Category: Calendar

My beautiful friends Art and Angela Curley invited me to join them in making chocolates at Xoxodiva last Friday. And not just chocolates, but t r u f f l e s. So chocolates stuffed with ganache. AND, they were hand-painted. Six of us willing students were met by Xocodiva owner Laura Story at their…

What a glorious Celebration of Life last night for Jean-Guy Comeau. Two choirs, an entire symphony orchestra, and two soloists took over Santa Cruz Church on Aguacate and played and sang tributes to one of the kindest, most joyful humans I have ever met. How Jean-Guy would have loved this send-off. Right up his alley,…

In Puerto Vallarta, where live music is woven into the rhythm of daily life, Brad Mallett has found his second act. His show, Forever in Blue Jeans: A Neil Diamond Tribute, presented at Act2PV Theater, has become a favorite among locals and visitors alike, blending nostalgia, storytelling, and an intimacy that feels more like a…

After a very productive and well-attended board meeting of the Vallarta Garden Club at Di Vino Dante’s Restaurante, I walked slowly down Basilio Badillo to Olas Altas and hung a left. The sky was threatening rain, but even that didn’t put a damper on the number of people (over 200!) who poured into Kathleen Carrillo’s…

The results are in, a week later than originally planned due to The Troubles, but Vallarta has a new Mister. The fourth annual Mr Vallarta unfolded this year at Coco Cabaret with a variety of hosts for the first two rounds of judging. Still, the finale starred the fabulous Nacho Granados, who can slide between…

Happy Monday, Happy March and to the hundreds of friends who took the time to comment on my February 28 thank-you note/love letter to Vallarta on my 35th anniversary of moving to Mexico, thank you. The only negative consequence of living in Vallarta is that time passes in ‘Vacation Mode.’ Two weeks sitting behind your…

”Robert Will Show You the Door,” opened last night in the tiny theatre at Art Vallarta. The stage could hardly contain the number of characters that sprang from this one-woman show that goes from here to London, England. Starting with the unmistakably New York accent and bouncing through various inner-city barrios with lightning speed and…

A quiet triumph occurred last night at the International Friendship Club’s meeting space when my friend Elena Hiatt Houlihan presented her book, ”An Unrealistic Life.” This project, 20 years in the making, and Elena’s entire life pushing against the mainstream, has become a fabulous testament of a woman saying ‘no’ to convention and ‘bring it!’…

On Sunday, March 8 at 8 PM, the curtain will rise once again at Teatro Vallarta for one of Puerto Vallarta’s most anticipated and meaningful nights of the year: What A Drag! Now celebrating its 12th year, this wildly entertaining straight-men-in-drag beauty competition continues to prove that sequins and stilettos can do far more than…

This gorgeous, still cool morning follows on the heels of one of my dearest friends’ 75th birthday party last night. Garbo’s Piano Bar on Pulpito was packed with friends and well-wishers as we hugged, patted, squeezed, and piled love on Jan Dorland. Jan’s partner of over 20 years, Rob Burton, orchestrated the festivities with their…

I left my house yesterday to meet a dear friend for brunch and to pay my water bill. I hunted for an unmolested OXXO and found three still standing, unburned, and barricaded from within; lights on, and nobody home. I passed a torched OXXO and an equally destroyed Kiosko across the street, both on Morelos.…

I caught Brian’s show a year ago at the newly opened Coco Cabaret and was happy to see him once again this season. There was a noticeable change this year, however — Brian is in love with a Canadian he met on a Vallarta Beach a year ago, and he is so very happy. The…

In my shower last night, I looked down at pitch-black water sluicing over the white bathtub from my feet. I had, like the rest of the population, not been out of the house. I realized it was oily soot that had settled on my patio from at least three separate fires close to the Church,…

We sat in the gazebo at the River Cafe, had lunch, and talked for a good two hours. We couldn’t come to a consensus on when it was the last time we sat across from one another, but maybe 10 years? Christopher Riordan looked good. To me, he has always looked the same, a dancer’s…

There’s something about Puerto Vallarta that invites reinvention. People arrive here at turning points — retirement, recovery from burnout, the start of a new chapter, or the quiet realization that life needs to feel different. The sunsets are slower. The ocean air softens the edges. And yet, for many, the nervous system is still running…

It is so cold this morning, I can’t open my windows yet, and it’s nearly 8 am! Nice to be back with typical February weather, and I must say, I am looking forward to summer and some humidity – my cheeks crack from the dry air every time I smile! I smiled a lot yesterday,…

It’s Ash Wednesday, and you will see dozens of Catholics today with smudges on their foreheads. Forty days from now, Vallarta will be overrun with Easter celebrants for Semana Santa, mixed in with Spring Breakers. It is always a joyful chaos. This is also a warning: go shopping NOW and stock up on the stuff…

Round Two in the quest to find a suitable hunk to represent Vallarta for the coming year was completed yesterday afternoon at Coco Cabaret. We did our part, ogled, cheered for our faves, clapped, screamed between mouthfuls of popcorn, and drank several martinis in an hour. It’s the enormous stress. Waleska promoted her Madonna Tribute,…

The new Rio Cuale Wellness Center in El Caloso was inaugurated last Friday with Cuban food, drinks, dance, live music, and an exhibition of the works of painter Rogelio Perez. Lots of happy people trekked up the stairs and enjoyed the quartet and the spontaneous crush of people doing what Vallarta does best – play.…

This February 2026 episode of The Puerto Vallarta Travel Show opens with heartfelt news about the passing of JR (John Russell), a beloved local expert and long-time friend who inspired the podcast’s creation 10 years ago. Host Barry shares touching memories of JR, who passed away at 85 from undiagnosed esophageal cancer, and announces a…