This year, the City of Edinburg and the Museum of South Texas History present: Dia de los Muertos: Los Muertos Bailan, a two-week celebration of the Day of the Dead. The event will be virtual from now through November 1st on Facebook Live.
We are ready for you here in the Valley. Our parks are ready. And our Wintertainers™ are ready to entertain.
The general feeling is we will see a great season this year. I don’t want to say, ‘despite the circumstances,’ but, we have to be upfront here and say that we know what the situation is, and we know you have a decision to make.
Activity Directors, Wintertainers™, and Stakeholders have had two meetings that Teresa Stoffel, creator of Winter Texan Times Activities Group on Facebook, has organized. In both meetings, everyone has had a positive attitude that we will see smiling faces soon – or we will assume you are smiling behind your mask.
Read more: Mr. DeMille, parks are ready for their … to stay 6 feet apart
Fall is in the air! Yes, it is that time of year. The mornings are beautiful, the air is crisp and dry....and cool. It's time to take a walk. After all these months of “Shelter in Place,” a morning walk sounds quite refreshing. Your walk may be just around the neighborhood or perhaps you would like to journey a little further afield. No matter what part of our beautiful Rio Grande Valley you may call home, there are many wonderful places to explore. So, put on your walking shoes and let's go.
The Valley Symphony Orchestra’s fall concert season begins this week with chamber work by “the greatest composer you’ve never heard.” The VSO will present three fall concerts online and broadcast on television beginning October 23 at 7 p.m. Though the Symphony is unable to hold in-person performances due to public health risks associated with Covid-19, Maestro Peter Dabrowski has planned a series of chamber concerts that will be specially produced and presented for all to enjoy, thanks to donor and sponsor support.
“We need music now more than ever,” said Maestro Dabrowski, music director and conductor of the Valley Symphony Orchestra for the last 20 years. “Listening to beautiful live music is a way for us to both mourn and celebrate, to remember what it means to be human. I cannot imagine a more necessary time for music than right now for the Valley.”
South Padre Island is beautiful this time of year – and the temperatures just keep getting nicer as we get closer to December. I had the chance to take a short trip to the island recently and I did not want to leave. The temperatures were in the 80s and there was a pretty good breeze the day I went. I, unfortunately, had to get back to the office, and home, to tend to other things and could not stay as long as I wanted to.
This short trip was to see a perfect outdoor activity for this type of weather – the Sea Turtle Trail. The Winter Texan Times had received a news release from SPI’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau about a recent installment to the trail and decided it was something we needed to go out and see for ourselves. This is a trail that you can walk or cycle if you have the time. The locations are spread out on the island – furthest point south is Beach Park at Isla Blanca, and northern point is SPI Convention Center. They are nearly five miles apart from each other. I was able to visit all but two turtles while there and was quite impressed with the beauty of them.
So, what are these turtles I speak of?
By Carina A. Brunson
Hello and welcome back to south Texas! We are so happy to see your smiling … eyes. We are so excited about what this year will bring, even if it will be a bit different. The Rio Grande Valley is such a great place to be. Great weather, great people, and great friends. I am with y’all, I would much rather be in Texas than shoveling snow up north.
The Winter Texan Times has been preparing for the 2020-2021 season and we are excited to see our Winter Texans returning. Our first issue will be published on October 21, and the deadline to submit items for this issue is Wednesday, October 14.
The Humane Society of Harlingen is reaching capacity and is in need of urgent adoptive or foster parents to make space for emergency intakes. Lifesaving is only made possible through collaborative efforts with the community.
Here is how you can help:
1. Adopt or Foster. All adoption fees for all animals will be completely waived and completed on a donation basis until further notice. There is never a fee to foster and, for a limited time, all animals are available for foster! We will even give you everything you need to get started with your new furry friend.
Read more: Humane Society of Harlingen in need of adoptive or foster parents
What a surprise! Say hello to the Gladys Porter Zoo’s new miracle baby…a baby gorilla! Penney, a 33-year-old female gorilla, to everyone's surprise, gave birth to a healthy baby on Thursday, August 20.
Night keepers at the Zoo were astonished to find Penney cradling a newborn in her arms as they were making their usual rounds on Thursday evening. Not only were the night keepers shocked but so was the entire Zoo staff, especially the Zoo’s medical team. This was totally unexpected.
“Years ago, when evaluating Penney for her lack of reproductive success, it was discovered that she had a tumor on her pituitary gland that, in turn, raised her prolactin levels, making it difficult for her to conceive. Thanks to a 45-day, targeted treatment, she was able to reproduce once after the tumor diagnosis was made,” said Gladys Porter Zoo Director, Dr. Patrick Burchfield.
Written by Susan Himes, Susan.Himes@ag.tamu.edu
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service announced registration is open for the 2021 Birding the Border event.
The event will take place April 29 -May 2, starting with a kickoff social the evening of April 29 at Val Verde Winery.
Del Rio will host the event, which will feature birding trips to a mix of private, restricted-access and public lands in Kinney and Val Verde counties.
The cost of registration is $50 and includes seminars, which will be held April 30-May 1 at the Del Rio Civic Center and feature AgriLife Extension experts. There are also spouse-of-birder passes available to allow participants to bring a plus one to the seminars and social events. If you prefer to register by phone, call Teri Gaston at 830-278-9151 ext. 283.
Read more: Four-day birding event features photography-focused, beginner options
