Don’t miss this! As a benefit for the new Osa Children’s Library, and the official opening of the facility, local artists, musicians, dancers and craftsmen are celebrating the season with the Osa Peninsula’s first annual Christmas Arts Festival, to be held at the Salón Comunal, the town hall next to the post office, in front of the football plaza in Puerto Jimenez, December 14-15, from 1:00 to 7:00 pm. It will be a real kids’ day, with a visit from Santa Claus, a magic show, and face painting, as well as an art contest and a mural painting at the library. There are plenty of activities for the big kids (adults) too, with food, live music, and a host of fine arts, crafts and gifts to do a little Christmas shopping.

    A few years ago, an edition of a well-known travel guide to Costa Rica stated that the beauty of the Osa Peninsula had yet to be captured by artists, writers, poets, and photographers. The author of that observation obviously had not encountered the group of artists who hide out in various recesses of the jungle and beaches and who indeed capture not only it’s beauty, but the cultural flavors found in this community as well.

    Among the artists participating in the exhibition are Michael Cranford, acrylic paintings and pastels, Kimberley Blackwell, beaded designs, Tao, mixed medias, Rodolfo Gutiérrez Zuñiga, acrylics paintings, Luis Angulo (El Sol de Osa’s featured artist this edition), stone carvings, and Dominical locals, Peter Sirell, pastels, and Sasa, mixed media. The local folkloric dancers will be performing in full regalia, and we will be graced with the latino ritmos of the Villalobos brothers band, Los Mineros, and the eclectic sounds of the Chicken Bone Rollers. A magic show will be performed by Captain Will.

    Since the occasion for the Arts Festival is a benefit and opening of the Osa Children’s Library, located across the parking courtyard from the Community hall, many of the activities will focus on the children of the community. The festival will kick off at 1:00 pm with the opening of the gallery and an art contest for the younger crowd. Winners of this contest will participate on Sunday in the painting of the children’s mural on the library wall. The inauguration ceremonies for the Library will take place at 2:00pm on Saturday, with many thanks being given to all those in the community who have contributed time, money or materials to the library project. The ribbon cutting will be followed by a performance by the local folkloric dancers from the elementary school, headed by Doña Ruth Jiménez and Doña Ibis Vargas Bonilla. In Sunday’s mid-afternoon time slot, Santa Claus will make an appearance and youngsters can have their photo taken with him, following a Magic show sure to entertain everyone.

    Tickets are C500 each for adults and C100 for kids. The proceeds benefit the library book fund, and there will a raffle for an original chainsaw wood carving by Randy Morgan.

    This is the first annual Christmas Arts Festival, however, it is a continuance of the local artists’ exhibitions and wine-and-cheese openings that have been taking place periodically. The last one, in September, was held at Juanita’s Mexican restaurant. This one promises to go way beyond the art show idea and incorporate all the arts, visual, performing, and cultural, with food, live music, dance, poetry, and crafts.

    The Osa Peninsula community is growing. Art and culture, educational facilities and celebrations that bring the community together are a sure sign of life almost equal to the immense beauty and wildness that surround us. We are fortunate to have so many talented people in the area to illustrate, interpret, elevate our senses, and inspire us as much as Nature herself.