Puerto Rico 2011 Yearly Event Calendar January - Puerto Rico Baseball Season - November/December/January Puerto Rican professional teams compete at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan and in other parks throughout the island. - Festival de la Calle de San Sebastían This festival sponsored by the Institute for Puerto Rican Culture, take place in San Sebastian street for three days, celebrating Puerto Rican culture with a full program of parades, folkloric dances, music, food and crafts. San Juan - Dia de los Reyes Three Kings Day is the traditional gift-giving holiday on the island, commemorates the day that the three Wise Men brought gifts to the Christ child. In La Fortaleza the governor honors the tradition by handing out gifts to island children. Forget Santa Claus! In Puerto Rico, as in much of the Latin world, the Three Kings rule the Christmas season. Puerto Ricans celebrate December 25, but the most important day of the season falls on January 6, El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day. A typical island tradition calls for children to gather grass and place it in a box at the foot of their beds, so that the camels of the Three Kings will have something to eat when they come to visit. While it is a revered holiday throughout Puerto Rico, nobody does Three Kings Day quite like the small, southern town of Juana Diaz, who’s Three Kings tour the island before making the voyage home. February - Carnaval de Ponce - Devilish vejigantes patrol the streets in their masks and colorful costumes at Ponce's annual carnival. Lively street parades and parties provide the final chance to celebrate before the long period of solemnity throughout Lent. Get involved in the street parties where the vejigantes whack people with their vejigas - harmless air-filled and colorfully painted animal bladders. There is good-natured chaos as people try to get away. The climax of the festival comes on Shrove Tuesday when, to mark the beginning of Lent and the consequent period of abstinence and fasting, the Entierro de la Sardina (Funeral of the Sardine) takes place. Read more - Casals Festival While the Casals Festival has historically been held closer to summer in years past, it kicked off in late February in 2007. This homage to the cellist Pablo Casals is widely considered to be the premier classical music event in the Caribbean. While Maestro Casals was not Puerto Rican, he moved to the island in 1957, organized the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and began this annual tribute to classical music. Over the years, it has drawn some of the biggest names in the industry to Puerto Rico. Held in the San Juan Performing Arts Center, the festival takes place over several weeks. - Caribbean World Series 2011 – Mayaguez 2011 When the Major League Baseball season draws to a close and the cold winter has set-in, baseball fans throughout the US will have the opportunity to tune into Caribbean Baseball and catch their favorite sport, players from their native countries and Major League Baseball superstars of Latino descent competing in warm weather winter baseball from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The Caribbean World Series is a twelve game round robin played during the month of February each year, dating back to 1949. Each championship team from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Venezuela competes at least once a day during the series to determine which team will score the best record. March - National Championship Motors - March 4th event of the Puerto Rican National Motocross Championship; new and high level circuit, big show assured. Dorado (787) 726-3162 April - Carnaval de Guayama The region around Guayama still honors African legends of sorcery and witchcraft. The Brujo Carnival retells these old stories "brujo" means warlock or spell, and incorporates them into a weekend-long festival. Guayama (787) 864-0600 - Saborea Puerto Rico a Culinary Extravaganza Work up an appetite for Saborea Puerto Rico on the beach. Courtesy of Saborea Puerto Rico. If three days of eating the finest Caribbean specialties and drinking rum on sunny tropical shores is your idea of fun, head down to the idyllic Escambrón Beach in Puerta de Tierra for Saborea Puerto Rico: A Culinary Extravaganza. Foodies can watch culinary seminars and cooking demos and take part in rum and wine tastings with expert sommeliers. Chefs, food and spirit producers, celebrities and big cheeses of the food industry are all on hand to make sure you taste the very best Puerto Rico has to offer. Read more May - The San Juan International Artisans' Festival or FERINART Is a major gathering of artisans from Puerto Rico, Central and South America, Europe, Tanzania and even Japan. It's a busy event (check out the calendar with workshops, concerts, and demonstrations. The Festival takes place in Plaza Colón and Plaza Arturo Somohano in Old San Juan. - Danza Week in Ponce Puerto Rico An event that commemorates a uniquely 'Rican music and dance form, along with the music of Juan Morel Campos, a Ponce native and Puerto Rico's most prolific and celebrated Danza composer. Held at the lovely Plaza Las Delicias in downtown Ponce, the week's festivities will include concerts, parades, competitions and period costume displays. And if you want to learn more about Danza, here's a wonderful and very complete introduction. (The Puerto Rican national anthem is another example of the Danza form.) There's also a special Mother's Day Danza concert on May 8 at 7 pm. June - Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest - prheinekenjazz.com The annual Puerto Rico Heineken Jazzfest brings together some of the biggest names in Latin jazz at the Tito Puente Amphitheater in San Juan. Puerto Rico is a hotbed of salsa and merengue in the island's rich musical culture. The Puerto Rico Heineken Jazzfest celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2010 with the Chick Corea Trio, the Paquito D'Rivera Septet, the Humberto Ramírez Jazz Project and other cool jazz stars. Read more - Aibonito Flower Festival - June/July Aibonito celebrates every year the famous "Festival de las Flores", featuring exhibits and sale of the most popular and newest varieties of tropical flower and plants, as well as crafts. The annual flower festival features exhibits of lilies, anthuriums, carnations, roses, gardenias, begonias and other tropical plans as well as food, music, and merrymaking. The festivities also feature music and food. Aibonito (787) 735-3871 / (787) 735-4070 - Festival Casals - June/July A world-class music festival honoring the cellist and composer Pablo Casals take place in San Juan, Ponce and Mayagüez every year. Fine Arts Center. Avenida De Diego at Avenida Ponce de León. While the Casals Festival has historically been held closer to summer in years past, it kicked off in late February in 2007. This homage to the cellist Pablo Casals is widely considered to be the premier classical music event in the Caribbean. While Maestro Casals was not Puerto Rican, he moved to the island in 1957, organized the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and began this annual tribute to classical music. Over the years, it has drawn some of the biggest names in the industry to Puerto Rico. Held in the San Juan Performing Arts Center, the festival takes place over several weeks. San Juan (787) 725-7334 - San Juan Bautista Day - June 24th San Juan celebrates the island's patron saint with week-long festivities, including religious processions, music, dancing, games and beach bonfire parties. At midnight on the first day of festivities, revelers walk backward into the ocean or nearest body of water three or seven times to ward off evil spirits and renew good luck for the coming year. San Juan (787) 721-2400 - Puerto Rico Salsa Congress The Puerto Rico Salsa Congress is a weeklong celebration of everything in the world of Salsa. Held in June, it attracts local and international Salsaficionados, who come for the music, the dancers, and even to learn from seasoned instructors (tickets and passes aren't cheap, so you better be serious about your art before signing up). The highlight of the event is the annual World Salsa Open, a no-holds-barred dance competition that would put "Dancing With the Stars" to shame in a heartbeat. July - Aibonito Flower Festival - June/July Aibonito celebrates every year the famous "Festival de las Flores", featuring exhibits and sale of the most popular and newest varieties of tropical flower and plants, as well as crafts. The annual flower festival features exhibits of lilies, anthuriums, carnations, roses, gardenias, begonias and other tropical plans as well as food, music, and merrymaking. The festivities also feature music and food. Aibonito (787) 735-3871 / (787) 735-4070 August - San Juan International Billfish Tournament Few game-fishing events in the Caribbean carry the clout of this annual tournament, held each August-September. The San Juan International draws deep-sea fishing anglers and game-fishing enthusiasts from around the globe. It's a week-long tag-and-release competition known primarily for the abundance of blue marlin fishing during the day and parties at night. Held at the Club Náutico in Miramar, San Juan. September - Festival Cultural del Niño San Juan - San Juan International Billfish Tournament Few game-fishing events in the Caribbean carry the clout of this annual tournament, held each August-September. The San Juan International draws deep-sea fishing anglers and game-fishing enthusiasts from around the globe. It's a week-long tag-and-release competition known primarily for the abundance of blue marlin fishing during the day and parties at night. Held at the Club Náutico in Miramar, San Juan.