Arts for the turtles
Mark your calendar for two special dates at the Bahia de Sol Condominiums in Nuevo Vallarta.
The annual Arts for the Turtles craft show will take place on February 15 and March 15. All proceeds benefit the Nuevo Vallarta turtle preservation camp, located on the beach in front of the Bahia del Sol condos. For sale will be paintings, jewelry, metal art, bronze sculpture, quilt art and other handicrafts. There will also be a flea market and live auction. A special lunch will be available for purchase at the Seashore Restaurant on the beach. Admission is free.
For more information contact Jim Casey at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Fashionable ladies
The Beta Sigma Phi Sorority of Bucerias/La Cruz has set their 4th Annual Fashion Show for March 14, 2 p.m.
The ticket price is 250 pesos, which includes lunch, a complimentary glass of champagne and the fashion show, which features Beta Sigma Phi members modeling casual, evening and beach wear.
Tickets went on sale on February 9. Hurry, because only 100 tickets will be sold for this popular event.
Contact Judy Dell’Aira at 329-295-5074 for tickets and information.
Pre Valentine mystery
Tickets are on sale for another popular Murder Mystery Dinner Theater on Monday, February 13, at Los Arroyos Verde in Bucerias.
The Bucerias Bilingual Community Center (BBCC) sponsored event starts unfolding at 6 p.m., with cocktails and “speculation.” The dinner theater and investigation begin at 7 p.m.
The 500-peso (36-dollar) admission includes the interactive show and dinner catered by Karen’s Place.
The three-course meal features a tapas appetizer, followed by a delicious trio of grilled mahi mahi, filet mignon and coconut shrimp. To complete this romantic meal, a mini chocolate dessert will be served. A full cash bar will also be available.
The mystery dinner theater is always lots of fun, and is a fundraising event for the BBCC community center.
Purchase tickets, get more information and get a new, free map of Bucerias, by calling Elements Realty 329-298-6011, the BBCC 329-298-3527 or Jean Westby, 329-298-2891. You can also reserve your tickets by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Rhythm ‘N Ribs
Don’t forget the 8th annual Rhythm ‘N Ribs fundraiser on Saturday, February 18. All proceeds go to Manos de Amor children’s shelter in Bucerias. There will be live entertainment, raffle prizes, a silent auction and a huge crowd at the Bucerias plaza for this yearly fundraising party.
Tickets go on sale at the plaza starting at 5:30 p.m., food service begins promptly at 6 p.m. and live music starts at 7 p.m., continuing late into the night.
It’s never too late to participate in this event by providing raffle prizes or food to sell. Contact Nicole at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you’d like to volunteer, contact Anne Milling at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Keeping Kosher
In recent months, the Pie In the Sky bakery of Bucerias has been working with Yossi Elkayam and Rabbi Zev Schwarcz of the International Kosher Council to obtain Kosher certification.
As of December 1, all products at Pie In the Sky (with the exception of chicken pies and empanadas) are certified kosher, making it the first Kosher bakery in Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay.
Bakery co-owner Susan Drexler explained that the certification is important to the growing local Jewish community.
“I felt like I had accomplished something very important to me and my family,” she says. “I felt something spiritual, something I couldn’t put my finger on, maybe a rebirth of the memory of my childhood, joy and happiness, Sunday School, Hebrew School, the Synagogue and all that goes with my being Jewish.”
Pie In the Sky continues its tradition of the best pastries in the area and with all its recipes that have become famous.
There have been several additions to its award-winning menu, including made-fresh-every-Thursday Challah bread, (available Fridays or by special request), vegetarian and different kosher recipes such as Hanukah sufganiyot (Israeli-style donuts).
There will be more traditional Kosher party recipes available in the future, according to Drexler.
Pie in the Sky has a second location in Puerto Vallarta, but only the Bucerias kitchen is certified Kosher.
On another note, Pie In the Sky Bakery is offering all Valentine’s Day decorations free of charge on their Valentines Day Cakes and Boutique Art Cakes.
For more information, visit the bakery or call Drexler, 329-298-1397.
Turtle preservation
The turtle preservation group, Grupo Manos Unidas Pro Litibu, is making solid strides toward resurrecting their program.
As reported in a December 23 Guadalajara Reporter story, the group’s turtle preservation efforts in the Bay of Banderas area were washed away in the heavy rains and beach floods in the summer of 2010.
Fifteen years of progress to protect turtle eggs and release threatened Kemp’s Ridley turtle hatchlings back into the sea came to an abrupt halt. From only a handful of hatchlings in the beginning, its scope grew to over 25,000 on the four Litibu-area beaches by 2009.
At a general meeting in Punta de Mita a week ago, the group elected officers of its board of directors, establishing a budget to purchase needed items, as well as making plans to have a fundraising dinner and membership drive.
The newly elected officers of the non-profit are Antonia Solis Virgen, president; Stanton Kizer, vice president; Linda Foy, treasurer and Sandy Barker, secretary.
The top two priorities were established: rebuild the protective turtle egg corral on the beach and hire a new head biologist, certified/permitted by the government to collect the turtle eggs and move them to that safe haven.
Andrea Ortiz Garcia, the new biologist, will go full time once her application for a license to gather turtle eggs is approved. In the meantime, the previous licensed biologist is still representing the group. The Punta Mita Foundation is providing a grant to pay Ortiz’s salary from March to December.
The group is projecting a budget of 550,000 pesos. This includes 40,000 pesos to rebuild the corral, and the rest to cover salary, beach patrols, legal expenses and promotional materials.
A membership fee of 200 pesos was established and a fundraising dinner was tentatively set for Sunday, February 26 at a location, to be announced later, on one of the area beaches.
For more information, contact: Stanton Kizer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..