Paradise Jam and Jazz

I doubt most people think about basketball when they think about St. Thomas, but maybe they should. Since 2001, Paradise Jam has hosted college D1 teams for a tournament in November. There are both men's and women's tourneys, played over 2 different weekends, at University of the Virgin Islands. The audiences are made up of both fans of the teams and St. Thomians. And games draw large crowds!

Bob & I went to opening night of the men's tournament, and saw games between Seton Hall and Alabama:

and between Xavier and Iowa:

I hope no one reading this is a fan of Xavier men's basketball, because we found their fans to be really obnoxious. Seriously, people, if you're winning 60-41, you don't have to yell at the refs for every foul call!

Anyway, there was also half-time entertainment, provided this night by the band & the dance team of Ivana Eudora Kean High School and a couple of "pirates" on stilts:

We went back another night and saw the 3rd/4th place game between Clemson and Seton Hall:

 That night, the half-time performers were from Charlotte Amalie High School:

We went back on Thanksgiving evening for one of the women's games, between Tennessee and Georgia Tech. No pictures that night, sorry, and also no high school entertainment. Bummer!

I don't know if we'll be here for Thanksgiving next year, but, if we are, we'll definitely be at some more basketball games!


Another evening, we went to Jazz on the Green, which is held in an area called Yacht Haven Grande. It was a "cool-ish" evening and the music was great!

This lady was one of the singers at the Gala a couple of weeks ago:

The concerts are held one evening a month, on the Saturday closest to the full moon. So, if you are a jazz fan, plan your visits accordingly!