Nosara – The children of all eight public schools in the Nosara area now have the means to expand their education through one of the oldest and most enriching creative outlets – Art.

The Surfing Nosara Foundation (SNF), and local art curator Nina Arias, worked together to raise nearly $4,000 at Nosara’s first annual Auction for the Arts event, which hosted nearly 100 attendees at the Vista del Paraiso Restaurant on June 26th,

Preparations for the Auction for the Arts began over six months prior to the event, when Nina and Sarah began delivering invitations to participate and some donated art supplies to the 8 schools. Participating were Las Delicias School, La Esperanza School, Garza School, Santa Teresita School, Santa Marta School, Serapio López Fajardo School and Bocas Nosara High School and the CNE preschool. The assignment: To create a collaborative work of art to be showcased and sold at the upcoming auction. “We gave them freedom to chose any theme they wanted and gave them 5 weeks to complete the large canvas that measured 50 in. x 80 in”, Nina tells us. “The fact is that all these schools are very poor to begin with, none of them offer arts or have an art program so this is the initial start to putting art supplies in local kids’ hands”, she adds.

Not only the children’s artwork was sold at the event. Several local and international artists and entrepreneurs donated their paintings, photographs, clothing and gift certificates to be auctioned off for the cause. A wide variety of local sponsors chipped in and supplied the event with very generous donations of tasty appetizers and refreshments, keeping attendees happily lingering about, silently auctioning for their favorite pieces from 4:00-8:00pm.

Auction guests were serenaded by guest band InJazz visiting from Cartago, providing light and peppy tunes for the people to dance to. Midway through the evening the guests were given quite a show by a group of break-dancers from the Bocas Nosara high school. The kids wowed the crowd with a performance so exciting they begged for a second encore show, and they got it.

Once the Auction for the Arts closed the last bid, Sarah Antonson added up the figures and concluded, “We had a great success.” She tells us that the event raised “$3,987.00 total revenue. $3,382.00 was raised in auction item sales, and the other $600.00 by entry tickets and donations made at the door.”

This money will go right back in to the same eight schools in the form of all new art supplies for the kids to work with during the upcoming school year. The students will learn and practice more, and present and sell next year’s artwork at the 2nd Annual Auction for the Arts Fundraising Event to be held at an undisclosed date in 2011.