The Hermosa Beach Punta Mala Refuge will be holding a seminar called “State Of Conservation And Current Status Of Sea Turtles In The Pacific”. This seminar will be orated by Mr. Ricardo Perez Duran, a Wildlife Specialist. The event will be held on Thursday December 10th at 8:30 am in Best Western Jaco Beach Hotel. The nominal fee is $20 (Pro-Aid Wildlife Refuge Playa Hermosa – Punta Mala).

This refuge is an important service for the successful birth of new turtles. Hundreds of turtle mothers comes to our shores and bury their eggs for the next generation to carry on. Unfortunately, many of these eggs are pilfered by people looking to sell the eggs on the street. The refuge offers a secure environment where the turtles can incubate in a protected zone and then they are dug up and nominally assisted back into the ocean. This is a great service that everyone should support.

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As you may have heard, Costa Rica implemented a new luxury tax which is still confusing to many people. How they are going to appraise the property value is one of the major sticking points. Participate in this meeting so you can get all of your questions answered. Most likely it will be in Spanish so if you can bring along someone who can translate for you it would be helpful if you cannot speak it yourself.

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***Thursday, December 3rd: Concert in the Park of Jacó with Victor Zúñiga from 5 to 9 pm.

***Friday, December 4th: Concert with Quique de Heredia in the Park of Jaco from 5 to 9 pm.

***Saturday, December 5th: Horse Parade and face painting: “Loaf and Fishes” at 12 noon in front of Maxi Bodegas. Jaco’s Horsemen’s Association and the Sports Committee will be organizing a Horse Parade Tope for Jaco Beach. They are inviting you to be part of the Tope Jaco 2009 on next Saturday December 5th beginning at 12 noon in front of Maxi Bodegas with registrations, charro, marimba and more. The Tope will start at 2 pm in Maxi Bodegas through the Pastor Diaz Avenue and will end in the Salon Multiuso at 5 pm. There will be a reception and live music with Los Titanes Music Band. Also, they are asking for volunteers, if you are interested please contact the Chamber at 2643-2853 or Freddy Morales at 8367-6521. For more information please call to 2643-4020, 2643-3045, 8342-8532 or send an email to ascajaco@gmail.com.

***Sunday, December 6th: The Garabito Sports Committee is organizing a Taekwon-do International Tournament. The Taekwon-do International Tournament Jaco 2009 will be held on December 6th at 9:00 am in Salon Multiuso dedicated to Tobias Murillo. Sport Committee President. We hope to see you there and support the sport in Garabito.

Sunday December 6th: Bingo at the Salon Multiuso to benefit the Catholic Church.

***Monday, December 7th: Canine activity in Park of Jacó from 9am – 11am.
***Tuesday, December 8th: Municipal Band Parade and children horse ride. Municipal Cantonato.

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People from all over Costa Rica, nationals and tourists alike, flock the this province to see this event and partake in the festivities.

Last years event was cancelled due to the some problem but this year it is back and started on October 8th. So the nationals are really excited this year to celebrate their cultural tradition.

Also, on October 28th the first wine event takes place in Costa Rica called ExpoVino Costa Rica. Participants from all over the world have signed up for this event. The resume of exhibitors come from:United States, Spain, Italy, France, Germany,Uruguay, Australia, Portugal, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, and Argentina. If you are interested the expo will take place at the Hotel Real Intercontinental, San Jose and costs $30 for one day or $45 for both days of the event. For more info, call 506-2520-0070

In this official Catholic country November 2nd All Saints Day is taken seriously. Observers pay their visit to the cemeteries all around the country and leave flowers for their beloved ones. The International Arts Festival takes place once again in downtown San Jose where tourists can get a feel for the culture of this country and bump shoulders with the locals.

For the real cultured or just want to say you went to a filmfest the Costa Rica International Film Festival aka CRIFF starts on November 5 through the 9th in Manual Antonio but that is not enough for Costa Rica. The Montezuma International Film Festival in Montezuma begins on November 12 through the 15th. For schedule info for both filmfests this is the best source we found.

Be sure to check next month for our December and January social forecast for Costa Rica in our Costa Rica Blog

At a glance:

OCTOBER

San Isidro del General – October 9
Celebrates anniversary of San Isidro’s founding.

Puerto Limon – Limon Carnival – October 12
Columbus Day is celebrated in style in the port city with week-long street dances, parades, concerts – it’s “Mardi Gras” to a Caribbean beat.

Corn Festival in Upala, Corn Queen contest.

Virgen del Pilar’s Day – Oct. 12
Fair in Tres Rios celebrating their Patron Saint with parade and costumes made entirely of corn husks, grain, and silks.

NOVEMBER

All Souls day – Nov 2
Day of the dead is observed with family visits to cemeteries to put flowers on loved ones’ graves.

San Jose
International Arts Festival, plays, street theater and other entertainment.

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The event will be held at the convention center of Villas Lirio Hotel in Manuel Antonio, Quepos from September 25 to 27, 2009. As the international travel market matures into a “greener” conscience, tour operators need to find destinations and services that are sustainable and truly offer a “green” experience. The Grupo Manuel Antonio recognizes this and has invited many tour companies that already have the Sustainable Tourism Certificate and offer them preferential prices ranging from courtesy lodging to heavily discounted packages.

The main goal of the fair is to promote the canton of Aguirre which Manuel Antonio and Quepos reside in. However, many other tourism markets are coming to the show to promote their own areas of the country in Costa Rica. The CENPAC representatives will be attending and will be promoting the Jaco area and the canton of Garabito.

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September is to Costa Rica what July is to the United States: a month filled with patriotic displays and celebrations of the country’s Dia de Independencia, which officially takes place on Sept. 15.

Costa Rica is a country brimming with national pride thanks in part to the fact that its Independence Day traditions that are highly centered around the younger generations. For the nation’s work force, Sept. 15 might be just one day off work, but for the school children, it marks the culmination of months of preparation and time to show off their artistic talent.

Central America actually declared its independence from Spain collectively from the colonial seat in Guatemala in 1821, meaning Sept. 15 is a day of celebration up and down the isthmus. As with most colonial government affairs, Costa Rica had little to do with the decision, and the region didn’t even learn of its independence until a full month later when a delegation arrived from Guatemala to pass on the news.

Every year, a flaming torch is carried from Guatemala starting on Sept. 11 all the way to the former colonial capital of Costa Rica in Cartago, symbolizing the arrival of the news of independence. The runners are selected from the local schools throughout Central America to carry the torch an average of 500 meters, a task that serves as a great source of pride. The torch crosses the Nicaraguan border into Costa Rica each year on the eve of the day of independence and arrives in the northern town of Liberia in time for a sunset ceremony on Sept. 14. Runners and bikers follow the torch route for varying distances, occasionally getting lost as outlying townspeople join the crowd to light their own torches to carry along their own divergent routes.

As the torch makes its way through Costa Rica, local townships kick off the two days of celebration with parades, mascaradas, concerts and cultural shows. School children are required to participate in their town parades in marching bands or by carrying “Faroles”, or elaborate homemade paper lanterns. Their designs sit atop or hang from a wooden stick with candles inside to light the way. It is a tradition for the children to make their own lanterns in patriotic colors, often in the form of a house, animal, vehicle or other creative representations of national symbols.

As the torch arrives in Cartago on Independence Day at 6 p.m. before the Basilica de Los Angeles, the entire country joins together in singing the national anthem “Noble patria, tu hermosa bandera”. The night is capped off with more parades, fireworks and local concerts. While visiting Costa Rica in September, you are sure to stumble upon a festive display of Tico pride and patriotism just about anywhere you go. Don’t forget to wear your red, white and blue and compliment the children on their faroles!

Original post

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Arte Jaco

Extreme Jaco Challenge
The race Extreme Jaco Challenge 2.0 will take place on Saturday, April 18 at 4:00 p.m. This race will cover 10 km through the main road and the beach. More info: www.retojacoextremo.com

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This weekend kicks off the San Jose Summer Arts Festival

Each  year  San Jose, Costa Rica showcases all of the cultural arts in the country by organizing a series of festivals related to the arts, it’s culture and it’s music. This festival is called: Festival de Verano Transitarte. The festival is spread out over the four large parks in the heart of San Jose. They are Parque Morazan, home to the Templo de Musica. The Jardin de Paz  and just across the street to the east is the Parque España. Finally, the National Park where you can find the Battle of Rivas statute. The National Park is the largest of all the venues and will be hosting artisans who will set up shop, as well as theater and dance performances.

Here is the schedule for the 3 day event:

Friday, March 13, 2009

10 a.m. – 3 p.m.: Municipal libraries will hold present story telling including the stories La gallina Avelina and El lobo feroz (all in Spanish) in the Parque España.

10 a.m. – 3 p.m.: In the National Park, visitors can enjoy Mascaradas by Los Chapetones, marimba music by Sonando and Calypso Urbano.

4 p.m.: Folkloric group Viajando por Nuestro Pais will close the festivities in the National Park

6:30 p.m.: The dance group Metamorfosis will present a show called 70% agua in the Parque Morazan

8 p.m.: A concert by Son de Tikizia will officially inaugurate the weekend event.

Saturday, March 24, 2009

All Day: Urban Canopy Zipline tours and Climbing walls in the Jardin de Paz, and story telling until 5 p.m. in Parque España.

10 a.m.: Day long theater presentations in the National Park including “Caminito del Mar’ by the group Contraluz and “Sexo? Si gracias por preguntar” by Abya-Yala.

11 a.m.: Taekwondo presentation in the Jardin de Paz

11 a.m.: Music presentation by Mexican rapper MC Tshh in the Parque Morazan

11 a.m.: 9 p.m.: Concerts will be presented all day long including Sincopa, Introvisión, Escafandra, Mechas, Parque en el Espacio, Pato Barraza and Evolución.

1 p.m.: Central American Boxing Championship with the participation of Panama and Nicaragua in the Jardin de Paz

9 p.m.: Presentation of dance and percussion by Orquestap in the Parque Nacional

9 p.m.: Music performance by Panamanian group Cienfue in Parque Morazan

Sunday, March 15:

10 a.m. – 6 p.m.: Story telling in Parque España.

10 a.m. on: Music, dance and theater with presentations by the Camote Circus and Par de 2, the Camerata Bach and La Cuna del Swing in the Parque Nacional.

11 a.m. on: Music presentations in Parque Morazan by Los Cumbiamberos, Humberto Vargas, Francisco Murillo, Digital 80, Santos y Zurdo, and Amarillo Cyan y Magenta.

7 p.m.: A concert by Peregrino Gris will close the weekend music festivities in the Parque Morazan.

8 p.m.: The entire event will close with a show by the French group Puce Muse, that will include music and projections in the Parque de Paz.

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