French Quarter:--- The all-volunteer Les Fruits de Mer association is looking forward to welcoming the people of St. Martin to The Old House on this Saturday, April 20th. The Old House ends the peaceful march organized by the Collectivité of Saint-Martin to defend local land and heritage. The Collectivité is organizing a Family Day at The Old House following the march. The Old House has been home to Amuseum Naturalis, a free museum of local nature, heritage, and culture created by Les Fruits de Mer for the last six years.
“We believe it is vital to preserve The Old House,” said Les Fruits de Mer president Jenn Yerkes. “Dating back to 1766, this is one of the island’s most important heritage sites. We are grateful to the Collectivité for their dedication to preserving this site and to acquiring the Beauperthuy lands to use for the benefit of the people of St. Martin. We look forward to the historic march on the 20th of April and spending time at The Old House with everyone who comes out!.”
Les Fruits de Mer volunteers have been preparing Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House for a record crowd on April 20th. They have also been preparing books about St. Martin for kids and people of all ages to give away for free at the Family Day event. There will be a coloring station for kids to enjoy and an oral history station. Volunteers from the association will be present to answer questions about the museum and its exhibits.
“Our volunteer team is working hard to prepare for this historic event,” said museum manager Mark Yokoyama. “We are gathering about 1,500 books to give away at the event. We have coloring and activity books about St. Martin's nature, collections of oral histories of St. Martiners, and more. The Old House is my favorite place on earth. It will be a joy to share it with people as we stand together for the island's future.”
Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House is a free community museum of St. Martin's nature, heritage, and culture. It is open daily from sunrise to sunset. It hosts free visits for schools on both sides of the island. It is created and maintained by an all-volunteer team.