Repeating Islands

The 2011 Costa Rican National Arts Festival kicked off March 18 and runs through this weekend in the Caribbean-slope towns of Turrialba and Siquirres. To view a slideshow of the event, visit the Tico Times‘ photo reports section.

To view the schedule of events, click here: National Arts Festival

The 2011 National Arts Festival is set to flood the Caribbean-slope towns of Siquirres and Turrialba with 10 days of arts and cultural events from March 18 to 27. Some 2,000 artists from Costa Rica and abroad will give more than 200 music, theater and dance performances, as well as a variety of workshops and activities for all ages. Also on the program is a film festival featuring approximately 45 Costa Rican productions.

The festival’s official inauguration took place on March 18 at 7 p.m. in Turrialba, and featured a 360-degree multimedia show on the history of the region, projected on three giant screens, as well as aerial dance and circus shows.

The National Arts Festival takes place every two years in a different region of the country. Turrialba and Siquirres were selected to host this year’s festival because of the progress both communities have made in their cultural offerings in recent years, and because they had been excluded in past editions of the festival, according to Anselmo Navarro, director of the festival.

For the original report go to http://www.ticotimes.net/Weekend/The-arts-flood-old-road-to-Limon_Friday-March-25-2011