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ICI •pg_35-42__BMT_pg3-58 12/21/12 4:13 AM Page 38 USVI-Bay View EXPLORING ISLAND HISTORY AND CULTURE The Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort, also on St. Thomas, offers more than 60,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space to provide the perfect setting for your next business event. Choose from 15 meeting rooms, on-site exhibition spaces and the Grand Harbour Ballroom. Or, take your meeting outdoors with breathtaking outdoor terraces that provide dazzling views of St. Thomas. For your convenience, meeting rooms offer wireless high-speed Internet and access to the latest business technology for ultimate productivity. The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas special- izes in pairing ideal meeting venues with impeccable service. Discover the many signature features of this Caribbean meeting resort, which include 10,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor conference and event space, a 2,500-sq. ft. Great Bay Ballroom, stunning views of Great Bay and St. John and accommodations for up to 200 guests. Surrounded by lush green mountains and clear blue Caribbean ocean, St. Croix Carambola Beach Resort & Spa is another option for groups ranging in size from 10 to 200 attendees with flexible indoor meeting space of over 8,000 sq. ft., plus terrace and poolside areas of more than 5,000 sq. ft. The resort caters to corporate meetings and incentive groups, social groups, sports Marroitt Frenchman's Reef 38 BM&T ••• September/October 2012••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com Beach Hotel in Christ Church, and the Crane Residential Resort in St. Philip. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the George Village Botanical Garden on St. Croix offers meeting and event space. St. Thomas boasts a host of venues, such as Coral World Ocean Park, Mahogany Run Golf Course, Paradise Point, the St. Peter Great House and Botanical Gardens and Villa Botanica at Plantation Crown and Hawk Botanical Gardens. tournaments, and groups looking for a unique and memorable tropical experience. Each Caribbean destination offers a host of attractions for visitors to explore its unique history, arts and architecture. Some of the top events and attractions showcase the island's vibrant and diverse musical heritage. Jamaica is home to the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, a required stop for any visitor interested in the life of the Reggae legend, and the Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival is held each January in Montego Bay. The Barbados Gospel Fest at Farley Hill National Park and the Barbados Jazz Festival, with performances at various venues throughout the capital city, both take place in May. Quelbe, the official traditional music of the Virgin Islands, can be described as a "scratch band sound," according to the website of the USVI Department of Tourism. The music was invented by slaves working on sugar plantations where drum beating and dancing were forbidden by Danish law. The ingenious musicians formed percussion bands with homemade bamboo flutes, bass drums, steel triangles and dried gourds. Over years, the guitar, tambourine, tail pipe and ukulele were added to the mix. The town of Loiza, just east of San Juan, is called the African cultural center of