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 Vallarta Living | February 2008 
Out and About in Puerto Vallarta
 Out and About in Puerto Vallarta
Vallarta Wine Fest to promote the culture of wine will be celebrated February 27th-March 1st. This is the initiative of Le Petite's Nacho Cadena. Italy is the recognized country. Italian wines, along with Mexican wines, will be presented at tasting events and by participating restaurants. Education efforts, art exhibitions and photograph and poetry contests are scheduled. For further information, go to VallartaWineFest.com.
Cafe des Artistes Del Mar, a 74-seat seafood bistro restaurant, has opened in Punta de Mita, another creation of internationally-recognized chef Thierry Blouet. This restaurant will follow a farm-to-table model, highlighting the freshest seasonal ingredients from regional fisheries and farms in the Nayarit region. Such a model is known to me in Philadelphia with The White Dog Cafe, owned by entrepreneur, philanthropist and activist Judy Wicks, using products from the Pennsylvania countryside including the Amish region. I'll continue to enjoy my neighborhood restaurant, the original famous Cafe des Artistes' bistro meals, or a glass of wine, while listening to some of my favorite Vallarta musicians.
On Thursday nights now, theater director Eileen O`Leary is having Theater Fun Nights at the International Friendship Club (IFC), Libertad and Miramar, at 7:30 pm. Any interested person is welcome to participate in play readings and comedy improv, Eileen says. A donation of $50 pesos is requested for IFC charities. Eileen has acted in more than 60 plays and directed 25 plays, 13 of them in Vallarta, including Arsenic and Old Lace, The Mousetrap and Love Letters.
Sandi Lee and Mikki Prost will appear in a reprise of Patsy Cline on Saturday, February 9th at 8 pm at the Santa Barbara Theater.
Catch the tango dancers with instructors Al and Barbara Garvey on early Sunday evenings on the main plaza. For further information, email alybarbara(at)yahoo.com.
Remember Noche de las Luminarias on February 21st at the Botanical Gardens. More information to come.
Jewelry designer Bill Harris of San Miguel de Allende, displayed his beautiful creations recently at Cassandra Shaw Jewelry on Basilio Badillo. As usual when he is in town, I left behind a few pesos.
It was so good to talk with Mary Ellis. Jimmie and she are spending a lot of time cruising the world, and soon will take in an African safari. Jimmie was so involved with Los Mangos Public Library and Mary gave so much effort to Becas, raising scholarship funds for students. Continue to have fun!
Some beautiful art, including paintings by Lena Bartula, are now on display at Sol y Luna Contemporary Art Gallery, located at J. O. Dominguez 155 A in downtown Puerto Vallarta.
International author and speaker Joy Carol will discuss "The Power of Our Stories" at the Wise Women in Vallarta meeting, scheduled to be held at 10 am on Wednesday, February 20th at the International Friendship Club. Joy has lived and worked in the developing world for the Ford Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme and Save the Children. She is trained in trauma counseling and hospice. Make reservations with darla(at)seminarswithdarla.com.
If you are in the mood for salads, smoothies and sandwiches, a good place is Jumaica, Aldana 162, with a colorful sign out front. Tel: 222-9393.
Two talented photographers have moved to Puerto Vallarta to work and enjoy life here. Check out the gorgeous streaming photos of Banderas Bay taken by Larry Bennett which were featured on one of my recent Out and About columns on banderasnews.com. Email him at gjcobubba(at)yahoo.com. Well-known photographer, playwright and writer Michael Downend can be reached at hattiefilms(at)gmail.com.
Someone who is open and honest and very good with lighting, sound and video is Bill Deavenport. The beautiful opera house scene in The Return of the Phantom was marred on opening night at Santa Barbara theater when the stage lights came up much too soon. Audience members were exclaiming about it. We told him about it later - no defensiveness or chest-thumping - just "I know I goofed." What a nice guy, and my kind of man!
A few weeks ago I mentioned how persons in this resort town often talk about some of the negative aspects - within the many positive - of gossiping, lying and deceit. Well, it must have hit too close to home with a person or two or three or so, who with "behind your backs" ways, reacted. I`ve been in wars and political battles, but trying to cover positive elements and outstanding and decent persons in this town, sometimes becomes a challenge because of some others with other priorities. A couple of these persons supposedly now are leaving town. To fresh air!
Really nice persons include Daniel Grippo who has 75 persons, to his astonishment, in his Six Moments in Mexican History classes at the International Friendship Club. He also will be teaching Religious Traditions in Latin America. A registration form is available at the IFC.
The lovely couple at the new Artisan Bakery, 875 Morales, are so happy with all of the customers who stopped by after reading about them in my column. Same for the new restaurant, The Beach House, with all sorts of interest.
Makes it worth the hassles from some not so thoughtful persons. This town is increasingly changing from a "town" to an progressively sophisticated city with many thoughtful and caring diverse residents, helping each other, and keeping city leaders on their toes. It is fascinating. So... here's to more fresh air!
 An award-winning journalist, Twila Crawford lives in Puerto Vallarta, where, in addition to contributing articles to the Vallarta Tribune and other local and international publications, she writes Out and About in Puerto Vallarta, a weekly column that offers inside information about who, what, why, where and when it's happening around Banderas Bay.
Click HERE to read more of Twila's "Out and About" articles |
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