Zihua Fest Now in Full Swing

The Mexican coastal fishing town of Zihuatanejo is normally thought of by cruising sailors as a pretty sleepy place — especially when compared to busy tourism centers like Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta. But this week, it’s anything but sleepy, as the streets are abuzz with excitement over the annual Zihua Sailfest.

"The hundreds of hours of planning and preparation have come together, and now the fun begins with the Grand Kick-off party at the Barracuda Lounge," said Sailfest volunteer Pamela Bendall yesterday, "with the live auction starting at 7 p.m. Already the town is a sea of 2013 Sailfest T-shirts and hats and you can just feel the energy everywhere."

Today there’s a low-key pursuit race, followed tomorrow by a sail parade through Zihua harbor and along the beachfront of neighboring Ixtapa.

Although Sailfest includes both shoreside and on-the-water activities that result in lighthearted fun, it also has a higher purpose: providing educational assistance to disadvantaged children in the area. Most if not all Sailfest activities have a fundraising component to them. And those funds go to build and equip rural schools, and even help to fund teachers’ salaries. Why the need for non-governmental support? Many indigenous kids are caught in a classic ‘Catch 22’: They speak non-Spanish indigenous dialects, but in Mexico you have to speak Spanish to attend school — which begs the question: How are these poor kids supposed to learn the national tongue if there are no schools who will teach them? Today, thanks to wide support of Sailfest from sailors, expats-in-residence and local business people, hundreds of young scholars have been put on a path to mainstream education. 

To learn more about Sailfest see the event’s website. Tax deductible donations to this worthy cause can be made through the Por Los Ninos Foundation.