Courtesy of: Aruba Daily
With great pride, Minister Mike de Meza announced yesterday Aruba’s Carnival & Festival Museum will be located in San Nicolas where the Green Hill Supermarket is currently located. The complex will run from Pastoor Hendrikstraat to Bernhardstraat, including the adjacent three-story building and the warehouse. The complex will consist of a museum, restaurant, souvenir shop, workshop and office space.
The museum will include a display of Aruba’s best Carnival road pieces, a video section where guided tours will be given to view past Carnival events (Calypso Contest, Tumba, Lighting Parade and Aruba’s Grand Parade). The audio section will showcase all tumba, calypso and roadmarch tracks going back to the beginning of Carnival.
The workshop will include work-space where carnival participants and groups can work on their pieces with access to e.g. sewing machines, glue guns and other tools they may require. The total cost of the project is 5.6 million fls. and has been approved by FDA (Fondo Desaroyo Aruba). The project, that will start construction on October 1st, will offer job opportunities not only for museum employees, but also in the restaurant and other areas of the complex.
The facility will also be used to give Carnival workshops such as composing Carnival music, how to organize Carnival groups and much, much more. The business plan shows that this project will be self sustaining with no further government investment required.
