The first annual Festival Sayulita, was a huge success, creating a unique gathering for all lovers of Mexico, film, tequila, food, music & surf. Festival Sayulita, 2015 is already set for January 14-18th and promises an even broader variety of international films, spirit tastings, live music, surf events, and local cuisine.  

2015 Festival Sayulita will continue the highlights of last year's Festival, including a 7 meter beach viewing screen, a signature Master Tasting where a variety of Mexican artisan spirits can be sampled, a family-friendly surf competition, and multi-course food pairing dinners. In addition, this year's planning committee is partnering with sponsors to add venues and events which will make the festival even more memorable. An indoor film venue will feature matinees, leaving the evenings open for those wishing to partake in the "spirit" and music portions of the festival.

Evening events will expand to include dinner theater and a music stage for live bands. One entire evening will be dedicated to a retro drive-in theatre event that will be able to accommodate cars, golf carts, ATV's and folks on foot.  To ensure the littlest amongst us have fun, a Dia de los Nino's (Children's Day) is in the works, which will feature games and prizes in the plaza and a special viewing night for children at the Casa de la Cultura.

As in the previous year, there will be all kinds of options to attend this event, from free to VIP. Due to many requests, VIP ticket availability will increase. VIPs will again be welcome to movie preview nights, special seating throughout the event, and private tastings. A VIP lounge will allow VIPs to access concierge service throughout the Festival and provide a secluded get-away space during the weekend. To accommodate VIP ticket sales, these tickets will be on sale starting in July, 2014.

This is an event not to miss! Last year's Festival sold out, so get your flight, housing and Festival tickets early!  For complete details of the Festival, go to www.festivalsayulita.com or follow the festival on Facebook.

 Perhaps you've seen the men and women in Sayulita sporting the orange t-shirts that read, "Gente Trabajando Por Sayulimpia." You might see them sweeping the streets, cleaning up the beach, river or school grounds, picking up trash from trash drops or hauling recycling to the recycling center.

These hard working Mexican locals are volunteers for Sayulimpia.

ProSayulita is a supporter of this invaluable group, paying the rent for the house where the volunteers live and paying for the gas and upkeep of the vehicles used by the volunteers to haul garbage and recycling.

Jack Jones, President of Pro Sayulita, touches on the importance of the Voluntarios Sayulimpia in conjunction with Sayulimpia. "It takes the full resources of Sayulimpia and the volunteers to keep Sayulita clean during busy weekends and holidays. For instance, Semana Santa. Sayulita is a much cleaner town with both groups working."

The voluntarios Sayulimpia work 7 days a week and are generally on the street cleaning from 7am until 4pm. However, they often work longer hours. There are 6 full time volunteers, including Alejandro Aaron Castro Cavazos, who is head of the volunteers. During holidays, such as Semana Santa, there are an additional 6 temporary volunteers added to the mix.

As hard as they work, they are not guaranteed a wage, as they work strictly on tips. However, they also welcome donated non-perishable items, such as rice, beans and canned tuna fish. When asked why he works with no guaranteed wage, Alejandro said, "I like to be working on the streets with the people. I think there's a good future with this job and I like making a difference in the community."

Alejandro expressed excitement to be involved in a new project that will have them collecting food waste from the streets for a compost center. This center will be behind the middle school.

Oswaldo Vallejo, who manages Sayulimpia, raves about the current group of volunteers, "You call them to clean up something and they go. They are always available and are very reliable. You can consistently count on them. They are a very good team. "

Oswaldo also expresses gratitude for everything that they do. "Thanks to the volunteers, who help so much to keep Sayulita clean. They do an incredible job."

Bistro Organico In San Pancho invites you to Vallarta Lifestyles Restaurant Week May 15th to the 31st!  For these two weeks in May, Bistro Organico will  feature a spectacular three-course menu (with three options each) discounted by up to 50%. In keeping with our philosophy, It will be based on an organic, sustainable and regional menu. 

This is Celebrate the Beat's 6th year in Riviera Nayarit with performances next week May 13th in San Pancho and May 22nd in San Ignacio. Colleen Macomber, program director, worked with seven schools in five towns to reach a total of 500 children. The towns included Punta de Mita, San Ignacio, Higuera Blanca, Sayulita, and San Pancho. This years theme is inspired by Dr. Suess's book The Lorax where the dancers represent the characters of the book sending the message "we are the seeds of change." The show is accompanied by a four piece live band under the direction of Alyssa Edmonson. The music ranges from pop, rock, cumbia, and funk. This year Colleen is working with two amazing local teaching assistants, Sarah Muscarian and Jessica Zepeda. Both teachers value CTB and experience the benefits and transformation of these children first hand.

Next week you can witness CTB as the public is invited to experience the incredible energy of Celebrate the Beat at the San Pancho Public School on the main road next to the soccer field at 7 pm. Performing together will be the 4th and 5th grade San Pancho public school children along with Costa Verde International School and The Grupo de Excelencia, a group of children from seven surrounding schools who have been working together once a week for 17 weeks. A performance not to be missed!

Celebrate the Beat is a non-profit organization that teaches inspirational music and dance class to children in the public schools. Founded by Tracy Straus in 2000, CTB now reaches over 3,000 children annually in Colorado and over 500 children in Mexico. Celebrate the Beat inspires children to discover their potential, motivates them to set a personal standard of excellence, to value artistic expression, and to never give up. This is Celebrando el Ritmo's sixth year in Riviera Nayarit. The program was brought to Punta de Mita in 2009 by a generous foundation. It started small in one school and in 6 years has grown to reach 7 different schools. To learn more about this program please visit the website at: www.ctb.org.

May 22nd performance in San Ignacio at the basketball court includes performances by 3rd through 6th grade public school, Costa Verde and The Grupo de Excelencia.

With a successful test run this past February and March, Chef Ana Garcia and La Villa Bonita Mexican Culinary Vacation, now have a new home apart from their traditional home in the mountains of Tepoztl�n, Morelos.

Chef Ana Garcia, Mexican culinary personality and owner

explains, "We have been offering our culinary vacation packages at our hotel in Tepoztl�n now for over 14 years and our clients have always wanted us to offer a package focused on the freshest seafood Mexico has to offer. As a result, we created a hands-on culinary package that features the best of traditional Nayarit and Jalisco cuisine." La Villa Bonita was just named one of Fodor's top 10 "Mouth-Watering Tours Around the World" and Chef Ana has been featured on the Food Network, Bon Appetit, and PBS.

When Chef Ana was asked why she chose Sayulita she

responded, "It has a great vibe similar to Tepoztl�n. We had been visiting Sayulita for a few years as a family and we liked the town, the great seafood, and the artistic-surf mix. It is a great relaxed environment for our guests. We have offered coastal weeks at other more touristic destinations and we never really felt comfortable. In Sayulita, we feel at home and over the next year we will be offering 6 weeks over October, December, and March in Villa Rosetta."

The coastal culinary packages not only feature 4 full days of cooking a variety of traditional regional dishes but culinary excursions and gourmet dinners each evening prepared by Chef Ana herself from the best local ingredients. As the Chef explains, "This is a true food lover's getaway in an intimate, small group environment. Not only do you learn how to cook these wonderful time-honored dishes but I get to treat you to the modern side of Mexican cuisine at night. I find the best ingredients and just create. I don't think I have offered the same meal twice."

More information about the culinary packages offered by La Villa Bonita and Chef Ana can be found at www.lavillabonita.com or her personal website at www.chefana.com.  

ProSayulita announced this week that "Friends of Sayulita" has just received its 501(3)(c) status, and U.S. donors will be allowed to deduct their contributions which include financial and property donations. Friends of Sayulita," an organization under the umbrella of ProSayulita, was formed two years ago with the goal of obtaining the designation "501(3)(c).

"This is a great achievement for ProSayulita and our local partner organizations," said Jack Jones, board president. "Our donors have been very supportive in spite of the fact they could not previously use their contributions as tax deductions".

"In addition to encouraging people who may not have donated previously to participate in the organization, having official nonprofit designation is a way of thanking all of our existing U.S. supporters for their faith in ProSayulita."

The process of making donations will stay the same, said Teke Mohill, treasurer of the organization. Contributors can simply go to www.prosayulita.org and make their donations using the group's PayPal account.

"This status is retroactive to September 2012," Mohill said. "We will be going through our records and sending donors letters and receipts that can be used to substantiate donations made during this time, which can then be submitted to the IRS. Going forward, you'll receive a receipt when you make a donation."

The board of ProSayulita is very thankful to all residents, businesses and friends who have supported the organization in its work over the past several years. The board would like to express a special thank you to those who assisted in this 2 year process, especially, past President Eric Rudd and board member Cheryl Vaughan. Additionally, the 501(c)(3) will enable supporters to include "Friends of Sayulita " in estate planning, a new option for giving that will offer many advantages for the group's donor base, as well as for the organization.

"With your help, we look forward to continuing to improve services, education and the infrastructure of Sayulita well into the future,".