Other Things We Do

Art Gallery

Galería del Sur is a joint project between Tom and Janet Quinn and Fundación A. Jean Brugger. The Quinn family owns the building, Fundación A. Jean Brugger administers the art gallery and studio, and the community benefits from the collective effort! The gallery is located just 3 blocks from Pelican Eyes Hotel & Resort, in between the central park and the market. Galería del Sur currently offers a three-hour long Arts and Crafts workshop, five days a week, which is open to the public, and also hosts exhibits by burgeoning national and international artists. For more information, please visit the Galería del Sur webpage, at www.galeriadelsur.org.

Baseball Camp

Christopher Shatagin was an avid baseball player who enjoyed coaching and encouraging kids to excel in the sport he loved. He died as a young man in 2002 of complications from prenatal hepatitis C. The Christopher Shatagin Sports Foundation was created to carry on Christopher's legacy of improving the lives of young people through sports.

Since 2002, the foundation has funded deserving programs in Vermont and San Juan del Sur, and it serves to honor the memory of Christopher by the friends and family who loved him.

Fundación A. Jean Brugger believes every child deserves the right to learn and to play baseball, and so does the Christopher Shatagin Sports Foundation. These two foundations team up every year to present baseball camps to youngsters in San Juan del Sur because we believe that in the process, everyone gains an understanding of good sportsmanship and team spirit. For photos from last year’s baseball camp, click here.

Oral History Project

For years, both Chris Berry and Jean Brugger have wanted to be involved in a project that would capture the rich history and diverse culture of San Juan del Sur, particularly through the Ancianos' Program of Fundación A. Jean Brugger. In 2008 a friend of Fundación A. Jean Brugger, Bonita Betters-Reed, found out about this and became interested in the idea. She proceeded to propose a project with her colleague at Simmons College, Mary Jane Treacy, to interview the ancianos of San Juan del Sur concerning the stories and past of the town and put a book together to use in Nicaraguan high schools as a teaching tool. Please click here to read more about this project.

Art Festivals

Art in the Park is an annual fundraising event organized by Stones and Waves Veterinary Clinic, with the support of Pelican Eyes Hotel & Resort, Fundación A. Jean Brugger, the mayor’s office of San Juan del Sur, and many other community and corporate sponsors. The event involves allowing local and national artists to display their work in the Central Park, while teaching local children about art in its different forms. Various activities, such as face painting and coloring, are arranged and crafts classes (mosaic, painting, etc) are taught throughout the day, free of charge. Art in the Park is a fantastic cultural educational tool, which is fun as well!

The very first event was held on May 26th, 2007. Sixteen local and national artists participated in the event, displaying and selling their artwork, which ranged from paintings to wood carvings, jewelry to mobiles. Ms. Emma Holenstein, working with the Stones and Waves Veterinary Clinic, was the event’s coordinator and she did a superb job of bringing together talent and local sponsorship to educate the hundreds of school children in attendance on culture and art. Local business owners gave money to buy ten bicycles, which were given to children in a free raffle, and other donors participated by providing food, water and tents for the event. Art in the Park is a tremendous example of a community coming together for a good cause.

This year’s event took place on April 19th, 2008. If you would like more information or to help with a monetary or in-kind donation, please contact Fundación A. Jean Brugger or the Stones and Waves Veterinary Clinic.

Municipal Recycling Initiative

The Municipal Recycling Program is a collaborative initiative with participation by the municipal government, Pelican Eyes Hotel & Resort, and the NGOs Comunidad Connect and DED. This initiative includes several phases, including separation of plastic at the municipal garbage dump, public outreach and education, organic waste management, and a municipal botanical nursery, as well as local recycling receptacles in the town of San Juan del Sur.

We are very excited about this project as a way to create environmental awareness in an area where the environment is often overlooked. We hope that this initiative will pave the way to more eco-friendly projects in other parts of the country.

For more information, click here.