Puerto Limon Events, Things to Do and Festivals 2014 / 2015

(Puerto Limon, Limon, Costa Rica)

All Latin American countries love their festivals and Puerto Limon locals, with their extensive Afro-Caribbean heritage, love their events even more! At the end of August, the Festival Flores de la Diaspora Africana is certainly likely to be a major highlight in any calendar, as is the Dia de la Raza (Columbus Day) in October.

One of the most famous festivities in Costa Rica, the Puerto Limon Carnival is staged here each October and features a week of extravagant street celebrations. Of note, many Costa Rican festivals and things to do centre on the important Christian saints' days, with every town celebrating its patron saint with parades and parties.

Puerto Limon Calendar of Festivals and Events 2014 / 2015

January

• New Year's Day - January 1st, sees a countrywide party with fireworks, steel bands, street performances, singing, dancing and a great deal of noise - just like everywhere else in the world! New Year's Day is a public holiday in Costa Rica

February

• San Isidro de General Fiesta - early February, this event is held in San Isidro, just over three hours to the south-west of the city. Expect a huge agricultural fair complete with cows, bullfights, loads of flowers and large crowds

March

• National Oxcart Day - second Sunday in March, at San Antonio de Escazu, outside of San Jose, with 500 or more oxcart drivers and their painted carts lining up for a massive parade

April

• Easter - from Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday. This is the major religious celebration here. Expect parades of saints' images through the streets, masses at churches and cathedrals, and lots of family get-togethers
• Battle of Rivas Day - April 11th, a national Costa Rican holiday commemorating this day in 1856, when the Nicaraguan forces of William Walker were defeated by little more than an army of machete-wielding farmers

May

• Labour Day - May 1st, this day is celebrated all over Costa Rica as a national holiday, with shops, banks and almost everything else shutting for the festivities

June

• Corpus Christi - held 60 days after Easter, with religious parades and plenty of carnival excitement to go round
• Osa Peninsula Rainforest Aid Music Festival - mid-June, with international and local bands in the beautiful natural setting of the Osa Peninsula. Aims are to raise awareness of the need to protect the rainforest

July

• Puntarenas Virgin of the Sea - held on the closest Saturday to the 16th, this event incorporates the July 16th patron saint's day with a regatta, a sea parade with the Virgin's image, dances, music and concerts

August

• Virgin de los Angeles Day - honours the patron saint of Costa Rica every August 2nd. Street parades and church services predominate the proceedings
• Black Culture Festival - kicks off in Puerto Limon during the last week of August and runs until the end of the month. Aiming to keep black cultural traditions alive, this week of partying includes an array of street processions, performances, concerts and lots more
• Festival Flores de la Diaspora Africana - late August, centred around the city and showcasing regional Afro-Caribbean culture and heritage from all around the province. This is a major event and is certainly one not to be missed

September

• Independence Day - this national Costa Rican holiday falls on September 15th each year and is celebrated countrywide with parades, festivities and street parties. Children take part in lantern parades and the Freedom Torch is carried by student relays to Cartago

October

• Puerto Limon Carnival / Friendship Day - a week-long Caribbean street party based on October 12th, Columbus Day (Dia de la Raza), remembering the historic arrival of Christopher Columbus, who landed on the Isla Uvita in 1492. This is one of the most famous festivities in Costa Rica, drawing visitors from all over the country and quickly filling up hotels

November

• All Souls' Day - November 2nd, an important religious festival here, also known as the Day of the Dead. Families gather to place flowers on the graves of their lost loved ones

December

• Christmas - begins early in Costa Rica, with businesses and homes hanging up unique Nativity Scenes during the first week of the month. Special seasonal foods are eaten, carollers go around the streets, and midnight mass is celebrated everywhere on December 24th

More information about San Jose events and festivals.