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Aruba assists sister islands hit by hurricane Georges

Aruba provided assistance to sister island St. Maarten and other Caribbean islands affected by hurricane Georges. Aruba, located outside of the hurricane belt was not affected by the natural disaster.

Several airplanes, including many American Eagles, arrived at Aruba’s Queen Beatrix International Airport for shelter. Royal Caribbean’s Nordic Express and the Monarch of the Seas also re-routed to dock in Aruba's sheltered port.

"We were fully prepared to be of assistance to our neighboring Caribbean islands in their time of their need" said Jan van Nes, Director of the Aruba Tourism Authority. "We offer our island as a safe haven for planes and cruise-ships as well as a point of departure for emergency assistance".

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Kimberly Milukia Greax, age 12 of the Paulus School in Aruba, is the winner of Conde Nast Traveller’s 1998 "My Caribbean" essay contest for grade-schoolers. Her essay for which she won a $2000 scholarship follows:

I was sitting in my hammock, enjoying a delicious mango, when suddenly I heard the "special bulletin." A large plane with 225 passengers aboard could not continue its flight to Brasilia because of a malfunction. All the hotels were almost full, and via the radio, an appeal was made. They were asking residents to open their homes for a day or so.

I went into action to welcome a family to my comfortable house. Here was an opportunity to offer a warm welcome to our island, Aruba, and to provide friendship with respect, as we have always offered all our visitors. I rose from my hammock and called the airport.

After half an hour, they arrived. We were to host a family from Mexico. I was happy to have an opportunity to practice my Spanish. On the way home, we passed through Frenchman’s Pass. I told them about the brave Indians who once lived there. When we arrived home, they admired the beautiful view, which includes our tallest hill Jamanota.

Everyone who comes to the island, should get to know my grandmother, who prepares the most delicious local specialities. For our guests she prepared lamb soup, fresh fish, funchi (a cornmeal pudding), and fried plantains. My grandmother refused to serve our guests soft drinks and instead made tamarijn juice for this special occasion.

Afterward, we went to the Folkloric Museum and to the beach to look for shellfish. At seven in the evening, we brought our visitors back to the airport. They were very grateful for their visit with us, because they were able to learn about the island in one day what normally would have taken them an entire month.

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Mr. Castro Perez-Aruba Tourism Authority's Eco-tourism Manager together with W. Byron Boekhoudt, Marine Biologist at LVV (Department of Agriculture, Husbandry and Fisheries) and Co-Organizer of the project, recently traveled to CTC-22, in Ocho Rios Jamaica, to receive an honorable mention recognition by ISLANDS magazine.

The project, which was started in 1994, under the initiative of the two organizers and the Aruba Tourism Authority, was the first project of its kind on Aruba, and one of the first projects to tackle eco-tourism problems in the Caribbean.

During the conference, Mrs. Joan Tappers, Editor of ISLANDS magazine expressed her appreciation of the efforts of all of those who worked for this project, especially Mr. Perez and Mr. Boekhoudt, adding that the project is an example to showcase what other Caribbean islands can do to protect their marine environment and to promote environmental awareness in their country.

Mr. Perez and Mr. Boekhoudt were able to attend the conference with the help of American Airlines, Interbank and our national carrier, Air Aruba.

On behalf of the Aruba Tourism Authority we would like to congratulate you and express our pride at this initiative, the first of its kind in Aruba!

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Air Aruba / Continental to share codes

Continental has formed marketing alliances with Aserca Airlines Venezuela and Air Aruba. Pending approval, Continental and Aserca will share on CO's flights to Caracas and Aserca’s flights to the other points in Venezuela. A Continental-Air Aruba proposal envisions code sharing on CO’s Houston-Aruba flights and Air Aruba’s service linking Aruba Newark, Miami and Tampa.

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Little Caesars officially opened to the public at L.G. Smith Boulevard 15, in the street opposite the new bus terminal.

Little Caesars Pizza’s was founded in 1959 by Mike and Marian Ilitch, as a neighborhood pizza restaurant, and now has grown into one of the top three international pizza chains.

Franchising was one of the biggest idea of Mike Ilitch which has influenced the success of Little Caesars.

Franchising began in 1962 with the opening of the fourth Little Caesars restaurant. By the end of 1965, there were 16 restaurants and sales had reached $1.5 million. By 1966, Little Caesars expanded into Ohio, and by the end of the decade, the chain had become an international one with the its first restaurant in Canada, along with units in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. And now, in 1998, Little Caesars has come to Aruba.

At the opening, Little Caesars Manager of Development International Mr. Keith C. Carleton presented proud owners of Little Caesars Aruba, Mr. and Mrs. Arends, a plaque to display in their new establishment which officially states that they are holders of the franchise for Little Caesars here.

Little Caesars is known for its concept Pizza! Pizza! Which came from the idea developed by Mr. Ilitch to help consumers stretch their food dollars when in 1974, during difficult economic times, Little Caesars offered two medium pizzas for the price of one.

The concept was extended to all sizes in 1979 setting Little Caesars apart from its competition and solidifying its niche in the carry out business.

Among the specialty pizzas they are offering is the Aruba! Aruba!, a seafood delight, and for the vegetarians they have the Veggie! Veggie!, the name says it all.

Their menu includes salads from a salad bar and Crazy Bread and Crazy Sauce as well as the Baby Pan! Pan!, pizzas and pizzas slices which are unique to the area.

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Tourism week focuses on awareness and motivation

With high spirits, the Aruba Tourism Authority has managed to put its exposition on-a-roll ! The "Tourism Exposition", which mainly focused on awareness and motivation, offered a lot in valuable information to those who attended. Information such as the first official "tourism documents" signed in the 40's, Aruba tourism in the 50’s (yes, pictures and all), ATA events and function, were, displayed. The original, colorful, decor emphasized the importance of Carnival in tourism.

Thanks to all for your support !

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Adonis, a Royal White Bengal Tiger, was born at Riverglen Tigers sanctuary in Arkansas, U.S.A. two years ago. Adonis sleeps about 85% of the time, mostly with his eyes open. Tiger expert Jason, Adonis’ personal trainer, caretaker and best friend, spends many hours daily with Adonis ever since he was born. He makes sure that the 350 kilo Tiger gets everything he needs, like his 5 kilos of chicken per day and special treats of liver and Flank Steak, twice a week.

Adonis found a new home. He lives in a specially designed habitat at Seaport Marketplace created by Dennis Melgreen, Director of Landscaping Seaport Village, with the input from experts like Jason. This habitat counts 185 square meters and has been equipped with trees and an umbrella to provide shade. There is a pool with a filter system. The water is refreshed every other day and will be checked by Aruba’s Landslaboratorium regularly for safety. A palm tree was placed inside the habitat for the tiger to sharpen his nails. The "save gate" provides him with the possibility of privacy. Adonis can be watched in his new home from behind the safety of Lexan Plexiglas. The greatest advantage is that this "glass" is nearly unbreakable and tempers sound, as not to disturb Adonis. Adonis will be joined shortly by his "baby brother" who was born in June of this year.

Both Jason and Adonis star in the "Hot-Tickets" Show at Stardust Theatre, six nights a week. To feature in the new show, Adonis leaves his habitat for 4 hours a day. Riverglen Tigers, allows Adonis to travel with his caretaker in order to educate visitors on the plight of the tiger. It is Riverglen’s hope that trough Adonis ‘ performances people will begin to care and help save the tiger from extinction.

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In complying with numerous requests dive operators on Aruba came together to create a new dive and snorkel site for the island.

The Aruba Waters Association (AWA) orchestrated the sinking of a derelict airplane near the "Lost Section of he Pedernalis shipwreck, located on the island’s west coast. Sunk in approximately 30 feet of water, the plane is the newest attraction for snorkelers, scuba divers and glass-bottom boat passengers.

Aruba is generally known as the Wreck Diving Capital of the Caribbean and this new airplane wreck will strengthen this recognition. The airplane will provide habitat for marine life and quickly become the home of fish and corals living in the area.

For additional information contact AWA members at: 297-866613 or 297-861603.

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Good work of firemen prevents major damage at resort

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AHATA presents to Strategic Planning Workshop

Tourism is the most important economic activity of Aruba. Its success depends on the active involvement and awareness of all sectors of our community.

With this in mind, AHATA is organizing an all day 'Strategic Planning Workshop' at the Seaport Conference Center on Thursday, October 15, 1998. The workshop will start at 8:30 am and will consist of intensive brainstorming sessions and discussions on Aruba, examining the current position and what needs to be done in future to consolidate what exists.

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"Con Alma" Ivan Jansen plays the guitar with all his soul on new CD

Over the course of his career Ivan Jansen has proven himself to be a classical guitarist par excellence. He is an all-round guitarist in the sense that he has mastered both classical and jazz guitar.

Ivan has launched his CD which features his own unique interpretation of musical arrangements for the classical guitar.  Born Ivan Eugene Jansen in Aruba in 1955. After successfully completing his studies in classical guitar at the Academy of Music "Francisco Cristancho" in Bogota, Colombia, in 1978, Jansen continued his studies at the Berkley College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, where he studied contemporary music, jazz improvisation, and specialized in jazz composition and arranging. In 1982, Jansen graduated cum laude" in Professional of Music Performance. He is currently a music instructor at the school of music in Aruba, the "Scol di Musica Arubano", teaching both classical and electric guitar, music theory and harmony. Jansen is also featured at presentations and concerts as a soloist on the classical guitar and with his jazz ensemble.

Concurrent with the release of his CD is the publication his book "Aruban / Antillean folkloric music." This came as the result of years of devotion to the perfection of his classical and jazz guitar techniques, and the perfection of his music and interpretation concepts. This pursuit of excellence along with his extensive repertoire of classical guitar music, his profound understanding of harmony, and his maturity and knowledge in composition and arrangement, has contributed to the realization of this magnificent piece of work - a tribute to the music culture of Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

The CD for real lovers of good music, art and culture. What stands out most in all the pieces was the ambience of intimacy Jansen creates. His interpretation on the guitar was very relaxing to listen to and showed a high level of music together with a complete mastering of the instrument. Real class.

The CD consists of 17 pieces covering a large scale of international repertoires for classical guitar, seven pieces of which are of character. Seven pieces are Aruban / Antillean, five of Latin American character, and five of Spanish. "Con Alma", the only composition by Ivan Jansen himself, is a sort of melancholy waltz with harmony of jazz. The CD on whole shows Jansen's real versatility and ingenuity besides his ample knowledge of rhythm and harmony.

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Kiwanis Club of Aruba presents: Big Band Wine & Cheese 'Dansant' fundraiser

Kiwanis Club of Aruba's main Fundraising Event to raise funds for the needy is just around the corner. Many foundations have come to rely on a donation Kiwanis give to help provide essential services to the community.

To realize this fact and much more, the Kiwanis Club of Aruba will organize a Big Band Wine & Cheese Dansant, on October 10th in the Sonesta Conference Center. You will be welcomed at 8:00 p.m. by Trio Huasteca at the entrance.

There will be many raffles with very interesting door prizes including the main door prize  - a Toyota Tercel. Tickets price of AWG 300.= per couple, by the members of the Kiwanis Club of Aruba, in Oranjestad at Acme Store and in San Nicolaas at Coastal Service Station next to Teresita Church. You can also call phone no. (297) 826770 or (297) 871361. Kiwanis Club of Aruba would like to thank all the wine and cheese suppliers for their cooperation. Come enjoy, dance, have some wine & cheese and support Kiwanis Club of Aruba so that they can help the needy in the Aruban community.

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[All information courtesy of the Aruba Tourism Authority]