The City of McAllen is celebrating the South Pole Illuminated Festival with magical experiences for the holidays for the entire Rio Grande Valley community, through January 1, 2023, taking place at the McAllen Convention Center, 700 Convention Ctr. Blvd.
Looking forward to a new year and new tours
Another year is quickly coming to an end in just a few more days and our calendars will turn to 2023. It’s time to think of travel again. Sometimes I schedule myself on a tour just to see what changes have been made in a hotel along the highways. I really like to get out with my travelers and see the trip through their eyes.
Right now there is only one more tour scheduled for the rest of this year and it is a good one, especially if you have never been on the tour or if you have visitors who want to visit the famous King Ranch – one of the largest ranches in the United States.
Founded in 1853 by Captain Richard King, the King Ranch boasts almost 1,000 acres. You will learn all about the Ranch, the flora and fauna of the area as your guide introduces you to a very special part of the history of the Rio Grande Valley. The last trip of the year is scheduled for December 29, 2022. Don’t miss it.
Find someone to give to this holiday season
DECEMBER – What a beautiful month. December is a time for giving, a time for sharing, a time for remembering. December is a good time for cooking all those wonderful dishes from family recipes that have been handed down for generations. Memories are made – never to be forgotten.
Giving and sharing brings pleasure to those who give and happiness – especially to the youngsters when they receive the toys and clothes you may have donated.
It is so much fun seeing what all of you are doing for your communities this holiday season. We have received information from several parks about what their residents are doing and hope we can share some of it with you.
If you have something you are doing in your park, collecting food, jackets, toys, books, whatever it is, we would love to see it and share it with our readers. Seeing what you are doing for others makes my heart happy and I am sure it gives new ideas to others.
The McAllen Heritage Center, museum of history and culture, is pleased to announce a visit from the friendly McGrinch on Saturday, December 17 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The McGrinch will be in the La Placita Park adjacent to the museum to meet and greet visitors, young and old. The event will also be a great photo opportunity.
When you’re at the top, there’s a misconception that the only place you can go is down.
However, Stuart Place just keeps setting the bar higher.
The 2,742-yard 9-hole par-36 golf course scored an ace in six of the seven categories in the annual Winter Texan Times Favorite Golf Course contest. Last year the quaint and pleasant course captured five of the seven categories.
Last week ladies at River Ranch Resort were bustling about the recreation hall wrapping gifts that residents had donated for children of Rio Hondo. The park has been working with Chief Bilokury, Rio Hondo Public Safety Director, for about four years. This year is the first time the park has also worked with the city and a local church. Together, they hope to help 500 children of the community.
Parks share their news
When you look through our first few years of the paper, you see some really good stuff. I am loving taking this look back and seeing what we have done before, how we have changed, but also how we have kept to our purpose – of getting the news out to you.
In our younger years we included a lot of highlights from parks. These were mainly submissions by the activity director or manager at the park. We still do that today when a park sends in their news too.
Submitted by Arleen Bier
The residents of La Floresta Park near Mercedes enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, complete with turkey and dressing and all the trimmings. But what do you do with all of that leftover turkey? We had Turkey Soup Night.
Roadrunner RV Park started off the month of December with their gift giving. “What a wonderful opportunity to help our community and give during the holiday season!” Residents contributed $1,000 to the Salvation Army and $1,000 for Toys for Tots. Pictured are Chief of Police Richard Ozuma, Fire Chief Roy Contreras, and Salvation Army Major Gabriel receiving the donations last week.
