Culture and history
- Journées de l'architecture: Collectivité shows designs for Thelbert Carti stadium, Galisbay centre and Sandy Ground
For the Journées de l'architecture, the Collectivité de Saint-Martin exhibited sketch boards from three design competitions on October 23, including the €15 million Thelbert Carti stadium rebuild.
- Sint Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius sign agreement to research legacy of slavery
Sint Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius signed a memorandum of understanding on October 16, 2026 to work together on genealogical research into the legacy of slavery, using digital archives and oral histories, according to the Public Entity Saba.
- Soprano Leïla Brédent brought opera to Collège Soualiga pupils on 9 October
Soprano Leïla Brédent and pianist Dominic Boulianne performed for about 50 pupils at Collège Soualiga on Friday, 9 October 2026, during their visit for the Rotary charity concerts.
- Three Naatya Arts Center dancers perform in Guadeloupe on Saturday, 17 October 2026
Three dancers from Sint Maarten-based Naatya Arts Center are performing in Guadeloupe on Saturday, 17 October 2026, at an event organised by Association Shakti, The Daily Herald reported.
- 'Under the Hood' volunteers bring newsletters, a book club and photography to Point Blanche and Miss Lalie Center
The first phase of 'Under the Hood', a European Solidarity Corps volunteering project, has ended at Point Blanche Prison and the Miss Lalie Center, and a second phase began on 9 October 2026.
- Let's ACT culture programme ends with a final showcase after two years and nine projects
The two-year Let's ACT programme, which backed nine local cultural organisations, closed with a final showcase at the Belair Community Center in Cay Hill on Thursday, 15 October 2026.
- Constitution Day 2026: Wescot-Williams pushes referendum law, Heyliger-Marten calls for constitutional referendum
In separate Constitution Day messages, Parliament President Sarah Wescot-Williams pressed for a Referendum Ordinance and Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten called dualism the main cause of government instability.
- Sint Maarten National Heritage Foundation wins Dutch research grant to study slavery and emancipation
The Sint Maarten National Heritage Foundation has won an NWO Museum Grant for "From Salt Pond to Emancipation", a project at the Sint Maarten Museum on slavery, labour, ruins and memory. It is one of two Caribbean museums awarded, alongside the Saba Archaeological Center Foundation.
- Sint Maarten Carnival: who runs it and how the 2026 season ran
St. Maarten Carnival on the Dutch side is organised by the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF). The 2026 edition, the 55th, ran from 10 April to 5 May after pre-events from March. The 2027 dates have not been announced.
- Saint-Martin Carnival: the French side's pre-Lent season
Carnival on the French side follows the pre-Lent calendar. In 2026, pre-events began on 17 January and the parades ran in Marigot from 7 to 18 February, ending with the burning of Vaval. The 2027 dates will follow the Mardi Gras calendar.
- Hurricane Irma and St. Martin: what the official record shows
Irma struck St. Martin at Category 5 strength on the morning of 6 September 2017. What the US National Hurricane Center recorded, and where the record is still incomplete.
- Emancipation on Saint Martin: freedom in 1848 and 1863, and Emancipation Day
Slavery ended on the two sides of Saint Martin 15 years apart: on the French side in May 1848 and on the Dutch side on 1 July 1863. The day after French abolition, 26 people escaped from Diamond Estate to freedom across the border. 1 July is Emancipation Day on the Dutch side.
- A short history of St. Martin: from Soualiga to two governments
How one island ended up with two governments, two currencies and two legal systems: the key dates in St. Martin's history, from Columbus in 1493 to Hurricane Irma in 2017.
- Salt and the Great Salt Pond: the trade that shaped St. Martin
Salt was one of the key reasons Europeans settled St. Martin. How the Great Salt Pond salt pans worked, who did the labour and what is protected today.
- How Saint-Martin became a Collectivité in 2007
Since 2007 the French side has been governed as its own overseas collectivity. What the 2007 law replaced, how the Collectivité is set up and what it means for residents.
- 10-10-10 and Constitution Day: how Sint Maarten became a country
On 10 October 2010, the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved and Sint Maarten became a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Here is what changed in law, what happened that day, and how Constitution Day fits in.
- Fort Amsterdam: a short history of the Dutch fort at Little Bay
The Dutch built Fort Amsterdam in the early 1630s, lost it to Spain in 1633 and saw Peter Stuyvesant's attempt to retake the island fail in 1644. A short history of the fort.
- The Treaty of Concordia (1648): how one island came to have two sides
On 23 March 1648, the French and Dutch governors of Saint Martin signed an agreement that gave each nation its own part of the island. Here is who signed it, what it settled, what it left open, and why it still shapes daily life.
- Fort Louis, Marigot: history, protection and restoration
INRAP dates Fort Louis to the second half of the 18th century. Its history, its status as a protected monument and the Collectivité's restoration, plus what to know before visiting.
- Yaadfowl kept the Senior Calypso crown by one point at Carnival 2026
Yaadfowl beat Fish da Mega Boss 487 to 486 for the 2026 Senior Calypso crown, and Leann Richardson was crowned Senior Carnival Queen.
- Restored cannon returned to its carriage at Marina Fort Louis in September 2025
The Collectivité de Saint-Martin had the historic cannon at Marina Fort Louis restored by a specialist company and returned to its carriage and original spot on 12 September 2025, Faxinfo reported.
- Emancipation Day 2025: USM lecture on the 'Zout steeg Three' and premiere of documentary 'AWO, NOW, NU'
For Emancipation Day on 1 July 2025, the Department of Culture and the University of St. Martin hosted a lecture by Dr. Jay Haviser on three enslaved Africans whose remains were found in Philipsburg in 2010, and the premiere of the first episode of Roland Roi Colastica's documentary 'AWO, NOW, NU', according to the government.
- Fish Day 2025: the 23rd edition honoured the Hodge fishing family
The 23rd Fish Day was held at Galisbay on Sunday 8 June 2025 and paid tribute to fishermen Vanion Hodge senior and junior, Le97150 reported.
- St. Martin Book Fair 2025: the 22nd edition ran 5-7 June under the theme 'Redefining'
The 22nd St. Martin Book Fair ran from 5 to 7 June 2025, opening at the Belair Community Center, with a Poetry Garden evening at the Collectivité in Marigot on 6 June.
- Second Saint-Martin Jazz Festival drew about 400 people to the Marigot waterfront in November 2024
The second Saint-Martin Jazz Festival, organised by the association La Bonne Note, was held on the Marigot waterfront on Sunday 3 November 2024 with the Paul Emmanuel Jazz-Funk Ensemble and the Mario Canonge Trio, Le 97150 reported.
- Emancipation Day 2024: Emilio Wilson Park commemoration recalled resistance to slavery
St. Maarten marked 161 years since the abolition of slavery on Monday 1 July 2024 with an ecumenical service and cultural programme at Emilio Wilson Park under the theme 'Before', The Daily Herald reported.
- Festival Langues, Arts et Cultures 2024 closed with a pupils' gala on 3 May
The third Festival Langues, Arts et Cultures, a two-week celebration of languages and culture in French-side schools in Saint-Martin and St. Barth, closed on Friday 3 May 2024 with songs, music and dance by pupils.
- Fish Da Mega Boss won his sixth Senior Calypso crown at Carnival 2024
Fish Da Mega Boss won the St. Maarten Carnival 2024 Senior Calypso competition with 485 points, his sixth crown, ahead of Mighty Dow and Ebony Empress.
- Saint-Martin Carnival 2024 ran from 2 to 14 February under a new committee
Saint-Martin's 2024 Carnival, organised by a new committee, ran from 2 to 14 February, with the adult parade on 11 February and a free carnival village on the Marigot seafront, Le Pélican reported.
- Sint Maarten Library planned a centennial gala for its 100th anniversary in November 2023
The Sint Maarten Library announced plans for a gala at the Aleeze Convention Center on 24 November 2023 to mark its 100th anniversary, The Daily Herald reported.
- Emancipation Day 2023: Sint Maarten marked 160 years since abolition under the theme 'Born Free'
On 1 July 2023 Sint Maarten marked the 160th anniversary of the 1863 abolition of slavery with a church service and a Freedom March under the theme 'Born Free'.
- National Institute of Arts rounded off its 'Music Brings People Together' project in 2023
The National Institute of Arts closed its 2023 'Music Brings People Together' project with three performances by its youth orchestra and family string band, according to the institute.
- 21st St. Martin Book Fair, set for June 2023, was postponed
The 21st annual St. Martin Book Fair, scheduled for 1 to 3 June 2023 with the theme "resistance", was postponed by the Conscious Lyrics Foundation and the Book Fair Committee, with a new date to be announced.
- 175th anniversary of abolition in 2023: "Sailing to Freedom" show was scheduled at Friar’s Bay
For the 175th anniversary of the abolition of slavery on 28 May 2023, the Collectivité scheduled a ceremony at the Agrément roundabout and a free show, "Sailing to Freedom", on Friar’s Bay beach.
- St. Maarten Carnival 2023: Mighty Dow won the Senior Calypso crown in the first normal Carnival since 2019
St. Maarten Carnival 2023 ran from 14 April to 3 May, the first normal season since 2019, organisers said. Isidore "Mighty Dow" York won the Senior Calypso Monarch title with 508 points, The Daily Herald reported.
- Sint Maarten museum launched 'Cultural Saturdays' with stilt walking in 2023
The Sint Maarten National Heritage Foundation and the Funtopia Youth Initiative Foundation began Saturday stilt-walking sessions at the museum on Front Street on 18 March 2023, 721news reported.
- Philipsburg Jubilee Library became the Sint Maarten Library at its 99th anniversary in 2022
The Philipsburg Jubilee Library unveiled its new name, the Sint Maarten Library, with a new logo, website and library card on its 99th anniversary, 23 November 2022, according to the library.
- Both sides of St. Martin adopted the Unity Flag as a shared cultural symbol in 2022
In autumn 2022 the Collectivité de Saint-Martin and the Government of Sint Maarten adopted the St. Martin Unity Flag, first unveiled in 1990, as a joint cultural symbol of the whole island.
- St. Martin Book Fair marked its 20th edition under the theme 'Rebirth' in 2022
The St. Martin Book Fair held its 20th edition from 2 to 4 June 2022 under the theme 'Rebirth', with about 35 invited authors and Barbados' David Comissiong as keynote speaker.
- Festival Village was renamed the Jocelyn Arndell Festival Village in 2022
St. Maarten's Festival Village on Pond Island was renamed in honour of the late Jocelyn Arndell at a ceremony on 3 May 2022, The Daily Herald reported.
- King Beau Beau won the St. Maarten Senior Calypso crown at Carnival 2022
King Beau Beau won the St. Maarten Carnival 2022 Senior Calypso finals with 899 points for his song 'Tribute to St. Maarten', StMaartenNews reported.
- Serenity Martinus was crowned St. Maarten Senior Carnival Queen in 2022
Serenity Martinus won the St. Maarten Carnival 2022 Senior Queen pageant with 1,080 points, ahead of Laetitia Cozier and Denecia Williams, The Daily Herald reported.
- Saint-Martin's 2022 Carnival was cancelled in February 2022
The Festivités Carnavalesques association cancelled the 2022 French-side Carnival, citing administrative complications linked to the health situation, Faxinfo reported.
- Collectivité granted €100,000 to Saint-Martin's Carnival committee for 2022
The Collectivité de Saint-Martin's Executive Council granted €100,000 to the Comité des Festivités Carnavalesques for the 2022 Carnival, Faxinfo reported.
- Sint Maarten marked the 158th Emancipation Day in 2021 under 'No More Auction Block!'
Sint Maarten marked the 158th anniversary of emancipation on 1 July 2021 with an ecumenical service and a ceremony at Watkins House under the theme 'No More Auction Block!'.