New English language bookshop and cultural centre in Puerto Plata

Monday sees the opening of The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). This project is the vision of a Canadian couple, Frances Boylston and Henry Milner, who have been spending winters in Puerto Plata since the early 1980's. Their idea is that tourists in all inclusive hotels should be encouraged to leave the tourist enclaves and visit the town and meet its inhabitants. Frances Boylston and Henry Milner bought and renovated a house near the centre of town which will house a number of cultural activities. There will be an English language bookshop focussing on Dominican history, culture and politics, profits from which will be used to buy Spanish books for the local library (which has a magnificent building but few books); an English language paperback exchange, materials for teachers of English as a second language and the Teatro-Escuela Ivan Garcia under the direction of Arisleyda Beard. The theatre school will host dance, drama and poetry performances, and workshops on a variety of ancilliary topics such as stage make-up. The detailed programme of events for the opening week can be seen at the attached link. Admission is free. Tourists and locals are encouraged to drop in at any time during opening hours.

The Meeting Place: new Puerto Plata cultural center opens 25th. January

Arisleyda abre escuela teatro Iv?n Garc?a

Hillbilly said:

Good for them. I have hundreds of books to start them off....HB

Click to expand...

HB, I have emailed you Frances Boylston's email address so that you can make contact. Come to the opening tomorrow at 5pm if you're available and you, too, jrhartley. They have an exhibition by Jacinto Beard the well known artist and indeed he has a particular interest in all things folkloric.
Jacinto Beard y Taim?scaro: m?s que Carnaval

The Beard family are extremely well known in Puerto Plata Gobernaci?n Provincial de Puerto Plata and the Theatre School is directed by Arisleyda Beard.

The Canadian couple behind all this are a political scientist
Henry Milner
and a sociologist who wrote
The Dominican Republic Venturing past the tourist gate
back in 2003.

The official opening of The Meeting Place occurred earlier this evening. It was a charming event with lots of very nice people, local & foreign and some highly illuminating conversations. Frances & Henry have worked incredibly hard to convert the house from the condition I saw it in just over 2 weeks ago to the centre it is today. It was gratifying to hear Cesar de los Santos, the Sub-secretary for tourism in Puerto Plata, promising governmental support for the project after his meeting with the Minister for Tourism, Francisco Javier Garcia (just wanted to get that on record ).

There is now a website devoted to this project: since it's a not-for-profit I hope it will be ok to post the link:
The Meeting Place

The bookshop at The Meeting Place now has copies of Traditional Dominican Cookery by Aunt Clara and Aunt Ilana, so any north coast residents or holiday makers can purchase their copies instantaneously and without having to wait for delivery .

Two events at The Meeting Place: Weds 24th. Feb 10-5 Exhibition of quilting and Sat Feb 27th. at 7.30 pm Teatro Balsamo are performing. Details here:
The Meeting Place

If there is sufficient interest, quilting classes will be arranged.

There is something happening in the theatre at the Meeting Place each weekend. Saturday March 13th. will be a Michael Jackson tribute by Anthony Hurtado, starting 7.30 pm in the Teatro Escuela Iv?n Garc?a . Details in El Faro:
Sue?os de Colores realizar? homenaje a Michael Jackson