The Zapote Fair and Bull Ring starts December 25.
Tope (horse parade) will be held on December 26.
Carnival (usually held on December 27) is canceled again this year as it was last year. Carnival has been unable to attract a sponsor, after the San Jose municipality ended their support, and may never be held again.
From a recent edition of
Inside Costa Rica.
Quote:
Zapote Fair A Go; Carnaval Cancelled
Zapote Fair got the go ahead yesterday after receiving the necessary permits by the ecretarÃa Técnica Ambiental (Setena), allowing the construction of the 'redondel" - bull ring - to be finished in time for the opening day of the fair, December 25.
The contractor said tha the redondel will be finished much earlier, possibly 10 days earlier, after work had completed stopped waiting on the Setena approval.
For a while the Zapote Fair was in jeopardy, worried that redondel would not be finished and the lack of interest by games and rides operators.
The Zapote Fair, an annual tradition that begins on Christmas day, was cancelled last year when the Ministerio de Salud (Health Ministry) found a number of health and safety concerns that could not be rectified in time.
In exchange for the Setena approval, the Municipalidad de San José agreed to invest ¢10 million colones a year for the next four year in environmental projects on the lands surrounding the redondel and the fair grounds.
The commitment includes planting 400 trees during 2008.
The Christmas tradition in San José, that included the Zapote Fair, the Carnaval and the Tope, is in a process of social change.
This year, like last, there will be no Carnaval on the streets of downtown San José, the municipality preferring to offer cultural activities around different parks of the downtown core instead of the traditional parade along Paseo Colón and Avenida Segunda.
Though there will no Caranval again this year, the Tope, the annual horse parade held on December 26 in downtown San José as usual.
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