From November 2, the old cook house at Annaberg is scheduled for bread baking again. Ms. Olivia Christian grew up working summers at her family's Daylight Bakery in Charlotte Amalie. This is her 15th season of demonstrations at the ruins, and she usually bakes coconut bread, plain dumb bread or johnny cakes. Mr. Charles Jackson returns to the Annaberg garden, where he has worked for 18 years and talks about sugar cane, bush tea and the medicinal uses of island plants. Mr. Ital Delroy Anthony, a native St. Johnian, covers music and crafts.
The Annaberg Cultural Program runs Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., from November to June, according to Friends of Virgin Islands National Park. It is one of four free programs on the North Shore with this season's start dates spread from late October to December 1. Once all four are running, most subjects show up twice in the same week: as an evening talk at Cinnamon Bay, and as something you can see in the park in daylight.
Four Programs, Spread Over Five Weeks
Each program on the Friends calendar runs on its own schedule. Here is the order:
| Program | Where | When | On the calendar from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Bay Bird Walk | Meet at George Francis factory ruins | Fridays, 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. | October 30 |
| Annaberg Cultural Demonstrations | Annaberg ruins | Mon to Wed, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | November 2 |
| Cinnamon Campground Chats | Rain Tree Cafe, Cinnamon Bay Beach & Campground | Mon to Fri, 6 to 7 p.m. | November 9 |
| Maho Sea Turtle Info Table | Maho Beach | Tuesdays, 9 to 11 a.m. | December 1 |
The Cinnamon Campground Chats tie the schedule together. Friends describes them as free talks led by "local culture bearers, expert educators, and retired Park rangers," held every weeknight from November to May at the Rain Tree Cafe. Each night has a set subject. Monday is sea turtles, Tuesday is traditional arts and crafts, Wednesday is Caribbean music, Thursday is birds and Friday is coral reef ecosystems. Line those subjects up against the daytime programs and four of the five weeknights have a daytime partner.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Annaberg by Day, Cinnamon by Night
The first pairing is on the Annaberg days. Mr. Ital Delroy Anthony's music and crafts demonstrations run Monday through Wednesday at the ruins. The Tuesday evening chat at Cinnamon covers traditional arts and crafts, and Wednesday's covers Caribbean music.
That gives two midweek days a simple plan. Spend the late morning at Annaberg while the demonstrations run until 2, have the afternoon at the beach, then go to the Rain Tree Cafe at 6 to hear more on the same subject. Friends says the Annaberg demonstrations are open to visitors and local residents, and they are also part of its School Kids In The Park program. If you are hosting family who want to understand the island beyond the beaches, these two days do it well.
Thursday Night, Friday Morning: Birds
The second pairing runs overnight. Thursday's chat at Cinnamon is about birds. The Francis Bay Bird Walk starts at 7:30 the next morning. The Friends calendar lists it on Fridays from October 30 through December 25, meeting at the George Francis factory ruins with retired park ranger and Virgin Islands Audubon Society member Laurel Brannick.
The bird walks start before the chats, so this pairing only lines up from the second week of November. From Thursday, November 12, you can hear an evening talk on birds and be out at Francis Bay before 8 the next morning. The walk ends at 9:30, early enough to leave the rest of Friday free. That night's chat moves offshore to coral reefs.
Monday Night, Tuesday Morning: Turtles, From December 1
The third pairing is the one Maho Bay regulars will care about most, and it is the last to start. The Monday chat at Cinnamon is the Turtle Talk, listed by Friends for Mondays, 6 to 7 p.m., November to May. The Maho Sea Turtle Info Table runs on Maho Beach on Tuesdays, 9 to 11 a.m. Its season is December to May on the Friends sea turtle program page, updated October 29, and the first 2026 date on the calendar is Tuesday, December 1.
So for the rest of November, the Monday turtle talk runs without its Maho partner. Starting with the November 30 chat, you can hear about the turtles at Cinnamon and then find the information table on Maho Beach the next morning. December 1 is the last start date on the North Shore's park calendar this season.
Two Weekday Commitments Outside the Pairs
Two parts of the week sit outside the pairs. The Friends events calendar lists a Walk Up Trail Crew every Tuesday and Thursday from October through May, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers maintain trails, clear historic sites, plant trees and remove trash, and Friends announces each week's location. The crew may not work on the North Shore every week, but for full-time residents it fits around Annaberg on Tuesdays and the bird talk on Thursdays.
The second is Friday night's coral reef chat. No daytime program goes with it, so a morning snorkel is the obvious match.
Cinnamon Bay Is Ready for the Evening Talks
The chats depend on Cinnamon Bay being up and running, and it reopened in time. ExploreSTJ reported on November 1 that the Virgin Islands National Park campground at Cinnamon Bay had reopened that Sunday.
The beach food truck is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. New this season, it closes for a lunch break from 11:30 to noon. The new menu items include a virgin strawberry daiquiri and a St. John Brewers root beer float for kids, a rum and root beer float for adults, and a jumbo soft Bavarian pretzel with cheese and honey mustard. There is also a new shade tent with more picnic tables in the concession area.
The timing matters for the evening chats. ExploreSTJ lists the sit-down restaurant at Cinnamon as serving breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and dinner from 5:30 to 8 p.m. every night, with a menu that changes daily and a different theme each night. With the chats running 6 to 7 at the Rain Tree Cafe, dinner on the bay can come before or after the talk. ExploreSTJ puts Cinnamon Bay about 20 minutes from Cruz Bay, with a taxi fare of $11 per person. That is useful for guests who would rather not drive Route 20 home after dark.
The Morning at Maho Around the Turtle Table
When the turtle table starts in December, it will be on a beach that changed this year. ExploreSTJ reported in April that Little Fish, a bar and food truck, had opened directly across from Maho Bay beach next to Maho Crossroads. It has a full bar, breakfast and lunch, shaded picnic tables and two frozen drinks on tap, a frozen pinot noir and a frozen rosé. Reef2Peak still rents watersports gear on the same site. At opening, ExploreSTJ reported Little Fish's hours as seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or so, and later if people were still out enjoying the day. Maho Crossroads offers food, a bar and water sports rentals.
Those hours fit the table, which runs 9 to 11 on Tuesday mornings. Hours change with the seasons out here, so check with each business before planning around it.
Put the pieces together and the North Shore has a full weekday schedule by December. Annaberg runs Monday to Wednesday, the trail crew goes out Tuesdays and Thursdays, the bird walk meets Friday mornings and the turtle table sets up on Tuesdays. Every weeknight, the Rain Tree Cafe hosts a talk on one of those subjects. Friends of Virgin Islands National Park lists every date on its calendar, and the Annaberg program runs into June.
Part of hosting well on St. John is knowing what is happening around the island on a given day. When guests arrive at a villa we manage, we can plan their week around the park schedule, with a Wednesday at Annaberg, a Friday bird walk at dawn or a Tuesday at Maho when the turtle table is out. If you have family coming this season and want help planning their days on the North Shore, Bonvi Hospitality Group is glad to help. Let's Connect.
