Page 14 Rio Grande Valley Visitors Guide 2024-2025 fice. Here you can find various exhibits as well as the museum’s gift shop. The museum also hosts several programs for all ages and cultural events for the community to enjoy. These events and programs include lectures, the Mission Quilt Show, winter tours, Day of the Dead Festival and more! Events and programs are subject to change/cancellation. Admission is free and hours are Wednesdays through Fridays, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and every second Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Visit the website www.missionmuseum. org, call (956) 580-8646, or find the museum on Facebook for more information. Mission’s Butterfly Statues If you drive around the City of Mission you might notice something a little special. Every once in a while, you might just see a beautiful butterfly sculpture. Being home to the National Butterfly Center, it just seemed fitting for there to be butterflies of giant size around town to celebrate. These butterflies represent some of the 200 or more species that can be found in the area. What started as a small project in 2016 by then president of the Upper Valley Art League has now grown to over 40 sculptures throughout the City of Mission. When driving around downtown Mission, you are sure to see more than a handful of these butterfly sculptures. The base of the sculpture is made of fiberglass with intricate details of a branch and leaf. The body of the Queen Monarch is also fiberglass, from which a chrysalis dangles underneath, suspended by a steel cable. The antennae are made of flexible wire to reduce breakage. Sculptures are paid for with donations from the businesses where they are located. Some locations include the Upper Valley Art League, Speer Memorial Library, Mission City Hall, and Lions Park. All sculptures include a leaf that gives just enough room to sit on for a picture. Although the Monarch is the most popular, you will also find sculptures of a Two Barrel Slasher, Malachite, Zebra Heliconian, Swallowtail, Tawny Emperor, and others. And they are not always painted the traditional butterfly colors, there is even one painted Dallas Cowboys colors at Tom Landry and Miller. Historic Bryan House The historic William Jennings Bryan House was built in 1909 as a winter farm home between Bryan’s three runs for presidency and becoming Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson. The Bryan House was purchased and restored by Frank and Ariel King. It now hosts boutique weddings, special events, community events, a seasonal farmer’s market, catered ladies’ luncheons, meetings, retreats, historic heritage tours, photography shoots, bird and butterfly watching, and it is also a bed & breakfast. The Bryan House is located in Mission at 1113 E. Mile 2 Rd. People wanting a tour can call Ariel King at (956) 330-7497. More information can be found online by visiting the website at www. thebryanhouse.com, visiting the Facebook page at William Jennings Bryan House - The Bryan House, or emailing thehistoricbryanhouse@gmail.com.
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