The Else Kientzler Botanical Garden will host its third annual Christmas Fair Dec. 2-4 in the northwestern Central Valley town of Sarchí.
The three-day fair will showcase Costa Rican Christmas traditions, including a collection of local residents’ nativity scenes and Tico holiday foods such as tamales, cakes and picadillos (minced meat and vegetable dishes). Also on the program are chamber choir Christmas carols and a performance of the play “El Abuelito de las Nieves” (“Grandfather of the Snows”), about a child who asks Santa Claus to prepare typical Costa Rican tamales and the sweet drink agua dulce.
The garden is home to more than two kilometers of trails and approximately 2,000 different types of flora, including fruit trees, hibiscus and orchids, as well as a variety of birds, butterflies, insects and small animals.
The Else Kientzler Botanical Garden is 400 meters north of the stadium in Sarchí. For more information about the garden or the Christmas Fair, call 2454-2070.