Winter

The biggest party of the year takes place on New Year’s Eve (known locally as Old Year’s Night). Hundreds of boats fill the anchorages around Jost and people throng to bars in all four bays. Foxy normally brings in some high-profile entertainers for the event. Over at White Bay, Ivan Chinnery hosts a low-key musical weekend at his campground.

What small-scale charm existed during the early years of Jost’s New Year’s celebration is long gone. In 1999 Foxy’s made several high-profile lists of places to ring in the year 2000. While the number of revelers has receded slightly since that millennial year, Jost is still jam-packed by a party-hardy crowd every New Year’s. Special ferries run between Jost and St. Thomas, St. John, and Tortola for the big event.

Spring

The island’s annual events also include Foxy’s Wooden Boat Regatta, a celebration of classic wooden boats held Memorial Day Weekend. Recently, the regatta has also become a showplace for the traditional island sloops being preserved and maintained by H. Lavity Stoutt Community College on Tortola.

Foxy also throws a Music Fest every March, with headliners from throughout the Caribbean, and hosts smaller parties on Halloween, Christmas Eve, and Thanksgiving. Find out more at www.foxysbar.com.

Summer

Jost holds its annual island festival, complete with a rag-tag parade, over Labor Day weekend. Don’t expect much—but as with all things Jost, expect it to be a good time.

© Susanna Henighan Potter from Moon Virgin Islands, 4th edition