December in St.Maarten/St.Martin is like everywhere else the month of lavish Christmas celebrations.But in 2010, some positive news gave the islands great hopes for the coming years tourism business. And of course, culture, art and entertainment were very present all over the island.
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The end of 2010 marked a new record in St. Maarten: 1,5 Million cruise ship passenger visited the island! And after the arrival last year of the then biggest cruise ship in the world, the "Oasis of the Sea", "Allure of the Sea", its sister ship, |
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now visits our shores every second week. On top, the biggest private cruise ship in the world, the Eclipse,belonging to the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich,has become a repeat guest in our sea.
Another novelty in the field of communication: Copa Airlines inaugurated its new flight between Panama and St. Maarten. With its Boeing 737 which will fly between Panama and St. Maarten every Tuesday and Saturday, citizens from Central and South America can now enjoy a fast way to visit our island. |
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From the 10th to the 12th of December, French St. Martin presented like every year les"Jardins de la Création", a creativity show organized at the Beach Plaza Hotel in Marigot. This year again, artists, fashion-designer, |
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stylists, photographers and local handicraft creators had the opportunity to show their talent to the public. Among exhibitions, fashion shows and musical events, this was a great chance to discover new and already famous artists and to discover beautiful, locally created Christmas gifts: Fashion and art, made in St. Martin! Do not miss it in the coming year, it is really worth it. |
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| The biggest cultural event of this end of the year was without doubt "Arts in the Plaza" at Porto Cupecoy: An art and culture festival which took place on the 22th of December and will be repeated every month until May. Find a detailed presentation of this great festival under Arts in the Plaza |
And on the 21th, it was time for the traditional Christmas Follies, a yearly event in the streets of Marigot turning around the arrival of Father Christmas. He arrived at the waterfront of the French side's capital on the 21th of December, on board of the Scoobi Free catamaran.As an escort came the Santa Claus girls who arrived by jet skis.Then, he proceeded to town distributing sweets to the children. At the same time, the Christmas lightening and market on the Rue de la Republique attracted quite a lot of people. Until the 24th, dancers, musicians and all kind of performers animated the streets of the town. On the 23th, the "Thursdays in the Marina, organized by Calypso Events at the Marina Royale, provided a lot of fun: Restaurants were full, shops opened late and arts and crafts were sold. The same event was repeated the following Thursday with a Golden Parade.
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