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www.wintertexantimes.com Serving Winter Texans From Mission To South Padre Island Since 1987 Vol. 31, No. 12 © 2017-2018 www.wttrgv.com Thursday, January 11, 2018
From the Publisher Winter Texans Welcome!
The Rio Grande Valley is bustling with activities and special events planned this weekend and every week for the next couple of months. The All ValJim Brunson ley RV & Outdoor Show begins today for a three-day show at the RGV Livestock Showgrounds in Mercedes. The RGV Woodcarvers Show is also happening this weekend, Jan. 12-13, at the Nomad Shrine Club in Pharr. The Texas Citrus Fiesta Product Costume Show, the first of a series of events for this year’s Fiesta celebration, will be held Saturday at the Mission Community Center. This year’s Costume Show also includes the Grapefruit Pie Baking Showdown and a presentation of the winners of the Shoebox Float Competition. You will find stories about each of these events in today’s edition of the Winter Texan Times. Of course there is a full schedule of all types of entertainment lined up especially for Winter Texans – far too many to list in this column. So check out all the shows advertised in this issue, including the Wintertainers™ section, which lists dozens and dozens of shows, dances and other forms of entertainment all across the Rio Grande Valley. This is just one of the ways the RGV says, “Welcome Winter Texans!” Winter Texans’ Favorite Golf Course Calling all golfers! The annual Winter Texans’ Favorite Golf Course contest voting begins today. We want to know which golf courses are your favorites in the Rio Grande Valley. The Winter Texan Times is sponsoring a contest for Winter Texans to choose their favorite golf course in the RGV. Cast a ballot for your favorite golf course and you may just win the $150 cash prize to be given away. The cash winner will be selected in a random drawing from the names of everyone who casts a vote. Winter Texan golfers are invited to See FROM THE PUBLISHER pg. 33
100-year-old pianist keeps Big Band Jam rockin’
Iva Ryan
Iva Ryan was born to play piano. She’s been playing for 87 years and if South Texas is lucky, she has several more years to go. The 100-year-old resident – yes, a 100-year-old rockin’ pianist – of Enchanted Valley Ranch says she has been playing since she was 13. She is a constant in the Big Band Jam at Dream Valley Ranch. As she goes, so does the jam – and wow, can she go. “It’s just in me,” said Iva, who was born and raised in St. Louis County, Missouri and moved with her husband to Enchanted Valley in 1985. “Even before I started playing whenever I was around a piano I would just start banging on it.” Iva may be 100 years old, but when she’s sitting behind that piano, life has no age. Her fingers furiously flurry through the keys and her arms swing up and down,
banging out the notes when necessary. While she may be in a wheelchair and she may get tired a little quicker than years ago, her mind is alert, her attitude is feisty and personality, ironically, is enchanting. “She is a perfectionist,” said Dick Brown, Dream Valley’s activity director. “If someone is off in the band or is something is wrong while we’re playing she’ll just tell us – ‘shut it down.’ She has us spoiled.” Iva started playing a lot of piano and organ in church. She married “a professor during the week and a musician on the weekend,” she said, her voice cracking just ever so slightly and her eyes glistening just a bit as she recalled her husband of 63 years before he died. “He was a great man and he was so great on the saxophone and clarinet.”
hicle Association. “Especially important this year is the fact so many people were displaced because of the hurricanes in the Rockport area in Texas, and the ones in
Florida. This is an event where they can find almost anything they still need.” Welliver said attendance was up by See RV SHOW pg. 25
See IVA RYAN pg. 33
RV Show bigger than ever; more to do and see
While many of our Winter Texan visitors have been settled into their seasonal homes for a month or more, some have just arrived, after waiting for the hustle and bustle of the holidays to calm. Others are looking for a new place to call home, especially if their lives were affected by the hurricanes in Florida and Texas. No matter the case, the 2018 All Valley RV and Outdoor Show is a one-stop shop for needs (and wants)– from finding a home, to adding on accessories or just for looking at the latest models available. The 38th annual event will take place at the Mercedes Livestock Showgrounds Thursday through Saturday, Jan. 11-13. The show is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all three days. Admission is $5. “People will find just about everything they need for their RVs – accessories, products to wash them with, add-ons and the latest models,” said Salome Welliver, director of the show and president of the RGV Chapter of Texas Recreational Ve-
All Valley RV & Outdoor Show This 2018 All Valley RV & Outdoor Show will be held January 11-13 at the Mercedes Livestock Showgrouds. Show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.