Placencia Sidewalk Art Festival
A Whale of a Good Time
Hello there, Sirenian Bay friends!
This is your intrepid reporter Hugh Manatee checking in with the latest from the Resort and the cheerful town of Placencia.
Now, you may associate Placencia with white sand, palm trees and places to sit back with friends and family while you nosh on the catch of the day or sip on a Belikin (that’s the local beer, not a typo for “pelican”).
But there’s way more to Placencia than a place where you can walk around barefoot and as happy as a clam.
Buoy, oh, buoy is there more!
Take last month for example…
Every year around Valentine’s Day, the town’s world-famous Placencia Sidewalk is transformed into the Placencia Sidewalk Art Festival. All along the sidewalk are amazingly talented local artists showcasing the best of Belizean culture and creativity in about every way you can imagine.
Bright paintings, wood carvings, hand-made jewelry, glass art, woven baskets and traditional clothing and bags are just some of the things you’ll spot. (Personally, I always keep an eye out for the water colors.)
Not only that, but you’ll get to shake your tailfins to local music, ooh and aah at fire dancing displays and treat your taste buds to everything from pastries to sit-down dinners.
Oh, and chocolate – did I mention chocolate?
The Sidewalk Art Festival just happens to coincide with Belize’s cacao harvest, which means there are always plenty of hand-made goodies on display. If you’re lucky you might even get to watch a chocolate-making demonstration.
When the sun sets, the festivities continue… There’s dancing on the beach, galas and celebrations all around town, and plenty of show-and-tell as everyone shares around the unique art pieces they’ve picked up over the weekend.
The Sidewalk Art Festival has been running for 14 years, and every yet it gets bigger and brighter. If you want to come home with a one-of-a-kind souvenir, a box of chocolates for a loved one or some pictures that will wow your Shrimpstagram followers, this is the place to be.
Because cameras aren’t very handy for creatures without hands, our on-site hosts, David and Christy, kindly offered to go in my place to get some shots of the event.
It looks pretty amazing, doesn’t it? And that’s just a drop in the ocean when you look at the Placencia event calendar.
Well, the sun is out and the water’s fine, so I think it might be time for me to take a sea-esta. And it’s probably time for you to start planning your trip to Placencia!
Drop us a line (a manatee-safe one, of course) and ask about staying at the Resort or book your reservation online right here!