STC Theatre announces the World Premiere of

Tea Time by Mitch Harris

 

South Texas College Theatre will start their summer plays with a family theatre production of “Tea Time” by Mitch Harris. The production will run from June 20 – 22 at 7:30 p.m., and with a Sunday Matinee on June 23 at 2 p.m. The show is a must see so don’t miss out on it and bring your family along, we hope to see you there!

 Tea Time is the tale of Prashanth, a young man born and raised in India, but longing for something more. Through interactions with strangers, friends, family, and tea, Prashanth attempts to discover his place in his rapidly changing world. Written by Austin-based Transit Theatre Troupe’s Producing Director, Mitch Harris, the play is based on his experiences working at an all-boys orphanage in Bangalore, India in the Summer of 2012

The performances will be held at the Pecan Campus Cooper Center for Communication Arts Black Box Studio Theatre, located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. General admission tickets are $5. Interns from the college’s Interpreting Training Program will interpret the Sunday, June 23 matinee production in American Sign Language.

Tickets can be purchased one hour before the performance at the box office or online at https://secure.touchnet.com/C20193_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=13.

 For more information, call (956) 872-2301 or email jrodriguez@southtexascollege.edu or efierros@southtexascollege.edu.

STC Theatre announces final production of the summer, the South Texas premiere of El Nogalar by McAllen native Tanya Saracho.

 

South Texas College Theatre will bring their 2013 summer production to a close with the South Texas premiere of El Nogalar by McAllen native Tanya Saracho.  The production will run from June 27 – 29 at 8:00 p.m., and with a Sunday Matinee on June 30 at 2 p.m. The show is a must see so don’t miss out on it, and we hope to see you there!

 

El Nogalar is a retelling of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.  The play tells the story of the Galvan family as they return home to Mexico after years in the U.S.  With the rise of drug cartels, the family must come to terms with the economic upset and the new class order quickly emerging.  Dunia, the Galvan’s housekeeper, watches Maité and her daughters, Valeria and Anita, waste their money and risk losing everything to the local drug cartel. 

 

Saracho is a playwright, director, actor – as well as a TV writer for the upcoming Lifetime series Devious Maids.  Named “Best New Playwright of 2010” by Chicago Magazine, Saracho is a new Ensemble Member at the Tony Award winning Victory Gardens Theater, in the playwright’s unit at the Mark Taper Forum, a resident playwright emerita at Chicago Dramatists, a Goodman Theatre Fellow at the Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College Chicago, the founder of the Ñ Project, the producer and director of ALTA (Alliance of Latino Theater Artists) and founder and former Artistic Director of Teatro Luna: Chicago’s All-Latina Theater. Her plays have been performed at The Goodman Theater, Steppenwolf Theater, Teatro Vista, Teatro Luna, Fountain Theater, Clubbed Thumb, NEXT Theater and 16th Street Theater.

 

Performances will take place at the STC Cooper Center for Communication Arts Main Stage located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. General Admission is $10, & Students/Faculty/Senior/Military is $5. Due to adult situations and simulated violence, no children below the third grade will be admitted. Interns from the college’s Interpreting Training Program will interpret the Sunday, June 30 matinee production in American Sign Language.

 

Tickets can be purchased one hour before the performance at the box office or online at https://secure.touchnet.com/C20193_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=13.

 

For more information, call (956) 872-2301 or email jrodriguez@southtexascollege.edu or efierros@southtexascollege.edu.

Summer Program Schedule at Bentsen-RGV State Park

Life is better outside this summer when you are having fun at beautiful Bentsen–Rio Grande Valley State Park. The entire family is invited to participate in a variety of fun and informative nature based programs such as bird walks and nature tours or explore after dark to seek out Creatures of the Night!

You can also beat the afternoon heat this summer and cool off indoors! Join our Park Naturalists for fact-filled presentations followed by kid-friendly crafts that focus on different Birdy topics each month during our Beak the Heat programs.

Be sure to mark your calendars for our upcoming special family event – the 7th Annual Perseid Party! Saturday, August 10, 2013, 8:00 pm-12:00 midnight. This annual event features live animals, nature-themed family activities, stargazing, food vendors & live entertainment during the week of the Perseid Meteor Shower.

Binoculars and bicycles are available for rent at our Park Store or bring your own. Plus, you can enjoy Fishing at Bentsen State Park. Once you’ve paid the park entrance fees, no one needs a fishing license, as long as they are inside the state park. However, bag limits and other regulations will still apply, and be enforced.

Learn more about our native habitats and animals by joining our experienced roving Naturalists as they explore the park. All you need is your hat, drinking water, sunscreen, camera and a thirst for adventure. Check out why you can’t stay indoors this summer at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park!

Summer 2013 Interpretive Programs: June, July, August

Thursdays: Bentsen Experience Tour – 9:00–11:00a

Fridays: Fridays on Foot! – 6:30–8:00p

Saturdays: Creatures of the Night 8:00–10:00p

Sundays: Bird Walk 8:30-10:30a

NEW Special Programs! “Beak the Heat”

Bird Watching 101: Saturday, June 22, 2013 from 2-4 pm

Feathers & Flight – Form & Function: Saturday, July 20, 2013 from 2-4 pm

Wonders of Bird Migration: Saturday, August 24, 2013 from 2-4 pm

7th Annual Perseid Party: Saturday, August 10, 2013 from 8:00 pm-12:00 midnight

Doors open at 7:00 pm. Admission is only $5! FREE for children 12 and under!

Regularly scheduled programs are free with paid admission. Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park is located on 2800 South Bentsen Palm Drive in Mission, TX. For more information, please call (956) 584-9156. www.theworldbirdingcenter.com

Park Open 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. seven days a week

Park Store open 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday

Tram Service 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday

 

 

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…preserving and presenting the borderland heritage of South Texas and Northeastern Mexico

MOSTHistory Presents Edible and Medicinal South Texas Plants With Park Ranger Jade Rutledge        Sunday Speaker Series program to be held at 2 p.m. on May 26, 2013    The Museum of South Texas History welcomes Park Ranger Jade Rutledge as she presents “Eating Out: Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rio Grande Valley,” a presentation on native plants at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 26. Rutledge’s presentation will focus on the history of plants indigenous to South Texas, starting during the development of the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) to their varied uses today. This Sunday Speaker Series program will include a multimedia presentation, examples of plants and a brief guided tour through MOSTHistory’s Will Looney Legacy Park.     Park Ranger Jade Rutledge     An Interpretive Park Ranger at Resaca de la Palma State Park in Brownsville, Texas, Rutledge educates visitors about the park’s natural, cultural and historic resources through presentations, demonstrations, talks and guided tours and hikes. This Sunday at MOSTHistory, Rutledge will educate audience members on how native plants have not only shaped the lives of past RGV residents but also how they play a significant role today through edible and medicinal uses. Having worked, studied and volunteered across the United States and around the world, Rutledge has become an expert in native plants and animals, becoming fascinated with their connection to humans.   Originally from Bastrop, Texas, Rutledge’s job as a park ranger means that she is entrusted with protecting and preserving parklands. In addition to Interpretive Rangers there are also park rangers known as Law Enforcement Officers (enforce the laws and regulations) and General Park Rangers (cover all aspects of park life). Although there are specialized duties among the three ranger types, all park rangers work to protect and improve park resources and protect and educate park visitors. Audience members will be able to see Rutledge in action during a short walking tour through MOSTHistory’s own Legacy Park. This Sunday Speaker Series presentation by Rutledge is included in the fee for regular museum admission. FRIENDS of the museum are admitted free as a benefit of FRIENDship.

Han Funerary Art Arrives at IMAS 

 

  

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Toddler Play Dates and Spectacular Saturdays at the Edinburg World Birding Center

The EWBC is introducing Toddler Play Date meetings for families with children ages 1 to 4. Are you looking for your child(ren) to interact with others their age? Visit our site and surround yourself in our natural world. Each play date will have a theme that your children are sure to love and be inspired by! We would like you to join us in hands-on, interactive play for you and your children. Activities can include puppet shows, story telling, puzzle time, free play, coloring, and guided walks throughout our grounds. Come join the fun at the Edinburg World Birding Center.

Also at the EWBC we will be having our regular Spectacular Saturdays on the last Saturday of every month. We have something for everyone.Visitors can enjoy puzzles, crafts, games and more. Adults don’t feel left out,our interpretive naturalist will be glad to guide you on a bird or butterfly walk through our grounds you won’t want to miss! What do you have to lose? You’ll be spending time with your family and will get to take home a craft that you’ve made and it’s all FREE! Families come by on the last Saturday of each month and celebrate nature with us.

Toddler Play Dates are scheduled for Saturday, May 18th,from 9 am to 10:30 am. Fee per toddler is $2 (with supervising adult(s)) and any additional family members visiting but not participating in the program must pay EWBC admission. Please call ahead to register for Toddler Play Dates as space is limited. Spectacular Saturdays are held on the last Saturday of the month. Admission is FREE. Doors open at 8 am and close at 5 pm. Grounds are open from 7 am to 6 pm.

The Edinburg Scenic Wetlands & World Birding Center is located at 714 S. Raul Longoria Rd. (in the Edinburg Municipal Park), Edinburg, Texas. For more Toddler Play Date and Spectacular Saturday information or other programs, please call us at (956)381-9922 or visit us on the web at www.edinburgwbc.org.

 

LOCAL ARTIST TO GIVE TALK AT WESLACO MUSEUM

Weslaco – Last Saturday, the Weslaco Museum hosted an opening reception for it’s latest exhibit titled “El Cielo.”  The new exhibit features work by local artist, Delvis Cortez.  Canvases containing spontaneous marks and abstract shapes fill the gallery, allowing the viewer to explore and create their own images.

Cortez will be back again at the Weslaco Museum on Friday, May 17, 2013 for an artist talk, where he will give the audience an insight into his work, as well as provide a platform for discussion. The artist talk and discussion will take place from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.  This event is free and the public is cordially invited.

Delvis Cortez is a UTPA fine arts graduate whose work comes to be through a process called decalcomania, Cortez uses diluted oil paint that spreads across a large glass surface and transfers it onto canvas.  “The work is based purely on spontaneity and experimentation,” says Cortez, who is also heavily influenced by German psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach’s development of the inkblot test – more commonly know as the Rorschach test.

For more information, please call 968-9142 or email the programs coordinator at programs@weslacomuseum.org.

The Weslaco Museum is open at 500 S. Texas Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for senior citizens and college students, $2 for children 5-17 and free to children under 5.  Admission is free on first Saturdays of the month, and for special programs.