ArteViva: Arts alive on southern Caribbean coast

A celebration of the arts, education and culture is set to kick off Friday in the southern Caribbean beach community of Puerto Viejo, with Carnaval ArteViva 2010.

 

The Southern Caribbean Arts School (EDACS), which first organized the festival in 2006, this year has teamed up with the Puerto Viejo Development Association – as well as some 120 local businesses – to bring free concerts, art exhibits, theatrical performances, workshops and food and craft fairs to the community through Aug. 31.

 

Tonight’s inauguration, starting at 7 p.m. in Puerto Viejo’s Casa de la Cultura, will feature the opening of various exhibits by local and foreign artists, as well as a school band, street music and Caribbean food. Capping off the evening’s festivities will be a concert at Tex Mex restaurant by Luis Angel Castro, the Costa Rican singer-songwriter who composed the popular song, “Puerto Viejo.”

 

Putting the carnaval in the festival’s name, a turno will be set up on the waterfront in the center of town for the duration of the festival, featuring amusement park rides, games, food stalls and Tico-style bullfights (where people are more likely to be hurt than the bulls).

 

However, the main focus of the festival will be educational, said festival organizer Claudio Ambroso, president of EDACS. Free workshops will be offered on topics such as alternative medicine, Caribbean food, creative techniques and bicycle painting, and all of the area’s local schools will be giving performances, ranging from traditional dances to puppet shows.

 

A full schedule of events is available on the festival’s website, www.arteviva-puertoviejo.com.