Jean and Steve Fisher are at it again
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- Published: Wednesday, 02 December 2020 12:00
This past week, Olga Papp of Lone Star National Bank, on South Padre Island, was excited to accept a pickup load of grocery items donated by Winter Texans Jean and Steve Fisher of Iowa. The bank is helping with a food drive for the food bank. The donated grocery items will be taken to Pharr where bank employees will continue to volunteer by helping to sort and distribute the food to needy families in the Rio Grande Valley. This is the Fisher’s third year visiting the Valley and each year they have found at least one organization to support. Their first year they donated nearly $5000 of stuffed animals to Sunny Glen Children’s Orphanage. Last year, they donated over $10,000 in Christmas presents, clothes and other items to over 30 children in Cameron County. When asked by the bank manager, Martin Infante, why they were generous with their donation, Jean said it is because they have been blessed and enjoy giving back. When we did a story on them last year, we learned Jean grew up in foster homes and has a connection with how hard it can be this time of the year. Both have worked hard to get where they are today and feel they are blessed with everything they have. They have made the choice to give back like this at least once a year to share their blessing with others. Last year Jean said, they were not in it for the glory, “It is not about the giving or the getting, it is letting them know that someone cares.”
The Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the City of Mission and Mission Regional Medical Center to host its 26th Annual Mission Community Health & Wellness Fair. This year’s event will be a two-day event that will be held at the Mission Event Center on Thursday, December 3, 2020, and Friday, December 4, 2020, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free, open to the public, and will provide free comprehensive blood screenings, awareness, and education.
This year is the year for reimagining, reinventing, and pivoting the way events are being held so that we can continue to enjoy what we have enjoyed in previous years. The City of McAllen has done just that with it’s South Pole experience and also with the McAllen Holiday Parade. The seventh annual presentation of the World’s and Texas’ Best Parade will be celebrated on Saturday, December 5, in a broadcast television production with no spectators in attendance, stepping off at 6 p.m. from Oval Park at McAllen Convention Center. The event will run live on six local networks and later be rebroadcast on the top 31 U.S. Hispanic markets and throughout Texas on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.
The Pharr Community Theater (PCT) is offering half hour online acting classes from November 9 to December 4, twice a week, for kids, teens and adults. Learn the basics of acting and a little more including auditioning tips and digging deeper to discover characters and real acting. Classes will be on zoom. 
Make the most of the fall bird migration by joining Quinta Mazatlán’s Center for Urban Ecology for a journey into the world of migratory birds on Saturday morning, November 7. The presentation will deepen your understanding of bird migration and elucidate what we can do to help birds on their journey. You will leave the presentation empowered to make a difference for our bird community and with a deeper appreciation for these winged wonders. You can also purchase bird-friendly plants from Heep’s Native Plant Nursery at Quinta Mazatlán to jumpstart your bird habitat from 9 a.m. to noon.
Nestled on a 15-acre tract of land near downtown Weslaco, Frontera Audubon is a city escape for the birds, butterflies and other wildlife that make it their home. Filled with rich vegetation, it’s hard to imagine that just a few feet away heavy traffic runs up and down Texas Blvd. It has become a birding hotspot for Weslaco. At one time, this place was an abandoned grapefruit orchard and thicket of Guinea grass and Mesquite – an area the city had wanted cleared in 1989. 
We received this adorable photo from Sara Young this past weekend and thought we would share it and her message. “For Halloween this year, we truly missed our trip visiting Mission Bell for trick or treating! I’ve been going since I was a little girl, and now have been taking my little family. Although we missed it this year, our babies decided to pay tribute to their wonderful Winter Texan friends dressing up as...well... Winter Texans! Here is Noah Young (three years old) and Grace Young (six months old). Little Grace missed her first year visiting Mission Bell, but we are hopeful to take her next year!” Parents are Sara and Caleb Young.
The annual celebration of Dia de Los Muertos or Day of the Dead is not as spooky as it sounds; it is a celebration of life begging on the eve of October 31 until its culmination on November 2. It is a vibrant and colorful celebration; it is not about fear or sadness, but the return of the souls of friends and family. Where the dead are welcomed with colorful costumes, food, drinks, and celebration.
While social distancing is still being practiced in many activities, several of our local festivals have had to change the way they do things this year. Some have been cancelled and have next years dates on their website – so please look for those and prepare for next year.
Operation Christmas, Samaritan’s Purse, is in full swing for this upcoming Christmas season. Boxes were delivered recently to several locations so participants could get started on building boxes for those less fortunate in other countries. This year, because of social distancing, there are additional ways to participate and there will be a no touch collection at Baptist Temple in McAllen.
By Quinta Mazatlán World Birding Center
