NEW ERA IN CUSTIMER SERVICE. At the mini Aruba Bank boutique Branch, Super Food Plaza, I was nicely surprised by the level of service and the gezellig: Cozy-friendly-comfortable-and-relaxing experience.  I thought I locked myself out of on-line banking, and the helpful elves at the branch helped me out in no time.

DRIVE-THRU FLOWER SHOP. Visiting my favorite florist, Flower Design Wilson, on the Ponton road, to order some blooms for Marlene Nichols who is becoming Marlene Scherrenburg next weekend, I was informed that the joyous opening of the drive-thru is imminent. You will be able to drive by and get fresh amazing flowers without even getting out of the car, that’s what I call genius!!

NEW COFFEE AND LUNCH PLACES. I stopped for Juan Valdez Palm Beach for coffee; they make the most perfect espresso macchiato, which means strong coffee with very little milk, just marking/staining the top of the cup with a bit of foamed milk.  OK, I admit, I also had a warm Mozzarella and Tomato sandwich for lunch, and they have free Wi-Fi, what else can you ask for, it was a most-perfect experience . . .  My Cakes Café in Eagle, checked into the location vacated when Tropic Cas moved up Schotlandstraat from #38 to #85. They are open every day from 7am to 7pm, and serve in addition to coffee, also soups and sandwiches, wraps, salads, cookies and cakes! Jeffrey La Rosa is the owner and the pastry chef, he reports that on Friday his Sopi Comcomber was sold out within twenty minutes! Open since May, My Cakes Café features a comfortable living room atmosphere and young and pleasant servers; you can also have beer, wine or Champagne with your food!

HAMAKA SIDEWALK CAFÉ OPENS AT THE LINEAR PARK. My buddy Kevin van Ommeran explains he signed up two years ago when they started building the kiosks at Plaza Turismo and a while ago when the linear park was complete he opened Hamaka, a snack place, operating from 2pm with a small menu: chicken wings, mozzarella sticks; also a more extensive selection of fresh fruit batidos, coffees and cocktails. Happy hour on Friday is busy, Kevin explains, and mid-week the folks from the Aruba Tourism Authority cross the street on breaks, and the Ernst & Young crew walks down from Vondellaan to have meetings under the shaded pergola, with 24/7 ocean breeze guaranteed. The three hammocks under the pergola, look cradling and inviting.

WHAT’S WITH LEFT-HAND DRIVING CARS. These days I see up to three empty cars in front of me, empty in the sense that the traditional driver’s seat is empty because the driver is sitting on the passenger side, just like the United Kingdom. I checked: About a quarter of the world drives on the left, and the countries that do, are mostly old British colonies. In the past, almost everybody travelled on the left side of the road because that was the most sensible option in violent societies, since most people are right-handed, and swordsmen preferred to keep to the left in order to have their right arm ready to grab their weapon, and defend when attacked. The first official keep-right rule was introduced in Paris in 1794, and Denmark in 1793. I am told that Aruba has more left-hand-driving cars now because they are imported cheaply from Japan.

UPCOMING THEMED PARTY AT RENAISSANCE. I remember a great number of Customer Appreciation parties thrown by Renaissance Aruba Resort, all nicely themed: Cuban, Disco, Spa & Red Carpet. Marketing diva Edalitza Wever recently dropped a hint that there is another one on the drawing board, for June 28^th, 2013, and we immediately suggested the Dancing with the Stars idea, with great music, glitter, champagne and confetti! Sign me up.

OSCAR CAN BE FOUND AT MOJITO. Aruba’s best bartender, Oscar, a solid gold master mixer may be found at Mojito’s Cantina & Grill in town. As Garufa Ultra Lounge closed, Oscar joined the downtown bar overlooking the harbor and the open air market. Challenge him to mix anything under the sun, he can handle it. The bar at Garufa, he explains, was perfectly stocked with all kinds of interesting and exotic varieties of alcohol, and he used to sell not just one, but a few bottles of Louis XIII de Rémy Martin for more than $3,000 a piece, there, nevertheless life goes on and he is perfectly happy with his new location and his shapely colleagues!  Check him out any time.

FARMER’s MARKET. Hot off the press: A weekly Farmer’s Market will be offering fresh produce and food every weekend in Oranjestad, on the empty lot on Rockefellerstraat, the initiative of a third-generation member of a well-respected family of business-people and entrepreneurs.                 rc@visitaruba.com

Eagle beach – The new ballroom at the Alhambra Casino & Shops played host to a unique Holy Communion party, given in honor of Ariany de Weever and Tizienne Heyliger, two adorable cousins, whose mothers decided to organized a joint venture, sharing the special day in their daughters’ lives with their closest family members and friends in the lovely setting.

The culinary brigade of the Alhambra Ballroom catered the affair, under the direction of Executive Chef Gerard Coste, preparing a complete buffet of local favorites such as Sweet Potato & Plantain Salad, Tossed Garden Greens, Cunucu Chicken Salad, Black Bean, Corn & Cilantro Salad, Creamy Pumpkin Soup, Red Snapper Creole, Stewed Beef, Ginger Jasmine Rice, Arubian Polenta, Fried Sweet Plantain, and for dessert a rich selection of delicacies such as Quesillo, Cashew Nut Cake, Mango Mousse Shooters, Tres Leche, and Raspberry Chocolate Cake.

The room was beautifully set up with round dinner tables, gleaming silver and stemware and decorated with artistic center pieces. Each of the girls enjoyed her own themed Holy Communion cake and souvenir display. Family and friends savored the food and the festivities, with DJ entertainment.

Palm Beach – Having experienced holy mass for the first time, Dyron was given an elegant dinner party at Amazonia Churrascaria with over 40 family members and friends in attendance congratulating him on the beginning of his spiritual life as a member of his church community. The multi-generational Boekhoudt family enjoyed the rich and varied salad bar and the perfectly grilled meats carved and served by the parade of gauchos carrying giant skewers, over fine cocktails and wines. Pictured here scenes from an unforgettable affair.

The number one international Arts program that brings international teachers from different Art disciplines to Aruba to teach about 250 young kids is returning with the workshop Rap & Poetry.

The workshop that debuted in 2010 and returned to the program in 2011 was replaced for the new workshop Music & Performance in 2012. As 2013 marks the year of Papiamento producers of Art Rules Aruba decided that the art of words, literature and the performance of it should find its place back into the program and celebrate the 10 years of Papiamento with this years ARA students.

“Our native language which became inferior to Dutch, because of the island’s colonial history, made its way into government in the 50ties then moving into our schools in the 80ties. However, Papiamento did not become an official language in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization also known as UNESCO until 2003. We believe that this s a great time to celebrate our own culture and bring it back to Art Rules”. Stated by the Pancake Gallery.

As Art Rules Aruba is all about education based on new perspectives in combination with local heritage the program wants to celebrate this milestone with it’s students by re-introducing Rap & Poetry and build a curriculum for students that teaches young Aruban teens to be proud of their language and that Rap or Poetry is just as significant in Papiamento as in any other language. Students of the rap & poetry workshop will learn traditional rules of the art of poetry as well as more contemporary forms of free writing. This workshop will further explore the writing of short stories and monologues in both English and Papiamento.

To achieve these goals the Pancake Gallery introduces a great combination of knowledge, talent and skills with this year’s teachers, Rosabelle Illes and Breis.

Breis is Hip Hop lyricist based in London. He confidently draws from his Nigerian musical heritage and also incorporates Yoruba and Pidgin English into some of his lyrics. BREIS is also the CEO of Student of Life Ltd, a Hip Hop education company passionate about inspiring young people to explore their creativity and improving their literacy skills. In 2011, BREIS published the UK’s first interactive rap book entitled ‘Brilliant Rappers Educate Intelligent Students’. He has toured internationally and shared the stage with artists like Black Thought, Nneka, Les Nubians, Fela Kuti’s drummer Tony Allen, Angie Stone and Kim Burrell. In 2012 Breis was invited to speak at a TEDxYouth conference, the free knowledge international speaking conference that has featured the worlds most inspired thinkers from Apple’s Steve Jobs to Bill Gates and a few more amazing ideologist’s along the way.

Rosabelle Illes is an Aruban native Author and Poet who published her first book of poetry entitled “Beyond Insanity” in 2005. Five years later, in December of 2010 she published her second book of poetry entitled “Spiel di mi Alma,” this time in Papiamento. In 2012 she created an Art Calendar entitled Wholism; where each month featured an illustration by 12 different artists accompanied by a short poem she had written herself. Aside from releasing her publications, she also continues to engage in various collaborative pieces and performances in both the Netherlands and the Caribbean. Next to being an independent artist, Rosabelle holds a BA in Psychology and a minor in English Literature from Webster University and an MSc in Social and Organizational Psychology from Leiden University. She is currently a full-time PhD Candidate in Social and Organizational Psychology at Leiden University and like Breis, Rosabelle joins Art Rules Aruba as first time teachers.

It all starts on July 15^th in an intensive 2-week program at Abraham de Veer College. How to apply for this class? Simply go to www.artrulesaruba.com and read more about the teachers, the class and the program. RBC presents Art Rules Aruba 2013 is also powered by Aruba Airport Authority, Prins Bernard Cultuur Fonds Carbisch gebied, La Trattoria El Faro Blanco, La Cabana Beach Resort, Playa Linda Beach Resort, Caribbean Palm Village Resorts and Marketing Plus. Interested in supporting? To become an official partner to the project please send an email to info@pancakegallery.com

Palm Beach – The weekend activities at the Casino at the Radisson included various festivities with Mother’s Day Bingo and the election of the Mother of the Year, among them. Lucky Mother of the Year won the privilege of playing free bingo at the Casino at the Radisson for the coming 52 weeks.

Guests enjoyed the fun atmosphere, the generous hospitality extended by the casino and the live entertainment provided by Mariachi Lirios del Campo. Casino patron Heddy Ponson was the last bingo winner, receiving a whopping $1,000, which she reported made her day even more enjoyable.

To top off the list of weekend winners Orlando Chin a Foeng who landed a mystery jackpot on the Penny Barn slot machine. It was one of three daily mystery jackpots at the casino, that day. Orlando is seen here in the picture with host Glen Baluarte and slot technician Nelson Maduro as photographed by Orlando Vrolijk, Sales and Marketing Supervisor. The fully renovated casino, had just announced the reveal of its refreshed logo, as part of its rejuvenated look!

Eagle Beach – Mothers from among the resort associates were feted during a special gathering at the resort conference room. Welcomed with flowers, music, snacks, and refreshments mothers enjoyed a fabulous afternoon, relaxed and content, while being showered with gifts.

The resort’s active social committee drummed up dozens of gifts and gift certificates presenting almost all mothers attending the party with a surprise gift to go home with.

At the election of Jessica Franken, as Mother of the Year, party-goers applauded a very worthy, hardworking woman and mother, who happens to be the resort’s assistant General Manager.

Jessica received a lovely embroidered sash, a bouquet of flowers and gifts, and enjoyed the picture opportunity, and the fun afternoon, even a bit of dancing.

Pictured here the social committee, organizers of the spectacular event at La Cabana’s conference room with party-emcee Albert Groneveld, and Robert Thiel, and his musical duo.

ATELIERS 89 MAKE US PROUD. We went to the expo at Ateliers 89, showcasing the work of students drawing and painting under the guidance of venerated master art teacher Nigel Matthew. It’s impressive, how much can be accomplished in a few weeks, but the course was intense, and required a strong commitment, so students who put the effort in, reaped excellent results, from teen wonder Darwin Winklaar to accomplished artist Eef v/d Straten. Elvis manages his art school on a shoe-string budget but what he lacks in finances he makes up in die-hard dedication. We must give it to you Elvis: You are tireless. Without you, life on the island would definitely be a bit duller and much less inspiring, so keep up the good work, pushing the local art scene forward, one course at a time, one show at the time!! If you visit the gallery, you will be able to walk through an Elvis Lopez retrospective, highlighting some of his best and most irreverent work, as Nigel described it, Elvis is an artist thinking outside the box. Last Friday we also listened to Elvis describe his vision for tourism, making an example of Bilbao, Spain, where the construction of an extraordinary museum – Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao – instantly catapulted that city on the world scene. The city built an amazing structure, praised as perhaps the most important structure of its time, and met phenomenal success over the past decades with more than a hundred exhibitions viewed by ten million visitors. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has changed the way people think about museums, because it did so much more for the town than contain a collection. It took a decaying industrial city in Spain’s Basque country and turned it into a hopping metropolitan. Many people objected to spending $228.3 million in the 1990s, on a modern art museum, but having built it, it helped reactivate the city’s economy. Bilbao did not construct the museum simply for the sake of having an iconic building, it was part of a holistic plan to revive the city, and introduce the promotion of art and culture as a means of diversifying the economy. Good story, how do we make it happen here?!

REPATRIATED. Saturday night at the Alhambra Shops, Minister Otmar Oduber held a Young Professional event attracting a good-looking and restless crowd of party-goers among them two repatriated Divas, Lucre Houtman & Diana Croes. After performing in Dubai, Shanghai and Indonesia the exotic singer packed her 6 year old son, and came back to Aruba. The kid will be going to school here and Lucre is looking for a special platform from which to spin her musical charm. Already hired by the Hyatt Regency, for weekly performances she is still looking to further define her artistic presence here, perhaps within her own band. Media Consultant Diana Croes is back in town. Self-assured and relaxed, she reported to me she is not leaving anymore. She will be starting her own business, much to the delight of son Oscar “Tito” Bolivar, who works at the Marriott Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino, pleased to have his mom back from the Netherlands.  I also saw aviation veteran Bas Veersteeg at the airport, he was wearing a security tag, he says he is back, guess what, working at Reina Beatrix Airport.

I MET TWO BUNDLES OF CHARM. I met the multi-tasking Funchi Gals this week, resulting in instant synergy. Go to their blog to learn about them at http://funchigals.com/.  The Funchi Gals are three interesting and accomplished young women who love to cook! As they explain it on their blog, they decided to spend 2013 trying out new recipes and working on their individual cooking techniques. You may follow their monthly cooking calendar in which they feature their cooking experiences from 3 differing personal angles. Natasha Britten Richardson is the Ambitious Housewife. She is married to Jair Britten, fisherman, farmer and musician extraordinaire. They have a talented special daughter together. Then there is the Rockstar Mom-on-the-go, Amy, whom I haven’t met yet, she has a 3-year-old toddler and also a law-career-in-the-making, as she is studying to become a lawyer, while continuously nurturing her singing career. Remember, she won the Sparking Tour here a few years ago. Swartsy — sweet & artsy – Melisa Richardson is a single chica who is nicely accessorized and energized sporting beautiful hair and eyes. As a freelancing Art Teacher she designs & creates all the unique accessories she wears, while cooking! I am looking forward for an invitation for one of their exciting tastings.

TRANSITIONS. Patrick v/d Berg is now at Bucuti Beach Resort as Director of Operations and Quality Assurance. Sabine’s adoring husband — and a father of two, reports he totally enjoys the resort environment having spent the last few years as the General Manager of Amazonia Churrascaria. Dynamic Jennifer Phillip was recruited to replaced him at the restaurant, as the new General Manager. Smart and charismatic she reports she totally enjoys the restaurant scene having worked in hotels before!  Jennifer is also totally committed to making the dinner experience at Amazonia Churrascaria as exciting and entertaining as possible, and is currently busy with a delicious additional food concept, coming into the restaurant. Stand by for the tasty news.

Palm Beach – Amazonia Churrascaria lends itself to all kind of celebrations big and small. For instance the Campbells, from Boston, staying at Playa Linda Beach Resort, with more than five repeat visits to Aruba. The love-birds have made several trips to Amazonia Churrascaria over the years, as she is vegetarian and he a carnivore, they discovered long ago that she can have her pasta while he’s enjoying the grilled selection of meat, chicken, pork and sausage!  On their first visit to Amazonia Churrascaria, the Holtzs, from New York and Boston, staying at Marriot Aruba Resort & Stellaris Casino, are celebrating a much-enjoyed repeat visit to the island. Last but not least, in honor of Mother’s Day, the Yupi Yupi Ya day-care center, is toasting mothers and motherhood, as owner Betriz Ariza, invited some of her co-workers, Alejandra with son Anthony, Anais, Stefania and Maribel for sumptuous dinner, on the eve of the holiday.

Eagle Beach — La Cabana Beach & Racquet Club Resort celebrated the Associate of the Month for January, February and March just recently, naming winners at a much-enjoyed lunch party in the resort’s conference room. The Supervisor of the Quarter, along with the Team of the Quarter were also announced during the congenial get-together which acknowledged the long-term careers of a number of associates completing fifteen and twenty years of service, respectively.

Seul Britus of Recreations, Antonia Illes, Housekeeping and Minerva Hayes PBX, were announced winners for January, February and March, lauded for their total dedication, professionalism and team work, within their department among colleagues and within the resort, among guests. Sharine Charles of Members Relations was named Supervisor of the First Quarter 2013, for her take-charge performance during the quarter.

Winners received a handsomely engraved plaque, dinner for four at the Islander’s Grill, and a customary check, as they were publicly praised for meeting and exceeding all expectations.

As Team of the Quarter the hardworking Owners Reservation Team was lauded for its superb follow up and attitude.

Other resort associates who distinguished themselves for the first quarter, also nominated to the coveted  Associate of the Month award were Soinise Antoine, Housekeeping for January, Ingrid Tromp, Food & Beverage for February and Marie Bernier, Housekeeping for March. Fellow nominees to the Supervisor of the First Quarter award were Dolores Flores, Housekeeping and Hector Hernandez, Recreations.

While the Owners Reservation Team won top honors they were given much competition by two other stellar teams, that of Recreations, and that of Housekeeping’s Team Dolores 4-B.

Following lunch, Jessica Franken, resort assistant manager asked associates celebrating their 15th & 20th anniversary to join her in the forefront for a round of applause and certificates of appreciation. That included 15th anniversaries celebrants Rudolf Dirksz, Engineering, Erwin Donata, Engineering, Wanda Winterdal, Housekeeping and Marc Anthony, Accounting. Twenty years celebrants included Orlando Bolivar, Food & Beverage, Walter Kelly, Front Office, Frederick Lovell, Bell Services, Rocio Velasquez, Housekeeping, Marleny Rodriguez, Food & Beverage and Patricia Bernabela, Housekeeping.

All those present joined Franken in thanking the Food & Beverage crew for the excellent catered lunch and rewarding event organization.

Palm Beach – The Duran family gathered at Amazonia Churrascaria for a multi-generational birthday celebration, enjoying chef Victor Olivares new salad bar items, complementing the authentic Brazilian concept of Rodizio Steakhouse.

Family members savored the continuous dining experience, as the parade of gauchos repeatedly visited the table, slicing more than 15 cuts of grilled beef, chicken, lamb, pork & sausage, as well as grilled pineapple, paired with fine wine.

A complimentary Happy Birthday serenade over cake and a sparkling candle topped off the much-enjoyed family dinner.