Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - There's always so much going on in Puerto Vallarta and around Banderas Bay it can be difficult to keep up with it all. Here's a look at some of this week's Puerto Vallarta news, community announcements, and a couple of this weekend's events that you won't want to miss.

The Harkness Institute Founder's Day Fundraiser

The Harkness Dinner is one of Nuevo Vallarta's most exciting, upscale events every season, and you're invited! Set to be held at Restaurant ETXEA (Wineburger/Casa Mar) in Nuevo Vallarta on Saturday, March 9th from 7 pm to 11 pm, this charitable event includes a three-course dinner with wine, live music by Oasis de Cuba, and an outstanding raffle with prizes that range from Smart Watches and handcrafted jewelry to framed Andy Warhol prints worth $800 USD each. The Harkness Institute Founder's Day Fundraiser provides scholarship funding for this outstanding bilingual high school, whose students you'll get to meet and talk to as they serve you dinner. Tickets are $800 pesos per attendee. For more information, or to get your tickets, call (322) 297-0603, or stop by the school, located across from the Hard Rock Hotel in Nuevo Vallarta, today, Friday, March 8 from 8 am until 4 pm.

Holocaust Survivor to Speak at Javadpour Arts Center

Sami Steigmann, a Holocaust Survivor and motivational speaker, will be visiting The American School of Puerto Vallarta, where he will speak about peace and forgiveness, on Wednesday, March 13 from 7:30-9:30 pm, in the school's Javadpour Arts Center. Sami will share the messages to "NEVER GIVE UP. Regardless of circumstances remember that tomorrow is a new day! A fresh day … a new beginning!" and "I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to be." The conference will be delivered in English with simultaneous Spanish translation, for a donation of $100 pesos. We invite the greater Vallarta community to experience the positive impact and enthusiastic response he generates among everyone who gets to attend his conference. To learn more about him, visit mvtimes.com.

Marta Gilbert Sculpture Unveiling at River Café

Marta Gilbert is perhaps Puerto Vallarta's best known visual artist, an internationally celebrated painter known for her piercing portraits of indigenous people, soulful portrayals of the native people who live closest to the land both in reality and her dreams. Since 1971, she has witnessed the metamorphosis of Puerto Vallarta from a quiet seaside village to traffic congested city, but one thing that has not changed is her love for the people of Vallarta and her generosity to local charities. As further testament to her love of Vallarta and her selfless giving, Marta has created "Identidad," a sculpture that she is donating to the city. Everyone is invited to join Marta and friends at the unveiling ceremony of the sculpture, donated in gratitude to Puerto Vallarta, on Friday, March 15 at 6:00 pm at The River Café.

Weekend Events in Puerto Vallarta and Around Banderas Bay
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• South Side Shuffle: Two Artist Open at Galleria Dante

• Straight Men 'Come Out' Against Domestic Violence

• Vallarta Bird Festival at Vallarta Botanical Garden