Local saints' days are very popular in Costa Rica , and are celebrated with community fairs, called turnos. This custom dates from colonial times. Since then, turnos are a combination of fun and religiosity. They include masquerades, cimarronas (marching bands made up of local musicians), lunadas (festivities by moonlight), dances, king and queen contests, native food, topes (horseback exhibitions), bingo games, and the famous carreras de cintas , in which horsemen try to put a ring onto a post at a gallop. Because these fiestas are an excellent way to get to know the way of life in our towns, and to see how people have fun in the countryside, we have included a calendar of celebrations so that you can visit and immerse yourself in the living culture of tiquicia . Enjoy!
January
Palmares Festivals: first two weeks of January-local food, carnival, horsemanship exhibitions, bingo, concerts and more.
Alajuelita Festivals: The second week in January, in Alajuelita. In honor of the Black Christ of Esquipilas, there are oxcart parades and a pilgrimage to La Cruz de Alajuelita.
Santa Cruz Festivals: Second week of January, in Guanacaste. These also honor the Black Christ of Esquipulas, and feature native dances and marimba music.
Full Moon Festival: On Playa Cocalito in Drake Bay on the Osa Peninsula . Native food, crafts, and cultural activities.
February
Festival of the Sun: The last week in February, this festival celebrates solar energy; exhibits of solar energy products, solar cooking, and on the 25 th , the Sun Ceremony takes place to mark the Mayan New Year.
Puntarenas Carnival: Last week of February. A week of fun in the sun!
Monteverde Music Festival: the country's best musicians play in this remote cloud forest community. February-March.
Liberia Festival: The last week in February. The best of Guanacaste's folklore, concerts, and horsemanship, among other things.
March
Day of the Oxcart Driver: the second Sunday of the month in San Antonio de Escazu. Colorful oxcart parade. The local priest blesses the animals and the fields
Caribbean Music Festival: in Playa Chiquita, south of Puerto Viejo in Limon Province . March-April.
Pilgrimage to Ujarras: mid-month. Religious processions from the ruins in Cartago to the ruins of the Ujarras Church , near Cachi Dam.
April
Holy Week: March or April. Processions show events around the crucifixion. All business shuts down from Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday.
International Festival of the Arts: from April 5 th to 21 in San Jose . Theater, dances, concerts, art exhibits.
Juan Santamaria Day: April 11. Costa Rica 's national hero is commemorated with parades, concerts, and dances, principally in Alajuela, where Juan Santamaria was born.
Arts and Crafts Fair: Last week of April and first week of May, in San Jose
May
Day of San Isidro Labrador : April 15-all the towns named after San Isidro , patron saint of farmers, celebrate with fairs, parades and blessing of the animals and crops.
June
Father's Day: third Sunday in June.
July
The Virgin of the Sea: The Saturday closest to July 16. Decorated fishing boats and sailboats salute the patron saint of Puntarenas. Parades, dances, fireworks and more.
Annexation of Guanacaste: July 25 th celebrates the Guanacaste's 1824 vote to belong to Costa Rica instead of Nicaragua . Festival in Liberia : folkloric dances, parades, concerts, and bullfights.
August
The Virgin of Los Angeles : August 2. Costa Rica 's Patron Saint is honored with a nationwide pilgrimage to the Basilica in Cartago to celebrate the miracles of La Negrita (the dark one) as she is called.
Mother's Day: August 15, a national holiday.
San Ramon Day: August 30. The residents of San Ramon, at the western end of the Central Valley , parade toward the San Ramon Church carrying the patron saints of each district. Dancing in the streets, parades, lots of fun.
Afro Costa Rican Cultural Week: Lectures on Afro-Caribbean culture, discussion groups, Black culture exhibits.
September
Independence Day: September 15. Students carry the Torch of Liberty from Guatemala to Costa Rica . Children parade carrying paper lanterns, and strut in marching bands.
October
Carnival in Limon: The second week in October, in the Atlantic port city of Limon . One week of elaborately costumed dancers, parades and concerts with a Caribbean rhythm.
Corn Festival: October 13, in Upala, near the Nicaraguan border. Parades in costumes made of corn.
Cultures Day (Columbus Day): October 12. The Spanish conquistadores are remembered with protest marches by indigenous people.
November
All Saints' Day: November 2. This is the day of the dead. Families visit the cemeteries to remember their loved ones.
December
Los Negritos Festival: The week of December 8 in the indigenous town of Boruca in southern Costa Rica . Indigenous rituals combine with Catholicism to honor the virgin of the Immaculate Conception with costumes, drums, flutes and dances.
La Yeguita Festival: the week of December 12. The Virgin of Guadalupe is honored with processions, concerts, fireworks, and native food.
Christmas Celebrations: Creches appear in houses and businesses. Cookies, eggnog, chichi (a beer made from corn), tamales, apples and grapes. Groups of children go from house to house singing Christmas carols and looking for "room at the inn" from December 15-24.
The People's Festival: from December 25-31, in Zapote, a suburb to the south of San Jose . Amusement park, bullring, native food, music and fireworks.
El Tope: December 26 in San Jose . This is a Horseback parade which finalizes all the equestrian events of the year.
Carnival: December 27. A huge and colorful parade with floats, dancing and Caribbean music.
Los Diablitos: December 31 to January 2. The Boruca people of Rey Curre in southern Costa Rica enact a battle/dance between the native people and the Spanish to the music of drums and flutes.
*Taken from Exploring Costa Rica , the Tico Times Tourism Guide.
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