The Senior Texan Softball League will not play ball this month. The League will consider playing ball in January and February. Interested players may call Fred at (956) 897-6961 or Ed at (956) 581-2254 for more information at the end of December.
For those collecting shoeboxes for Operation Christmas, this is the week to drop them off at a collection place. Baptist Temple will be collecting shoeboxes during various times during the collection week – Monday, Nov. 16, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m; Tuesday, Nov. 17, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesday Nov. 18, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday Nov. 19, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Friday Nov. 20, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Sunday Nov. 22, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Monday Nov. 23, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you need any additional information on drop off times, directions, call Baptist Temple at (956) 686-5296.
For more information about Operation Christmas Child, Samaritan’s Purse and COVID-19 protocols, visit their website at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/. Links are also available with directions on how to pack your own box, set up a Goal Page, volunteer opportunities, or to build a shoebox online.
Operation Christmas Child drop-off will take place during the week of November 16-23.
Baptist Temple will be collecting shoeboxes – Monday, Nov. 16, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m; Tuesday, Nov. 17, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesday Nov. 18, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday Nov. 19, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Friday Nov. 20, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Sunday Nov. 22, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Monday Nov. 23, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you need any additional information call Baptist Temple at (956) 686-5296.
For more information about Operation Christmas Child, visit their website at https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/. Links are also available with directions on how to pack your own box or to build a shoebox online.
Palm Valley Animal Society is over cat capacity and is in need of community support. Currently, there are 701 cats in our care that need to find new homes.
We encourage potential adopters to stop by our Trenton or Andrews Center, open seven days a week between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. to find their new fur friend. All adoption fees for cats are currently being waived until further notice. A $25 deposit for spay/neuter procedures may apply, but all adoptable cats are up to date on vaccines and can be microchipped to their new caretakers.
Can't adopt? Register your home at pvastx.org/foster and help care for our kittens as a short or long term foster parent. For info and pictures of all our adoptable cutie-cats, visit pvastx.org/cats.
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.
Read more: Bird Migration Morning, Native Plant Sale at Quinta Mazatlán
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
Learning about the vast world of birds is like a treasure hunt. There are many paths that we can take to help us find these beautiful gems in nature. Books are a great way to start learning about birds. Bird field guides help us grasp the physical attributes of different birds’ appearances, as well as providing us with a feel of where the birds can be found, and what their vocalizations can sound like.
The Rio Grande Valley Transportation Museum recently reopened with a big event that featured a live presentation by the pilots, including flyovers in that museum’s vintage Ryan PT-22 aircraft. The Ryan PT-22 is just one of the several World War II era planes that museum has to view – and they are all in working condition. The museum is located within the historically significant Port Isabel Cameron County Airport, on Veterans Drive, two miles north of FM 510, and off of Buena Vista Blvd.
The museum houses World War II exhibits and artifacts that have been donated by local families. Display cabinets have been arranged to display significant events leading to and experienced during the war. Among the exhibits is a display of Flying Tiger artifacts, an enlarged photo of the first bomb dropped on Pearl Harbor, a display of the Women of the Army Air Force who flew every aircraft in the US military arsenal, as well as a Home Front display.
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
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?
