Río Térraba's Festival del Canalete
Sculpture exhibits, live painting lessons, theater, mascarada workshops, dance, handicrafts, environmental documentaries on Thursday; cycling competition, concerts, Friday; along Río Térraba, Ciudad Cortés, Osa Peninsula. Info: 8825-1574.

Dance show
Performed by Laura Aris and Jorge Jauregui, Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m., Teatro de la Danza, CENAC. Info: 2222-9398.

Piano concert
By Sergio Sandí, 8 p.m., National Theater, Av. Ctrl./2, Ca. 5.

In his final move as U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica, Peter Cianchette signed the Merida Initiative on Wednesday, releasing $4.3 million in anti-drug trafficking funding to the Central American country.

The money will be divided among Costa Rica's public safety agencies and used as part of a “joint effort” to stem the flow of drugs north to the United States.

“We understand that the best way to tackle the current challenges is by working together in partnership. This is not the Merida Initiative for Costa Rica. This is the Merida Initiative with Costa Rica,” Cianchette said.

The former state representative and Republican candidate for governor of Maine was appointed last spring by President George W. Bush. With a new administration in office in Washington D.C., Cianchette is exiting from his post on Friday and is slated to be replaced in the coming months.

In the meantime, Deputy Chief Peter M. Brennan will assume the duties of ambassador.

“I want to take advantage of this opportunity to say thanks (to the Arias administration) for its advice and support,” Cianchette said in broken Spanish to the Costa Rican press corps on Wednesday. He added that he appreciates “the quality of hospitality of the Costa Rican people.”

Cianchette was appointed in May 2008 and during his short time in the western San José offices of the U.S. Embassy, he oversaw the development of initiatives to improve English language learning in Costa Rica, helped in the early stages of implementing the Central America Free-Trade Agreement with the United States and aided recovery efforts after the Jan. 8 earthquake.

The ambassador declined to give an exit interview to The Tico Times, but indicated that he will be returning to Maine, where he previously served as a partner in a private investment firm and as the owner and president for The Cianchette Group, a public affairs management and business consulting firm.

“We are disappointed that he will return (to the United States) and not continue with the change in government in Washington,” said President Oscar Arias Wednesday, offering a few parting words. “He has been a good friend to Costa Rica.”

Click here for Ambassador Cianchette's departure message to the press and Costa Rican public.

Park officials reopened Arenal Volcano National Park in north-central Costa Rica on Wednesday morning after landslides prompted emergency workers to evacuate the area on Tuesday afternoon.

Reinaldo Carballo, a spokesman for the National Emergency Commission (CNE), said the volcano has not demonstrated any more signs of disruptive activity and park officials believe it to be safe to re-enter the park.

Carballo confirmed that the volcano produced two pyroclastic flows on Tuesday, but noted that no emergency alert level was necessary for La Fortuna or the surrounding areas.

“The volcano is obviously showing signs of activity, but there is no reason right now to issue an emergency alert,” he said. “We closed the park as a precaution for the people in the area, but there have been no signs of further problems. People can enjoy the park as they did before.”

Jorge Brenes, a volcanologist with the Vulcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica, based at the National University (UNA) in Heredia, north of San José, said scientists with the institute began conducting studies Wednesday morning to determine the cause of the landslide, but did not have results as of Wednesday afternoon.

The landslide forced the evacuation of 25 visitors in the park. No injuries were reported.

Last week, University of Costa Rica scientists reported an increase of vapor eruptions at Arenal, which led them to raise the 4-level States of Volcanic Alert Scale to Level 3, which warns of strong changes in eruption patterns.

As the tourism industry confronts its first real crisis of the decade, Costa Rican authorities announced an initiative Wednesday they hope will reclaim the attention of the U.S. tourists, who account for more than 50 percent of its visitors.

The campaign, “Costa Rica Plus,” will be a full-throttle ad initiative, inundating the pages of the U.S. news industry, said the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT). With an announced budget of $500,000, the idea is to hit newsstands with coupons, travel deals and information about the tropical beauty and biodiversity that defines Costa Rica in the minds of gringos.

According to the ICT, four major U.S. dailies – The New York Times, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times – as well as Travel Weekly magazine will all get a chunk of the ad revenue, which will be focused in the weekend travel sections.

The advertising will begin Friday and run through Aug. 9, and will consist of everything from coupons redeemable at hotels and tourist sites to travel combos between hotels and rent-a-car agencies.

The local tourism sector has been hit especially hard this year, as the global recession has found its way to Costa Rica. Unofficial numbers from early May claimed the country saw tourism numbers decrease by 13 percent in the first quarter 2009, compared to the first quarter of last year. That represents a big hit to a country where the tourism industry makes up 8 percent of the gross domestic product.