Open Circle
San Juan Cosala Children’s Choir and Orchestra will give a performance at Open Circle Sunday, December 4, 10:30 a.m. in the garden of the Lake Chapala Society (LCS).
Since they first appeared at Open Circle three years ago, the shy children have transformed into confident, lively, focused youngsters singing and playing instruments for fun as well as for discipline and achievement. They take very seriously their studies, practice and auditions, whether they are in San Juan Cosala or distant performance venues that have included Guadalajara, Costa Rica and Huntsville, Alabama. The orchestra is growing but still in need of instruments (woodwinds, brass, and strings), as well as sponsorships to pay for instruction.
The children will perform, and Coco Wonchee and Gustavo Medeles will update the gathering on the progress of the San Juan Cosala Music Rescue Project (Musica Para Crecer) and its goals for the future.
Arts, crafts fair
Do your holiday shopping early as the Lake Chapala Society hosts an arts and crafts gifts fair Friday and Saturday, December 2 and 3, from 3 to 8 p.m. each day. The fair is open to the public and admission is 20 pesos at the gate. Food sales will be ongoing.
Forty booths will feature handmade goods, jewelry, paintings, candles, photography, pottery and more, all created by local and nearby artists. The LCS Children’s Art program will be offering a selection of more than 80 cards from their holiday catalog, as well as other children’s art for sale.
On Friday at 5 p.m., Ben White and Yolanda Martinez will present the awards to this year’s five LCS Directory Contest winners from among the entries submitted by the kids in the Children’s Art Program. At 6 p.m., the LCS grounds and a Christmas tree will be lit up to begin the holiday celebrations, accompanied by Cindy Paul and her Lake Chapala Chorale.
Golf tourney
The Chula Vista Country Club will host the first annual Copa Chapala de Golf 2016 to benefit the Chapala Family Development Agency (DIF), Saturday, December 3.
Registration is from 7:30-8:30 a.m. for teams of four with a go-go format. Cost to enter is 1,250 pesos.
To register, call Rafael Gonzalez at the clubhouse, 766-1525 or 766-5189, or Juan Macias at (331) 802-6806 (cell).
Lakeside British Society
The next Lakeside British Society lunch is Saturday, December 3, 1 p.m. at Manix Restaurant. To get in the mood for the holiday season, traditional English Christmas carols will be led by talented professional singer Olga Kaplounenko.
Manix is at Ocampo 57 in Ajijic, and has parking available on an adjacent lot.
Call Arleen at 766-1742 or contact Sue Morris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 766-0847 if you plan to attend.
LCS bus trip
Wednesday, December 7, the LCS heads out to Guadalajara’s plush Andares Mall with its upscale shopping and dining choices. Cost is 300 pesos for members and 350 pesos for non-members. The bus departs promptly at 10 a.m. from the sculpture in La Floresta.
LCS seminar
Lake Chapala Society members are invited to attend the December 6 TED seminar, noon to 1:15 p.m. in the LCS Sala. This seminar, facilitated by Rick Rhoda, features transportation engineer Wanis Kabbaj speaking on “What a driverless world could look like.”
It takes the average American worker 26 minutes each way to commute to work, up from 22 minutes in 1980. That works out to nine full 24-hour days commuting each year. Even with more urban highways being built, why are commute times increasing? What can be done to reduce all the hours wasted commuting? Kabbaj examines a range of solutions.
Neill James Lecture
Anthropologist Nina Jablonski is featured in a video presentation, “Extreme Bodies: Humanity’s Journey from the Savannah to the Soda and Beyond,” at the Neill James Lecture Tuesday, December 6, 2 p.m. The first in a series on “Being Human,” this presentation looks broadly at our biological and cultural evolution over the last two million years. It includes a focus on how we evolved to be physically active. Jablonski shows that, eons ago, we were all more or less Olympic athletes. That in the past, being extraordinary was ordinary.
Jablonski is an anthropologist and palaeobiologist, known for her research into the evolution of skin color in humans. She is engaged in public education about human evolution, diversity and racism. She is an Evan Pugh University Professor at the Pennsylvania State University, and the author of the books “Skin: A Natural History” and “Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color.”
Buddhists
The Heart of Awareness Buddhist Sangha meets weekly on Wednesdays. Noble Silence begins at 3:30 p.m. followed at 4 p.m. by a formal meditation period, dharma teachings and discussion. On December 7, the meditation period will be followed with teaching by Marty Janowitz (live) – the first in a series of four talks he will give in December on the “Paramitas,” aspirations for perfecting the way in which we conduct our lives and perceive the world. The six paramitas are concerned with the effort to step out of the egocentric mentality.
Friday, December 2 to Sunday, December 4, the Heart of Awareness is offering a retreat featuring 14 hours of video teachings by Pema Chodron. There will be no “First Sunday Long Sit” on December 4 due to the retreat schedule.
The center is open for hour-long silent meditation periods Sunday and Monday, from 9 to 10 a.m. and Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon.
There will be a dharma movie matinee on Monday, December 5, beginning 3 p.m. The film selected is “Unmistaken Child,” a documentary which follows the four-year search for the reincarnation of Lama Konchog, a world-renowned Tibetan master who passed away in 2001 at age 84.
A yoga class suitable for all levels of experience is offered at Heart of Awareness on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. (No class December 3.)
The sangha is at Guadalupe Victoria 101 in Ajijic. For further information, visit heartofawareness.org, or call Janet Reichert at (331) 043-4669.
Auction fashion show
The School for Special Children holds an auction/fashion show, Thursday, December 8, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Las Caballerizas Coxala located in the Raquet Club in San Juan Cosala. A silent auction will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; lunch is served at noon; the fashion show will be on from 12:45 to 3 p.m. Tickets, 300 pesos, are on sale at Diane Pearl, Casi Nuevo and Mia’s Boutique.
Rotary auction/brunch
The Ajijic Rotary Club will hold a Christmas auction/brunch Tuesday, December 12, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hotel Real de Chapala to benefit student scholarships. A silent and live auction on over 140 items will be held while those attending feast on quiche, fresh fruit, potatoes and gingerbread Christmas cookies. Donation is 100 pesos. Entertainment is by Santa and the San Juan Cosala Children’s Choir. Tickets available at Mia’s Boutique, Diane Pearl and Terry King Tianguis in Chapala.
Toys for Tots
American Legion Post Three in Chapala joins with Los Gueros motorcycle club for the third annual Toy Run to benefit the children of Mezcala Saturday, December 17, beginning with a breakfast at 10 a.m. at the Legion.
Both cars and motorcycles from any clubs or single riders are welcome to join in the procession. Drop off any toy donations at Iron Horse Saloon, Just Chillin’, Adelidas Bar and Grill, Mama’s Bar or the Lake Chapala Society. Monetary donations can be left at Legion headquarters or Just Chillin’ before December 15.
Home tours
The Behind the Walls home tours of some of Lakeside’s most gorgeous residences that benefit the School for Special Children have sold out their Christmas home tour.
However, tickets for the once-a-month winter and spring tours are still on sale at Diane Pearl or Charter Club Tours for only 200 pesos.