OH, NO! DID YOU MISS THE “GINGERBREAD COOKIE FEST” at FINCA LA MAYA???

If you were not at Finca la Maya on Saturday, November 27, you missed one spectacular event: the annual, extremely popular, GINGERBREAD COOKIE FEST!  For the children and the adults who attend the weekly English, Art and Computer Classes at Finca la Maya, this is the biggest day of the year!  From January on, the comment is always:  When is the Gingerbread Cookie Fest???  Are we going to do the Gingerbread Cookie Fest this year???  I love the Gingerbread Cookie Fest! True to form, the students began arriving early and waited patiently at the tables sharing special pointers on how to decorate the cookies in order to get ‘as many candies as possible’ on each one.  You must remember, most of these young people have been doing this for many years and have become very skilled at it!  At last Starr gave them the long-awaited signal to get in line, pick up their cookies and candies, and start decorating!!  From that point forward, it was pure joy and smiles!  Just take a look at the pictures below!  And there were even coveted cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners!   However, as you can imagine, no one went home empty-handed as each one had a plate with at least four large, well-decorated cookies to eat later.

A big THANK YOU goes out to all of those generous volunteers who made this special day happen: Sue Dykler and Barb Williams (cookie bakers extraordinaire); Ellen Cook, Sarah Booth, Linda Tabakman, Karyn Saunders (suppliers of every kind of candy imaginable); Barb, Ellen, Sarah and Max (eager volunteers in the classroom and unbiased judges of the decorated cookies); and of course, the boundless energy and enthusiasm of Starr who, along with her housekeeper, Elma, provided the inspiration, juice, a beautiful cake, supplies, signs and, most importantly, made the whole event happen.

In addition to celebrating the upcoming holiday season, we also said a heartfelt and fond farewell to Zulay, one of Finca la Maya’s inspiring ‘success stories’.  Zulay has been working as an intern at Finca la Maya for the last three years and has been indispensible to everyone there.   Every Saturday she can be found teaching English and Art classes, and she has been a true friend, an avid supporter of and superb example to the students at FLM.   We will all miss Zulay, but we wish her all the best as she graduates from high school and goes on to pursue her studies at the University while working at a law firm in Panama City.

Just a reminder that there will be no classes at FLM during the month of December; the weekly English and Art classes will resume on Saturday, January 8.  If you would like to join in the fun, we are always looking for anyone who is interested in volunteering to help with the English or Art classes.  If you have 2 hours on a Saturday you would like to share with the students at FLM, you qualify!  Spanish is not required!  Just contact Starr at info@fincalamaya.com or call 240-8281.

Also, Finca la Maya, a non-profit art and cultural center near San Carlos, will be holding a huge, now infamous, FUN-RAISER on Saturday, February 4!  Everyone looks forward to this dynamic party, live music, silent auction and many surprises so mark your calendars now!  Definitely an event you won’t want to miss!  And anyone who would like to contribute their generosity to FLM’s community programs can do so by donating items or services to the silent auction.  Please contact Starr personally at info@fincalamaya.com or call 240-8281.  More info will be coming out in January so watch for it.  Look forward to seeing you there!