ORANJESTAD (AAN) – In an interview with Matutino DIARIO, Darren van Ommeren, President of SMAC, shared his thoughts about his decision to step down as President of SMAC after Carnaval 73. Darren van Ommeren Steps Down as President of SMAC, marking the end of his leadership role after facing challenges in organizing Aruba’s Carnival.
Van Ommeren emphasized that although many people often say “Carnival was always like this,” he believes that the development of local people, volunteers, and the willingness of each individual to dedicate time to the organization has decreased over time. This has led to the need to organize activities outside of November to create space for everything to calm down in January, the only month dedicated to Carnival.
Van Ommeren expressed uncertainty about the upcoming Carnaval 73, especially as the grand Carnival Sunday will be on February 7, 2027. He acknowledged the challenges in organizing this event, particularly when it comes to working with sound companies, which has made it more difficult to organize certain aspects, especially for January 2nd. “Starting with Fakkel on January 2, although it has happened in the past, now it’s becoming more difficult. There’s work to be done with sound companies that makes it even harder to organize for January 2,” he said. “It’s going to be a challenge to set the schedule, but I believe this is work we’ll tackle directly after Carnival so we can leave it behind for the next president to finish, so they can at least have this work completed and organize Carnaval 73.”
Van Ommeren also announced that Carnaval 73 would be his last as President of SMAC. He revealed, “Now, this will be my last Carnival. August 31 is my deadline to submit my annual report, and once I submit that, I will step down as President of SMAC.”
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