January has been a busy month here, saying goodbye to those who spent the holidays and hello to old friends who show up this time of year. Business has been pretty good for most establishments on island. We are definitely into "season" and are keeping busy! What follows is the calendar of activities so be sure to participate!
Friday, Feb. 8th, Kung Fu Theater Night at The Oasis! As you can guess that means a special Asian food menu. Kristen also has a new menu at The Oasis and is holding down the kitchen while Owen recuperates. Owen unfortunately broke his collarbone in a run in with a bull while riding his motorcycle. Story is the bull charged him when disoriented by the headlight. We all wish him a speedy recovery!
February 9th has a few things going on. In the morning you can attend the Estate Sale at 565 Plinio Peterson, located in Isabel II. This is a benefit for the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust. While in town venture around the corner and check out the weekly Flea Market going on at the former Coconuts location. Both start around 9 AM. Later in the day you might want to take a trip to the Fort and see the photo exhibit by a Viequense artist living on St. Croix. The exhibit shows the history of the Viequenses migrating to St. Croix after the sugar industry ended here. Make sure you stop into Casa Vieja Gallery between 5 - 8 PM on Feb, 9th also. Alec and Eve have a new show opening! I attended the opening in January and there were many fabulous pieces. I was able to get a sneak preview of some things for this new show and you'll love the work. Eve was very busy in her new studio this past summer and has great paintings to show off. Alec too has been busy and has some wonderful landscapes available. As always their gallery features works by other artists and is a must visit while here on the island.
Sunday, February 10th there will be a "Sunday Salon" at Casa de Antonio in Puerto Real. The afternoon starts with the premier of a ˝ hour documentary by Vera Graf, Tony will entertain you singing a cappella and also offer you a meal. He will provide soft drinks however feel free to BYOB. Price for the afternoon including meal is $15 pp and please call Tony to make reservations so there is ample food for everyone. Starts at 5 PM and remember to call 787-741-4547
Monday, February 11th there will be a Bird Watch Walk with Aviary expert, Daphne Gemill. Ms. Gemill has been studying the birds on Vieques for over 20 years! The trip starts at 6:30 AM, where you meet at the Trust in Esperanza. The walk continues until about 11 AM. You will need 4 Wheel Drive to get to the area and make sure you have your binoculars, sunscreen and comfortable shoes! Reservations required so call the Trust at 787-741-8850.
February 13th there will be a slide show on the birds of the island given by Ms. Gemill also. This will be at the Trust and begins at 6:30 PM
February 11 - 15 there will be YOGA seminars given by Jennifer Baker Elliot at Casa Cielo located in Pilon. Classes start at 8 AM those days. The fee is $15 per person, per session which goes to the Bio Bay project at the Trust. For more information either call the Trust or Casa Cielo, 787-741-2403.
On Tuesday, February 12th. Celebrate Fat Tuesday with the crowd at Island Café! There will be a special Mardi Gras Happy Hour from 5 - 7 PM.
Thursday, February 14th is of course Valentines Day! Don't forget to order Roses from Vieques Flowers, 787-741-2679. Tom will be busy delivering so call soon to place your order. Be sure to make reservations for your favorite restaurant too. If not sure where you want to eat consider Island Café, there are doing a Pre Fixe dinner and offering a different wine with each course, call 787-741-0033 or741-0011, for info and reservations. If you are into basketball there will be a 3 on 3 tournament at the Coliseum that afternoon also. Different age groups will be competing and the games start late at 4:30. This could be fun to watch.
Saturday, February 16th, Café Media Luna will be having Jazz night! This is a must do so make reservations early. The band is Pedro Guzman's Latin Jazz Quartet featuring special Trumpeter Luis "Perico" Ortiz. I have hear this group and they are phenomenal! If you like Jazz be there as it does not get any better than this!
Wednesday, February 20th attend the Goods and Services Auction to benefit the Vieques Humane Society. This is a fun event and will be held at La Sirena in Esperanza this year. Offered at the auction are some great things such as Bio Bay Trips, Bike Trips, Car Rentals, Dinners at the best restaurants, massages, jewelry and much more. Be there early to get a seat, starts at 7 PM!
Thursday, February 21st participate in a Greek Cooking class. The Blue Macaw will be offering a Greek cooking lesson at the owners home in Pilon. The home offers spectacular views of the island and has of course a great kitchen! Rick will prepare the dinner and you get to enjoy all the food. The meal includes appetizers, dinner, desert and wine. At the end of the evening you get to leave with your belly full of delicious food that you helped prepare plus all the recipes that they used. Reservations are limited so please call Rick and Honor at 787-741-2538 for information and cost. They are having phone problems so be diligent and keep trying!
Saturday, February 23rd there will be a Garden Tour offered through the VCHT. These usually get started about 9 AM and you must have reservations for the trip. Call the Trust for more information and reservations at 787-741-8850.
Sunday, February 24th there will be an Open House at Beach Comb'Rs Day Spa in Isabel II. Check out what's new in nails, hair, skincare and more. Open house is from 2 - 6 PM. Ladies this is a great thing to do if the guys are busy watching the Daytona 500 at one of the watering holes on the island!
February 25th, Monday, Prime Rib Special at Chef Michael's located at the Inn on the Blue Horizon, For information and reservations call 787-741-3318!
Don't forget all the regular weekly events that go on like Mondays: Grill Night at Chez Shack! Tuesdays: Happy Hour at Island Café! Wednesday: Rib Night at Tropico! Thursdays: Dinner Specials at Mar Azul and Oldies there with Capt. Martin. Also on Thursdays Live Music upstairs at La Sirena 6 - 10 PM! Fridays: Maybe Karaoke at Crab Walk Café, the machine broke again so not sure about this one! Newsflash! Just heard that Lyman/Crab Walk is going to be showing "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" Friday, 2/8! If that happens and you know the routine join the fun, probably starts about 9:30 or 10! I have not seen the movie in over 20 years!
The Mar Azul has an exciting new menu and a new cook! Amy, you may remember her as the Saturday night bartender, has taken charge of the kitchen, expanded the menu and the food is great! I have only tried a few things so far but she is offering a daily soup, salad, pasta and fish special and dessert! The kitchen is open Thursday through Sunday and she is cooking until about 10 PM now. We are all excited about the new menu and wish her great success in the kitchen! Remember that dining at the Mar Azul is casual, place your order with the bartender, then listen for your name to be called and pick up your food at the window!
Chef Michael's had another successful Sushi Night recently. He tries to do one special night a month but I don't always get advance notice! I had to work the night he offered Sushi and could not attend however Chef Michael and kitchen crew delivered Sushi to me at the Mar Azul! I felt obligated to share which was okay since they brought in a very generous selection of things offered at dinner that night. Even Al, the owner, had his first sample of Sushi as did a few other folks that were having a late night cocktail! Chef Michael is the best! I wonder if I could get some of the other restaurants to bring me a midnight snack! Chef Michael will offer a special dinner menu for Valentines Day and as always this is the place to enjoy cocktails and dinner while you visit, get there at least once!
Karen, owner of Vieques Health Foods, is taking orders for organic greens and herbs. When I talked with her she said she is trying to get people interested so she can place her orders each Monday and get the produce on Wednesdays. She will be able to offer things like mesculin, baby spinach, bok choy, endive, basil, dill, etc. She must have your order by Monday morning as she will place the order at Noon. Not sure of pick up time Wed. yet. For more information and orders give her a call at 787-741- 4744. Thanks Karen for offering this to all of us!
We have a new catering business on the island! The Blue Macaw is open for business and will be happy to cook for you! They have different options as far as cooking in for you and guests or leaving you with oven ready food. Rick and Honor have over 20 years experience cooking and running a restaurant. In addition to catering they are also offering cooking classes. Catering service is geared for groups of 6 and up and prices start at $12.95 per person. I have heard wonderful things about the food they have provided for different social events, give them a call for more information at 787-741-2538.
After writing What's Happenin' for the last year and getting such positive feedback I, and a good friend, have started a new business! We will be doing a monthly newspaper for the island. We hope to provide all the residents with news of upcoming events as well as some small articles and bits of information. As with any new project we have had several snags! With luck we will have the paper distributed around the island by Tuesday, February 5th. We are very excited about our project and are amazed that we put a paper together in about 7 days! Of course then we ran into all sorts of problems too numerous and "dramatic" to list here! We have been overwhelmed by the support of the community for our publication
VIEQUES EVENTS! Please look for it while you visit and let me know what you think. Not to worry, I will still be keeping you up to date on What's Happenin' here on enchanted-isle.com where you actually get more information than the paper due to production and printing
deadlines!
Thanks for reading and hope you have a great time in Vieques.
Judy
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