All through the year there are many events and activities happening on our little rock. But around the end of the year Curaçao is an extra vibrant and bustling island hub. Many locals living abroad come over to spend the festive days with family and many foreigners escape the winter times by fleeing to the Caribbean.
Festive season in Curaçao starts with the celebration of “Sint Nicolaas”, all the kids await his arrival as he brings presents for all the little ones that have behaved well the past year. It’s a Dutch tradition that the locals embraced during colonial times. He arrives on the 5th of December on a boat in the Sint Annabay, often accompanied and followed by many sailboats and yachts.
In between all the parties, concerts, markets and happy hours the local sailing community gears up for the “ End of Year Race”. This race takes place on the 27th of December and the fun of it is that everyone can participate, at least every vessel that uses a sail opposed to a motor. You’ll see young and old, male and female with small and big sailboats, cats, sunfishes, windsurfers, lasers, centaurs, optimists and more racing! After the track from Spanish Water to the St. Annabay and back they celebrate together by eating delicious typical dutch treats.. oliebollen!
After Christmas, the week is packed with many firework shows scattered over the island. The biggest celebration is the Pietermaai XXL Pagara Party on the 31st of December. This one starts in the morning and goes on till after sunset. This historical part of town is transformed into a street party with music, outdoor bars, 1000+ people on foot and of course the firework. The 31st will be a long day because after the whole shebang it is the tradition to also go to one of the New Year celebrations after midnight. There is a party for everyone’s taste; beach parties, house parties, concerts with dutch artists, indoor parties with local caribbean music and much more.
Not much time to sleep in on the 1st of January as you don’t want to miss out on the “first dip of the year” at Zanzibar, again thousands of people gather to on the count of 10 all jump in the water at exactly 12:00 noon! Again there is music, food and fun to go with it.
We are not done yet! Every first Sunday of the year, this year that will be on the 3rd of January, THE biggest boat party is one that you don’t want to miss out on! It’s called Fuikdag, it’s a gathering of hundreds of boats and even more floaters and happy people. The only way to get there is by water.. so expect to see all kinds of big yachts, small speedboats, fishing boats, sunfishes, sailboats, windsurfers, catamarans, jetskis, sup’s and anything else you can think of. It’s a one of a kind, fun happening for all ages; with music, dancing, grilling and chilling all day long! As you can see on the image most motorboats gather in the middle and most sailboats moor a little further to the outside. That way you can relax when you want to, and head towards the crowd when you feel like it.
Through our Facebook we also inform our followers on these and the many more things to do on the island. For more information about these events feel free to send us a message on www.facebook.com/curacao.marine