Sailfest in Zihautanejo
14 February 2012 | Zihautanejo
Ellen
We arrived in Zihautanejo on the first day of Sailfest and jumped right in with both feet. We didn't really know what to expect having never been before but it turned out to be a lot of fun. Sailfest is a 5 day fundraising festival put on by the local gringo population here along with what ever boats that are here and want to participate. All the money raised goes to the local schools for supplies, new buildings, new schools, scholarships etc. This was the 11th annual Sailfest and I believe that this year they raised over 400 thousand pesos which equals over 30 thousand dollars.
There are various events all throughout and each event has a price to attend or participate. To enter your boat to participate in the Race or in the Sail Parade is 300 pesos. We decided to enter into the Sail Parade. Tickets are then sold to local people or visiting tourists at 300 pesos per person to go aboard one of the boats in the parade for the day. We had 9 guests on board Kasasa and it was a very fun day. The weather wasn't the greatest as it was overcast with a few rain drops here and there, but I think everyone enjoyed themselves anyhow.
Other events included a Chili Cook-off, a concert of local musicians, a beach day for the school children, a sailboat race as well as 2 auctions for local art and restaurant gift certificates and there were raffel ticket draws for great prizes all week long. It is amazingly well organized and my hats off to all the volunteers for making it such a fun event. It's a great way to have fun and help out at the same time.