Atenas Celebrates Weather Festival for Fourth Year

Last weekend, the coffee town of Atenas, northwest of San José, entertained and informed community members and visitors with the popular Expo-Feria del Clima (Weather Festival). For the fourth year, the Atenas community and its Tourism and Business Chamber (CATUCA) organized concerts, dances, exhibitions, sales of local products, competitive sports and a traditional oxcart parade featuring 75 teams from all over Costa Rica.

“With the Expo-Feria, we aim to raise awareness and understanding about the environment while fostering our cultural heritage,” said CATUCA spokeswoman Liliana Prado.

Friday was dedicated to the environment, offering an educational introduction to the importance of trees and their identification. On Saturday, Atenas revived its past with the installation of the sesteo, a service area where the arriving oxcarts and their drivers were provided food and shelter.

Exhibitions in the park and municipality featured information on the environment, as well as local arts, crafts and food specialties. After sunset, the theater and dance group Metamórfosis entertained with acrobats, jugglers and bobbing payasos (Ticostyle clowns).

Sunday saw the colorful procession of oxcarts, accompanied by folk dancers and musicians from Santa Cruz, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste. The fair ended with an enjoyable concert by Los Hermanos Vargas in the park.