The Valley has seen some great weather these past two weeks. So, I took the opportunity to visit parts of Brownsville I have never been to.
I visited the Old Cemetery, Historic Brownsville Museum, Stillman House, Fort Brown, Palo Alto Battlefield, and stopped at a few other places to get some pictures. It was so nice outside that if I did get a little warm, I was easily cooled off with the next breeze.
Last week the City of McAllen unveiled details of this year’s newly reimagined Christmas celebration in McAllen with the South Pole Illuminated Drive and Theatre Experience. This will transform the McAllen Convention Center District into an enchanting one-mile drive-thru holiday show of millions of dazzling lights and sound, so that the entire McAllen and Rio Grande Valley community can enjoy. The South Pole Illuminated Drive and Theatre Experience will open its holiday door starting on December 1 and continue through the month of December, starting at $10 a ticket per vehicle.
To keep some of Hidalgo’s tradition alive, the City of Hidalgo is excited to announce the launch of the 29th annual Hidalgo Festival of Lights “Season of Hope,” presented by Coca-Cola, as a drive-through experience at the Payne Arena in Hidalgo, Texas starting on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
Everyone’s favorite winter wonderland is coming to your home this year. The Holiday Village in Brownsville is excited to present their new Virtual Village. Visitors will soon be able to enjoy the fun-filled, interactive site any time and anywhere.
The Valley Symphony Orchestra (VSO) continues its fall digital season with "Melody and Rhythm," its next online concert premiering November 20 at 7 p.m. on Facebook. At a time when concerts and in-person events have been postponed because of concerns over public health risks, the Symphony has reinvented its delivery model with a series of specially produced chamber concerts that are presented for all to enjoy, thanks to generous donor and sponsor support.
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.
By Colleen Hook, Executive Director, Quinta Mazatlán
With Halloween season, spooky skeletons are seen everywhere except at Quinta Mazatlán. The opening of the Sticks and Bones Trail shows the not-so-spooky side of skeletons. Visit this outdoor educational exhibit through the woods, open through November 14. Visitors will learn through signage, fun outdoor exhibits, and a scavenger hunt sheet. Remember your small gift bag upon completing the hunt and remember to dress for the season and laugh outdoors.
Read more: Celebrate the health of your skeleton at Quinta Mazatlán
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.
Ghouls, goblins and ghosts – and a whole bunch more – didn't wait for the stillness of night to make their scary presence seen and heard around Texas Trails RV Park in Pharr.
by Susan Himes
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists and agents are frequently asked about bats. And since the week leading up to Halloween is, appropriately enough, Bat Week, experts from Texas A&M AgriLife and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, have offered explanations as to why bats are more friend than foe.
Read more: Bat week an opportunity to separate fears from facts Bats save agriculture billions
