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News
Island Report
Island Report
News, events, and happenings around Aruba...
News, events, and happenings around Aruba...
Looooong table – big check!
Arikok National Park expansion
June 2017 saw an unprecedented dinner event take place in downtown Oranjestad. More than 1,000 people sat at one very long outdoor table set up along L.G. Smith Blvd for a gourmet three-course meal paired with wines! But no worries about the check! Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino hosted it, and attendees only paid $20 for the privilege, with all proceeds going to charities for #CancerSurvivorsDay. Over $20,000 was raised, and recipients of the big checks were Koningin Wilhelmina Fonds Aruba and Mary Joan Foundation Aruba.
March 2017 was a cause for celebration as Arikok Park expanded its legally protected territory to include the important biodiverse region of Spanish Lagoon. In attendance was HRH Princess Beatrix, an enthusiastic patron of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance. More inclusion of fragile areas is planned for the coming year with 19 regions already earmarked for protection around the island. Aruba is committed to preserving its marine and terrestrial biodiversity, including bird life, and welcomes visitors to explore them in many eco-friendly ways. For details visit www.arubanationalpark.org.
Esha: young new musical star
At only 15 years old, Esha is already on her second album and under contract with Nashville-based Copeland Tucker Group. Seems the sky is the limit for this young Aruban singer/songwriter, and everyone who was at the 2017 Aruba Summer Music Festival could see why. Her performance absolutely blew everyone away! But it was also the maturity in the songwriting that really connected and made it hard to believe that the life insight behind her heartfelt songs could come from such a very young artist. www.eshaofficial.com
Children’s books in local lingo
Congratulations to Aruba Nights contributor, Liliana Erasmus, on her great success in writing and illustrating children’s books (in both Papiamento and Dutch) highlighting Aruban color and culture and touching on important social issues in ways children will understand. A self-professed “born storyteller” Liliana found little in her native language for children growing up, so she decided to write them herself including the island’s first ABC book in Papiamento. Her books are now in big demand in local schools as well as in the Netherlands. www.lilianaerasmus.com
New high-tech training fitness club New historical fiction set on Aruba
If you like to stay in shape while on holiday, there’s a new spot to do so featuring hightech equipment and a totally futuristic vibe. The Bodytech Fitness Club takes working out to a whole new level with innovative gear and a trend-savvy professional staff that also offer personal and group training customized to your favored fitness regime and time constraints. Day passes are available. There’s also a new health food restaurant, Pura Vita, on-site that’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Visit them on www.facebook.com/bodytecharuba/. 18 Nights
On the heels of his book, Aruba I Am Your Island – a cornucopia of island scenes and color with snippets of insider lore and stunning photographs by Werner J. Bertsch – local author, Charles Croes, has now turned his pen to historical fiction in his new novel Caribbean Crossroads. Follow the journey of a young boy from Venezuela to Aruba laced with real events and interwoven with universal truths about the culture and coming of age. Look for it at island bookstores and on www.amazon.com. Top to bottom, photos courtesy of Long Table Aruba, Esha, and Bodytech Fitness Club
Middle photo courtesy of Liliana Erasmus. Book cover painting by Elvis Lopez. Portrait of Charles Croes by Werner J. Bertsch
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