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EWBC announces fall hours

The Edinburg Scenic Wetlands and World Birding Center (EWBC) has changed to their fall operating hours. Their fall operating hours are Mondays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The park is located at 714 Raul Longoria Rd. For more information, visit their website at edinburgwbc.org or call at (956) 381-9922.

Toys for Tots 2021 campaign has begun

toys FirstRespondersChildrensFoundation scaled webOctober marked the official kick-off for the Toys for Tots 2021 holiday campaign running through Christmas. U.S. Marines and volunteers will be conducting 830 local toy collection and distribution campaigns in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands.

U.S. Marines and more than 35,000 volunteers, millions of local supporters, hundreds of corporate partners of Toys for Tots will be collecting toys through Christmas. Marines and volunteers will be engaging with local businesses, media and individuals within their communities collecting new, unwrapped toys and distributing those gifts to less fortunate children allowing them to experience the joy of Christmas.

Read more: Toys for Tots 2021 campaign has begun

PVAS hosts dog enrichment events

PVAS Yappy Hour webJoin Palm Valley Animal Society next week as they partner with Dogs Playing for Life and showcase many of their adoptable dogs during several special events at Palm Valley Animal Society.

Dogs Playing for Life, a national leader in teaching shelters how to provide stress-reducing animal enrichment, will be visiting PVAS, working to evaluate some of their animals and, more importantly, continue training their staff on how to effectively run playgroups for dogs. During the following times, they invite the public out to the shelter to see their pets in action in playgroups---and maybe find the perfect playmate to take home to adopt or foster.

Read more: PVAS hosts dog enrichment events

Casper is showing at the Lighthouse

The Port Isabel Volunteer Fire Department is sponsoring a special event at the Lighthouse Establishment Cinema. They will be showing the movie Casper at the Lighthouse on Saturday, October 30 at 8 p.m. Go celebrate Halloween with a movie and free candy. Admission is free. Attendees are invited to wear their costumes. Call (956) 943-2682 for more information. The Lighthouse is located at 421 E. Queen Isabella Blvd.

Exhibit opens at McAllen International Airport

20211027 dia de los muertos altar webMcAllen International Airport (MFE) announces its partnership with the Consulate of Mexico in McAllen to host, in celebration of Dia de los Muertos, a new Ofrenda Exhibit to honor loved ones who have passed. The exhibit will be on display in the McAllen International Airport Lobby beginning Wednesday, October 27 through November 10, 2021.

There will be a special ceremony streamed live on Wednesday, October 27 at 10 a.m. It will be livestreamed at @McAllenAirport.

Read more: Exhibit opens at McAllen International Airport

Texas State Parks Offer Up a Frightfully Good Time for Halloween

texas parks christopher le hSThAXPXEBM unsplasht webGhouls and goblins of all ages are invited to a variety of family-friendly Halloween-themed events at state parks across Texas that are guaranteed to provide a witchy good time. Activities range from educational conversations on creepy crawlies and nocturnal animals to pumpkin scavenger hunts along park trails. Anyone interested in finding an event in their area can visit the TPWD state park calendar at https://tpwd.texas.gov/calendar/holidays for a list of spooky events and updates.

For those still traveling through the state of Texas on their way to the Rio Grande Valley, here is a list of some events at state parks you might want to take part in.

Read more: Texas State Parks Offer Up a Frightfully Good Time for Halloween

Master Gardener Plant Sale this weekend

20211020 MasterGardenerPlantSale Courtesy webWelcome back Winter Texans. The Deep South Texas Master Gardeners will be holding its fall plants sale on October 23 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The event will take place at the educational garden located at 509 E. Earling Rd. in San Juan.

There will be a large variety of landscaping and house plants, cactus, succulents, Texas superstars, and native plants for sale. There will also be fruit trees such as fig, pink and white guava, and of course, banana as well as some native trees. There will be decorative trees including Jacaranda, Flamboyant, Kapok and Moringa available.

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Empty Bowls event is October 26

The 15th Annual Empty Bowls Luncheon and Silent Auction will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on October 26, at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg.

This year’s Empty Bowls Luncheon and Silent Auction will benefit the Food Bank RGV’s 1,000,000-holiday meal campaign, which will ensure that RGV families have healthy and complete meals on the table this season. Food Bank RGV’s signature fundraising event features food from over 30 local restaurants, music, silent auctions, and raffles. Restaurants wishing to participate in and support Empty Bowls may still sign-up.

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Native Plant Night at Quinta Mazatlán

20211020 John Brush webQuinta Mazatlán will celebrate Texas Native Plant Week on Thursday, October 21st, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Join us for an opportunity to learn, appreciate, and cultivate native plants with a Presentation by John Brush and Plant Sale by Mike Heep. 

In 2009 Texas Legislature officially designated the third week of October as Texas Native Plant Week in efforts to conserve and recognize the importance of native plants and their role in the environment. A native plant is one that has “developed over a period of time (hundreds or thousands of years) in a particular region or ecosystem.” Native plants have adapted to survive their environment and developed mutually beneficial symbiotic relationships with the local wildlife. Native plants have the potential to offer ecological services that benefit humans, animals, and even the landscape itself. Native plants attract a diversity of wildlife, support a healthy and more sustainable ecosystem, require less water, reduce strain on local water supply, add aesthetic beauty, and give character and a sense of place to a region. The more we know and understand our native plants the better we can help our environment.

Read more: Native Plant Night at Quinta Mazatlán

Time to start those vegetable gardens

20211027 Time to start those fall Vegetable Gardens 02 CourtesyThe Deep South Texas Master Gardeners welcomes our winter Texans back and wood like to help you start your winter vegetable garden. Unlike in the north where gardening is done during the summer months, we here in Texas do our gardening in the fall and winter. Many of those wonderful vegetables that you enjoy back home can be grown here in Texas during the winter months.

Read more: Time to start those vegetable gardens

Exploring the Queen Isabella Causeway collapse

The Collapse Movie Poster WEBDiscover more about the Queen Isabella Causeway collapse during the Sunday Speaker Series Online presentation, “The Collapse: The True Story of the Queen Isabella Causeway Collapse,” at 2 p.m. on Oct. 3 on the Museum of South Texas History’s Facebook page.

In 2001, a tow boat pushing four fully loaded barges hit a pillar of the Queen Isabella Causeway, which connects South Padre Island and Port Isabel. On that day, four fishermen saved three people, but the tragedy ultimately claimed the lives of eight individuals. During the presentation, guest speakers Joshua Moroles and Robert Espericueta will discuss how they have documented that fateful day.

Read more: Exploring the Queen Isabella Causeway collapse

Food Bank RGV Joins Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month Campaign

RGVFoodBankFor Hunger Action Month® this September, the Food Bank RGV will join Feeding America and other network member food banks to inspire people to take action and raise awareness of people facing the impossible choice of hunger. Food banks around the country are working to make an effective and lasting impact on food insecurity in their communities and they are asking for the public’s support.

Read more: Food Bank RGV Joins Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month Campaign

Humane society of Harlingen at capacity

The Humane Society of Harlingen’s kennels are completely full. The busy season is upon us at HSH and every single kennel and cage is occupied. We need adopters and fosters right now!

The Humane Society of Harlingen is offering a free spay/neuter surgery for anyone able to foster a cat or dog for at least 2 weeks. Additionally, anyone adopting a pet from today until Friday, August 6th will receive free vaccines and medications for one year for that adopted pet at our monthly clinics.

Read more: Humane society of Harlingen at capacity

Save our pollinators, save our world

20210414 The Gardens LM 0037Written by Laura Muntean, TAMU

Pollinators serve a great purpose in the agriculture world. Without them, humans and animals would have little to no food at all.

Texas A&M AgriLife researcher Juliana Rangel, Ph.D., director of the Texas A&M Honey Bee Lab and associate professor of apiculture in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Entomology, explains the incredible impact that such typically small animals and insects play in the role of our food supply.

Read more: Save our pollinators, save our world

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