Around Town, Sept 22, 2006

Meetings & Lectures

Midday Rotary Club

On Tuesday, September 26, the guest speaker at the Midday Rotary Club will be Reverend Nancy Anderson. Nancy and her husband, Owen Thomas, founded The Center for Unity in Diversity, which sponsors Philosophy of Life dialogues in English on Tuesdays and in Spanish on Thursdays in their center at Reloj 37 each week. Reverend Anderson has given many talks and classes in San Miguel, one of which is a seven-week course on “The Wisdom of Gandhi.”

Because of 9/11 and the commemoration of Gandhi and also Martin Luther King this month, there are numerous activities in the world to help bring about the attitudes and experiences of peaceful cooperation on our planet. There are many obvious challenges to developing these attitudes and experiences. Reverend Anderson will share ideas and information to help encourage us in how we individually and as a people can move from conflict to cooperation. Her topic is “A Season for Forgiving,” because she believes that beginning and maintaining such a season is essential to moving us individually and as a race into a new era of living, one free of the ravages of all thinking that is behind the many misuses of humanity.

The Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende-Midday meets every Tuesday at 12:30pm at the Villa Jacaranda Hotel, Aldama 53. Visiting Rotarians and others interested in Rotary are invited to attend this meeting. Lunch follows at 1:30pm in the hotel dining room. For more information, see www.rotarysma.org. 

Tours & Excursions

Saturday Adventurers

Because the sanmiguelada takes place in the Jardín this weekend, tickets will be sold in front of Instituto Allende, Ancha de San Antonoio 20, on Saturday, September 23, from 9:30 to 10:30am, when we depart by bus for the tour.

And what a tour it will be! We visit Eunice O’Hanna’s house, where you’ll really get “strung out” as you see hundreds of hand-strung, one-of-a-kind necklaces, each a work of art. Using brilliant murals and Mexican crafts, throughout, she has made her home a work of art.

Then, a short ride brings us to ex-hacienda “La Landeta,” built for the Count of Canal, the first Spanish governor of this area. Built by Otomí laborers, the façade features artistic stonework, and the walkways are embellished with inlaid mosaics. We will see the original chapel with its partially visible old frescos and the colonial granary, which is now used for elaborate wedding receptions.

Botanical Garden tour

Every Tuesday morning, discover the marvels of cacti and other Mexican plants as well as the history of El Charco with Mario Mendoza, vice-director. An additional privilege of this visit is the opportunity to see the plants in the nursery, which is not ordinarily open to the public. Many rare species and plants threatened with extinction are protected and propagated at El Charco. 

The entrance fee is 30 pesos (waived for members) and the tour is 50 pesos. All proceeds benefit the botanical garden. The tour is in English and starts at the main entrance at 9am. It lasts about two hours. Bring a hat and water. Space is limited; reserve by calling Mario at 044-415-101-0338 or email charco@unisono.net.mx 

Performances & Events

St. Paul’s International Dinner 

A well-dressed and hungry St. Paul’s crowd porked out Italian style on September 10, when Pat Caballero outdid herself, along with committee members Molly Peterson, Toni Allen and Bonnie Eriksmoen, who kicked off St. Paul’s first International Dinner of the season with gusto.

During an announcement period, the guests decided future dinners will be held every other month on Saturdays at 6:30pm, with a topical discussion by a leader, or entertainment, as the group wishes and volunteers arise. Bring wine or other beverages of choice (home-made iced tea provided) along with a dish for the buffet for at least eight people. Voluntary contributions of 50 pesos are appreciated to offset costs.

The next International Dinner, “Cuisine from India,” will be held Saturday, November 11, at 6:30pm in St. Paul’s Parish Hall, Calzada del Cardo 6. Everyone is welcome. Entertainment will be a sabbatical retrospective by Fr. Michael and Cheri Long, “England and Ireland in Poetry, Prose, and Photographs.” 

Call Pat Caballero (152-7663) or the church office (152-0387 to make reservations before Wednesday, November 7. 


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