Toys for Tots
Reports Jerry Lafferty: “The recent Toys for Tots fundraisers were incredibly successful, with attendance up nearly 50 percent for both the golf tournament on Saturday, December 9 and the gala dinner-dance on Sunday, December 10. We now plan to deliver in excess of 5,000 toys and smiles to needy kids in the Banderas Bay area on Three Kings Day in early January. The public is encouraged to participate with us, in what is a joyful highlight of the holiday season.”
The Toys for Tots charity golf tournament was held at Club Corp’s Weiskopf course at Vista Vallarta with a capacity field of 115 golfers, men and women, of widely varying skill levels. The following night, the Marriott CasaMagna Resort and Spa hosted a fun-filled dinner-dance in their spacious ballroom for 200 guests.
Toys for Tots is organized annually by the local Navy League Council, led this year by Carol Smith of Carol’s Boutique fame. The Navy League has been assisted in each of the past 18 years by two generous partners: Club Corp and Marriott. Joining them this year were long-time supporters Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Patron Tequila, Honda and many others.
Call Smith at (322) 137-4902 or Dorothy Piontkowski at (322) 209-0064 for details on where and when to join in January’s distribution event.
Firework magic
Puerto Vallarta will mark the end of 2017 in noisy but spectacular style with a pyrotechnic/musical display on the Malcolm (by Agustin Flores Contreras sports center).
The LuminiaFest will showcase the skills of two Mexican firework wizards: Marcelo Mantecon on December 30 and Pablo Hernandez on December 31. Music prior to each show will be courtesy of local rock, mariachi and jazz groups. There is no charge to see the displays.
Chocolate Festival
The Vallarta Botanical Garden is hosting a Chocolate Festival on Friday, January 5 in order to educate the public about one of Mexico’s “gifts to the world” (see story page 24).
Admission to the event is 200 pesos (this includes the regular garden entry fee of 150 pesos) and covers “chocolate tours,” folk dance performances and chocolate samples. Also available will be chocolate drinks, other beverages and food options.
The Vallarta Botanical Garden is situated south of Puerto Vallarta at kilometer 24 on Highway 200. As well as hundreds of varieties of trees and plants, a huge variety of birds can been viewed amid the impressive 50-acre site. There is also a restaurant and river for swimming. A current goal of the garden is the creation of the National Collection of Mexican Orchids, intended to be the most complete of any in the country.
The attraction is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. For more information, call (322) 223-6182 or go to vbgardens.org.