Festivals of Costa Rica
Costa Rica has many festivals of all different kinds throughout the year, and these include horse and agricultural festivals, religious festivals, art festivals, film festivals and many more.
Many of the festivals found in Costa Rica are related to the agriculture of Costa Rica, so you will find rodeos, cattle and horse events, traditional oxcart parades and various other events that are related to the produce of the country. The city center of San Jose is also one place where you will find a variety of festivals in the arts.
The arts are not just celebrated in San Jose, but there are festivals of larger and smaller sizes where people enjoy the works of local artisans. The larger arts festivals such as Transitarte or the International Arts Festival of Costa Rica attract world artists who come to display their work or to perform. The music at so many of the festivals ranges from traditional styles of Latin America like samba, bachata, merengue or salsa to internationally recognized styles like rock, hip-hop and others.
Some of the festivals see museums open their doors free to the public as is the case for Noche en Blanco which is a one night event where people can enter museums of the city free of charge. There are still other festivals and special events throughout the year that offer attendees free entrance to museums to encourage locals to enjoy the galleries of their city.
The larger festivals such as Palmares Festival, Zapote and others draw in big crowds, but the smaller festivals still play to people’s desire to be entertained in a big way, too. Costa Rica is in many ways an entertainment magnet with its many adventure related tourism activities, eco touring and more, so it should come as no surprise that the festivals held throughout the year are also quite noteworthy.
Some of the festivals help to support local charities and education initiatives. The Envision Festival is parts electronica festival, and it’s also a festival for supporting environmental education. The Festival de la Luz is a large parade through one of the main avenues of San Jose, but it is also an event that raises money for the Children’s Hospital.
There are also large parties like that of Palmares, Oktoberfest and Envision Festival. These parties bring in big name performers in music genres such as pop, rock, reggae, electronica and more.
