Dozens of students across the territory are coming to St. Thomas set to perform here for the 14thannual Shakespeare Festival Friday.
But at the last minute, several students from St. Croix, said they couldn’t come.
“Yesterday late afternoon I received a text from Assistant Principal Parilla saying that they were struggling to be able to get transport through the Department of Education,” Pamela New, with Pistarckle Theater said.
Sixteen students who have been practicing for weeks were left stuck on St. Croix.
One of the coordinators, New, said the news shook the arts community.
“There always seems money for our sports teams to fly between the islands and here we have students from elementary through to high school, who are prepared to take the risk what is essentially a foreign language in Elizabethan Shakespearian English. It is so important that we support the children and the schools in participation,” New said.
New made a plea on Facebook, sharing the news with anyone that would listen. Within an hour, someone came forward to help sponsor the trip.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the response from the community and in fact got the message from the owners of Pizza Pi,” she said.
The St. Thomas business that sells pizza off their boat in Christmas Cove offered to pay for the students and teachers to come over Friday morning.
New hopes all the drama now is saved for the stage.
“Alls well that ends well.”
Students from all three islands will be participating at the Nisky Moravian Church Friday.
It all starts at 9:00am, and although the students from St. Croix will miss some of the beginning, they will make the show.
Following this story air time the Department of Education stepped in to pay for the trip.
