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*UPDATE: See the new gallery of photos below!* Christmas this year was officially opened on Friday the 8th of December at the Altos de Chavón Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. This is the 7th consecutive year that Altos de Chavón and Casa de Campo have been celebrating the festivities with various activities here in Chavón and each year it just gets better and better! For starters, Santa’s house has a new location. Right in front of the main Gallery, Santa set up his tropical vacation home where kids of all ages visited him for the first time this year. There was a very special addition to the holiday program that teaches our kids the importance of giving to those in need— starting at 6:00 pm, little ones received a beautiful Magic Pass to Santa’s House. To receive one all they had to do was bring a new toy or cash donation for the Hogar del Niño and Fundación MIR charities. They were also able to meet a group of kids they would be helping make their Christmas merrier. The Fundación MIR brought to this special occasion some of their students who we saw were in awe of all the decorations and activities going on in Chavón. Once inside, the jolly Santa Claus and all his elves received Christmas wish lists and good-hearted children who sat atop Santa’s lap for photos. The official ceremony, which began at 7:30 pm after Father Raisy’s blessing was led by Andrés Pichardo, President of Casa de Campo Resort and Juan Velázquez, Administrative Vice-President of Costasur who welcomed Casa de Campo’s villa owners and guests and expressed their happiness and gratitude to all present for helping Altos de Chavón continue such a beautiful yearly tradition. They invited the children in the audience and a group of kids from the Fundación MIR to come up on stage and help them countdown the start of Christmas! The kids happily complied and everybody in the Plaza joined in. The grand button was pressed and Altos de Chavón lit up with all the lights that had been installed throughout the week. It is a truly magical and breathtaking moment and one that for us in Casa de Campo signified the beginning of Christmas!

The festivities continued with the magnificent presentation of the Koribe Choir, directed by Prof. Nadia Nicola. Popular songs included, “Con mi burrito sabanero” and “Volvio Juanita” sung acapella by the Koribe Choir were some of the night’s musical highlights. Once they were done the sky glowed with a wonderful display of fireworks! The perfect ending to this incredible night… and the video above captures it perfectly. The holiday schedule in Altos de Chavón continues on Thursday with a Maracas Workshop for the kids at the Regional Museum of Archeology, followed by popular Dominican Christmas carols – so don’t forget to bring your güira and tambora! On Saturday, remember that The Gallery will host the opening cocktail for the photographic exhibition “Los Almendrones” by artists, Clara Martínez Thedy, Mary Rosa Jiménez, Carlos Acero, and Sandra Garip. Click the link at the bottom of the page to for the complete holiday calendar of events. The following photos were taken by Mariana Heredia during the Christmas Lighting Ceremony on Friday, December 8th at Altos de Chavón:
and by Mariobi Herrera and Agustin Fernández:  [nggallery id=3031]
Tis the season to be jolly! The complete Christmas Holiday Calendar is here! Let the Christmas festivities begin! This holiday season Altos de Chavón is the place to celebrate! For a couple of days now we’ve seen men hard at work installing lights to make sure that this is a magical season for all. The traditional Christmas Lighting Ceremony and official inauguration to this merry season is THIS Friday, December 8th, and we thought it would be helpful to bring you the FULL schedule of holiday events coming your way. Continue reading here.