves as Executive Chef at Tamasha Modern Indian in Raleigh, North Carolina, where his work has earned national recognition: he was named a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Foundation “Emerging Chef” award, and has earned accolades for re-imagining Indian cuisine through fine-dining lens.

FUTURE EVENTS

April 17th Dinner 

Chef Ricky Moore is a James Beard Award–winning chef celebrated for his soulful approach to Southern seafood. A North Carolina native, he is the chef and owner of Saltbox Seafood Joint, where his cooking highlights fresh, local catch and the traditions of coastal Carolina cuisine. Known for his warmth, authenticity, and deep respect for community and heritage, Chef Moore brings heart and history to every dish he serves.

May 9th Beach Party w/ Local Legends 

Chef Alex Ewald is the chef-owner of La Tapa in Cruz Bay, renowned for Mediterranean-inspired cuisine with Caribbean flair.

Chef Vinny Alterio is St. John–based private chef and restaurateur known for globally inspired cuisine with a refined, island-forward approach. He is the owner of STJ Speakeasy.

Chef Kenny Claxton is a Virgin Islands chef celebrated for fresh, ocean-driven dishes and a deep connection to local seafood and sourcing.

Chef Jucinto Durant is a St. Thomas–born, Johnson & Wales-trained chef blending classical technique with elevated Caribbean flavors as a private chef, consultant, and culinary partner across the USVI.

May 15th Dinner 

Chef Robbie Felice, a two-time James Beard Award semifinalist and chef-owner of acclaimed restaurants Viaggio Ristorante and PastaRamen, is known for his bold, genre-defying approach—blending Japanese and Italian influences into dishes that are as inventive as they are unforgettable.

He joins Chef Brian Arruda, Founder of Executive Chefs at Home and graduate of New York’s Culinary Institute of America, whose career spans the kitchens of Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, and Jean-Georges. Arruda’s refined coastal cuisine, rooted in seasonality and balance, reflects the soul of the islands and fine dining. Together, they will collaborate on an exclusive culinary experience.

June 13th Beach Party 

This event will feature celebrity chefs from Puerto Rico. Details to be announced.

June 19th Dinner 

Chef Nina Compton, a St. Lucia–born chef and winner of the 2018 James Beard “Best Chef: South,” is the Chef/Owner of New Orleans’ acclaimed Compère Lapin and the fast-casual Nina’s Creole Cottage. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, she trained under legendary chefs in New York and Miami before gaining national attention as a finalist and fan favorite on Top Chef: New Orleans. Her celebrated cuisine blends Caribbean flavors with French and Italian influences. In 2025, she released her first cookbook, Kwéyòl / Creole, sharing recipes and stories from her culinary journey. As part of the dinner guests will receive a copy of her new cook book.

Lovango Resort & Beach Club is located on the island of Lovango, which is a quick, 10-minute ferry ride from Cruz Bay. Lovango is a US island, so no passport is needed.

You can learn more about this event and purchase tickets online at www.tasteoflovango.com. All tickets include transportation to and from Lovango.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade Happening on Sunday, March 15th

Eileen Cullen, owner of Garden By the Sea, is a parade favorite!

The island’s shortest, yet wildly entraining, parade is happening this weekend!

St. John’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade will take place tomorrow, March 15th at high noon. The route will begin, once again, near Gallows Point Resort and will follow the shoreline in front of Grande Bay before it ends around The Beach Bar and St. John Car Rental. This is a quick parade, so make sure you get set up on the parade route early to get a good seat!

My son Dalton will be throwing beads along with some of his friends and baseball buddies again this year. He will be joined by the Dynamic Dancers and a host of other St. John bars and businesses.

This is a super fun, family-friendly event, and I hope to see you all there.

The fun will spill over to Cruz Bay beach afterward, so bring those swimsuits for the kiddos because you know they’re going to get wet. And for the adults, don’t forget to bring your koozies! Sunday’s temps are forecasted to be around 84 degrees.

Cheers all! Hope to see you there!

The Tap Room Hosting ACC Fundraiser Tonight!

If you are lucky enough to be on island tonight, please come by The Tap Room from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and support the Animal Care Center of St. John!

Tonight’s Mutt Mixer is a monthly event that raises much-needed funds for St. John’s no-kill animal shelter. It has been hosted at numerous spots on island and tonight is The Tap Room’s turn!

For every Tito’s vodka drink sold, $2 will be donated to the Animal Care Center. There will also be merchandise available, as well as a 50/50 raffle and a second raffle for a brand-new Yeti cooler! All of the proceeds of that raffle will benefit the Animal Care Center.

You can enter to win this tonight!

The Tap Room is located on the second floor of Mongoose Junction. I hope to see many of you there!


Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a longtime resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Email Me with Questions.

Click Here for Real-Time Availability & to Instant Book. 

 

Record-Breaking St. John Sea Turtle Season!

A sea turtle makes its way toward the sea during the 2024 nesting season.

Today’s post is short, sweet and to the point. We just concluded a record-breaking sea turtle season! Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park recorded 3,862 sea turtle hatchlings this season. How amazing is that!

There were 3,221 hatchings documented during the 2024 season, so this represents a nearly 20 percent increase for 2025. Absolutely incredible.

The majority of hatchlings are typically Hawksbill turtles, although we have a plethora of green turtles in our waters too. We even see a leatherback around the island from time to time, although this is not extremely common.

Volunteers adopt a beach starting in mid-to-late summer and look for nesting activity. Once a nest of found, Friends of the Park marks it, records it and keeps an eye on its progress. These nests have been found on dozens of beaches around the island.

This is a sea turtle nest I stumbled on during a late afternoon walk with my family last summer.

Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park should release its turtle report soon. I will share all of these details once they become available.

In the meantime, if you see a sea turtle while you are out swimming or snorkeling, please keep your distance. Please do not touch them. Please do not feed them. Please simply love them from afar. I know I do!

Click here to visit Friends of the Park’s Sea Turtle Program page. It includes information on turtle talks, monitoring and much more.


Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a longtime resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Email Me with Questions.

Click Here for Real-Time Availability & to Instant Book. 

VI Jam Fest Starts Today at Windmill Bar!

It’s the weekend many of you have been waiting for! The VI Jam Fest starts today at The Windmill Bar!

The annual three-day event starts today at 1 p.m. and continues through Saturday night. There are roughly 20 bands scheduled to participate. Here is the full schedule:

The Windmill Bar will be closed on Sunday, February 8th. Bingo will be held at The Upstairs Bar in Cruz Bay from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., rather than at The Windmill Bar this Sunday.

Not on island? No problem! You can watch the VI Jam Fest live on The Windmill Bar’s stage cam! Click here to see that webcam and more than 20 others. 


Want to learn more about St. John? Take an island tour with me!

Learn more here –> www.explorestj.com/tour

See the island of St. John with a longtime resident. See the nooks and crannies that many visitors miss. Explore the beaches, historical sites, perhaps a tiki bar or two, and much more. Full & half days available. Rated “Excellent” on TripAdvisor.

Click Here to Email Me with Questions.

Click Here for Real-Time Availability & to Instant Book.