ST. CROIX — Holiday cheer filled the air after midnight Monday as the distinct sound of Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights echoed far and wide during the Crucian Christmas Foreday Serenade, a decades-old cultural tradition that unified the community for an early morning of music, dancing, and fellowship.
The territory’s quelbe ambassadors performed traditional Christmas songs and original fan favorites from a mobile stage towed through Christiansted neighborhoods by a Ford F-150 pickup truck as the band kicked off the two-day serenade presented by WTJX and the Ten Sleepless Knights that will continue Tuesday morning in Frederiksted.
The band, followed by a motorcade of revelers, made planned food stops at two residences during the seven-hour celebration that started after midnight and ended after sunrise with a tramp to WTJX from Sunday Market Square. Residents walked out of their homes in nightgowns and pajamas to watch the spectacle, capture video, and shake their rumps as the band traversed the different neighborhoods.
The band and revelers gathered at the Christian residence in Estate Ginger Thomas shortly after midnight to kickoff the serenade after receiving an initial food offering of items like tarts and Crucian benyes to give them energy for the next few hours until the first family stop.
“We try to keep it all traditional,” said hostess Neisha Christian, whose husband, Kevin Christian, and father-in-law, Eldred “Edgie” Christian, are TSK members. “We give them a little of everything.”
Neisha Christian recalled hearing the Ten Sleepless Knights serenade her late grandmother Alice Petersen’s neighborhood in Princesse when she was growing up.
“A lot of times they would stop at our house,” she said. “This is not new to us.”
The serenade dates to the 1950s when musicians drove around performing Christmas songs for residents, who would greet them with food and drink. TSK, which celebrated its 54th anniversary this year, picked up the tradition from other bands in 1971 and continued serenading neighborhoods until 1992 when a noise ordinance put an end to it. WTJX and TSK revived the tradition 19 years ago in 2006 to film a documentary, and the serenade has been going strong ever since.
Former Lieutenant Governor Osbert Potter, who helped revive the serenade in 2006 when he was WTJX executive director, has his own tradition of leading the motorcade. Potter, who serves on the WTJX board, said the serenade is something special that people look forward to every year.
“Having Stanley on the road for serenade is the best thing,” he said. “It signifies the start of festival.”
Christian said the modern serenade — complete with a motorcade of supporters, planned house stops, and a tramp at the end — is bittersweet. She said it is bitter because it has lost the spontaneity, but it remains sweet because more residents get to participate.
Stanley Jacobs, band leader and flautist, agreed that the revitalized serenade has lost something special.
“Right now, it has become a Hollywood production,” he said. “Before, it was more personal.”
When TSK first started doing the serenade, Jacobs said the bandmates would walk into homes with their acoustic instruments.
“It’s different now,” he said.
The band is now plugged in and amplified, which depends on a generator. At one point during the serenade, the band sat idle for an hour along with the motorcade following behind due to generator failure. Sgt. Arthur Joseph, of the Virgin Islands Police Department, who has coordinated a police escort during the serenade for the past 19 years, quickly solved the dilemma by providing another generator from his mother’s house. A second mishap with the power source lasted about 15 minutes until a crank of the cord revived the lights on the trailer and the music.
“Arthur and the Virgin Islands Police Department have been as integral to this iteration of the serenade as the Ten Sleepless Knights and WTJX,” Tanya-Marie Singh, WTJX chief executive officer, said.
Jacobs discussed how much the band loves performing during serenade, stressing a need to continue the tradition.
“It carries on because we love it and we still do it,” he said. “I just hope that when we’re gone someone else carries it on. We’re trying to get it to the children.”
Eldred Christian summed up the best part of serenade.
“Good camaraderie and getting to be with your people at Christmas time and exchanging love,” he said.
After a delay with the generator on the road, the band didn’t arrive to the second family stop — the Schjangs in Estate St. John — until 4 a.m. That was when the second generator breakdown got resolved, and the show went on.
“You can’t get a prettier sound than this,” Kai Schjang said as TSK started playing “Jingle Bells.”
Schjang spoke about what serenade means to him.
“This is tradition,” he said. “This is the official start of Christmas for me.”
After leaving Estate St. John, the band’s next family stop was at the Hendricks home in Eliza’s Retreat across from Seaside Market & Deli.
Andrea Bryan-McIntosh, a member of the Hendricks family, said the best part of serenade is the community.
“It’s coming together, bonding, reconnecting old family friends — those that are here and those that are coming from the states,” she said.
Bryan-McIntosh commented on the attendance.
“I think everybody’s out in full force, which shows the community’s interest in keeping traditions alive,” she said, adding the serenade is what starts the Crucian Christmas Festival celebration.
Jennifer Finch-Jenkins, who is also related to the Hendricks family, traveled from her home in Maryland with her 17-year-old daughter, Mckenzie Jenkins, to be on island during serenade to expose her daughter to the cultural tradition.
“It means community, it means family and, of course, a lot of fun,” she said about serenade. “You feel a sense of culture and belonging.”
Jenkins said she had a fun time participating in the serenade.
“I feel very connected,” she said. “I love the music. It’s very traditional and I think it’s fun to listen to.”
Al Baptiste Jr., a musician also known as “Daddy Jones,” sat in with the band to play keyboards. He spoke of the significance of the serenade.
“It’s part of our culture, and I’m so glad that they’re still around to preserve it,” he said.
Upon arriving at WTJX around 7 a.m., the band concluded the serenade by leading the revelers in the electric slide. The crowd of participants then lined up for more food served in the gated entrance to the Virgin Islands Public Broadcasting System’s building as DJ Swain kept the energy going.
The second morning of the serenade will begin at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday as the band will again depart from the home of the Christian family in Estate Ginger Thomas and head west, making stops at the homes of the Leonard family in Estate Bonne Esperance and the Williams family in Estate Grove Place before arriving in Frederiksted for a tramp down King Street to Aquaholic Beach Bar for the final food stop.
