Bud

Marcelyn and I ventured to the jazz concert at the Parque Central here in Boquete. It was a really pleasant experience, and a surprise at how many people were attending and enjoying the good music. Even the weather was supporting this event with cool winds and bright sun and blue skies. A special treat seeing Nicole Hart at the gazebo performing (see the last three pictures below). Some people even attended on horseback.

Here are a few of the pictures I took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marcelyn and I participated in this Easter Bag Stuffing event earlier today. I was so impressed with the strong support by our expat community for delivering happiness and excitement to so many local children. I estimate about 30 volunteers came together at the clubhouse at the Boquete Country Club today. I understand that about 800 children will be receiving these gifts next Monday.

Here are some of the pictures I took during this event, coupled with my narrative comments.

First came the surveying of the resources available, both the people to do the work and the food, candy, clothing, toys, and educational items, etc., that are to be distributed next Monday to the children in the comarcas.

 

Then came the stuffing of the eggs, referring to the empty plastic imitation egg shells that came in two sizes, small and large.

 

Then friends and co-workers getting a bit nostalgic.

 

Followed by the organized chaos.

 

Linda saying I think they're over there.

 

You could just feel the joy in peoples' hearts as they supported this worthy cause.

 

Next came the stuffing of the various goodies into the bags.

 

With the end result being colorful paper sacks that will deliver happiness and huge smiles to many children. The bags to be delivered next Monday in the comarca areas will contain decoratively colored hardboiled eggs, plastic egg shells filled with candies and treats, clothing items, educational tools (pencils, boxes of Crayola, etc.), toys, stuffed animals, etc. You can just imagine the joy on some child's face when this bag is delivered.

 

Many thanks go to ACCBoquete for organizing and sponsoring this event.

Here are some "grab shot" pictures taken during this performance of "The Good Timey Music Revue". The audience was warned at the beginning that there would be loud music, strobe lighting, and unexpected twists. The entire show was full of energy, nostalgia, and audience participation. If you have any feelings about the Age of Aquarius, flower children, the Beetles, etc., then you would have found your feet a-tappin and a smile in your heart. One of the best BCP shows yet. This performance had a full audience; no unused seats. We understand that all four scheduled performances sold out very quickly, and that some people were wanting to attend but unable to.

BCP is doing good stuff for our community, and it appears that the community likes and supports what BCP is doing. Thank you to the BCP management, and the producers, the performers, and the support staff for this show.

Flash photography was not allowed, so I had to "push" the camera speed quite a bit, resulting in somewhat grainy images.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 9/16/2019 at 9:40 AM, Jill said:

Are you still playing pickle ball in Boquete on Mondays and Fridays from 2 to 4 at the downtown gym? My husband and I will be visiting next week. Thanks. Jill

I chatted with a friend who is "into" pickle ball. He indicates that the sport is very much alive and active here in Boquete -- at the gym at Los Naranjos. Three times a week, M - W - F, from 12:30PM to 3:00PM.

If you want more information, please indicate here and I will see about getting you contact information for the source of this information.

Looks like this event on the calendar could use some updating.

Marcelyn and I attended (supported?) this event by Brandy Gregory at the Clubhouse yesterday. It was well attended in spite of the heavy rainfall.

We understand there were 18 soup entrants to be sampled. I personally taste tested almost all of them. There were no losers among the soup entries. Don't know if there was a rating or competition, but everyone deserves a blue ribbon.

My most favorite soups were Nairn Cutten's creamy vegetarian soup (made from veggies from her garden), and Sheila Strunk's chicken and wild rice soup. Wow!!! Again, nothing negative about any of the other soups, but those two were my favorites.

Here are two pictures taken during this event. First shows Brandy (on the right), as the organizer and main driving force behind this event, chatting with one of the attendees, and the second is just a shot of the main room showing lots of people enjoying the soups, crusty breads, and cookies.

Marcelyn and I patronized Sabor Escondido last evening for this red meat special. We had no idea from this advertisement what the meat selections would be or about pricing.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that they are starting four new meat specials at that restaurant: a T-bone steak, a tenderloin cut, and lamb dish and another that I don't recall.

Upon arrival, we were the only patrons. Sat next to the glass windows looking onto the quebrada, and so we had nice but low level white noise from the running water, as well as a nice view of the landscape and homes. After ordering was completed, we sipped on our drinks, and waited. And waited. Approaching an hour for our food to come to the table.  Very attractive presentation, and HUGE amounts of food. Quite tasty, and prepared to our requests. And the big surprise was that Marcelyn's T-bone entree was $15.00 and my tenderloin was $18.00. Both meats were tender and tasty. We presumed them to be imports, but were told that they were domestic beef. The beef must have been marinated very well for them to be that tender.

This was a pleasant dining experience. Sabor Escondido is not one of our regular eateries, but we are rethinking that matter given the quality and quantity of food, coupled with the prices. Just don't be in a hurry if you go, or maybe the slow service was just a one time glitch.

We attended what turned out to be a packed house cello concert last night at Biblioteca de Boquete. An OUTSTANDING performance!

Each musical piece was introduced with a bit of background information, more than just the name of the song and the composer's name. These announcements were done not only by the conductor, but also by several of the musicians themselves. All announcements were in both Spanish and English. The musical pieces selected included classical, Broadway type numbers, easy listening, one by a Panamanian composer, and even one with audience participation (New York, New York).

The library staff deserves special recognition for bringing these cultural resources to Boquete. And Anayansi Menendez of Hotel Oasis should be recognized also because we understand Hotel Oasis is assisting with lodging for these visiting musicians.

There was a standing ovation at the end of the scheduled program, and then the Ensamble de Violonchelos played an encore piece.

There were several photographers there, and hopefully they will publish some of their pictures. We wish the event had been recorded for audio playback. The event was that good.

Here is the program from last night's performance.

 

We got our tickets for this recital today at MBE Boquete. A few tickets are still available.

Hope to see you there, as this should be a good cultural event. Besides that, it is supporting a good cause.

We attended this performance of the BCP Olde Timey Radio Show. What a treat it was. It was a nearly full auditorium, and the feedback we heard both during the intermission and post-performance chats was nothing but praise and appreciation. This was the third "episode" of BCP's Olde Timey Radio Show, and this was the best one yet. We heard and saw nothing that could be faulted.

Hats off to the performers and the staff and crew that made this such a success.

Here are some pictures taken during the performance:

Mike Schwartz in his role as the emcee.

 

 

The Spoon Full Blues Gang with Lee Sullivan on the saxophone.

 

 

David Phillips on keyboard playing one of his original compositions.

 

 

The sponsor's "wig skit"

 

 

Michael Cooper on guitar.

 

 

The Great Schwartz-o From the East reading sealed envelopes.

 

 

Juan Pablo (from Venezuela) on guitar.

 

 

Boquete Script Readers Group regarding "cheap airplane flights".

 

 

Dan Curtis singing two songs (At Last, and What A Wonderful World).

 

 

Dan McDonald from the Boquete Script Readers Group reading about the Thanksgiving "Pill".

 

 

David Phillips playing another of his keyboard compositions.

 

 

The "Quiz" with two people from the audience - Louise and Donny.

 

 

Another sponsor's advertisement for Uncle Floyd and the Mobil Pet Store.

 

 

Juan Pablo on guitar doing another number.

 

 

The Boquete Script Readers Group talking about the invention of a new coffee machine.

 

 

Spoon Full of Blues Gang doing another number.

 

 

Curtain call.

 

 

And finally, Phil Bennett, audio tech par excellence, who pulled everything together (having rehearsed in the dark with no electricity).

 

 

Marcelyn and I attended this outreach meeting at Hotel Valle del Rio today. We had no business transactions to take care of (notarization, passport renewal, etc.) but we did want to meet and hear the Consulate staff's talks. Here are our notes from this meeting. There were two speakers, Bryan Weiler, who is the Assistant Regional Security Officer (part of the Diplomatic Security Service), and Adrienne Harchik, who is the newly arrived (as of late October) Consul General.

The meeting started off a bit late because the staff was delayed as a result of transportation issues. We found both speakers to be well-informed and candid in their remarks and answers to questions.

From our notes taken during this meeting:

Mr. Weiler was the first to talk, and of course his subject was primarily about security matters in Panama.

• In 2016 there were 416 murders nationwide, and 415 is the projection for 2017.
• In general, traffic accidents are a major source of deaths in Panama, basically one death per day, which is a number that includes deaths for pedestrians who are hit by a vehicle being included.
• Most arrests in Panama for violent crime are males aged 18 to 30, and those are related to gun violence associated with gangs and illegal drugs.
• A normal sentence for a violent crime (meaning resulting in death or the use of lethal weapons) is about 80 months.
• Lesser crimes (e.g., pickpockets, etc.) have a typical incarceration period of about 5 years.
• There is no perceived movement by Panamanian authorities to charge minors as an adult when a young person commits a serious crime.
• October, November, and December are when crimes like pickpockets and rape are at the highest. (No explanation as to why.)

Ms Harchik talked about:

• driver licenses,
• US medical prescriptions coming into Panama,
• the moving of US Social Security Administration matters to the US Embassy in Costa Rica,
• proof of life forms,
• getting Panamanian citizenship,
• the firing of about 5,000 customs agents due to corruption,
• the role of wardens, and
• other issues of general interest to American residents here in Panama.

We did not count the number of attendees, but every chair was taken and a few people were standing around the room. Our estimate is perhaps 50 or so attendees being present. The presentations and Q&A session lasted about 45 minutes, and then the staff started processing the individual requests for consular services.

Here are the business cards for the two speakers at today's meeting:

 

 

And here are some pictures of the two speakers:

Bryan Weiler

 

Bryan Weiler

 

Adrienne Harchik (left) and Bryan Weiler (right)

 

ARF was at the Biblioteca de Boquete yesterday. We chatted at length with Paula Litt. Didn't look like an overflow crowd coming to adopt or foster the pets, but the volunteers were not discouraged. These volunteers deserve our support and appreciation.

Here is a picture of the group at their duties:

Marcelyn likes to read (actually voraciously) and so we were at the Book Sale held at the Biblioteca de Boquete yesterday. In the roughly 30 minutes that she was perusing the books, I kept thinking to myself that this book sale was probably going to be a successful event for the library. I estimate that there were at least 60 people coming through during that time and looking over the book inventory. One man (obviously a gringo) selected at least ten books. But since the prices were very low, he and others were getting a good deal.

Marcelyn got some books in English and some in Spanish. The library had staff there to assist, as the books were organized in categories.

To my way of thinking, this was a win-win for everyone. Here is a picture that I took:

Marcelyn and I had an enjoyable experience creating memories at Big Daddy's last Sunday, with Yella and Tom providing some really good music. We had had a personal invitation from Yella for this event, which she called her "Unbirthday Birthday Party". Yella had her real Birthday Party event at Big Daddy's a few weeks earlier, but it was so crowded that we could not get seated.

We arrived about 4:30PM and were quickly seated. Service was very attentive, and so Chris and his crew get good marks there. Although it was not our intention to stress out the chef, I had been wanting a chicken dish that was somewhat like a standard menu item at Big Daddy's, but not exactly. And so I asked for a special order. The waiter inquired as to what I was wanting, repeated my special request to be sure he thoroughly understood what I was asking for, and then checked with the chef. No problema. Chris' crew gets really good marks now. I view how a restaurant staff deals with special requests and special events as a true test of how well they treat their customers; Not a single issue here at Big Daddy's! Kudos' to everyone at Big Daddy's.

Our drinks were delivered in short order, and then we met some not so new to Boquete people at the table next to ours; they have lived here for about 5 years and yet we have never met before. Great conversation. Then our meals arrived about the time that the singing started, which was promptly at 5:00PM, just as advertised.

We have known Tom and Yella for a long time, and are so glad that we went to this event. It was easy listening music, and I had a special request of Yella, which she sang. I have always liked the song "The Auctioneer". Turns out that others at this event also liked that song, and so it almost became a sing-a-long.

After we left, we sat in the car for a moment and said to ourselves, wow, this is what good memories are made from. Good food, good service, good entertainment, good conversation, friendly people. What more can one ask for out of life?

Yella is a consummate entertainer. She and Tom must have music in their DNA.

Here are some pictures that we took of Yella and Tom.

 

 

Marcelyn and I were doing some grocery shopping at Avicola Athenas (the Canasta Basica store at Plaza San Francisco) earlier today. At the checkout counter we saw some discount coupons for the Do Portugal Circus that is coming to Boquete beginning August 4^th. We asked for, and were given several of these coupons. Apparently the regular admission will be $10.00, but with the coupon, admission will be $6.00. We intend to go to the circus, and why not save some money in the process!

We assume several other grocery stores will also have the coupons. Just ask at the checkout stand.

Here is a scan of the coupon.

Marcelyn and I attended this classical music performance at the library yesterday afternoon. We were impressed, even though the musicians were young and amateurs (meaning not paid, professional musicians). They were good, and the audience showed their appreciation with strong applause.

It was a standing room only event. Every seat was taken, and conservatively speaking there were several dozen people standing at the rear of the room. We were pleased to see so much support for this kind of event. During the comments at the end of the event there was some suggestion that more frequent musical events at the library are being considered. We hope so.

Here is the full program:

Here is a picture taken during the event:

There were some speeches after the concert, including some comments by Price Peterson, who apparently had helped cause this event to come to fruition.

 

And finally, here is a small video clip of part of one of their musical pieces:

Two Sailors,

Thank you for posting. We were impressed with this event as well. We tried to take pictures of the event, but our seats were such that no images were worthwhile.

After the concert, Marcelyn and I had arranged for dinner at Hotel Oasis with our friends who accompanied us to the concert. While enjoying dinner, guess who showed up? The musicians! Apparently they were staying at the Oasis. We bought them some drinks to say thank you, and had a short but warm and enthusiastic conversation with them. We were suggesting that they arrange more concerts in the Boquete area. They were receptive to our suggestion, having been pleased to experience how well their performance was received. YEAH!!!

We just finished listening to the first Listen Up radio broadcast. Congratulations to all who helped bring this new information and entertainment resource to fruition.

Well done to all. Will make this a routine part of our weekly calendar.

Think of this posting as a kind of "event review".

Marcelyn and I attended the inaugural performance of the Boquete Olde Timey Radio Show on Friday afternoon, April 28th. We had no idea what to expect. Being the old geezer that I am, I had fond recollections of the Sunday evening radio program that included mysteries, etc. And then there were the news programs (at a time when they really reported the factual news of the day), and the numerous variety programs. I don't recall many "talk" programs. It was more entertainment and news back in those good ole days.

What we experienced was definitely a variety program format, with lots of variety.

The only negative comment I heard about the program was as we were exiting the theater, and someone (a much younger person than many of us old timers) said that they were thinking the show was so disorganized because of all of the people walking around on the stage at the time of the performance. I had to chuckle, because they were using "modern think" rather than reflecting on what really happened during those bygone days. Radio was radio, and no one in the listening audience would ever know about what movement there might be on the sound stage.

We were glad that we went to this inaugural performance, and hope that there are more.

BTW, we could have listened to a lot more of Fernando, the flamenco guitarist. He's really good. (Not saying anything bad about any of the other performers, but classical and flamenco guitar is among our favorites.)

And hats off to the entire staff, the support team, the performers, and especially Gabrielle and Patrick for organizing the show. Phil Bennett deserves a lot of credit as well, because he was the audio tech that made everything work and come together. Good job to all who made this a fun experience.

Bud
 

Marcelyn and I attended the inaugural performance of the Olde Timey Radio Show at the BCP Theater this afternoon. We estimate about 80 or so attendees enjoyed this first time showing here in Boquete. There were many different and varied subplots going on. For instance, if you are into belly dancing, then you would have had a treat today, etc., etc.

Not wanting to take away anything from any of the performers and performances, but it seemed to me (as a techie guy) that Phil Bennett, who was running the audio and sound effects (aka "Foley Effects" for those in the know), did a FANTASTIC job. He is the one with the headphones in the background. Way to go, Phil.

Here are some grab shots that we took during this event:

If you are missing a picture of the belly dancer, then you have no one to blame but yourself. You should have been there.

Also, if others in the audience took some pictures, maybe they too could post them here for everyone to enjoy.

If you want to have some fun, help our community, and meet some like-minded people, why not show up at the Parque Central in Boquete a bit before 2:00PM on Saturday, February 18th, and support this "Poker Fun" fundraising event. Don't let the lack of parking, the demolition of our streets, and the general chaos while trying to get around Boquete keep you away.

Jere,

More stunningly beautiful photography.

We (Marcelyn and I) attended this very interesting talk this morning at the BCP Theater. It was an SRO (standing room only) event. People were sitting in the aisles and on the floor and on the edge of the stage. Penny Barrett deserves extra special recognition for bringing these very interesting and highly qualified speakers to Boquete.

I have an unsophisticated consumer grade camera and took several pictures during the talk. Unfortunately the pictures of Milagros were not good due to several factors, including the equipment used, the experience of the operator (me), and the lighting arrangement on the stage. But I am posting a couple of the pictures in case some of you may be interested in seeing them because you were not able to attend this presentation.

 

Luz (left) and Milagros (right)

 

Luz

 

A panoramic shot of part of the audience (it was a full house).

 

Your notices about these walks are intriguing to me. And your photos are fantastic. I presume that you enhance the images in Photoshop because they are so perfect. Or do they depict life and nature as you actually experience them?

I so wish I did not have some mobility issues and could participate first hand. But alas, please keep the pictures coming.