Sport climbing, surfing, skateboarding, karate, baseball, and softball are all new sports for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics (baseball and softball making a return).
Maybe the International Olympics Committee should consider chili and cornbread cookoffs as well for future games. With McAllen Mobile Park giving a super-small sampling, if the results are anywhere near as tasty, it will surely be a hit and a long-standing event where winners will fiercely battle for the gold medal.
Read more: Olympics, chili, and cornbread
What glorious weather we are having...not too hot, not too cold...it is just right. Yep, it is just right for being outdoors and enjoying our beautiful South Texas. The gurus of the travel industry say that the plus side of the pandemic has brought more and more travelers into eco-tourism and enjoying the great outdoors.
Read more: February 3, 2021 - On the Road
This past week when I went to Weslaco, I did something different after I stopped at the Weslaco Museum (by the way, the museum is a must go to spot) – I checked for historical landmarks in the area. I had been told about a few places I should go by, but by searching for historical landmarks in the area, it opened my eyes to places I would not have seen otherwise. And then, by going to these places I was able to see more of Weslaco, it’s architecture, and culture.
Read more: February 3, 2021 - Rina's Ramblings
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.
Read more: Weslaco, more than a tower
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.
Read more: More to discover in San Juan and Alamo
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.
Read more: Rocks of Kindness, Spreading the Happy
Yep… another busy week has gone by. Despite the dreariness of a few wet days last week, it flew by fairly fast.
I had a great time last week visiting with the activity director at Oleander Acres. She stays busy at the park coming up with ideas to keep the residents occupied.
She has had to come up with new ways to do activities. One of them includes her arts and crafts time. She has also been painting up a storm. Not just her rocks that she will be hiding, but also signs representing where residents are from.
I hope to visit the park again when the weather is a bit nicer to see the park’s butterfly garden in full bloom.
Watch the Butterfly Garden at Oleander Acres and you will see what this little garden brings to the park.
If you have a butterfly garden at your park, I would love to know and see yours. Send me a picture. Let me know what kind of visitors you get in your park. Send me pictures and information to news@wintertexantimes.com. I would love to see what you are doing at your park and be able to share it with others.
In the meantime, enjoy the weather. Go for a walk. Smile at a neighbor. You can still spread some happy while being socially distant.
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.
By Susan Thomas, Bit-O-Heaven Activity Director
