U.S. Independence Day Picnic
Flag-raising ceremony, music, children's games, food, U.S. citizens and their dependents only, July 3, 8 a.m.-noon, Cervecería Costa Rica, Alajuela.

III Annual July 4th Fireworks Show
Also featuring Dave the Dude's Blind Pig Band Recording Live CD, July 5, 7 p.m. Jaco Taco, Jaco Beach. Info: 2643-1313.

Cheese Fair
Cultural shows, exhibits, cheese product sales, July 3-5 and 10-12, Paradero Turístico San Buenaventura, Turrialba, across from CATIE entrance. Info: 8844-4085.

Chorotega Craft Fair
July 4-5 and 11-12, Ecomuseo de Artesanía Chorotega, San Vicente de Nicoya, Guanacaste.

Canine Agility Tournament
July 4-5, 9 a.m., Centro Equestre Yos Oy, Salitral, Santa Ana. Info: 8381-8285.

Puerto Rican Singer Julissa in concert
Performing some merengue, pop, ballads and rock, July 4, 6 p.m., Gimnasium at Villa Olímpica de Desamparados, San José.

Vacation festival
Including traditional games, balloons, games sales, July 5, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Museums of the Central Bank, underneath Plaza de la Cultura.

Tamal fair
July 5-6, Asociación Cívico Cultural Aquecerri, Aserrí. Info: 8893-0204.

“Circómico, un chiste de circo”
Family theater, clown comedy, June 28, July 5, 3 p.m., Eugene O'Neill Theater, CCCN. Info: 2207-7555.

Isabel MacDonald never thought one phone call would put her in the middle of Central American history.

The director of San José's Center for Peace was contacted by a Honduran acquaintance last Tuesday, who offered her the opportunity to observe a referendum as one of 30 foreign invited guests. Before she knew it, she was on her way to the mountainous Central American country, where she had spent five years of her childhood.

“(The actual vote) didn't seem like a big deal at the time,” said MacDonald, after receiving a briefing from the Manuel Zelaya administration. “It was a nonbinding poll that simply set the groundwork for change. The thought was that most people would vote yes.”

But she was surprised to see the campaign launched against the vote: Newspapers ran full page advertisements featuring handcuffed voters and the words “Illegal” in bold letters.

That night, MacDonald and the team of observers enjoyed dinner with the president and some of his cabinet members.

“They were totally relaxed,” she recalled. “They had no idea this was coming.”

Less than 12 hours later, the observers awoke to learn the president was kidnapped and several ambassadors were missing.

“Military planes were flying low over the city,” said MacDonald. “And (then), someone up there, close to God, turned off the electricity, the cell phones, the Internet. I was with some Chilean observers and they said this is exactly what happened in Chile ” during the 1973 coup against socialist President Salvador Allende.

MacDonald sat down with the rest of the observers to type up a press release, which they were able to do thanks to their hotel's generator.

She proceeded to visit the government buildings where some of the protests took place, but at the time, it was “very tranquila,” she said. The military was on one side of the fence (about 200 of them with two tanks) and protestors were on the other side.

She returned to Costa Rica on Monday, but not without feeling a sense of disbelief: “We kept thinking to ourselves, this is a return to those dark days of Latin America and we are living it now.”

The first six months of 2009 couldn't have gone much better for La Sele, the Costa Rican national soccer team. They are currently in first place in the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying group, winning four of five matches, and are riding a four game winning streak.

The Ticos hope to continue their strong play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which begins Friday in the U.S. and concludes July 26. Costa Rica opens tournament play against El Salvador.

The Gold Cup is divided into three, four-team groups. Costa Rica will play in Group A, along with Canada, Jamaica and El Salvador. The top two teams from each of the three groups advance to the quarterfinals. The last two quarterfinal spots are determined by the top two point receiving third place teams. Costa Rica has won the Gold Cup on three occasions, most recently in 1989.

The head of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, said he will travel to Honduras Friday to demand the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. However, he acknowledged it will be “very hard to turn things around in a couple of days,” the Associated Press reported.

Speaking at a summit of Caribbean leaders in Georgetown, Guyana, Insulza said, “We are not going to Honduras to negotiate, we are going to Honduras to ask them to change what they have been doing and find a way to return to normal,” newswire EFE reported Thursday.

Interim President Roberto Micheletti said he welcomes the visit.

“(Insulza) is welcome; all the countries in the world are welcome,” said Micheletti Thursday, following the top diplomat's announcement of his intention to travel with a delegation to Honduras. “We'll listen to them,” Micheletti said.

Micheletti has said he will arrest Zelaya on his return – which the deposed leader first scheduled for Thursday and then delayed until some time this weekend. Several reports said Zelaya plans to travel more around Central America before landing in Honduras.

The OAS issued a 72-hour deadline for Zelaya's presidency to be restored, threatening to suspend Honduras and bring sanctions that could block international aid to one of the region's poorest countries.

Ahead of the OAS' threats, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua were punishing Honduras by blocking trade. They lifted the sanction Thursday, having already caused millions of dollars in losses. Honduran businesses decried having lost some $20 million during the 48-hour blockade.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias was the region's first leader to speak out against Zelaya's ouster but refused to participate in the trade embargo.

“I'm glad it was only 48 hours, but the measure should not have been taken (at all),” Arias said during a Thursday news conference. “After all …what's the result besides causing a lot of disorder in the freedom of commerce that we've been promoting in Central America ?”

This weekend, however, further actions are expected. The International Transport Workers' Federation (IFT) announced anti-coup demonstrators will mobilize at Honduras' three borders Friday, starting at 11 a.m.

“Our member un ions in Honduras asked us to help them by organizing peaceful demonstrations at border crossings in each of their neighboring countries, and that's exactly what we'll be doing tomorrow,” Antonio Rodríguez Fritz, IFT inter-America's regional secretary, said in a statement issued Thursday.

Protests have occurred inside Honduras on both sides of the debate, with many opponents of Zelaya showing up to support the change in government and others demanding the leader be returned to power.

See www.ticotimes.net/topstory.htm for in-depth coverage of the Honduran crisis, and www.nicatimes.net for analysis of what the changeover in Honduras mean for the region.