Children enjoying Santa Claus. Photo by Alfonso Blijden.
SOUTH REWARD--The St. Maarten Community Collective of South Reward held its fourth annual tree-lighting event on Sunday, December 22. For this occasion, the twin tamarind tree next to Milton Peters College (MPC) in South Reward was fully decked with Christmas ornaments and lights.
This event was made possible with the assistance of bucket trucks provided by utilities company GEBE and Sherriff Security.
The event was opened with Generation New Status STM drum band, which led a march to the tree. Afterwards organisers counted down to the tree lighting. Residents in the area were out in large numbers.
Snacks and drinks were available to all and Santa Claus arrived in an ice-cream truck, to the delight of the children. Children up to 12 years old received a gift and were treated to ice cream.
The Community Collective of South Reward is the brainchild of Zahira Marmar-Hilliman and founding members Aishira Cicilia and Everonique Levenstone. The Collective’s goal is to “promote a safer, more inclusive and vibrant community for children, youth, elderly and all residents of South Reward,” said the Collective in a press release on Thursday.
The Collective’s current board comprises Irma Gumbs as President and members Patricia Mardenbrough, Everonique Levenstone, Pedro Granger and Chantale Groeneveldt. “[The – Ed.] board would hereby like to convey special thanks to all our sponsors, contributors and all who assisted in any way to make this event possible,” said the Collective.
