The Queen’s Birthday Party April 2009 – A great international day.

Gone are the days of posh frocks and drinks in the garden; the Queen’s Birthday celebration is now a wonderful fete held in the beautiful gardens of the British Ambassador, Tom Kennedy and his wife Clare’s residence in Escazu.

Its an ‘all welcome’ open event which, last year, raised US$21,000 for schools in need across Costa Rica. This year’s funds will, in the main, go to help re-build schools in the area most badly affected by the February earthquake.

After three dull and windy days in the central valley, Saturday the 25th April 2009 was a glorious sunny day and the crowds poured in. Just approaching the gates, visitors could appreciate the huge amount of work that goes into creating the party atmosphere.

This year, the theme was ‘The Swinging Sixties’, with venues and programme branded accordingly – live music on the Hippy Hippy Shake stage; refreshments in the Strawberry Fields tea tent; beer at Sergeant Pepper’s Bar, and a Silence is Golden auction and tombola – such creativity!

Throughout the day’s programme, there’s something for everyone but, as ever, entertainment for, and by, children reigned supreme. A group of children from a school in Vera Blanca – a community badly affected by the earthquake – learnt songs from ‘Hair’ especially so they could participate in the day. Their faces were a picture of steely concentration ~ so touching when we stop to imagine what these young people have suffered.

In the Octopus’s garden, a magician kept the little ones enthralled while Mums and Dads escaped to enjoy the rest of the party.

For us kids of the 60’s, Harmony Roads singing folk and blue grass was a great trip down memory lane!

Unashamedly, our first stop is always to the British foods stall ~ yes, someone goes to the effort of importing a crate load of stuff we Brits ostensibly can’t live without! John got his Coleman’s mustard and HP sauce while I got Heinz baked beans (pathetic really but in the land of black beans, I really miss this childish indulgence!) and a huge tub of mincemeat ready for the Christmas pies. The Brit enthusiasts running this stall really joined in the Swinging Sixties theme! (And thanks girls, you’re welcome for a pie at Christmas!)

And wherever one goes in the world …. there’s an American proud of his Scottish ancestry …. and being a Scot, I’m a sucker for a man in a kilt! On a steamy hot day, this is not the attire for the feint-hearted, even if he had pretences to be a ‘real’ Scot, who, for the unitiated, do NOT wear anything under their kilts!

Our Embassy has a very small team who do a sterling job organizing this tremendous event, and with lots of willing hands and modest contributions from a host of supporters, once again the QBP was a huge success in aid of a very worthy cause. Thank you Tom, Clare and colleagues for another ‘proud to be British’ day in Costa Rica, and good luck with getting all the money translated into happy events in the earthquake stricken communities.

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Written by VIP Member Sheelagh Richards. Sheelagh is originally from Scotland and her husband John who is from Wales are two inveterate British travellers who fell in love with Costa Rica, the beauty of the Talamanca mountain range and the perfect climate of the Rio General valley where they have established a small Bed & Breakfast called Casa de Los Celtas. You can see a free online video interview with John & Sheelagh Richards here.

You can see more about John and Sheelagh’s very affordable B&B outside San Isidro here and photographs and prices here.

Please contact our Recommended Costa Rica Realtors working in the area: James Drews, Daveed Hollander and John Wieland, by using the simple form below and they’ll send you:

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.