Candlelight Posada

Tomorrow and Saturday McAllen will celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season with the 26th annual Candlelight Posada, a family event that meshes holiday traditions of both the U.S. and Mexico. Thousands of McAllen area residents and visitors join together in Archer Park to enjoy food, music, and the holiday spirit.
Friday is the annual lighted parade down Main Street, culminating with the lighting of the City Christmas Tree. And Saturday is the actual "posada," an event that welcomes participants and spectators. It's a stylized reinactment of Mary and Joseph's search for an inn. People are invited to walk along with the couple (Mary rides a burro) and sing Christmas songs in both English and Spanish. Finally, when they arrive at the Main Stage, there is a reading, also in both languages, of the scripture. It's a beautiful event.
Both evenings also feature live entertainment, Santa available for photos, and special activity areas for children and for teens. And the food is fantastic! Local non-profit organizations sell everything from turkey legs and tacos to funnel cakes and pizza.
The event is free, and guaranteed to get you in the Christmas spirit. I hope you'll join us!

Cooler Weather = Activities at the Incubator

As you all know, the weather has changed considerably from the 100 degree days that we had just a few months ago. And with the cooler weather we have added activities at the Incubator to give people things to do. We are presently offering Acting and Drama classes, Yoga, Reiki and Creative Journaling, Zumba classes, Oil Painting classes, Photography classes, Pottery classes and Ballroom Dancing classes. And do not forget our Cultural Arts & Entertainment Series workshops every other Tuesday. So for those of you who say that it is too cold to do anything, keep us in mind. We offer all of these classes in an Air Conditioned comfort of the McAllen Creative Incubator. Call Greg Schuller at (956) 687-2787.

The Best Little Office Party in Texas

The Best Little Office Party in Texas

This year say “Bah Humbug” to the traditional office party and make plans for your group to attend the McAllen Convention Center’s “Best Little Office Party in Texas!” A holiday celebration where small offices from all over the valley come together for one big party! Holiday parties are great motivators for employees and an excellent way to show how much you appreciate their dedication to the job. “The Best Little Office Party in Texas” offers employers a lavish event without the additional stress of the party planning. You and other small offices will enjoy an elegant setting complete with glittering holiday decorations, a spectacular spread of world-class food, and fantastic, show-stopping entertainment! Tickets are just $60.00 a person. Join us December 11, 2009 for what we hope will be your best office party ever! For more information: (956) 681-3800.

Christmas shopping

As usual, last weekend was a lot of people from Monterrey to make their shopping the day after Thanksgiving and as of this date, all weekend there will be many Regiomontanos in all the malls doing their Christmas shopping.

Last week end I took my son and his family (which includes two of the greatest grandchildren in the world) to Rancho El Charco which is located in La Joya just a few miles west of McAllen. Rancho El Charco is a "magical place" located on 180 acres next to Walker lake. There is a great restaurant right over the water, an adjacent outdoor stage area featuring frequent live entertainment, and for the kids a wagon ride through the property where they can see deer, exotic animals from Africa, a long horn steer, and other wildlife. The property also features its own naturalist who conducts walking and "golf cart" nature tours. We saw a really cool desert tortoise that we get to pick up and pet, a bunch of javelinas, bunnies, and peacocks and other wild life as well. We would love to tell you more about this great place that I have visited several times and I'm already looking forward to my next adventure there. For more information about Rancho El Charco, call me at the Chamber at 956-682-2871.

Diciembre.....

Y en muchas casas ya se deja ver el espiritu Navideño con la presencia del tradicional pinito,,, y en McAllen se hara presente esta hermosa tradicion, con el encendido del Pino de Navidad este viernes 4 de diciembre, asi como tambien habra desfile y platillos de comidas mexicanas....
Se trata de la tradicional "Candlelight Posada" que inicia este viernes y sabado en el Archer Park,, es un evento totalmente familiar al cual estan todos cordialmente invitados!!!!

Que tengan un excelente martes....

At my Rotary club meeting today, we had a presentation by the owner of the "Town Crier" newspaper. This is a weekly free publication that is delivered each Wednesday. He gave a great overview of the state of the industry and made the point that a large part of the financial "strain" in the industry is caused by a larger than normal level of debt by many papers. Debt service is the biggest financial issue facting newspapers today, which, if they can get past it, will mean that newspapers can be quite profitable even with the challenges posted by the internet and other competition. For us locally, his paper is growing as are many free weeklies across the country. They have incredible penetration and feature local positive news welcomed by their readers. This exempliefies again an advantage of living in the Valley. Our population is growing, our economy is growing, and even our newspaper readership is growing because we are such a desirable retirement community and retirees are among the most prolific newspaper readers in the country.