At the corner of St. John Celebration Village, facing the post office, sits Booth No. 8, home of Claudine’s Culinary Craft Shop. For most of the years it has served celebration fans, it’s been the seasonal home of a family enterprise handed down over the years.
Claudine Scatliffe Daniels — the 2025 Village honoree — says she started doing duty in Booth No. 8 in her mid-teens, along with her sisters and under the tutelage of her mother and her aunt. “It was the family spot; it was my Grandma’s spot,” she said. “Because it was a family spot, it was my sisters, my mom — Graciella — and Aldrea Wade. She took over the family spot 20 years ago, and she handed it over to me 12 years ago.”
She added that over the years, there was one bit of wisdom that carried her through the long days and nights of preparing food and drinks and passing them over the counter to the customers. “All she taught me was ‘People are going to be hungry. Have food.'”
Moments earlier, Daniels was being introduced on stage by Division of Festivals Director Ian Turnbull. “This year we have an honoree who has worked with the Division of Festivals, who has collaborated with the Division of Festivals, especially here on St. John; someone who has truly been supportive of our efforts,” Turnbull said.
After the ceremony was done, the honoree said she would then start putting together what she’ll be doing in Booth No. 8. “I do about 20 cases of chicken and 300 to 400 pounds of dough,” she said.
Most of the dough goes into assorted pates. Some become a chicken leg’s famous sidekick, the johnny cake. “We serve a lot of food in here,” she said.
And like her forebearers, Daniels has two of her children by her side, doing duty at the fete. “My children, they are my rock. They drive me crazy, but Kurt and Athia — I couldn’t do it without them.”
Sunday night’s village opening featured welcoming remarks from Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boshulte, Senate President Milton Potter, Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, Gov. Albert Bryan Jr., and Lt. Gov. Tregenza Roach. “Let’s remember that St. John Celebration is about freedom, and freedom isn’t free,” Plaskett said. “We are only one of two places in the Western Hemisphere where we obtained our freedom by our own will.”
Streams of festival fans filled the Village square moments after the official ribbon cutting, and Booth No. 8, along with the other booths, saw their counters filled with those ready to have a good time.
There were also thoughts about ensuring a safe and festive event over the six scheduled Village nights. Deputy Police Chief Clayton Brown said uniformed officers from the Virgin Islands Police Department and other uniformed law enforcers are on duty. VIPD is also employing technology to keep an eye on people, places, and things in and around the Village.
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