Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh

Freedom City: Culture, Carnival, And Community in St Croix U.S. Virgin Islands

• Grant McGaugh CEO 5 STAR BDM • Season 2 • Episode 45

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The street sounds different when steel pans ring and feathers rush past the reviewing stand. We’re broadcasting from Freedom City, where the 73rd Crucian Christmas Festival turns St. Croix into a living classroom of culture, pride, and possibility. From the first drumroll to the last cheer, we trace how pageantry, music, and food bind neighbors, inspire kids, and welcome visitors into an American-Caribbean story with deep roots and a wide reach.

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett joins us to connect history with ambition, highlighting Virgin Islanders who shaped the Harlem Renaissance and Pan-Africanism, while calling for greater mainland engagement. She lays out a clear truth: discipline and drive turn small islands into big influence. Senators and community leaders take us inside the children’s parade—majorettes, moko jumbies, and a revived alumni band—showing how mentorship rebuilds programs, confidence, and continuity. A powerful health moment lands as a senator shares his year cancer-free and urges men to get PSA screenings, proof that culture and care can march together.

Tourism leaders and festival producers pull back the curtain on the craft behind the spectacle: on-time shows, professional pageants, and constant iteration that preserves heritage while boosting visits. The new queen centers mental health with “mind your mind,” reminding us that poise begins inside. We taste the island through Johnny cakes, kallaloo, and red pea soup, map out Culture Night and J’ouvert, and celebrate the sounds that carry the festival worldwide through Tempo and One Connect. The takeaway is simple and stirring: Freedom City isn’t just a place on the route, it’s a mindset—rooted, resilient, and ready for the future.

If this journey moved you, follow and share the show, leave a quick review, and invite a friend to join us at the next parade. Your voice helps this culture travel farther and shine brighter.

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates, visit 5starbdm.com
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And don’t miss Grant McGaugh’s new book, First Light — a powerful guide to igniting your purpose and building a BRAVE brand that stands out in a changing world. - https://5starbdm.com/brave-masterclass/

See you next time on Follow The Brand!

SPEAKER_14:

Now let's begin with the next episode on the Follow the Brand TV.

SPEAKER_00:

Five-star BDM brand development masters is a professional consulting and advisory group keenly focused on business development services for the small to mid-sized business and entrepreneurs. Although every business is unique, they often share business development challenges that can be addressed through smart branding. Services include process improvement and operations, digital strategy and transformation, business intelligence, digital marketing and personal branding. Our business and personal branding company has helped a number of professionals and organizations to optimize and grow. This results in more business, more opportunities, better reach, positive outcomes. Visit www.fivestarbdm.com today to learn more.

SPEAKER_34:

Yes, we're here this afternoon. January 3rd, 2026. Happy New Year's guys. Happy New Year's guys. As we bring you the 73rd annual adult parade here in Final City, Frederickstead. Listen, 73 years ago, a legacy began. The seventh adults parade began. And now, as you can see, it's literally about 500 yards away. And we're gonna bring you live coverage here on Kalaloo.com. Good afternoon, Jess.

SPEAKER_04:

Thank you. I'm Justin Kyler, executive producer of Caribbean Food Network. So we're here to have fun, you guys, and we're here to taste some good food and have some good drinks as well. And we're gonna dance a little bit. So I'm very happy to be with you guys to cover the festival today.

SPEAKER_28:

Hi everyone, I'm Suzanne Mari. I'm with Kalaloo and Mari Entertainment. I am here to see all of the beautiful costumes, the masqueraders, and just to see the Virgin Islands get lit.

SPEAKER_14:

And I am your co-host, Grant McGall. I've been here all week. We've been having a live time. I cannot believe we finally got here to the adult parade. And these are my all my co-hosts. We're gonna cover this in fine fashion. So this will be the one and only time you're gonna see this group together doing it just like this. This is a special moment. Thank you for being with me.

SPEAKER_28:

Yes, as we bring you having me.

SPEAKER_34:

The 73rd annual adult parade here in Pino City Spread Extend.

SPEAKER_28:

That's a long time.

SPEAKER_14:

All right, all right. We are here at the beginning of this adult parade. I'm telling you, I I am stoked. Right. First of all, we got some colleagues here. Hi, I'm Suzanne Maury with Kahlaloo.

SPEAKER_25:

Kalaloo, and what do we have? Hi, I'm Diana Diaz with the VI Source.

SPEAKER_18:

All right. Hi, I'm Sonny Robert, and I'm also at the Virgin Island Source here today. And who we have here?

SPEAKER_34:

Yes, Colin Hodge. Welcome to the 73rd Annual Adults Parade here at the Cruz and Christmas Festival here in Dungeton, Fredericton.

SPEAKER_14:

Well, this is my first one. You are all veterans. Some of you, you might be, I don't know. Are you a veteran?

SPEAKER_24:

No, no, no. I mean, like maybe.

SPEAKER_14:

So we're newbies, right? Right, right. So we're gonna lean on your expertise so we know how to partake correctly. Is that okay? Is that okay? What would you like to tell us?

SPEAKER_25:

Oh, yeah, no, definitely. You're in for a ride, I'll say that. We're for a very long day, lots of beautiful entries, uh uh the majorettes, um, the uh, and also the guardians of culture, mucal jumbies, and so much more.

SPEAKER_15:

What's your favorite?

SPEAKER_18:

Well, I really don't have a favorite. I always tell people what I like about Parade, and I'm a veteran. I'm a seasoned registered veteran with my voters card. What I was saying is that every single time it's different. It's a different experience. You know, come out if you're on St. Croix. If you're not on St. Croix, pay close attention to this page, the Virginia Tour space, because you're gonna see a lot of madrass, lots of walking up, a lot of adults just having good, healthy, fun times here on St. Croix. Absolutely. I love it, I love it.

SPEAKER_34:

Take it away, Charlie. All right, so listen, we're here right here at the judging reviewing stand. We're here in the governor's area. As you can see, where the parade has begun. It's about uh one, two blocks away. As we bring in the 73rd annual live coverage here in Phenom City Fredickstead. We're here next to the judging area, as you can see, the beautiful senior citizens area, and of course, the senators area. As we bring you the 73rd annual adults parade, we have about 25 to 30 entries today, and we're gonna have a good time. It began a little bit late, but I just know we're gonna have a good time here in Phenom City Fredickstead. Uh, we have about, I think, uh 10 royalties, a mixture of mockajumbis, and of course, we have, believe me, excellent troops and flukes coming down as we celebrate our 23rd annual Kujian Adults Festival Parade here in downtown Phenom City Frederickstead.

SPEAKER_14:

Can we all say Kallaloo on one, two, three? One, two, three, Kallaloo! All right, we are here live again at USVI St. Croix, Frederickstead. You're representing Frederick State, but the entire Virgin Islands. Introduce yourself, please.

SPEAKER_33:

Uh hi, happy new year to you and to everyone who's watching. I'm Stacy Plaskitt, and I have the amazing honor of representing the Virgin Islands in the U.S. Congress.

SPEAKER_14:

That is beautiful. So you go to Washington to come back and represent. I understand you're on a special committee that has never been done before, but you're you're you're serving in that capacity.

SPEAKER_33:

Sure. Uh well, right now I serve on the Ways and Means Committee. It's the oldest committee in Congress. It's considered the most exclusive committee. It deals with the revenue generation for the United States. So we're the ones that create the money. We're where the money resides.

SPEAKER_14:

I love where the money is. That's why you're wearing green. I love that it very, you know, it's very aligned, right? So tell me, what is your 2026 plan?

SPEAKER_33:

Oh, well, you know, I think I've really just, you know, 2025 has been a really rough year for so many people. Um, personally, I lost a parent during that time. Um, and just, you know, trying to understand what purpose is and what my principles are, and just recognizing that, you know, it's about discipline and drive. Those are the things that I think have gotten us where we are. That's how I was able to get onto ways and means, be a member of the intelligence committee, things that have never been done by someone representing a territory. And so I'm just gonna bring that to everything I do and invite people to join me in that. Discipline and drive. We can't talk about it, we gotta be about it. Be about it. Right? You gotta do the work. Do the work. Got a question. Yeah.

SPEAKER_14:

So I am from the mainland, right? Uh, where are you from? I spent my I was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in the Midwest. Okay. I just recently moved back there from Miami, Florida, spent 30 years in Miami, Florida. When I come to the US V, St. Croix, I was blown away because I said, how come we don't know more about this as African Americans living in the mainland and understanding that this is a U.S. terrorist, this is an American-Caribbean experience that we all should be enjoying. How can we get more people involved?

SPEAKER_33:

Oh, well, you know, I think that all of us need to be ambassadors, all of us who are from the Virgin Islands need to be ambassadors. And just kind of raising our voice. That's what I've tried to do for now the 11 years that I've been in Congress, is just to be present, be alive, you know, let people know, advocate, speak out, sharing with people our ties, letting people like from the member from South Carolina, Jim Klyburn, know hey, you know, Denmark Vesey, who was involved in the slave uprising, they called him Denmark Vesey because he was from the Danish West Indies, from St. Thomas. This was a free man who gave up his life for freedom for black Americans, people who were enslaved. Um, the Virgin Islands has brought so much to the United States. Hubert Harrison, who is one of the founders of uh the Harlem Renaissance, Edward Wilm Blyden, the founder of Pan-Africanism, uh, the creation of an African state of Liberia. So those are the things that Virgin Islanders have done each and every time. I mean, just thinking about during the pandemic, during the COVID pandemic, President Biden, the head of his uh his task force on COVID, was a Virgin Islander, uh a doctor from right here from this small place. He comes here every year. He told me that when he comes back, he wants to come back as a crucified. So, you know, I told him, well, not everybody can do that, you know. That's that's not high calling. That's not high calling. That's right. That's not for everybody. So, you know, I just think that we need to show up, and wherever Virgin Islanders are, whether it's a Tim Duncan or Aleia Boston, we always show out. We may be from a small place, but as you can see, we're big people.

SPEAKER_14:

Big, huge people. We're gonna bring everybody. I was talking about it all week. USVI, St. Thomas, St. John's, St. Croix, this thing.

SPEAKER_33:

Different experiences, different things that you can have, you know, when you go to the different islands. St. Thomas, nothing can beat the nightlife fair and the bars and the music. Uh, tremendous musicians. St. Croix, it's cultural vibes, lots of, you know, visual artists that are here, sculptors, painters. Our food is also an art form for us on St. Croix. And then, of course, St. John, just the pristine, beautiful island that it is, with St. Jonians who have been there. You know, first rebellion, slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere, right there on St. John in 1733. So there's something for everybody. You're right now in Freedom City. It's called Freedom City because this is where emancipation took place. We didn't wait for somebody to give it to us, we took it for ourselves. That's the spirit of the Virgin Islands.

SPEAKER_14:

I love that. And we want to bring more economic development here. I am advocating on the mainland to bring more business opportunity here. I think that when I think of St. Croix, I see business, I see family, I see culture. Something that can really take place in the world.

SPEAKER_33:

You have uh the ability, whether it's through finance or um digital work or any kind of you know, AI, all of that can be done right here from the Virgin Islands, where you have people who kind of look like you, right? That's right. Um creating wealth creation right here among people who are gonna appreciate you.

SPEAKER_14:

I'm gonna say thank you so much for this interview. You are showing me the spirit of St. Croix on this special day. Tell us one more thing. The dope parade is tomorrow. Yeah. What do you find so special about that parade?

SPEAKER_33:

Um, well, you know, I just love the camaraderie that people have as they're coming down the road, whether it's from the madras and people doing quadrille to the feathers, and you know, St. Croix is a melting pot of so many other Caribbean islands as well. And we try to uh honor our ancestors and honor our history while at the same time adapting and bringing it forward. The madras, you're gonna see uh so many spectacular things, the steel pans, etc. It's just uh something for everybody. But come to the village tonight. Yes, this is my favorite night in the village, reggae night.

SPEAKER_14:

You heard it here, reggae night. You gotta be there. This is one connect. Go to the one connect app, look at all the different things that we're doing. One love, one world, one connect. Thank you so much. Thank you. You take care. All right, we are live out here, man. This has been a beautiful, beautiful day. My first children's parade. First, introduce yourself and tell me how you're feeling.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, Hubert Lorenzo Frederick, Senator, 36th Legislature. I want to thank everybody for joining us. We're having a fantastic time at the children's carnival. This is the best part of festival when you have the children come out, do what they do, which is to represent. I played a musical instrument in high school, so I was here listening to the band play, and I played the trumpet, the baritone horn, and also what else I played? Trumpet, baritone horn, and uh trench horn.

SPEAKER_14:

Yeah, we got it. We got it, we got it. So, how are you feeling these kids doing it now?

SPEAKER_13:

Since you did it today, are you gonna step up, step down?

SPEAKER_11:

You know, they can't ever beat the the king of the kings, but you know, they they're close, they're close. They're stepping in that direction. Yeah, I must say I'm I'm impressed with what I've seen. Uh they're talented and they're disciplined, so yeah, they're doing their thing. So tell me, tomorrow, tell the audience what the adult parade, what do you feel that's gonna be like, guys? Drop the cup. It's uh it's gonna be on like popcorn tomorrow. You're looking at the best that the first novels has to offer. This is the best time of the year. The temperature is awesome, it's not as hot, it's not as humid, and so you can really show up. And so tomorrow is showing out state. I'm looking forward to seeing all the festival activities and the king, the queen, the troops, the costumes.

SPEAKER_14:

I'm I'm ready for it. I am so ready for it. I've already been blown away. I've been here about 10 days right before Christmas. Every day I've been food, culture, fashion, friends, the love. I mean, you the USB I Virgin Islands has shown me a kid from Omar, Nebraska, what this is all about. I gotta bring all my people down here to celebrate. I tell you what, this is Nebraska right here.

SPEAKER_11:

Look at Nebraska.

SPEAKER_14:

What?

SPEAKER_13:

Yes, yes, yes, listen up, Cornhuskers. You feel right at home, USB I, Frederick, our style.

SPEAKER_11:

USB.

SPEAKER_13:

That's how we do it. USB I style. All right, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_14:

Thank you for tuning in again on the Kellolo Network. This is One Connect, and we're going to connect right here with the Senator. Tell us about the town.

SPEAKER_24:

Hi, and a pleasant good afternoon to the beautiful listening audience. And I'm so pleased to be here in the big city, Freedom City, St. Croix. Frederick said, for the 2026 Kruzhen Festival, I am your servant and senator, Carla Joseph.

SPEAKER_14:

Oh man, what an intro! Did you see that intro, that bio? She's bringing the energy, the legacy, and the tradition. Tell us more about this particular parade.

SPEAKER_24:

This parade is a children's parade and is fantastic. I mean, we've been highlighted with all of the royalty, first of all, and also the marshal for the children parade, Miss Osborne, an awesome human being who has done a lot of creativity through Citrus. You know, uh fabric construction. She makes clothing from scratch, and she's done it for a number of years here in St. Croix for a number of pageants. And then we, of course, had the majoress, awesome, and we had a troupe just now with young people. This is children parade at its finest, and they are so engaged and involved in our culture. So we know that we are actually passing the baton of our rich culture to a next generation. And really appreciated the Moko Jumbi's as well. You know, I have all my Moko Jumbi here. That's what this is. And this is really a staple piece in all of our carnival, and of course, it has a historical importance with our African accessory. So we keep that as part of a vital role in our culture here in the Virgin Islands.

SPEAKER_14:

This is so true. So you have the African culture, you have the Caribbean culture, you have the American culture right here, USBR, United States, Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, St. John, and also St. Croix. And don't forget Water Island. Don't forget Water Island.

SPEAKER_24:

Don't forget Water Island.

SPEAKER_14:

Right, that's right, that's right. I love that island. Well, you got dark islands, there's a lot of things to do. Now, we talked to a lot of people, but I don't think our artist understands how the government of the USBR is organized.

SPEAKER_24:

Well, the Virgin Islands, just like any state, we are organized with three branches of government. Of course, the first branch is the branch I work in, is the legislative branch. Then we have the executive that helps to implement the laws. We make the legislative branch, we make the laws as well as manage the money and have oversight. The legislative branch, they implement the laws and they set up the contract. And then, third, we have the judicial branch, and they actually interpret the laws, and a person's uh disobedient to the laws, they then uh get the second thing based on what the laws say.

SPEAKER_13:

Understood, understood. So, I want to talk one more thing. I want to ask you. Or you have a fun.

SPEAKER_24:

I am having mega, mega fun uh at the Croix Krujan Festival.

SPEAKER_13:

Beautiful! Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Hey, happy new year!

SPEAKER_14:

All right, all right, all right. You know, we got to interview everybody, we're gonna talk to everybody. We gotta get the spirit of today. We just started off kickdown 2026.

SPEAKER_02:

How you feeling? I feel wonderful being here today in the children's day parade. It's one of the most best days of the whole festival when the young children could come out and perform and practice all here just for this. So it's important that we be here to see them perform and cheer along, guide them along. So I agree, I agree. You gotta give us your name. What are you doing out here? What is your purpose today? Man, my purpose is being here to support the children. My name is Senator Franklin Johnson out of the district of St. Groy, uh, three term senators. And every time I do these interviews, I like to expose something personally, speak about my prostate cancer. This month makes me a full year of cancer-free from prostate. And I always try to encourage your men them to make sure you go and do that PSA. Yes. And continue to do this with every interview that I get, that chance to and yes, today is about the children, but I still want the young men them to make sure they go and do those tests because it's important. Once you do these tests and you catch it early, you're good to go.

SPEAKER_14:

You 100%. I support cancer prevention, cancer awareness. We've got if you get it early, you have a great opportunity to keep living. But if you wait and you don't, you know, and you know your body, right? You know your body, you're not feeling that, you know you gotta go on your test, and then you can live a long, fruitful life, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Happy like I said, today makes me not fall here. I did my numbers and they just keep driving, going down every day. So that's wonderful. But today is about the children. Yes, it is. And I'm so thankful to be here to support the children. They come from the Saint Croix to the Prince, to the Duchess, to the Princess, to the Queen. It's a wonderful day so far for the children. So I'm gonna stay here until the last child truth comes out.

SPEAKER_14:

Here's the question: Can we get him to dance? Can we get into the into the truth?

SPEAKER_13:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Definitely, I can also do a little thing with those kids. Make sure I enjoy a little bit with them. Definitely. Always have to support them and encourage them all the time. And they seem very enthusiastic, very energized, and they're having a wonderful day out there today.

SPEAKER_14:

I thank you so much for being out here. I am Grant McGall. I am visiting down here from Omar, Nebraska. I'm working with Kellaloo, and I am enjoying every day the hospitality, the friendship. I can't wait to see you. The big island. All right. We got a first, we have a beautiful picture here with all these senators, everybody from the USBI government. We are looking, beautiful, beautiful. So, you gotta introduce yourself. What do we have here? Senator Marvin Blyden, St. Thomas.

SPEAKER_27:

All right, Senator President Milton Potter. I'm Novel Francis Jr.

SPEAKER_26:

All right.

SPEAKER_14:

Senator Dwayne Legraf. Awesome. So, fellas, tell us about the children's parade. What are you getting out of this?

SPEAKER_27:

Well, Sonny, we're looking forward to a great day here with the Children's Parade. They have been preparing for the last several weeks in preparation of this. So we're looking forward to their display of all that they've been training to do for us today. You know what? I must say that we're very amazed at the turnout. Um, here is usually a little turnout, but today it seems to be significant. So we want to say kudos to our community for supporting our children.

SPEAKER_14:

This is beautiful, especially for our children, right? And I saw they were all dressed up, they came with so much energy, so much splash, right? It's a lot of fashions, a lot of things. What did you think about this year's parade?

SPEAKER_29:

Well, first of all, I must say congratulations to all the children and the parents for bringing them out. And I must say, it's a beautiful day in St. Croix. It's not too hot, it's not a little bit overcast, but guess what? It's gonna be a great day, and I'm happy to be here with my colleagues.

SPEAKER_14:

Beautiful colleagues, we're gonna hear from you because you get a big time.

SPEAKER_23:

Definitely happy to be here. I mean, this is something I look forward to every year, particularly seeing our young people in action. They put a lot of preparation and effort into it. So I mean it's really awesome that parents and supporters came out to see it. So this is an awesome experience.

SPEAKER_14:

And you are right, because I was here earlier, it was overcast, it was like rainy. How's this gonna turn out? Look at this beautiful Sunday day, and it's cool and a nice wind. Look at this guy.

SPEAKER_26:

Hey, I like he looked very festive, they're you know, I'm happy because I had a chance as a boy to be in the children parade and to see that the community is still hard in it. There's hope for the future. And this is the future here, and we're here, and I'm so happy to be here, starting the year off right with the children. Exactly.

SPEAKER_14:

And positive children models. This is how we teach our kids, mid team, mentors. Look at this. They are all ready to go.

SPEAKER_13:

Yes, yes, that's going right there. All right, all right. What's up, sister, young man?

SPEAKER_07:

Uh Senator Curveville St. Croix. Yes, majority leader for the legislature. Yeah. I'm just telling them about this group. It's an alumni group of students. It's students dating back from 2009 that were part of the band program and have returned home to be able to motivate the younger children to get the band reformed. This is the first time that the band has come back out since COVID. The band hasn't been out for five or six years. Yeah. So this is a return, and they brought the older students to really get them out. Beautiful story. I mean, they're marching in with more energy than the younger ones. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_14:

It's amazing. They're bringing all this energy, right?

SPEAKER_07:

Like this girl come up 2000. She's about 2010. Right here? Yes.

SPEAKER_14:

I'm glad. I'm glad to see them come back representing.

SPEAKER_13:

All right.

SPEAKER_14:

Look at it, they're bringing their flavor today. They are bringing their flavor. I'm telling you. Look at this group. Look at this group. Look at this group. Wow. Beautiful. That was a great interview. These are representatives.

SPEAKER_13:

This is what we do. USB R St.

SPEAKER_10:

We got a little bit of a history. Let's see the national. Our children. Twenty twenty six.

SPEAKER_14:

Let's change the nerd. This is the story.

SPEAKER_10:

One can act that dot com. Check it off.

SPEAKER_14:

We're about to wrap up here as we have. Whoa! Feel that energy. Feel that love.

SPEAKER_13:

One can act that. One word. One love. Let's go. USB R 2026 and the biggest.

SPEAKER_14:

All right, we are out here, man. Everybody looks so festive and shiny and smiley. Talk to us about what this means to you.

SPEAKER_06:

Oh my gosh, festival is the most amazing time of the year. This is our 71st, 73rd anniversary. And for us, festival is about everything. Food, music, culture, not just a parade. Happy to be here for the children's parade to support the children. Happy to be here with Temple that was born and raised on St. Choi. Frederick and I, I think everyone knows the story. We grew up together. And so to be able to showcase what we're doing, not just throughout the region, but throughout the world is so important. And you, right? You're part of the tourism department, right? Yes. Is that right? Yeah. Newly for you, I mean. So I am the newly minted tourism commissioner. Um it's been about five months. Very excited. We have a lot of nature. This is my first official festival. I've supported festival over the years in my other role. Yeah. But it's my first time actually running it. I think we're having a wonderful time. Every year we're always looking at improving and making sure it's even more culturally relevant. So it's an exciting time. We have a lot of folks who are spreading the word, not just locally, throughout the region, throughout the world, like Temple. And so we're excited about having Frederick Mornen and C mean.

SPEAKER_14:

I love this. I love this. I love excitement. I love these little big blood.

SPEAKER_15:

Oh my god.

unknown:

Talk to us.

SPEAKER_17:

Well, listen, it's a beautiful time here in the Burton Islands. No time like it. We all know that St. Cro is a vibe like no other. And right now is when it comes alive, all the way alive, Krujian Christmas Festival. I want to say congratulations to my sister, Senator from Matarangas King, on a wonderful first Kujan Christmas Festival at the top, at the helm of the whole thing. Thank you so very much for all the work that you do on a continuous basis. I know it personally. The love for this island and for the Virgin Islands is rested deep in her heart and soul. So make no mistake, Prussian Christmas Festival is going to the world. And Tempo is gonna make sure that that is part and parcel of what happens to this festival and all the festivals in the region. The world must know. The region must know. And of course, God doesn't know. And so He's given us the strength to do what we do. It's a beautiful day, the kids look wonderful. You know, it's nothing like being a little child in the Birgin Island to know. We grew up on Hill Street as little children, and it's a special ingredient that comes to you as a little child that helps you.

SPEAKER_06:

And we have so much talent. Yeah, so much talent.

SPEAKER_13:

Yes.

SPEAKER_17:

Well, you see, that's the ingredient I was just talking about. It's it's resilience, it's perseverance, it's passion, all of that happened and was gelled, and the foundation for that is on Hill Street in Christian's name, right? And so that's how we twisted. With the God Almighty putting the extra ingredients in here to give us the the power that we need to move forward. And not only did it it was born here, it grew here, and it went to the region, the whole region is tempoing. Yeah, right? With the Virgin Islands vibe in it because it can't come out, it was it was rooted here. Yeah, so 20 years of the tempo. We got so much more to do. It's Tempo 2.0, and we're gonna be doing it right here in the Virgin Islands, and particularly well, you know, I got a Sandroid, right?

SPEAKER_13:

Big shout out, big shout out.

SPEAKER_14:

This has been big until I saw my first Juve, now see my first children's parade. Tomorrow's gonna be the adult parade. I am so excited. I want to thank you again for talking to us today. I watched once again.

SPEAKER_17:

I want to show my brother Anthony Weeks. I'll gotta do it. I gotta do it. Anthony Weeks, boy. Oh god, Anthony Weeks, boy.

SPEAKER_13:

If you don't know, now you know.

SPEAKER_14:

Thank you again. Thank you so much. We got Chief Special people right here. Chief special people right here. Mr.

SPEAKER_22:

Kerry Crew, get true. Tell us, tell us about it. Yes, we are SLT Legacy Major X. We're a brand new major rats here in the Sinkor community with 104 girls standing strong. This is our inaugural year, and we're paying tribute to Logan Cruz, who unfortunately lost his battle with leukemia.

SPEAKER_14:

One connect, preconnect, baby, where we at?

SPEAKER_21:

Where we at? Where we at?

SPEAKER_14:

Walk with us, walk with us for a minute. Oh, we gotta go to this booth. I've been watching this grant all week.

SPEAKER_21:

This guy. This is my new best friend, the grit. I think he stole all my presents, but go ahead. He stole my current dead on Christmas Day, I have to say. Well, let's check out some of these boots for today.

SPEAKER_14:

These are some beautiful boots. Look at this. Look what's going on here.

SPEAKER_21:

So we get a chicken, we get a Johnny cake. That's a stip. I had one cuisine that we have.

SPEAKER_14:

I had my first Johnny cake.

SPEAKER_21:

How y'all like it?

SPEAKER_14:

Oh. You know what? First I said, no, it's a little cornbread, but it's not. They say maybe it's a little muffin. No, it's not. You know what it is? It's like a deep fried Johnny cake. It is beautiful. So never forget it. Very tasty, right? Right, right? So tell me a thing. Tell me a thing. I just got out of the whole thing with the cruisian pageant.

SPEAKER_20:

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_14:

My first cruisian pageant. It was beautiful. Now you are an Islander. You've been here your life. Tell me more about that.

SPEAKER_21:

So that's something that everyone looks forward to, where all of the different pageantries, you have all of the different royalties come out and they compete for the Miss Sink Roy show. So I think tonight we had a great turnaround. And I want to say the Queen, she did an amazing job.

SPEAKER_14:

Awesome job. She did an awesome job. I mean, not just her, the whole page, the whole thing looked beautiful from my perspective. And I had not seen anything quite like that. This was my first experience when we had an exposure to the world through OneConnect, right? Yes. So now I got out to all these different markets, and people like, oh, what's going on in Version Island? This is what we do Cruisian Christmas Festival. And we're at the festival right now. Look at all these different boots in the background.

SPEAKER_21:

All of the boots compete. They decorate them based on their cuisine that they have. And it's such a great vibe. You get to meet people from away. You get to see your old classmates, family, friends. It's just like a great family event to attend to.

SPEAKER_14:

Well, I'm saying the different types of alcohol there, I'm telling you. I'm telling you, there's a thing coming up. There's a thing they keep talking to me about, right? We haven't got there yet. Today is only Sunday. But I'm telling you, when Juve comes. Oh gosh, you're ready for Juve? No.

SPEAKER_21:

Listen, you got to get up all you're gonna get pins. You're gonna have to make sure you got your sneakers. And it's time to shallow the place.

SPEAKER_14:

But before Juve, before Juve, right? We have Culture Night. Yes. What is that about?

SPEAKER_21:

So Cultural Night exudes all of the different things that make Singapore and the Virgin Islands a great place to be. So you have your Stanley, which is a staple band Stanley, and the 10 T Plus Nights has been around forever. So you get a ukulele, you get a banjo, you get a different pan. Yes, you're gonna love it. And then of course you have our culture where you get to see the outfits, you know. And I think this year they're also honoring the express band, the world famous express band that has been around. So it's a band that has been around for ages. They always back up all of these big artists that come about. Yeah. So they're honoring them. So it's so great to see that.

SPEAKER_14:

I'm loving Soka. S-O-C-K. S O C A.

SPEAKER_21:

You hear the music in the background?

SPEAKER_14:

Yes.

SPEAKER_21:

You don't have to wine up yourself. What?

SPEAKER_14:

They told me when I came here, trying. I told them I don't really dance. Oh, you're going to dance. Yes, you got to shake it up, make you dance. I'm telling you, so make you like, oh yeah, I can feel all of that.

SPEAKER_21:

Let me feel wine. What? How are you gonna go out for juvenie? Oh, oh, sugar main. Are you here? Oh, sugar mean, you hear that?

SPEAKER_13:

We can add it.

SPEAKER_21:

But we have the Soka Monarch. We also have Culture Night. That's tomorrow. Yes. Right? Yes. That should be amazing. Okay. We have Food Fair coming up. What is it? Food Fair.

SPEAKER_08:

What is that?

SPEAKER_21:

So Food Fair exemplifies all of our great cooks that we have within the community. So that's what we're doing.

SPEAKER_14:

Listen.

SPEAKER_21:

What? You have to get your taste buds ready. You're gonna get Kala loop. You're gonna get salm plate. You're gonna get red pea soup. They pick tea in it and it's sal beef.

SPEAKER_14:

It's like what? This is what you're gonna get, man. Like, okay, okay, okay. You're talking about I'm going to poop it. So you have juvenic.

SPEAKER_21:

Yes, so you were signing up for juvenic. Yes. Right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_14:

You're gonna be hungry after all that walking, right? You will be hungry. You will be hungry.

SPEAKER_21:

Yes. For food.

SPEAKER_14:

Yes, yes, yes. Okay, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_21:

And your Captain Morgan rum. Yeah. Your Cruision rum. What kind of rum? Captain Morgan rum and Cruz John rum.

SPEAKER_14:

Thinking about that, because at that now, now we've done Tuesday.

SPEAKER_21:

Yes.

SPEAKER_14:

Now we've had the food. Then we're going to Captain Where?

SPEAKER_21:

Captain Morgan is the place to be. So Coral Sea Cafe and Restaurant at the Captain's Yard is having a big bashment. We get Smilex Ban out of Sugar City. We also have Selector Koof, DJ Kal and DJ Peppa. The hottest Peppa. The hottest Peppa. So you have to get your tickets at Coral Sea Cafe at the Captain's Yard or an Event Bright.

SPEAKER_14:

And don't forget to check it all out on One Connect. 340. Get your tickets. Get everything you need. Travel, food, experience, love. Come on. You gotta come with us.

SPEAKER_21:

Hope to see you there.

SPEAKER_14:

This is your man Grandmagal live here on OneConnect with the Queen herself, Amitti. How are you today?

SPEAKER_20:

I'm okay. How are you?

SPEAKER_14:

Oh, you're gonna tell us your feeling. How are you feeling right now?

SPEAKER_20:

I'm just so happy, so relieved. You know, everything that I worked hard for finally paid off. I can't, I'm I can't wait for the season.

SPEAKER_14:

I'm telling you, I saw you on stage when you knew you had one, you were beginning to melt. How did you hold it together?

SPEAKER_20:

I did it. I cried. I'm surprised my makeup isn't messed up. I was crying really bad. I was so happy because I was like, you worked so hard for so long. So to finally accomplish your dream, it feels amazing.

SPEAKER_14:

I you did amazing work. Thank you. You put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, tears, time, time and time again. Through this experience, what did you learn the most?

SPEAKER_20:

What I would say I learned the most is that I have to be patient. Usually I move at a fast pace, and I learned that I have to slow down and really see what it is that's happening around me.

SPEAKER_14:

Yes, yes. Now, I want you to inspire our young people. These young girls, they're seeing poise, they're seeing grace, you're seeing beauty. What would you like to say to them?

SPEAKER_20:

Well, I would like to tell them to mind their mind because that's their business. That's my platform. It's based on mental health. And I want to let the community understand that without your mental health being straight, you can't really survive for real. How can we uplift each other and uplift our community if we can't uplift ourselves?

SPEAKER_14:

That is wonderful. Great advice for anybody. I have a young grandchild. She's four years old. She's watching right now. She's watching the TV in Miami, going, wow, she is so beautiful. I want to grow up to be just like her. So, what are your plans? You're gonna walk your work for the next year? What are your plans?

SPEAKER_20:

Yeah, I'm actually um the first thing that I want to do is start a club. Um, so I don't want to get too many of the details yet, but you should be looking out for me.

SPEAKER_14:

We will be completely looking out for you. This is my first festival, and I'm telling you, I'm I'm just cloud man. I'm probably being spoiled right now. But tell us now, are you gonna be in the parade or are you gonna wear your print?

SPEAKER_19:

You'll be most likely for every event. Yes. Everywhere you go, you'll see me.

SPEAKER_14:

You gotta see her. I'm telling you, I just saw it on camp. Welcome back to the One Connect Kaller Lou Station. This is Grandpa Garr, your host. Let me tell you, I just met Shamari today. He just showed me something wonderful on stage.

SPEAKER_03:

Tell us about what you're doing. So, my name is Shamarium, I'm the GPD Commissioner with the U.S. Virginia's Department of Tourism. Previously, I held the title of Assistant Director for Festivals. So I in both roles, right? Um, unofficially, because Alvin Burke is Alvin Burke Jr. is the assistant director for festivals. But if you know me, festival is everything that I do, it's sleep breed, right? So I'm ensuring that the team has the support, that things are operating as soon as possible. So I still got some skin in the game. I'm doing the work and behind the scenes. So for me, it's never about sitting on and just watching the show, it's also making sure that the production is top tier. I tell you something. We're behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_14:

Not everybody gets this type of blue. We see the blood, the sweat, the tears. Everybody's getting ready. A lot when you see it up on stage, it looks flawless. That's because of the things you do.

SPEAKER_03:

What have you learned about this year's present? This year's principal is a bit different. Um, economically, obviously, right? Things there's things are changing everywhere. Um, but one of the things that I'm also realizing is although things are under rise economically, the love and the vibe is still there. So a lot of people are home, right? A lot of people came back home. I see a lot of friends I haven't seen in years. My one friend graduated from school 15 years ago, and he's back here with some other friends from the state. Um, but the the culture, the energy, the vibe is still there, the love for the people is still there. This year's show presented no challenges, thankfully. Um, we started at 6 p.m. on time, finished, and the results were handed over at 8.17. I think that's the fastest show that we've hosted under the division of festivals. Two girls, uh, a professional production from beginning to end. Shout out to everyone who, you know, were behind the scenes um making it happen. Uh, congratulations to the winner, obviously. Um, Mr. Menti Golden Phillips. Uh, she was contestant number two, and she did a really, really, really good job. But good things are happening. I'm feeling really, really good. This is just a start. We've opened in the festival village tomorrow night, our cultural night. Yes. Um, and that's when we we're up the road from there, right? That's when it really, really start. But it's it's been a good experience so far. It's been a very, very good experience so far.

SPEAKER_14:

I think it's been beautiful, very beautiful experience for me. My first festival in the islands, coming from the mainland. I always say Omaha, I always say Miami, because I got a big family in Miami, but now I'm making a family right here in St. Christmas. I want to ask you this, family to family.

SPEAKER_03:

What got you involved in this in the first place? I've been in festival as long as I know myself. Um, I'm 33, um, and I've been in almost every aspect of festival. The only aspect of festival I have not been a part of is bending in the festival village. Um I was uh a committee member with the pageant committee. I worked my way up and ended up becoming co-chair. Um, you know, I want a carnival troupe. I want simply so we together fun troupe. I've been playing mass for a very, very long time. So almost every single aspect of it's I've been in it. So, as long as I know myself, you know, I've done Cruz and Christmas Festival. All things Cruz your Christmas festival, all things carnival, all things festival is me. Um, so it's just real and truly the love for it that just keeps me coming back year after year after year. And listen, trust me, it's a labor love. We make it look easy, we make it look flawless, but when I tell you it's a lot of work, it's a lot of work. But the love for it just keeps me coming back over and over again. It's like a drug. I'm high on carnival. It is it is, I mean, anybody see it's visible. What you do is very, very visible. I saw your energy up on stage and what you bring, the girls are beating in, everybody wants to do their best to do it. Yeah. But I mean, you just it's it's my part, it's my way of doing my part, right? So, you know, as a pro-cruision and I'm a progression, I'm I like to make sure that I'm not just, you know, enjoying the festivities. I like to be behind on the stage to make sure that I'm doing the work. So I'm grateful. I'm lucky to be doing it both on a personal side and a professional side. So I don't get paid for do what I love. A lot of people get that.

SPEAKER_14:

I am loving everything you're doing. I'm feeling it right here, right now. We're going into 2026. This is the kind of energy we're gonna bring out. As we go down, we're gonna bring it up. We're gonna talk about economically, we're talking all financially, we're talking our health, wealth, and relationships that we need to grow. I want to thank you so much. Thank you for having me. Thank you for the time. Your host on OneConnect, 340 Connect. We're bringing you live here with Ian Turnbull. He has been with the Department of Tourism Festivals division for a very long time, and you put on this fantastic production. Introduce yourself to our live audience.

SPEAKER_05:

Good day, good day, good day. My name is Ian Turnbull, director for the USVI Division of Festivals. And tonight we're here at the um actual Miss Sing Foy Queen's pageant. We got two wonderful contestants that are vying for the cap for the candidacy of, you know, Miss Sing Foy 2025-2026.

SPEAKER_14:

Now that's, I know everybody's thinking the same curiosity that I have. How many years has this been going on?

SPEAKER_05:

And how do you really, really play to win this contest? Uh it it's been going on for 73 years. Um, so it's a long time that this has been happening from 1952. 1952, this has been going on here. Um, actually, even longer than that. Um, but 1952 was the official year. Okay. That was the official year that they started um the Cruisian Christmas Festival. Um, you know, it's just a label of love. It's a label of love. Bunch of culture, bunch of energy. Um, they've been doing this consistently, consistently over the past couple years. Um, I've came into the position since 2019. So yeah, just having a lot of fun with it.

SPEAKER_14:

Well, I've seen the energy. I saw the girls, they're coming out, the culture that they're bringing, the the everything they do, they do with grace. I saw the grace. Is this what the the this particular contest is all about?

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, it's about grace and poise, you know, and making sure that you know that everyone connects the dots and makes sure that they do what they have to do. Um they come out on stage, they put their best foot forward, um, a ton of culture, um, a ton of history, you know, they they show you, they walk through the history of other U.S. Virgin Islands when they do what they do, evening wear, swimwear, you know, cultural wear, all of that is a part of what they do. How many phases again? You just named them four or five.

SPEAKER_14:

I just heard that.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, uh so you have interviews, you know, you have professionalism, business attire, all of those things are put in place as well.

SPEAKER_14:

I love that. I I want the nation to really take a look at this model that's taking place in the United States, Virgin Islands, specifically St. Croix, what they're doing for their young people, getting them ready to really make an impact in this world and show the dignity and grace they represent their homeland very well. Now, I got a question. I got a big question here. Is St. Croix the only island that's doing this, or do they have the similar ones in the other two islands?

SPEAKER_05:

So our moniker is three reasons to fetch. We actually do this three times a year. So we do this in St. Croix, we do it in St. Thomas, and then we also do it in St. John. So how do you become Miss Virgin Island? Is that is it a feeder for that? So this our pageants are a feeder for that. So Miss St. Croix or Miss St. Thomas or Miss St. John end up being a feeder for Miss U.S. Virgin Islands.

SPEAKER_14:

Now here's the other question. Has anyone from the Virgin Islands actually got into that pageant at once?

SPEAKER_05:

Um, no one has won, but we recently had Miss Brittney. Um she she was recently at the Miss Universe pageant. Um, she didn't place, but she came, you know, she was there. She's top 30. Yeah. She was the top 30, top 40 um of the individuals. And so, yeah, I mean, it's just an exciting thing that we do. These pageants allow for young ladies to grow up. You know, some of them become doctors, lawyers, judges, um, and and even you know, VPs of major companies and so forth. So it's a great conduit to build confidence for our young ladies.

SPEAKER_14:

Absolutely. I can see that all day. Now, what you're doing, you've been doing this back since 2019. You've been putting this, this is a major production. We are privileged to be backstage here, seeing it, you know, when you see it in action, like, oh, it's so easy. Tell us about what kind of work goes into putting this festival on.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah. So, so again, it it it's to put this thing together, it it's it's almost it's never-ending. You know, um, it's every day, every night. Um, I'm hearing my assistant director on the stage, and he's saying essentially the same thing that I'm saying is that we're already planning 2026, already planning 2027. We're already thinking about what we can do a little bit different, um, you know, you know, culture changes. You know, that's something that divert that people across the world are afraid about. But um, you know, what we've been doing with the division of festivals is pushing the needle um and then seeing what works, seeing what sticks, seeing, seeing what seeing what we can tweak, see what we can do better, and and this is that opportunity, you know. So we've been going for five years straight, knocking it out. You've been doing a great job.

SPEAKER_14:

I want to do a shout out, you know, because One Connect connects the entire national United States. So we're talking about markets in Boston, markets in Miami, markets in the Midwest in Omaha, Nebraska. I want to bring that to the Virgin Island because I think they need this cultural infusion for themselves.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, that's that's the great thing of us being a part of the Department of Tourism. Um, we help with the mandate of bringing people to the territories. You know, just to kind of tap ourselves on the back. Um before 2019, the average number of people that used to come to St. Croix in the month of December was about 11,000. Yeah. Now we get about 20,000 people. So we double the number just specifically with you know, enhancing the experience with festivals and so forth. And all three are having that same outcome. So you know, this that's the main goal, but um, the secondary goal is really just to make sure that the people of the Virgin Islands get to experience our culture. We get to express ourselves and show the world who we are as a people.

SPEAKER_14:

And you are beautiful people. I love every minute, every day, every week that I am here. This is wonderful. I want to thank you again for being on the show. Thank you. All right, all right, all right. We see we got the man in the dark star right here, right here, right here. The man, the mist, the mist, we're going to arrive. Okay, yes, yes, yes, we go, here we go, here we go, here we go.

SPEAKER_09:

Who's your favorite podcast? Man, Grant, man. I love Grant Brock. Oh, Grant. I'm gonna send you the link. I love I love the interview.

SPEAKER_01:

I I've done a lot of these, and this is a great one. It's it's always great to talk to people who know what they're doing, and it's clear you're a great host, and you've done this many times before.

SPEAKER_12:

I feel great that we're having this conversation here. Uh met a new person in business who I previously uh didn't know.

SPEAKER_22:

It was an amazing podcast. Brand is an amazing interviewer. I learned a lot.

SPEAKER_30:

Really enjoyed this. Great questions, great talk track. Super appreciate you having me on. It's been a very fun episode to talk about a lot of things that I don't always get to dive into, so this has been a fantastic conversation.

SPEAKER_31:

I wouldn't be where I am here today, of course, not on the stage, however, not in my current business uh projection and my current business model uh without working with you.

SPEAKER_08:

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SPEAKER_14:

Hey everyone, it's Grant Magaw, CEO of Five Star BDM and host of the award-winning Follow the Brand Podcast and TV series. My genius is personal brand development through intelligent communication and helping you achieve your business and career. I am a requested speaker on digital technology and brand development issues. I want to work with you to increase the value of your current opportunities while attracting new ones. Every one of you is unique, and we all share challenges that can be addressed through smart branding. As a Super Connector, I work with you as an executive coach to guide you along the complicated business and career development road, providing the enhancement tools and information you need to succeed. Together, I will help you succeed in today's challenging business climate. I will evaluate and measure your progress. Best of all, I am right alongside you every step of the way. Build the brand called you. Tune in for our next show or click on our website at www.firstarbdm slash follow the brand TV. Thank you.