TONIGHT...

Also on the agenda for tonight is the grand opening of Hidden Treasure restaurant at Coral Beach Hotel on Barrier Reef Drive.

Summer Camp 2010 draws to a close

For four weeks, children have been enjoying arts and crafts, diving, swimming lessons, archery, Be Kind Belize classes, visits from special guests like Mr. Eddie Halliday with his legal pet birds, SAGA puppies, and other fun people.

The month-long fun and activities at Summer Camp 2010 came to a close on Thursday, July 29. An awards ceremony took place at Reef Village by the pool, with kids getting fun awards for "Best Manners", "Miss Congeniality", "Mr. Friendly" and more.

At the final get together and awards ceremony, a very adorable baton twirling presentation was given for the parents and guardians. Special thanks to Jean Allred for teaching the girls the twirling skills!

A delicious rice and beans lunch followed with swimming and fun for the kids.

Organizer of the camp, Tammy Peterson is thrilled with the success of the first ever summer camp, which gave children a place to be to have fun and enjoy all that is available on the island and even beyond. Already plans are underway for next year's summer camp, which will be held in a new location. Look for information as it becomes available!!

Costa Maya Pageant Delegates Arrive!!

-Press Release-Costa Maya Festival Committee - July 30th, 2010 - The participants arriving today for the La Reina de la Costa Maya Pageant are Ms. El Salvador Diana Ingrid Martinez, Ms. Honduras Nicole Yaret Hawit, Ms. Mexico Priscilla Pastrana Lopez, Ms. Costa Rica Krysia Ortiz Campos, along with Ms. Belize Liliana Mia Nuñez, and the reigning La Reina de la Costa Maya Maritza Rivas. They are presently staying at Ramon’s Village Resort in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye which is our official hotel for the Costa Maya International Festival 2010.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, Ms. Panama, Ms. Guatemala and Ms. Nicaragua will not be arriving today. It has been confirmed that they will be arriving tomorrow morning to join the other participants in the week’s schedule leading up to the pageant on Thursday, August 5th, 2010.

San Pedro Lion's invite you to Noche San Pedrana

STP sets the stage for San Pedro Water Front Transformation

Contract signed with local architectural firm

Press Release – Government of Belize – July 27, 2010 - Under the Sustainable Tourism Program, over Bz$6 million of IDB (International Development Bank) funding, will be invested in a boardwalk stretching 2000 linear feet along the water-front and transforming the back lagoon area of San Pedro Town. The development will incorporate a multipurpose pier housing international and domestic water taxi terminals and small scale shopping. A destination for tourists and locals, the boardwalk will be designed to promote an atmosphere of leisure and relaxation; maintaining the identity of San Pedro Town, while revitalizing the surrounding area.

Local architectural firm International Environments (IE) Ltd. based in Belize City was awarded the contract for the deasibility, planning and design of the Sunset Pier and Boardwalk based on the strength of their technical and price proposals. Today Principal Daniel Arguelles signed off on the Bz $482,500.00 agreement with the Ministry of Tourism and the Belize Tourism Board. IE was one of the 12 firms from the local and international arena who expressed an interest in this challenging under-taking. Their experienced professionals have stated a strong commitment to developing a driver of future economic growth for San Pedro Town, creating further commercial and tourism opportunities and encouraging local ownership of the development.

IE’s team will carry out detailed marine and geotechnical investigations, social environmental studies and economic analysis, contributing to the final blueprints. A manual will also be developed to guide sustainable operations thus ensuring an efficient and successful public amenity for the future. The planning phase will span 5 months, setting the stage for construction to begin early next year.

For more information about the program please contact the Project Coordinating Unit at info@sustainabletourismbz.org or visit the STP website www.sustainabletourismbz.org.

Costa Maya Presents: Miss Honduras!!

This week, we present to you the final contestant for the International Reina de la Costa Maya pageant. Nicole Yaret Hawit is a 22-year-old, Honduran beauty who stands at 5’5”, measuring 34”-25”-34”. This brown eyed brunette holds a Bachelor’s in Tourism and enjoys exercising as a hobby.
Nicole is the last of the eight beauties who will grace the Costa Maya stage in San Pedro. The panel is complete; we have met delegates from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama and now, Honduras. At the end of the night, only one will be crowned by 2009-2010 Reina de la Costa Maya Maritza Rivas. Who will be our new beauty representative? You just have to be there for the grand moment when hostess Sandra Hoyos announces the winner!
Be on the lookout for the lovely ladies as they start arriving on the island on Friday, July 30th. For an even better chance to get to know the beauties, swing by the San Pedro Lions Club for Noche San Pedrana. For a mere $30, you can join the ladies at the club starting at 7:00pm on July 31st. Enjoy music, dinner and dancing into the night.

Fun events at SP Library

Presenting Summer Camp 2010

The San Pedro Town Public Library's Annual Summer Program, started July 26th and will run through August 6th. Children will have the opportunity to improve their reading skills with group and individual reading activities. Both weeks will also include creative arts and crafts, plus drama (skits and dances). The theme for 2010 is Belize and BNLSIS: History in the Making.

For the first day of the children’s summer program at the Library, kids got to make their own paintings. Lots more activities are planned for the kiddies, so stay tuned!

Books Donated

A special thank you goes out to Rebecca and Kate Beskow of Sugar Land, Texas USA, who coordinated a book collection from their local community as a service project to promote reading among young children at the San Pedro Public Library on Ambergris Caye, Belize. Rebecca and Kate collected 200 picture, story and chapter books and presented them to Iracela Acosta (Librarian), on Thursday July 8th, as several children looked on. Rebecca and Kate stated that they hope that these books are read and enjoyed by many children.

KTLA 5 features Baby Daniel's story

KTLA 5 (Los Angeles) reports on Baby Daniel Estell's condition, and gives a mother and father's desperate plea to save their child's life.

(Immediate amount needed as down payment is $175,000 USD. Full cost of surgery/transplant is $300,000USD)

There are three ways that you can donate to save Daniel’s life.

1. Through Wachovia Acct # 10 10 166 397 743 When using this account, you must use Daniel Guerrero (Baby Daniel’s Granddad) as the username.

2. Through Paypal , at oh.dannyboy@belizemail.net
If you are not familiar with PayPal.com, there are instructions on how to donate.

3.Directly through Children’s Hospital. If you choose this option and we are unable to raise sufficient funds to do the surgery, your donation would stay with CHLA to be used for other children. However, if UCLA or another hospital agrees to do the surgery before then, they can bill CHLA, and the money would come out of the direct fund.

Any funds donated for the medical treatment of patient Daniel Estell can be wired to:

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
Bank of America
525 South Flower Street
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Bank Routing Number: ABA 121000358
Bank Account Number: 14596-04240
Donors MUST designate the funds for Daniel Estell on the wire transfer.

Time is critical, and all help is appreciated.

Community joins to Save Baby Daniel

The residents of San Pedro were out in droves at Central Park this Sunday for the beach party fundraiser to Save Baby Daniel. A food and drink sale was organized by friends of Baby Daniel's parents (Ilda and Daniel). There were raffles, games, a dollar drive, plus volleyball games and even auctions.

Though the weather threatened rain with dark skies and some strong winds, it held off, making for a very successful day on the beach. Everyone came together to celebrate the life of a little one, hoping against hope that he will be able to get his much needed liver transplant.

Baby Daniel Estell is currently at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, as he suffers from a rare liver disease known as Biliary Atresia, wherein there is a blockage in the tubes (ducts) that carry a liquid called bile from the liver to the gallbladder. The congenital condition has only 2 treatments for this disease. He has already undergone the ‘Kasai Procedure’, and unfortunately, he will need the second option, which is a liver transplant. At the beginning of the fundraisers, Baby Daniel had time on his side, but that time is quickly waning. The full amount needed to complete this procedure is $300,000 USD.

The girls gang up for the dollar auction...each dollar tops the last bid. Some people won cell phones for as little as a dollar, and there were tons of other prizes donated by the business community.

The good news about this disease is that it can be treated and most babies treated in time become healthy.

It is certainly hope and prayers and lots of love that are keeping up the spirits of Baby Daniel's loved ones, as he battles for his life.