Festivals in Aruba

Last updated

Festivals in Aruba take place throughout the year on the island. The island waived COVID-19 testing requirements in 2022 to increase the number of visitors. [1]

Contents

Aruba Summer Music Festival

The Aruba Summer Music Festival is a Latin music festival. It is celebrated at the end of June every year and lasts for 2 days.

Bon Bini Festival

The Bon Bini Festival takes place in Fort Zoutman, Oranjestad every Tuesday from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM throughout the year with Antillean dancers, drum music, cultural food, and art. [2]

Soul Beach Music Festival

The Soul Beach Music Festival is a multi-night concert series held Memorial Day weekend. [3] [4] The attendees take part in nightclub events, beach parties, concerts, and comedy shows.

Aruba International Film Festival

The Aruba International Film Festival typically takes place over a week in June. In 2015, thirteen films were screened. [5]

Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival: Aruba

The Caribbean Sea Jazz Festival in Aruba is an outdoor festival featuring local and international jazz musicians. [6] The festival presents local and international bands and artists over a two-day event in October. While jazz music is the focus, other artistic elements including dance, poetry, and art are also included in the program.

Dande Festival

The Dande Festival is one of the biggest musical events in Aruba, and takes place in the last week of December. [7] The festival features over 50 singers performing their original music along with traditional Dande songs for the new year.

Carnival

Carnival is a month-long celebration. Activities in this festival include music competitions, pageants, street parties and parades. [8] This celebration started in 1954 in Aruba.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aruba</span> Caribbean constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of the Venezuela peninsula of Paraguaná and 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Curaçao. It measures 32 kilometres (20 mi) long from its northwestern to its southeastern end and 10 kilometres (6 mi) across at its widest point. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, Aruba forms a group referred to as the ABC islands. Collectively, these and the other three Dutch substantial islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean, of which Aruba has about one-third of the population. In 1986, it became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and acquired the formal name the Country of Aruba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnival</span> Western Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent

Carnival is a Western Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide. Carnival typically involves public celebrations, including events such as parades, public street parties and other entertainments, combining some elements of a circus. Elaborate costumes and masks allow people to set aside their everyday individuality and experience a heightened sense of social unity. Participants often indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol, meat, and other foods that will be forgone during upcoming Lent. Traditionally, butter, milk, and other animal products were not consumed "excessively", rather, their stock was fully consumed during Shrovetide as to reduce waste. This festival is known for being a time of great indulgence before Lent, with drinking, overeating, and various other activities of indulgence being performed. For example, pancakes, donuts, and other desserts are prepared and eaten for a final time. During Lent, lacticinia and animal products are eaten less, and individuals make a Lenten sacrifice, thus giving up a certain object or activity of desire.

The music of the Lesser Antilles encompasses the music of this chain of small islands making up the eastern and southern portion of the West Indies. Lesser Antillean music is part of the broader category of Caribbean music; much of the folk and popular music is also a part of the Afro-American musical complex, being a mixture of African, European and indigenous American elements. The Lesser Antilles' musical cultures are largely based on the music of African slaves brought by European traders and colonizers. The African musical elements are a hybrid of instruments and styles from numerous West African tribes, while the European slaveholders added their own musics into the mix, as did immigrants from India. In many ways, the Lesser Antilles can be musically divided based on which nation colonized them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caribana</span> Caribbean festival in Toronto

The Toronto Caribbean Carnival, formerly known as Caribana, is a festival of Caribbean culture and traditions held each summer in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a pan-Caribbean Carnival event and has been billed as North America's largest street festival, frequented by over 1.3 million visitors each year for the festival's final parade and an overall attendance of 2 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival</span> Annual music festival

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New Orleans each year. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation Inc., as it is officially named, was established in 1970 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (NPO). The Foundation is the original organizer of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell Oil Company, a corporate financial sponsor. The Foundation was established primarily to redistribute the funds generated by Jazz Fest into the local community. As an NPO, their mission further states that the Foundation "promotes, preserves, perpetuates and encourages the music, culture and heritage of communities in Louisiana through festivals, programs and other cultural, educational, civic and economic activities". The founders of the organization included pianist and promoter George Wein, producer Quint Davis and the late Allison Miner.

The music of the former Netherlands Antilles is a mixture of native, African and European elements, and is closely connected with trends from neighboring countries such as Venezuela and Colombia and islands such as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Santo Domingo, Haiti, Martinique, Trinidad, Dominica, and Guadeloupe. The former Netherlands Antilles islands of Curaçao and Aruba are known for their typical waltzes, danzas, mazurkas and a kind of music called tumba, which is named after the conga drums that accompany it.

The culture of Aruba, one of the many islands that make up the Caribbean, is an amalgamate of the various cultures that have occupied and lived on the island, including indigenous peoples of South America, descendants of African slaves, and Spanish and Dutch colonialists.

Numerous festivals, shows and exhibitions are held annually in Toronto. They include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrove Monday</span> Christian observance falling on the Monday before Ash Wednesday every year

Shrove Monday, sometimes known as Collopy Monday, Rose Monday, Merry Monday or Hall Monday, is a Christian observance falling on the Monday before Ash Wednesday every year. A part of the English traditional Shrovetide celebrations of the week before Lent, the Monday precedes Shrove Tuesday. As the Monday before Ash Wednesday, it is part of diverse Carnival celebrations which take place in many parts of the Christian world, from Greece, to Germany, to the Mardi Gras and Carnival of the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antigua Carnival</span> Musical artist

The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of the emancipation of slavery in the country held annually from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert, in which brass and steel bands perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival, held in June, is known as Caribana. The Antiguan and Barbudan Carnivals replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in 1957, with hopes of inspiring tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. Some elements of the Christmas Festival remain in the modern Carnival celebrations.

Batabano is the name of the Caribbean Carnival held in the Cayman Islands. The festival takes place annually during the first week of May in George Town. Batabano is a time for people of all different descents to gather with a common interest and celebrate community spirit. The Cayman Islands are home to over 100 different nationalities, all brought together and embraced by the festival. It is a cultural celebration filled with music, dance, and elaborate costumes that reflect the landscapes, heritage, and culture. International interest is growing in the Batabano celebrations, despite only having existed for about 30 years.

The culture of St. Kitts and Nevis, two small Caribbean islands forming one country, has grown mainly out of the West African traditions of the slave population brought in during the colonial period. France and British colonists both settled the islands, and for a period of time the British imported indentured Irish servants. The native Caribs, skilled warriors, defended their lands by attacking the colonies. But by 1782, the British had gained control of St. Kitts and Nevis, which they retained until granting the islands their independence in 1983. British influence remains in the country's official language, English, while some islanders speak an English-based Creole. The influence of the French, Irish, and Carib seems less pronounced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luton Carnival</span>

Luton International Carnival is a large carnival in Luton, Bedfordshire. The carnival is commissioned by Luton Borough Council and is artistically produced by UK Centre for Carnival Arts, which is based in Luton town centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Nigeria</span> Nigerian tourist attraction

Tourism in Nigeria centers largely on events, due to the country's ample amount of ethnic groups, but also includes rain forests, savannah, waterfalls, and other natural attractions. Tourists spent US$2.6 billion in Nigeria in 2015. This dropped to US$1.5 billion in 2017, probably due to the rise of the Boko Haram insurgency of 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Nights Festival</span>

The White Nights Festival is an annual summer festival in Saint Petersburg celebrating its near-midnight sun phenomena due to its location near the Arctic Circle; each year between around April 22 and August 21, the skies only reach twilight and never reach complete darkness. Organized by the Saint Petersburg City Administration, the festival begins on June 11 with the "Stars of the White Nights" at Mariinsky Theatre and ends on July 1. However, some performances connected to the festival take place before and after the official dates.

Havana, Cuba, is a host city to numerous events and festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Festivals in Atlanta</span> Festivals in Atlanta

Atlanta's mild climate and plentiful trees allow for festivals and events to take place in the city year-round. One of the city's most popular events is the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, an arts and crafts festival held in Piedmont Park each spring, when the native dogwoods are in bloom. Atlanta Streets Alive, inspired by the ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia, closes city streets to car traffic to allow people to participate in health and community-oriented, such as bicycling, strolling, skating, people-watching, tango, yoga, hula hooping, and break dancing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnival in French Guiana</span>

Carnival in French Guiana is a major event. Its style is described as Afro-Caribbean. A moveable holiday, it takes place between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, ending on Mardi Gras. Known internationally for its Paré-masqué balls and its emblematic character, the Touloulou, it is considered the longest carnival in the world.

References

  1. "Aruba Waives Testing Requirements for Boosted Travelers". Caribbean Journal. 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  2. webmaster@visitaruba.com. "VisitAruba.com". www.visitaruba.com. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  3. Staff (April 2023). "The Aruba Soul Beach Music Festival Is Back". Caribbean Journal. Miami . Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  4. Brandle, Lars (February 6, 2014). "Robin Thicke To Headline Soul Beach Music Festival in Aruba: Exclusive". Billboard . New York City . Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  5. Galuppo, Maria (September 17, 2015). "Aruba International Film Festival Reveals Lineup". Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  6. Spurrell, Megan (March 20, 2018). "11 Caribbean Events to Travel for in 2018". Condé Nast Traveler . New York City . Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  7. Staff (December 2022). "Dande Festival will take place on December 27-29". Aruba Today. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  8. Davis, Jovani (February 1, 2023). "Aruba Carnival is Back". Caribbean National Weekly. Davie, Florida . Retrieved May 11, 2023.