This weekend is a busy one for San Angelo, and there are quite a number of events taking place for families to enjoy. Whether San Angeloans are looking for some fun in the sun, a nice competition, or a celebration of history, there's something for everyone.
MHMR Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary
This evening, MHMR celebrate its MHMR’s 50th anniversary during the Evening of Hope event at 7 p.m. at the McNease Convention Center.
The event will feature award-winning global speaker Kevin Hines, who reaches audiences with his story of an unlikely survival and his strong will to live after he survived a suicide attempt from the Golden Gate Bridge.
Greg Rowe, CEO of MHMR for the Concho Valley, mentioned that 50 years of service to the community is seen as a milestone and achievement for their organization.
“We wanted to have a recognition event for the center. We call it 'Evening of Hope' because the guest speaker is a symbol of hope with overcoming life’s adversities.”
Rowe said that roughly 2,000 people have attempted to commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge; Hines is one of the 40 who survived the fall.
“The bridge is so high up that just the impact is what takes the person’s life,” Rowe said.
Hines received significant physical injuries from his fall, but was able to make a full recovery. After this experience, he learned more about himself and was diagnosed with bipolar personality disorder.
“He has now become a great mental health advocate, and is sharing his story everywhere,” Rowe said.
Hines also wrote a book, Cracked, Not Broken, where he reflects on his experience and talks about the events leading up to the attempted suicide, and what he overcame after.
Rowe mentioned Hines does a great job of captivating the audience with his story, and believes it will be a great edition for the 50-year celebration.
The event will begin with a book signing starting at 6 p.m., followed by hors d’oeuvres, dinner and music by Jeska Bailey and the Platform Souls. Tickets for the event can be purchased at MHMR, 1501 W. Beauregard Ave., or by contacting Frances Salter, community relations coordinator, at 325-658-7750. Tickets will also be available at the door.
The 50-year celebration was coordinated to fall on the day of June 17 because the center opened this day in 1966.
Other events were coordinated through 2016 to represent this special occasion. This includes the organization's first annual float appearance during the San Angelo Rodeo parade in February, and the support of the Healthy Hands movement in April, where volunteers repair damaged homes in the San Angelo community.
“We want to let the community know who we are, and what we do,” Rowe said. “We want to keep working for the community for another 50 years as well.”
Flick-N-Float
Tonight, beginning at 7:00 p.m., the movie Minions will show at the Love Municipal Pool, 18 E. Ave. A.
Access to the pool is the general admission fee of $5 for ages three and older and $3 for seniors. The pool has a capacity of 700 people, so there will be plenty of room to spread out during the movie and relax.
The pool has a very limited amount of floats for the public to use, so the San Angelo Recreation office encourages the public to bring their own floats.
Also, no outside food and drink are allowed to be brought into the pool. There will be a concession stand open and available during the showing of the movie.
Recreation Manager Brent Casey said, "[This event] is a great way to stay cool while you’re watching a movie. We have upgraded the screen this year, as well as the speaker system, so people will be able to hear the movie better than last year.”
Juneteenth Celebration
On Saturday, June 18, San Angeloans will celebrate the anniversary of the end of slavery in Texas. The event includes a parade along MLK Jr. Blvd. and an event at the park. The Juneteenth celebration will be from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at MLK Jr. Memorial Park Picnic Shelter.
“It will be a good time, and we get to remember an important day in U.S. history,” said Carl White, Parks and Recreations Director. “There will be free food and family fun.”
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger landed in Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and the enslaved were free. This occurred two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
So for those people who want to commemorate this important day in history, get out and enjoy.
Farmers Market Celebrates Grand Opening
The Concho Valley Farmers Market will have one of its biggest arrays of produce when it celebrates its annual grand opening from 7 a.m. until noon Saturday, June 18. The vendors will be offering locally grown and seasonal fruits, vegetables and plants under the Farmers Market Pavilion at 609 S. Oakes St., across from Fort Concho.
“We always open in the middle of May, but we don’t ever have the grand opening until about a month later because we don’t have the vegetables at the beginning like we do in June,” said Margie Jackson, president and market manager of Concho Valley Farmers Market.
The Farmers Market has been conducting its thrice-weekly sales on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays since May 14.
“We are there three days a week, not just Saturdays,” Jackson said. “We have the [same] stuff during the week that we have on Saturday.”
Jackson told San Angelo LIVE! that business at the farmers market can be slow on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she recommended for people to stop by on those days before work.
Jackson said that many vendors are kids from grade school to high school making money for school or for their vacations.
“I’ve seen some little kids out there [who are] three or four years old [and] have picked vegetables [they] want to sell and make some money [from],” Jackson said. “It’s just real nice to see that people will come out and buy from these little ones.
She added that the vendors come from a 75-mile radius around San Angelo.
“It’s nice to see that these all are local farmers [who are] raising their crops out here on these farms,” Jackson said. “Even some of the people of San Angelo have little gardens in their backyard, and they’ll come and participate in selling at the market.
Overall, the selection will include potatoes, green beans, sweet peas, squash and zucchini, peppers, corn, greens (including lettuce, spinach and collards), radishes, shelled pecans, indoor and outdoor plants, onions, herbs such as basil, thyme, cilantro, parsley and rosemary, cheeses and more.
According to Jackson, the only major fruit sold at the market that will not be available Saturday is melons; however, melons will be available in mid July.
“We are a seasonal market, which means we don’t bring any vegetables in from out of our area because it’s not a very big pavilion that we’re under down there,” Jackson said.
The market’s growers typically charge customers $1 for a bundle or a bowl of produce.
At the June 18 grand opening, there will be live music, door prizes of free produce and homemade goodies offered every few minutes, and free coffee and lemonade.
“The vegetables are picked the day before the market and they’re fresh and clean,” Jackson said. “I mean, you just can’t beat a nice organic vegetable that hasn’t been sprayed on with different kind of stuff.
Interested farmers can join the market for $15 or $20, which allows them to set up a stand for $5 or $10 at each sale. The market will hold its sales until the first fall freeze.
“We have fresh vegetables that brings all the people down to the market because they know they’re going to get a good deal,” Jackson said.
For more information about the Concho Valley Farmers Market, call Margie Jackson at 325-245-3338.
5k Walk N Roll a Thon
Saturday morning, June 18, a 5k Walk N Roll a Thon will be held to help benefit the San Angelo Roller Girls (SARG) and The Concho Valley Home for Girls (TCVHG).
The 5k will be located at the Red Arroyo Trail across from Unidad Park. The public is encouraged to join the 5k run and register at 8:00 a.m.
There will be two different heats for people to run in. The first heat will be a competitive division that is timed and will begin at 9:00 a.m. The second heat will begin at 10:00 a.m. for people who do not wish to run in a competition style 5k.
To participate in the 5k, people can walk, roll or run. The theme of the 5k is the public can use anything with wheels.
During the event, a raffle and a food drive will be taking place. All proceeds will go to SARG and TCVHG. The public is also encouraged to bring canned goods to help TCVHG.
Recreate Manger Brent Casey is helping organize this event as well. Representative from SARG came to him months ago and asked if they could partner with the Recreation office and host something to help them out. He said, “Absolutely. Let’s make it happen.”
Casey added, “This is the first time [for this event]. We’re trying to make sure to make it something we continue to do.”
Note: Zoey Hanrahan, Benjamin Hettick and Cameron Niblock contributed to this article.
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