The Sail Aruba 2015 event program is now online at http://www.sailaruba.com/nl-nl/Programma and packed with excitement to fulfill the likes of young and old. The waterside activities will go hand in hand with actions pertaining to the Open House of the Dutch Marines’ 350 year celebration, a kids’ corner, downtown walks and activities, miniature boat races in front of the Governor’s house, and a Sail in Cinema hosted by the Renaissance Resort & Casino.
The two full day event will open on Friday, May 1st, 2015 at 10:00 am. The public will be able to park in the vicinity of the Port of Oranjestad and walk over to the Main gate entrance (near Diamond’s International), where they can enjoy the local Seafood Festival, Open Market, Visit the ships in port, and the Port Exhibition “The Hearbeat of Oranjestad” at the main cruise terminal. The Dutch marines will also host a wide array of stunts and activities. These undertakings will include Fly-by’s, Boarding Boat demonstrations, Search and Rescue demonstrations, and K-9 demos. They will also have food and drink stands where the public can enjoy some downtime during the festivities.
In addition the Aruba Sailing Association will organize sailing races for local Yachts, Sunfish and Beach Cats which will compete in the waters of the Oranjestad harbor area, and the races will be opened by the youngest sailors in the Optimist class that will start their competition on Friday, May 1st at the festival grounds. The Aruban sailors Nicole van der Velden and Thijs Visser will take a short break from their Olympic campaign and fly back to Aruba to provide workshops on catamaran sailing for the young members of the Sailing Youth Watersports Aruba (SYWA).
While the daytime activities will also take place on Saturday May 2nd, on Friday, there will be a special performance of the longest running production in the Netherlands, Soldaat van Oranje on port premises. The international producers and cast of the piece will adapt the production to a local hero’s story. Boy Ecury’s, a WWII hero and victim, story will be relayed in the production which will take place on Friday at 7:30.
On both evenings families and movie lovers in general will also be able to enjoy the Sail in Cinema hosted by the Renaissance Resort & Casino near the Schoener Haven. On both Friday and Saturday, at 9:00 and 8:00 p.m. respectively, attendees can delight in a showing of, amongst others, the Pirates of the Caribbean and the classic movie Jaws, land-side or seaside. Definitely a first and unique experience!
The festivities will take place in commemoration of the 200 year existence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Committee “Viering 200 jaar Koninkrijk Aruba” is responsible for putting together the program for the Sail Aruba 2015 celebrations. It is scheduled to be the largest event to take place at the Port of Oranjestad. The activities will be open to the public and will encompass all the authority’s properties and the surrounding waters which fall under port jurisdiction, for example the Schoener Haven. Active committee partners include:Aruba Ports Authority (APA) N.V., Government of Aruba, Mariniers Kazerne Savaneta Savaneta and the Kustwacht Caribisch Gebied, SEL Maduro & Sons, NOW! Advertising, Divi Resorts.
