St. Thomas may be a fairly small island but cultural institutions abound here. One of the cultural institutions in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. is the Pistarkle Theater. Established in 1991 and currently molded by Nikki Emerich as the artistic Director. The Pistarkle Theater offers a variety of productions that get better each year.

Saturday was the final performance of "Cabaret" at the Pistarkle Theater. Typically,  there was not an empty seat in the house. I attended with two friends and enjoyed the performance of a cast that has been honing their skills and clearly are exhibiting the benefit of a new musical director. An additional bonus is being able to see  friends and colleagues preform at a professional level.

This cultural institution in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands offers educational camps for the youth of the community. The 2011 Leadership Performing Arts Camp was held July 29 to August 19th. Some of the attendees are featured in the video below.

The 2012 - 2013 after school program runs from Oct 15 through December 14th. They offer dance, acting and singing lessons. Individual lessons are $10 per class, $45 weekly and $350 for all 8 weeks. The acting classes are free to children enrolled in public schools  age 9 and older.

Located in Tillet Gardens which is a center for the arts, yet another cultural institution on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Here, shops sell everything from Orchids, hand crafted jewelry, and hand painted clothing to name just a few products of local artists. The center was created by Jim Tillett, a, now deceased, world renowned, silk screen artist. He arrived on  St. Thomas in 1959 and converted a Danish farm into  a screen printing shop and art gallery. There are some Thirteen shops and a new Restaurant, "The Bistro". I tried the honey mustard pulled chicken salad, Saturday. The food is tasty and the portions are more than generous.

These cultural institutions on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands provide opportunities for young people to develop their talents, learn to express themselves in wonderful ways, improve their self esteem, and provide a great source of entertainment for the community.  The arts are heavily dependent on contributions from individuals and corporate sponsors.