The past weekend saw artists, musicians and thespians from around the world converge on a number of locations in Costa Rica for the beginning of the International Arts Festival.

The Festival Internacional de las Artes 2015 is taking place from the 23rd of April, 2015, to the 3rd of May, 2015, and the events are strewn about several locations which include music, art displays, food and little theaters presented here and there in parks and downtown areas near San Jose, Alajuelita, Desamparados, San Ignacio and Aserri. The locations are as varied as the activities with some events occurring at local parks, theaters or churches.

The span and size of the event is just huge, and it would be impossible to make it to every happening taking place throughout the week and a couple days that the event will be running. The events schedule is outlined on a PDF available here, and you can decide for yourself what the most appealing aspects of the event are.

Some of the shows that you can count on bringing in a large crowd including Cocofunka, Skampida, The Blind Pigs and Juan Campodónico. Cocofunka is a rock funk group based out of Costa Rica that is sure to have the crowd moving its dancing feet, and the Blind Pigs, one of the oldest blues outfits in Costa Rica, will be sending out that special type of cathartic music that is the blues.

Skampida is a rock, ska and reggae outfit coming to Costa Rica from Columbia. The group has been together for more than fourteen years, and has won several awards for the music along the way. Juan Campodónico as presented by Bajofondo is a Latin grammy award winning singer/songwriter, producer and composer from Uruguay. Campo, as his current musical project is known now, has gone through several musical incarnations, and currently leads his own outfit which incorporates DJ mixing with more traditional Uruguayan music.

The International Festival of the Arts has something for all members of the family from children’s theater productions to art workshops, and the nighttime festivals are geared more towards an older audience. There is plenty to check out in the various locations where the event will be going on.