Visitstmaarten.com Blog

‘It takes a story to raise a child’ Philipsburg Jubilee Library, Mondriaan Foundation and the Ark Foundation present “It takes a story to raise a child” – A wonderful, must see performance for all who love reading or hearing stories being told.

The role of stories plays a major part in the lives of children, whether hearing a story that has been passed down through the ages of time or reading a story themselves. The goal is simple – to raise happy, avid readers just by telling/hearing a story. The road from here to there has been made simple by Mr. Wijn and Stomp, a.k.a. Mr. Anansi, a professional theatrical storyteller from the Netherlands who is here on island to train prospective storytellers in the wonderful art of being a convincing storyteller.

The Storytellers will be showing their new skills to everyone at Philipsburg Cultural Centre on Back Street, on Friday, August 27, from 4:00pm to 6:00pm.

“Excerpts from this article taken from the Daily Herald”

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Leader of Government Commissioner William Marlin, entrepreneur Greg Richardson and up and coming model Jamie Leigh Marie Brooks are the St. Maarten personalities featured in the current issue of Focus Caribbean Magazine. The magazines will be available free in St. Maarten for a limited time. Snapshots of NAGICO’s gala award dinner and midyear conference and Windward Islands Bank summer fair are also featured in the full colour gloss publication.

Published in Aruba, Focus Caribbean also features entertaining tit bits on “who’s who” in Curaçao, Bonaire and Aruba. In St. Maarten Focus Caribbean are available at several leading supermarkets and other establishments including Chill Out in Le Grand Marche; Van Dorp; Shipwreck Shops; New China Store on the A. Th. Illidge Road; St. Peters Pharmacy and Friendly Island Drugstore.

For more information go to our website www.visitstmaarten.com

Tel’Em will host a Social Event on Saturday August 28th

There will be music, games and entertainment for the entire family.

Come out Play and have Fun!

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Kenneth Jones of Hempstead, New York, thought he was just another cruise ship passenger and was just looking forward to a day at the beach surrounded by some 25 members of his family when he disembarked Carnival Victory on Saturday, but had the shock of his life when he was randomly selected as the island’s symbolic millionth passenger.

Jones, approached by St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies CEO Mark Mingo and COO Keith Franca on Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise Pier, first thought it was some marketing gimmick to persuade him to buy some time or take a tour. Mingo assured Jones, who was surrounded by some of his family members who were about to take an island tour with a stop on Orient Beach, that the millionth passenger selection was legitimate. The prize for this honour was a round trip to St. Maarten and a week’s stay in a hotel for Jones and three family members.

The immediately usable part of the prize was an island tour and lunch. Dutch St. Maarten Taxi Association President Otis Hughes was on hand for the presentation and ensured that the family received the best island ambassadors for their tour. The harbour took care of cost of the island tour and lunch for 14 of the 25 family members who had originally planned to participate in these activities.

Mingo also pointed out that the passenger coming off a Carnival ship was also a reason to be happy. Carnival Corporation is a main partner in the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities expansion that included the addition of the mega-cruise ship pier designed for new 220,000-tonne cruise ships.

Providing a week-long round trip and stay in St. Maarten is also strategic. Mingo said there had been talk about trying to convert cruise passengers into stay-over visitors, so this would help.  This is the first time the millionth-passenger mark has been reached in August. St. Maarten has been playing host to a million and more passengers for nine years now.

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As the world comes together to celebrate 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced that the World Tourism Day (WTD) celebrations, hosted officially this year by China, will take place under the theme Tourism and Biodiversity (27 September, Guangdong Province).

The theme provides a unique opportunity to raise public awareness of the importance of biodiversity to tourism and the role of sustainable tourism in the conservation of life on Earth.

The UNWTO said biodiversity is a key tourism asset and fundamental to its sustained growth. “Intact and healthy ecosystems form the cornerstone of thousands of tourist enterprises and products worldwide, attracting hundreds of millions of tourists each year.

The theme Tourism and Biodiversity is particularly pertinent in 2010. Concerned by the continued loss of biological diversity, the United Nations Assembly declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity. The year coincides with the target adopted by governments in 2002 to achieve a significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.

Central WTD celebrations will take place in Guangdong Province, China. Alongside a series of cultural events organized by the Chinese Government, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) will host the 2010 World Tourism Day Think Tank around this year’s theme.

The Think Tank will bring together leading public and private tourism stakeholders, as well as biodiversity experts and members of the media, to highlight the close relationship between tourism and biodiversity, and identify how tourism can contribute to preserving life on Earth and its unique biodiversity.

“Excerpts from this article taken from the Daily Herald”

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St. Maarten will be represented at this year’s HISWA at water, Europe’s largest open air boat show.  St. Maarten’s Tourist Bureau in the Netherlands will be the first and only tourist office at this major event.

This year the boat show will take place at the Marina Seaport in IJmuiden from August 31st to September 5th. During his fair with sailing boats, yachts, cutters and related maritime basics, St. Maarten will present itself as the nautical destination in the Caribbean.” In a press release issued by St. Maarten’s Tourist Bureau, St. Maarten was called “the epic centre for the water sports tourist in the region.”

The release mentioned the annual Heineken Regatta, the largest regatta in the Caribbean. To attract more visitors and get the focus on St. Maarten, St. Maarten Tourist Bureau has made available a prize: HISWA at water 2010 visitors who book their ticket online have a chance at winning an all-inclusive, nine-day trip to St. Maarten.

The prize, which will be raffled among those who give the correct answer to the question posed, includes seven nights on board of the two-master schooner Kairós. At the fair, St. Maarten Tourist Bureau will undoubtedly promote its new, rebranded slogan “Aangenaam St.Maarten.

“ Article taken from The Daily Herald”

For more information go to our website www.visitstmaarten.com

As part of its 25th anniversary, Motiance Dance School presents a musical evening of theatre, dance, drama and song – a show worth supporting and not to be missed.

During the long summer school break, Motiance Dance School held workshops for those who love dance and theatre.

St. Maarten students were very fortunate to have trained with dance and theatre groups from The USA and the Netherlands. During the first three week session, students trained with dancers from the Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn.

The students – ranging from children ages 3 to 12; youth ages 12 to 15; and the adult group – will bring fun and exciting dance, drama, song and movement to the stage, delighting the audience with the high standard learnt from their teachers.

Some of the numbers the adults and youth group will be performing will be taken from Mama Mia, Rent and Chicago. The audience is advised that after the intermission, in the second half of the show some of the numbers contain explicit language. Parental discretion advised.

The show will be staged at the Philipsburg cultural and community centre on Saturday, August 14, at 7:00pm sharp. Admission is US$15. Tickets are available at Van Dorp, Miguel’s Salon, Belair Health and Fitness Centre, Family Dental Clinic and Motiance Dance School.

“Excerpts from this article taken from the Daily Herald”

Go to our website www.visiststmaarten.com for more information

The Caribbean Cinemas Megaplex is currently showing a new commercial entitled “Life is a Journey” by insurance company Ennia, a filmed succession of high quality local shots that illustrate a life journey.

According to Ennia, the film is not a loud cry that sings the praises of a certain product but an alluring movie that portrays the authenticity of life on St. Maarten, Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire.
“Actually we kept the film very simple and we let the pictures speak for themselves with an Ennia proposal at the end,” said Patrick Thissen, Marketing Manager for Ennia.

“This commercial is about the emotional brand value of Ennia. By presenting a universally identifiable sentiment, we charge the Ennia brand.

“What it’s about is that when a person chooses an Ennia product, they also experience a certain feeling with it. The film is produced in such a way that each picture is a stage in life, and for all those stages Ennia offers assurance. We now use these pictures in our house style such as our advertising and website,” he said.

The pictures can also be seen in the Ennia building on W.J.A. Nisbeth Road. We are very proud of the end result. The development has taken a long time because we set high standards to the concept and execution. The commercial has been produced locally in its entirety with local extras.

“Excerpts taken from the Daily Herald”

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St. Maarten Nature Foundation was able to capture another Lionfish with the assistance of Michael of Seatrek. Nature Foundation Manager Tadzio Bervoets said the action plan being executed for the capturing of these poisonous fish appeared to be working. He said the foundation had the full cooperation of the local dive shops and there were no new reports of sighting for the moment, but more were expected.

Moreover, Bervoets noted that while Lionfish were venomous, they were edible once prepared following a recipe. The foundation has been introducing the fish and its recipe to various local restaurants to add to their menus. The foundation is encouraging fishermen and other individuals who come cross Lionfish to follow suit and contribute them to restaurants. The Lionfish poses a threat because other species in the Caribbean do not recognize it as a predator, so it eats out juvenile fish.

“Excerpts from this article taken from the Daily Herald”

For more information go to our website www.visitstmaarten.com