Operation Future/RAGS Anti-Gang Concert

You might remember that I did a blog entry a while back talking about groups that do good on the island. A follow-up post added Operation Future, and they've got a bunch of folks from Canada coming in for a conference to fire up the troops.  The Regina Anti-Gang Service (RAGS) is a Canadian anti-gang organization that works in conjunction with local police forces and the justice department and will be represented at the conference as well. They want to video Federation youth willing to tell their stories and reach out to them via this concert on Monday night (22 August).  Anyone with kids (or anyone who knows a former or current gang member) should seriously urge them to attend this event. Get the word out. I have an email from the organizers with all kinds of attachments if you want them too so just email me via the Contact button.

Parle Vous Francais?

So I got a call from someone new who discovered the blog and asked if I'd give the Alliance Francaise organization a shout out. I always have their events on my calendar, but I don't think anyone's using the darn thing, so I'll give them a little more of a plug here.

This is a fun organization that has offered everything from gallery showings, to food experimenting, to wine tasting, to free movies, to concerts. They've been here in St. Kitts for over 12 years and, per their website, offer: Classes for Children and Adults, Library facilities, French television, and Movies in French. In addition they prepare teachers for the European Diploma in French, provide Scholarships for overseas study in Guadeloupe and Paris and assist with student exchanges to Guadeloupe and Paris.

As you can see from their schedule of activities for April, they just had a children's Easter camp that sounded like fun.



Tonight is a wine tasting at Hidden Spirits (located between the Marriott and The Strip in Frigate Bay) and tomorrow they're hosting a concert at the Marriott with artists all the way from Africa. If you go to both events, you can save $10 by buying ahead.



Here are the bios of the two artists performing tomorrow night.



It's nice to have something different to do on island, other than the usual beach bars, and it's important to support the events held by not only organizations like these, but the Ministry of Culture, Positively Inclined/Island Xpressions, and groups like LEAP (Facebook Page). If we're sick of the crime here (a rape now?!), then we need to give the kids something more to do than hang out on the corner. Come and show the people trying to change things for the better some love!

Turtles & Art

I don't know if anyone has received the email that's been circulating for a while showing Costa Ricans taking bags and bags of sea turtle eggs from a beach there, but I wanted to make a couple of comments. Don't worry, I'm not going to soap-box this time; I'm leading into a great program on-island.

I do need to lead in though...I am going to ignore the argument that these pictures prove that the disappearance of turtles has nothing to do with global warming, simply because I believe both can be at fault (I'm logical that way); however, there does seem to be more of a story behind the pictures. Here's a link with more pictures and a response to it. This harvest seems to have been part of a legal government program. Turtles, in fact, can come to shore to lay eggs several times over a season and usually head for the nest they just dug, tearing it up, and laying another batch of eggs on top. Other turtles can come in and screw up older nests too. I actually saw this happen in Grenada. I think the thinking in Costa Rica is to come in and grab the first batch (which is not going to make it anyway) and let the locals sell the eggs. This gives them income and food. The next batch of eggs is off-limits, hatches, and the hatchlings try their luck in the ocean. I'm ok with that theory except that I can't see how they can know which batch they're taking; nor am I convinced they wouldn't become greedy (look at the ongoing fight over ivory; tons and tons of which, seized in raids, are currently piled up in warehouses while elephants continue to be slaughtered). Whatever is happening, it's still sad to look at.

St. Kitts doesn't get hundreds of turtles like that, and has enough to deal with regarding dogs, cats, mongoose, and monkeys without having to add humans into the mix. Here, the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network, in conjunction with Widecast, has come up with a great idea. First, they clean up beaches so the turtles have somewhere to come without getting caught in plastic or tangled up in washed-up fishing lines. Then they take the glass bottles that they find, and have the folks who used to catch and kill the adult turtles make products with the glass. It's a win-win. The beaches get cleaned up, the glass gets recycled, and the fishermen make money without killing anything.



Beach glass can be converted to earrings, pennants, and wind chimes; glass bottles can be melted down and blown into beads for various uses. SKSTMK can give/sell you the products to sell at parties or fund-raising events. I bought two things for myself.



And two for my Mom for Christmas, which I'm not going to show.

The turtle group is trying to re-engage the Only in St. Christopher store*, which does have one pair of glass earrings left to buy. The goal is to get more products marketed in more outlets and really make it a viable business. If you're interested at all, let me know, and I can get the goodies for you. Kind of like a Tupperware party, but for a better cause. You can actually order what you want - earrings, rings, pendants in whatever color combination that floats your boat.

*You must go to the Only in St. Christopher store in the Treasury Building/Port Zante if you want one of a kind gifts that were actually made on the island. Island Hopper by the Circus is good too.

BTW, turtles are expensive to feed, so there's also an adoption program (no, you don't have to turn your bathtub or pool into a turtle habitat).

Looking at these unique items reminded me how much I miss art/street fairs back in the States. I was whining about this to Tina (the woman I just bought the glass from - I now know 2 Tinas on island) about this, and she matter-of-factly asked me why I didn't organize one. Huh - I guess I could. But I would need help. Lots of it. If you'd like to help me get this going or would like to market your products in such a thing, hit the Contact button on the blog's sidebar and let me know. We could pick a weekend and sell to both visitors and to locals looking for unique but handmade gifts (Christmas, birthday, etc.). We could have stands for art work, jewelry, ornaments, soap/lotions, dolls, food products, masks, cards, whatever. I'm sure there is a lot of talent on this island and it's time to show it off!