Summer Carnival
Encyclopedia
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
and the Dutch cities Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Bentelo
Bentelo
Bentelo is a small farming village in the Dutch municipality Hof van Twente. The village had 2110 inhabitants in 2006.The village is a centre for intensive cattle farming....
and Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
that mimics the Carnaval
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the Cape Verde Islands. The traditional pre-Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
Carnival falls in winter in the cool, northern European climate. This climate does not lend itself to celebrating carnival in the Latin American and Cape Verde manner. The Summer Carnival offers people an opportunity to celebrate Carnival in such a manner. The Arnhem Rio on the Rhine attracted more than 150.000 visitors, while the Rotterdam event attracts nearly a million visitors yearly. Summer Carnaval is often compared to Karneval der Kulturen (Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) and Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
(London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
).
Zomercarnaval Rotterdam
The first Zomercarnaval was held on August 4, 1984 in RotterdamRotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. From 2004 to 2007 the event attracted around 900.000 visitors.
Although the street parade attracts the most visitors the Zomercarnaval is a multi-day event. A week prior to the street parade the new Queen is elected in the official Zomercarnaval Queen Election. On the Thursday after the election the Zomercarnaval Beach Party is held at the Stand aan de Maas, a small beach created in the city center of Rotterdam. Several brass bands and DJ's show up and the newly chosen Queen is also present. On Friday evening the Battle of Drums is held, an event in which several brass bands compete to be named the official Zomercarnaval brass band and earn a spot in the parade the day after as well as in the Notting Hill Carnival in London. The preliminaries for the Battle of Drums are held at the Dunya Festival in Rotterdam. The street parade which is always held on Saturday includes brass bands and thousands of dancers. During and after the street parade there are two live on stage concerts at the Coolsingel and the Churchillplein until late in the evening.
In 2007 the Rotterdam carnival had an agreement with the Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill Carnival
The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1964 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , London, UK each August, over two days...
for exchange of brass and steel bands.
Queens
- 2003: Patricia Tulen
- 2005: Imara Thomas
- 2006: Katy Cedeño Manzanillo
- Katy Cedeño Manzanillo was chosen to be the Queen of the 2006 Zomercarnaval in the Rotterdam Cruise TerminalRotterdam Cruise TerminalThe Rotterdam Cruise Terminal is a building on the Wilhelmina Pier, Rotterdam.Cruise Terminal served as arrival and departure of Holland America Line and industrial heritage . The Cruise Terminal is still used by large passenger vessels that visit Rotterdam. The Terminal is now known for its...
on July 17, 2006. She is from DominicanDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
descent and was part of the Grupo Carnaval Dominicano. In total eight contestants participated in the Queen Election, in which Lamya M'Haidra of Carnaval & Friends and Maria Elizabeth Kooij Martinez of Colores Latinos became second and third.- 2007: Marcie de Jongh
- Originally from ArubaArubaAruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
Marcie de Jongh was chosen as the Queen of the 2007 Zomercarnaval. Again the election was held in the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal. She was part of the Kingdoms under the Sun Group from AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. The election was different than in other years where the candidates showed their skills in several rounds of various clothing types. This time they had to excel in communication and flair. Seven candidates challenged for the title. Behind De Jongh the second spot was for Diandra Bramble of Aruba Uni She lost with only 0,03 percent of the votes. Fabienne Kadirbaks of Caribbean Jewels won the third spot.
External links
- Official website Rio on the Rhine -Arnhem
- Official website Drunken Dropkes -Bentelo
- Official website Summer Carnival -Kortrijk
- Official website Summer Carnival -Rotterdam