The Frontera Birdathon 2021 will look a little different this year. The park is looking for those who want to support Frontera Audubon in Weslaco by doing what you love – getting out and watching birds.
The Museum of South Texas History (MOSTH) welcomes Dr. Greg Selber to present two new books on high school basketball during the Sunday Speaker Series Online presentation, “Little Brother Gets His Due: High School Basketball in the Valley, 1914-2014,” at 2 p.m. on Feb. 7 on Facebook Live.
Selber, a historian on Rio Grande Valley sports, released two books, “Hardwood Heroes: The History of High School Basketball in the Rio Grande Valley Vols. 1 & 2,” which were published by the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame. Copies are available for purchase at the Museum Store.
This weekend the Rio Grande Valley Quilt Show will be held virtually. This year the RGV Quilt Guild will be conducting the show, workshops and more online. The event will be held February 8 through 14. The theme for this year is “From Vintage to Modern – Quilts for All Times.” The quilt guild invites participants and attendees to immerse themselves in the history, nostalgia and even look into the future of quilting.
Welcome the year of the ox with an at-home experience with the International Museum of Art & Science (IMAS) and participating community partners celebrating Lunar New Year.
The IMAS has opened a call to the community for video submissions contributing to its virtual Lunar New Year celebration. Visit theimasonline.org to submit a short video of a musical performance, cultural dance, or recorded testimonial of how you celebrate Lunar New Year by February 6.
The Laredo Birding Festival is inviting participants to bird the border virtually on Saturday, February 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event will feature virtual birding videos, an online bird art gallery and interactive workshops.
Blessed with a rich and diverse river eco-system, Laredo is home to hundreds of species of local and migratory birds. It’s no wonder that Laredo is considered part of the “birdiest” corridors in the North America.
AUSTIN - The Texas Veterans Land Board recently announced a statewide campaign to bring Valentine’s Day love to the nearly 1,000 Veterans residing in state-ran nursing homes. The mission is to bring awareness from Texans that although the Veterans have had to isolate for nearly a year due to COVID-19, they are not forgotten by their nearby communities.
The Edinburg Economic Development Corporation and the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce have teamed up to host a Paycheck Protection Program webinar on Thursday, February 4th, at 10 a.m.
During the free webinar an overview of the Paycheck Protection Program and other services available to small businesses will be provided.
The events featured speakers will include: the U.S. Small Business Administration, UTRGV Small Business Development Center, and Workforce Solutions.
Learn about the application process, resources, and get any questions regarding the program answered.
To register for the webinar, visit www.edinburg.com.
The Hidalgo Watercolor Society Annual Exhibit will open next weekend, February 12, and run through March 6. The exhibit will be displayed at the Upper Valley Art League (UVAL) at 921 E. 12th St. in Mission.
The exhibit features art made by Winter Texans and local artists. A “Meet the Artists” event will be held on Saturday, February 13th, outside, with gallery viewing from 4 to 6 p.m.
Gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Masks and social distancing are required for all events.
For more information, call the gallery at (956) 583-2787.
When going into Weslaco, there is one prominent structure that kind of calls out and is noticed by all that travel down South Texas Blvd. or Business 83 – El Tinaco Tower. The tower stands at 100 feet tall on six concrete pillars. Upon its completion in 1941, the tower was proclaimed a marvel of modern construction. It received a Texas Historical Landmark designation in 1982. There was even a working Tower Theatre in one of the buildings at the base of the tower. But, the tower isn’t the only thing interesting about the City of Weslaco.
By Susan Thomas, Bit-O-Heaven Activity Director
Bit-O-Heaven RV and MH Resort residents in Donna like to help the local community when possible. This season the park held their Second Annual Reverse Advent Calendar event for charity. The concept is to buy the food item on the list for each day of the month of December and have a basket of food ready to deliver by Christmas to a needy family. It is really easy to do and most residents just buy all the recommended items at one time and fill two tote bags per family. You can usually purchase all the items at Dollar Tree for $25-$30.
If you drive along the expressway, now I-2, heading south from Pharr – which I coverd last week – you will find Pharr’s neighboring cities, that all share a school district with, San Juan and Alamo.
The most distinct thing about San Juan is the Our Lady of San Juan del Valle shrine. It was designated a national shrine in 1998 and the following year, Pope John Paul II designated it as a minor Basilica. The history of the shrine begins in 1920, when Reverend Alfonso Jalbert, OMI, built a small wooden chapel in San Juan as a mission church of St. Margaret Mary Church in Pharr.
Tammy Garrison-Maier has found a fun way to keep the residents at Oleander Acres active. As the activity director, Tammy has had to come up with new ways to entertain the residents and keep them on their toes. She started something last year before the Pandemic, and since it was such a hit, she is doing it again.
She is hiding beautifully painted rocks around the park. The fun is, if you find one, you get some chocolate. You have a choice of keeping the rock or hiding again for someone else to find.
The Consulate of Mexico in Brownsville and the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art cordially invite you to the Digital Art Photography Exhibit titled, “Music Box” by the Mexican artist Mauricio Silerio at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art Permanent Collection Gallery.
The collection consists of 38 images of surreal spaces and situations that include concepts of a temporary reality, as well as the distortion of our supernatural existence in which the unreal and the extraordinary begins to adhere to the photographs.
The exhibit will be on display through March 20. Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Brownsville Museum of Fine Art located at 660 E. Ringgold St. Brownsville, TX 78520
For more information, please contact Diana Gonzalez at culturalesbro@sre.gob.mx and/or 956-542-4090 ext. 6617.
Making a movie can be fun and if you are a beginner most experts will tell you, first start with a short film to practice the craft and work your way up to a feature. One of the most important aspects of filmmaking is having a decent script to begin with. Writing good dialogue for characters and stories will help you. Pharr Community Theater is offering teens and adults online screenwriting classes for beginners, with RGV independent filmmaker and producer Robert Longoria.
Another essential for the movies are actors. Famous movie actor, producer and director, Clint Eastwood, says, “you’ll have less problems on a movie set when you cast right.” In other words he prefers to work with actors who either have training and knowledge about performing or in some cases raw talent. Pharr Community Theater is also offering acting classes for kids and teens.
The City of McAllen has once again partnered with the Juneteenth community leaders, this time, to participate in a month-long list of activities in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. They started celebrations on Monday, January 18, and are continuing through Black History Month.
“Martin Luther King, Jr. was truly an inspirational man,” said McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. “In light of recent events, the celebration of MLK’s non-violent methods of protest are more important than ever, as is this quote by him: ‘We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.’”
This year’s observation will feature events throughout the Rio Grande Valley, celebrating the theme “Building a Stronger CommUNITY Through Service.”
