Christmas dinner
The folks at Lakeside Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation will once again remember local firefighters by taking them a Christmas dinner at the station.
Anyone who would like to contribute some food for these dedicated guys, who will be on duty instead of at home with their families, should contact Lori Geiger at 765-4916 and let her know what they intend to take (don’t want to end up with all desserts). Whatever you contribute will be greatly appreciated.
The dinner will be delivered to the fire station (located on the Libramiento) on Tuesday, December 25, 11 a.m.
Generous
Steve Cross and Fernando Gomez, owners and operators of Casa Flores B&B, have once again pledged 5,000 pesos each month for the next year to Villa Infantil Nuestra Señora Guadalupe y San Jose.
But that’s not all. This week, they are also treating all the kids from the shelter to breakfast at Ajijic’s El Jardin Restaurant.
And in a further display of seasonal goodwill, Cross and Gomez will treat all 100 children from the Lakeside School of the Deaf and Children with Special Needs to a movie at the Plaza Interlago Movie Space on January 7.
The guys would really appreciate any donations of small, simple toys (coloring books and crayons are good) wrapped with gender and age designation on the outside to help this Three Kings Day celebration. The children at the school range in age from 5 to 15 years old and have varying degrees of disabilities. Presents can be dropped off at the B&B at (West) Zaragoza 38 in Ajijic or can be taken to the movie theater at noon on January 7. The phone number at the B&B is 766-5493.
Learning
There will be no more Lake Chapala Society Learning Seminars until January 8. Keep an eye on this column for further information.
Shrine dine
The next Dine with the Shrine event is set for Thursday, January 17 at Hotel La Nueva Posada (Donato Guerra 9, Ajijic).
Special lunches and dinners will be served from noon to 8 p.m. Hosts Michael and Maria Eager have planned two great entrees at a cost of only 125 pesos. The first is grilled chicken breast topped with coriander and manchego cheese served on a bed of rice with mixed vegetables. The second choice is sea bass with Veracruz sauce served with rice and vegetables. Tips, drinks, salad and dessert are not included.
The restaurant will donate 100 percent of the special lunch and dinner sales to the Lake Chapala Shrine Club to benefit the club’s activities, most importantly helping Lakeside kids with medical needs.
Reservations may be made by calling (376) 766-1444 or by stopping at the restaurant. Please indicate that you will be coming for the special Shriner dinner. Get a group together and come and have a look at La Nueva Posada’s brand new Las Cupulas dining room.
Community support has made it possible for the Shrine Club to help nearly 500 children in the last six years at a cost of more than 1.2 million pesos. Your continuing support of the Dine with the Shrine program is greatly appreciated and the Shriners are looking forward to seeing you all on January 17.
Robbie Burns
Celebrate the birthday of Scotland’s beloved bard, Robbie Burns, on Friday, January 25, 5 p.m. at Salon Eucaliptos at Hotel Real de Chapala. This year there will be a piper and the turkey dinner will be complemented with haggis, a wee dram of Scotch and shortbread. Phyl Gaskell will lead everyone in a Grand March and Scottish country dancing. There will also be a Toast to the Lassies and the Lassies’ Response and the throat lumping “Auld Lang Syne.”
Tickets are 325 pesos each. Tables of eight and tickets can be reserved by contacting Kari Higgins at 766-3651, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Phy6l Gaskell at 766-2722 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tickets will also be available at Charter Club Tours in Plaza Montana.
All proceeds from the event are earmarked for the children in the Niños Incapacitados program.
Screening
Mark your calendars for a one-of-a-kind benefit film event on March 4.
The event will feature two screenings of “16 Acres,” a recently released documentary on the rebuilding of Ground Zero,
The reconstruction of the site targeted by terrorists on September 11, 2001 is one of the most architecturally, politically and emotionally complex urban renewal plans in U.S. history. The effort has been fraught with controversy, delays and politics.
The screenings will benefit Programa Pro Niños Incapacitados del Lago.
On hand will be event organizers Monica and Michael Malloy of Purely Canadian International, the film’s producer Mike Marcucci; stills photographer Joe Woolhead (also the official photographer of the World Trade Center Project) and Dara McQuillan, senior vice-president of marketing and communication at Silverstein Properties, Inc., the Manhattan-based real estate and investment firm that is redeveloping the World Trade Center site.
Tickets for the 2 p.m. matinee are 200 pesos. Tickets for the 6 p.m. showing with snacks and a no-host bar are 300 pesos. There are a limited number of tickets for upgrade to VIP status for 400 pesos.
For further information contact Monica Molloy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Kari Higgins at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Jane Hainsworth at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Unitarians
The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meets each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Sta. Margarita 113 in Riberas del Pilar. The theme of the service on Sunday, December 23 will be “Celebrate the Season” and will be given by Jan Steinbright, Kathy Koches and Sue Kelly. The UU choir will perform under the direction of Bob Koches and accompanied by Mardele Harland on the piano and Marguerite Ponder on flute. The service will explore traditions and music from ancient times including Hanukkah, Christianity and Unitarian Universalist. There will be a coffee hour following the service.
For more information please call 766-1119 or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This is a welcoming congregation.
Christ Church Anglican
Christ Church will celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent on December 23 with the Holy Eucharist Rite II, 9:30 a.m. at the Little Chapel by the Lake. The theme of Father Danny Borkowski’s sermon is “Blessed are You among Women,” based on Luke 1:39-55. There will be a time of joint fellowship for the congregations of Christ Church and the Little Chapel of the Lake after the 9:30 a.m. service and before the 11:15 a.m. service for the congregation of the Little Chapel by the Lake. All are welcome to join in for a time of joyful worship and fellowship.
Presbyterians
Pastor Ross Arnold’s sermon for Sunday, December 23, will be “Telling of Mighty Deeds,” from Luke 1:39-55. Lakeside Presbyterian Church is located on the mountain side of the Carretera just west of S&S Auto and Bubba’s Restaurant.
St. Andrew’s Anglican
St. Andrew’s will celebrate the last Sunday of the Advent season with a single 10 a.m. service of Advent Lessons and Carols, in which the story of the fall of humanity, the promise of the Messiah and the anticipated birth of Jesus will be told in nine Bible readings from Genesis, the Prophets and the Gospels, interspersed with the singing of hymns and choir music. First devised in 1880 as a way to keep men out of the pubs on Christmas Eve, the original liturgy has since been adapted by Churches around the world. The best known version is broadcast annually from King’s College, Cambridge, where it was first held in 1918. Following the Sunday service, the Church will be decorated for Christmas.
An honor
Many thanks to my friends of the Lake Chapala Canadian Club. They honored me last week, citing their appreciation for my humble stabs at publicizing their projects and those of others in the community. I’m now a lifetime member of that organization. Again, thanks.