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McAllen church holds annual polka worship

DSC 0962 webFor 28 years Winter Texans have filled Our Savior Lutheran Church in McAllen to join them in worshipping the Lord by singing polka melodies of familiar hymns. Previous events have included “Beer Barrel Polka” played to the words of the hymn “Come Let Us Worship,” and “The Happy Wanderer” to the hymn “He Lives.”

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Lonestar Jubilee performs for a mission

THE TEXANS webWhile the Lone Star Jubilee shows are certainly filled with inspiration, fun and laughter, they also perform for a purpose. They have a ministry to support that keeps them doing what they love – entertaining, inspiring, and giving.

Sam Ray, who first started performing at Dallas Christian College with the Master’s Four in 1971 moved to Branson in 1983 and changed their name to the Texans. They are now a full-time trio comprised of Sam, wife Brenda, and son Curtis. They began their full-time traveling ministry in 1999, performing more than 300 concerts a year. They have shared their stage with speakers like TD Jakes, Charles Stanely, Jerry Falwell, Tim Lahaye, and many more.

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Men and Women of A-Chord performing near you

MWOAC 2 26 23 webIf you don’t already know, Men of A-Chord and the Sweet Adeline’s have now become one and perform as Men and Women of A-Chord. The group performs in the Winter Texan parks from January through March.

The group still performs Barbershop Harmony, but now you have a wider range of voices to listen to. Something you might not know about the group, with funds collected from their shows, anything over their expenses, goes to music scholarships to high school seniors in the Valley.

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VA holds free drive-thru food pantries

McAllen20Food20Distribution webLocal Veterans Affair offices will be holding drive-thru food panties. On Thursday, January 18, there will be a drive-thru pantry at the McAllen VA Clinic from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. or while supplies last. The Clinic is located at 901 E. Hackberry Ave.

On Thursday, February 22, from 9 to 11 a.m., or while supplies last, there will be a drive-thru pantry at the Harlingen Health Care Clinic located at 2601 Veterans Drive

Veterans must be enrolled in health care at the VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend Health Care System and present a valid VA identification card to confirm their Veteran status

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Monthly meeting to be held

Native Plant Project's guest speaker for the January 23 meeting will be Joey Santore. The title of Joey's program will be "Kill Your Lawn," which is also the title of the cable TV show which he hosts on channel EarthX TV.

Besides explaining how to successfully "destroy" one's lawn in order to install native plant gardens, Santore's presentation will focus on rare plants of the Lower Rio Grande Valley with an emphasis on the more desert-like regions of the Western Rio Grande Valley in Starr County. Santore describes himself as a railroader-turned-botanist who quit his job as a locomotive engineer to travel the world and study plant evolution and ecology. He produces the YouTube channel “Crime Pays but Botany Doesn't,” and moved to South Texas in 2021 to start focusing on the native plants in this area.

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Annual Golden Age Olympics is underway

20190123 GAO Bird a thon HMoering 1169 PRINTThe 44th Annual Golden Age Olympics is underway under the guidance of McAllen Parks and Recreation Department. The event started in 1983 with competition in three events and has grown to include over 30 events. Competition is limited to men and women over the age of 50.

The Golden Age Olympics includes a wide range of competitive events for seniors, including shuffleboard, billiards, poker, hearts, bowling, bridge, bike tours, bingo, pickleball, painting, volleyball, table tennis, jigsaw puzzles, bean bag toss, race walk, and a few others. Different events are offered each week now through February 24.

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Winter Texans’ focus on children offers surprising benefits

aLand Diane carrying 2 balls USE PRINTBy Barb Zanetti
Photos by Dennis Zanetti

For a second year Winter Texans from Alamo Palms RV Resort and Alamo Rec-Veh Park helped Roy Landa, owner of The Landmark on Tower, decorate his half-a- football-sized courtyard, as well as distribute toys to hundreds of children Thursday, December 21.

What emerged was a community event that did much more than add a brightly lit and festive holiday atmosphere meant to put smiles on children’s faces.

According to The Landmark owner, it wasn’t the children who benefited most from the hours invested by Winter Texans. He felt he was the one who enjoyed it most of all, and perhaps the Winter Texans themselves did, too.

“A lot of you all were strangers to each other, but you all have that sense of community,” he said. “It’s the way I grew up, too. I see that in the Winter Texans … where you work in such a close-knit community that when you see projects – especially for holiday events – it’s a sense of family, of community, even if you don’t know each other.”

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Leslie Blasing sings at fundraiser in Alice

Leslie Blasing DSCF1250 webLeslie Blasing, a Valley favorite, will be performing at a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser in Alice on Monday, January 13. The event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. with Leslie performing at 7 p.m.

Leslie Blasing’s songs span seven decades of country, classic rock, 50’s and 60’s. South Padre Island has been her home for 25 years where she has won multiple awards throughout the Rio Grande Valley and was honored as the first “Lifetime Achievement Award” winner in 2018 by the Valley Star Awards.

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How a South Texas educator transformed the Chicano Movement

MOTSH ThomasRayGarcia Headshot PRINTThe Museum of South Texas History will host Aurelio Manuel Montemayor and Thomas Ray García during the Sunday Speaker Series presentation, “How a South Texas educator transformed the Chicano movement,” at 2 p.m. Sunday, January 14.

Montemayor and García will present on their historical memoir, “El Curso de la Raza: The Education of Aurelio Manuel Montemayor.” The authors will share the historical context behind the South Texas Chicano Movement, including first-hand accounts from Montemayor. Key events include the founding of El Curso de la Raza, the founding and the fall of the Colegio Jacinto Treviño, and the role of the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA). The authors will also share insights into the writing process for the book and what they hope 21st century readers will take away from Montemayor’s story as an educator-turned-activist.

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Retired Nurses Luncheon will be held January 30

20230118 Nurses luncheon webThe Annual Retired Nurses’ Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, January 30. All retired RNs and LPNs in the Rio Grande Valley are invited. The event will be held at Peter Piper Pizza, 3101 E. Expressway 83, in Weslaco (exit International Blvd./FM 1015, north side of the expressway). Check-in is at 12:30 p.m. with lunch following at 1 p.m. There will be a buffet lunch that includes pizza, breadsticks, salad bar, dessert, and a beverage. A social, announcements and doors prizes will follow. No reservations are required. For more information, call or text Jan Bergman at (956) 532-1223.

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