Calling all sailors
Here’s a way to benefit by bringing new members to the Vallarta Yacht Club.
It’s a simple offer. Any current member who brings in a new part-time or full-time flag member will have their annual dues discounted or rebated by 50 percent. That’s all there is to it.
Of course, there are rules to follow and fine print that must be read.
Details can be obtained by calling (322) 297-2222 or emailing the club at vallartayachtclub.org.
Hacienda del Arte
Orisias Nova, co-owner of the Soñe gallery, now has the keys to Hacienda del Arte, a building she will be renting and remodeling into a new arts complex in the Bucerias arts district.
Photo op
Brian and Lisa McKeown’s Bean and Hope have their photo taken with Santa (Ed Christoffel) at Yappy Hour, sponsored by the Bucerias spay/neuter group (SNIP), December 3 at Delicias Mexicanas restaurant in Bucerias.
Yelapa Christmas sailing
Vallarta Yacht Club’s “Out Station,” El Coral Beach Restaurant at Las Animas Beach, will be hosting the club again this year on Christmas morning.
Looking for an event to make all your frozen friends up north jealous? Members and non-members take their own boats, pile on as many riders as they safely can and head across beautiful Banderas Bay for Christmas margaritas and lunch.
This is a Banderas Bay tradition that can’t be matched anywhere. What better Christmas present than to see the whales and dolphins on the way to meet up with friends on this beautiful beach.
Want to go but no boat? No problem. Lots of club members are heading over in their own boats and have space aboard. Check with club manager Rudy at (322) 297-2222.
Market moves
The Forever Spring weekly market in Bucerias has moved to yet another location.
About a month ago, at the start of the northshore tourist season, the Wednesday food and produce market relocated to a former vacant lot at the north end of Bucerias.
One thing the organizers didn’t count on at this new location was the trash and garbage left out by nearby restaurants and shops.
The truck pickup didn’t come early enough in the day to avoid the unsightly mess, and odor arising from the waste material.
The market has now moved to another piece of vacant land – a former plant nursery – at the corner of Lazaro Cardenas and Javier Mina, not far from the market locations of previous years.
Market organizers Alison and Ismael are very happy with this new, larger location and are hoping to increase the number of vendors to 100.
There is a waiting list of vendors to draw from now that there is so much more space, Alison said. “There will still be room for the new sitting/chatting area under shade trees,” she added.
The Forever Spring market is open every Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dancing under the stars
It takes lots of resources to keep 25 or more children housed, clothed, fed, educated and entertained. Manos de Amor Children’s Shelter in Bucerias faces that dilemma all year long.
With little government support, the shelter relies on donations and fundraisers to keep things up and running.
On Wednesday, January 10, the annual fundraiser, Dancing Under the Stars, will be held at the beautiful Samba resort in Nuevo Vallarta.
Appetizers, wine, beer and sodas will be served and party-goers can enjoy dancing to the music of the popular local band Gypsy Rumba. The party begins at 6 p.m.
Tickets can be obtained from Karen McKenzie, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or from Manos de Amor volunteer Willi Crownhart.
‘Help’
For the past five years, the Bucerias Food Bank has sponsored an annual fundraiser, “Help, a Beatles Tribute.”
This event has always been a great success. However, 2018 will be the last chance to see the performance. Next year, the Food Bank will be replacing the event with a new show.
The final Beatles Tribute is set for Wednesday January 10, 5 p.m., at The Drunken Duck in Bucerias centro. The cost is 250 pesos per ticket.
All proceeds benefit the John Ozzello Memorial Food Bank and Humanitarian Aid, helping to pay for the 500 food parcels given out to the needy in the northshore each month.
There will be a cash bar, 50/50 raffle and wine raffle during the performance.
Tickets are available at YoYo Mo’s in Bucerias during business hours, and by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or calling (322) 240-1082.
Wine survivor
For those people who think they never win at raffles because their numbers are never the first ones called, Wine Survivor has arrived.
It is a reverse raffle, with the last entries drawn being the winners … the survivors.
Entries are on sale now for this fun, new style of raffle, which is a fundraiser for Bucerias spay/neuter group (SNIP) clinics.
According to SNIP committee member Lisa McKeown, 80 numbers will be available, with a deadline for entry of January 5. Entry fee is 100 pesos each, plus a bottle of wine (value of 100 pesos or more).
Each entry gets a ping pong ball with their number on it put into the hopper.
On January 5, 15 numbers will be drawn. These people will be out of the draw but can get back in with another 100 pesos, which must be paid before the next draw. On January 12, another draw eliminates 15. Again, they can buy back in for 100 pesos, payable before the next draw. On January 19, at the El Chivero Yappy Hour, the final ping pong balls will be drawn to eliminate all but the winners.
Those eliminated can buy back in here as well, but only one buyback is allowed per entry. When only 20 balls remain, there are no more “re-entries.” With only three balls left, winners are drawn.
Third place wins 10 percent of the bottles of wine (up to eight), Second place 30 percent (up to 24 bottles) and the last ball remaining wins the rest of the wine (up to 48 bottles if there were 80 entrants).
“There are plenty of people who love animals and wine, so tickets should go fast,” McKeown said. “Contact me soon to ensure your place in the draw.”
For more information, contact McKeown at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or find details on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BuceriasSpayNeuterFunds.
Sinergiarte Festival
The 12th Sinergiarte San Pancho Collective Cultural Festival takes place from December 27 to 29 with the theme “Coexist for a Conscious and Collective Change.”
The aim of the three-day event is “to explore the multicultural activities on display, which express the lives and responsibilities of individuals and the community-at-large during this very profound transformation that’s taking place in our times.”
There will be exhibitions and workshops for dance, theater, music, literature, performance, photography, video, multimedia, painting, sculpture, martial arts, sports and other disciplines.
See Sinergiarte Festival on Facebook for more details.