If you're looking for an authentic Aruba experience, few evenings capture everything I love about the island quite like the San Nicolas Food Truck Festival.
The San Nicolas Food Truck Festival was an evening I had been looking forward to. With more than 40 food trucks and local vendors, the promenade came alive with families, friends, music and laughter.
For many of us, the promenade holds decades of memories, and seeing it filled with life is always something special. Friends greeted one another, children played, visitors were warmly welcomed, and local entrepreneurs proudly shared what they created.
One of my first stops was Mi Lamunchi. Fresh lemons squeezed to order and a generous handful of mint turned a simple lemonade into one of the most refreshing moments of the evening.
Then I spotted a sign that simply read “Coco Chicharrón.”
Coconut chicharrón? Now I really had to know.
Sweet, crisp, lightly caramelized and completely addictive. I bought a container to take home and finished every last piece on the twenty-minute drive home.
The loaded smash burger from Cookout was every bit as good as I'd hoped, but I was careful to save room for dessert.
A scoop of Pico Bello's rich chocolate gelato from the Nicolaas Store was the perfect ending. Produced by a family-owned Aruban company, it's easy to understand why you'll find Pico Bello at so many Aruba Wine & Dine restaurants.
It's also one of the locally made treats we proudly serve our guests on Taste of San Nicolas, making it another delicious way to support an outstanding local business.
I always enjoy wandering through SPACE21.art to see what's new. This visit, another beautiful piece by Fausta Luna came home with me.
Before leaving, I noticed Tito's growing collection of canvases and painting supplies. It was the gentle reminder I needed that I'm ready to paint again.
One of the unexpected joys of creating Taste of San Nicolas has been rediscovering San Nicolas itself.
It has given me the opportunity to spend time with the people behind its businesses, reconnect with friends I hadn't seen in years, and discover artists, entrepreneurs and local flavors that somehow escaped me over the years.
The more time I spend in San Nicolas, the more convinced I become that its greatest treasures aren't just the murals or the food. They're the people who create them.
Every visit reminds me why this remarkable community deserves to be experienced, not simply passed through on the way to Baby Beach.
Maria Silva and the Vibration PR team have every reason to be proud. They have a remarkable gift for bringing people together while celebrating Aruba's local businesses, artists, musicians and entrepreneurs.
The San Nicolas Food Truck Festival is more than a food festival. It's a celebration of the people who make this community so special.
If you're visiting Aruba and your vacation happens to coincide with the San Nicolas Food Truck Festival, make the drive. Parking is easy, the welcome is genuine, and you'll experience an evening that beautifully reflects the warmth, creativity and community spirit of Aruba's Sunrise City.
As I drove home that evening, I realized why I enjoy the festival so much.
It wasn't just because I'd polished off every last piece of my Coco Chicharrón before I got home.
It was the people. The conversations. The creativity. The pride.
It's everything I love about Aruba gathered into one evening.
And if that's the Aruba you're hoping to discover, I'll save you a place on the promenade.
The festival takes place in San Nicolas, Aruba's Sunrise City, along the promenade in the heart of town.
Expect a wide variety of local food trucks and vendors rather than one type of cuisine. On my visit, that meant everything from fresh lemonade and Coco Chicharrón to a loaded smash burger and locally made Pico Bello gelato.
Yes. What makes the evening special isn't only the food. It's an opportunity to spend time in San Nicolas among local families, entrepreneurs, artists and musicians and experience a part of Aruba many visitors otherwise pass on their way to Baby Beach.
San Nicolas is known for its murals, galleries, local history and growing food and arts scene. You can explore independently or experience the city through Taste of San Nicolas, the Kukoo Kunuku evening experience I created around its art, stories, culture and food.
You don't have to wait for the next Food Truck Festival to discover the San Nicolas I've come to love.
I created Taste of San Nicolas after months spent exploring these streets, meeting the people behind the murals and businesses, and discovering the food and stories that give the Sunrise City its character.
The experience brings those discoveries together in one evening, from the murals and stories of San Nicolas at twilight to local flavors and dinner inside one of the city's historic buildings.
Brand Manager, Kukoo Kunuku & Jolly Pirates | Creator of Taste of San Nicolas
Carla Cavallaro has called Aruba home since 1989 and helped launch Jolly Pirates in 1997. She created Taste of San Nicolas, a curated food, art and culture experience inspired by the remarkable people, flavors, art and history of Aruba's Sunrise City. She contributes stories to Yummy Aruba, part of Aruba Wine and Dine, sharing the people, places and experiences that visitors might otherwise miss.
Read more of her stories at Kukoo Kunuku and Jolly Pirates.
