By Wendy Anders

February is summer in Costa Rica, and the month of free concerts. It’s when the National Symphony Orchestra (OSN), a top notch and versatile group, hits the road for public concerts around the country before launching their official classical music season at the National Theater.

This year, they join with the classy mellow rock group Suite Doble, Costa Rican pop singer Carlos Guzmán, and lyric singer Ivette Ortiz for a diverse and enjoyable program that will be offered in four sites starting Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. in downtown San José.

The concerts this year are dedicated to the communities in northern Costa Rica that are still struggling to recover from devastation by Hurricane Otto’s high winds and lashing rains in late November of last year.

Concert-goers are encouraged to bring school supplies to add to donation boxes that will be at the events. The supplies will be distributed to primary schools in the Upala region by the municipal government, said the National Music Center, who is organizing the concert series.

Requested donations include 50 and 100-sheet notebooks, pencils, colored pencils, Spanish language dictionaries, white paper, scissors, erasers, sharpeners, and geometry tools.

The first two presentations in the summer concert series are open-air concerts in San José and Alajuela, followed by three free public performances in Cañas, Bijagua de Upala, and Tilarán, all towns that were affected by last year’s hurricane.

The schedule is as follows:

Friday, February 17, 7:00 p.m. — La Soledad Church, downtown, San José

Sunday, February 19, 5:00 p.m. — City Mall in Alajuela

Tuesday, February 21, 7:00 p.m. — Cañas Church

Wednesday, February 22, 7:00 p.m. — Bijagua, Upala Gym

Thursday, February 23, 7:00 p.m. — Tilarán Church

Those who can’t make the concerts but wish to donate school supplies, can do so at the National Music Center (Centro Nacional de Música) in Moravia from February 8-20.