Fundraiser to Benefit Ballena National Marine Park

There’s nothing like eating well for a good cause, especially when accompanied by one of nation’s best musicians. On March 31, the Cuna del Angel Hotel, nine kilometers south of the southern Pacific beach town Dominical, is hosting a charity dinner to raise funds for Friends of Ballena Marine Park, an area environmental group.

Costa Rican master pianist Manuel Obregón will entertain diners with his famed composition “Symbiosis.”

Environmentalists, scientists and community groups are concerned that the Ballena National Marine Park, a protected area of the ocean off the southern Pacific coast, is threatened by sediment washed down from development projects in the coastal mountains (TT,March 16), and by illegal fishing.

Organizers hope to raise funds to purchase a boat with an outboard motor and the associated costs to finance one year of patrols in the water to fend off illegal fishing.

The dinner, at a price of $75 per person, is a formal, tropical-attire event with a five-course meal and bottle of wine for two.

For more information, call Ana Montesino at 787-8012, or e-mail anam@cunadelangel.com.