4th of July in Costa Rica

Beautiful day in Costa Rica for a 4th of July celebration!

I celebrated the 4th of July by dragging myself out of bed early to attend the American Colony Committee’s 50th Annual 4th of July picnic right here in Alajuela. Based on previous family-oriented festival experiences, I was not expecting much of it and was surprisingly shocked when we entered the gates to see hundreds of joyous red-white-and-blue clad patriots bopping all over the extensive festival grounds. The positive energy at this 4th of July festival was far greater than any I had ever attended on US soil.

The Committee provided Classic American food (e.g. hotdogs, popcorn) and fun activities for all ages: face painting, a horseshoe tournament, huge inflatable playhouses and slides, a mechanical bull, potato sack races, square-dancing, volleyball, and my favorite component of all – an awesome rock band and never-ending supply of cerveza!

Drinking Imperial beers with Uncle Sam

Las Tortugas rocked!

It’s not 4th of July without classic American cars

Check out the crowd – I see several people double or even triple fisting their beers!

And this guy…

Very proud of his supply

So is the whole fam…and Julio

Julio posing with the fam’s beer collection

Patriotic dancing

Julio and I partied all morning until the festival ended, then hopped on the shuttle back to the parking lot. We were half-way there when a good song came on the radio and the bus driver abruptly stopped the bus, popped out of his seat, and started dancing and singing his way down the aisles. One of the passengers must have been in a hurry because here he is trying to take over the driver’s seat. I think this impatient passenger was the only soul ready for the party to end.

Bus driver (in red) reclaiming his seat

All in all it was a fantastic 4th and I feel lucky to have been able to celebrate it with like-minded people who also love Costa Rica. The only things missing were fireworks and sparklers…maybe next year I can host the after party 🙂