Stand Together Rally
Local activists mark the one-year anniversary the Stand Together Rally with the Women’s March of Ajijic 2018, Saturday, January 20, 10 a.m. to noon, at the Ajijic Plaza.
Women, men and youth of all nationalities and persuasions are welcome to attend.
Military Ball
The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 182 (Chapala) hosts this year’s annual Military Ball Saturday, January 20 at Hotel Real de Chapala.
This is one of the premier events of the season, focusing on the serving and retired military members of every nation living at lakeside. All residents are welcome to attend.
The attire is formal military or comparable clothing.
The cost is 350 pesos per ticket, available at the Legion (La Casa del Musico) Friday, noon to 3 p.m. or by contacting Rolie Ferron, 331-348-6203.
Open Circle
Christopher Wilshire and Northern Lights present “World Class Music in Ajijic” at the next gathering of Open Circle, Sunday, January 21, 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Chapala Society.
Wilshere, founder and artistic director of the Northern Lights Festival of Febrero and director of the Palcco School of Music in Guadalajara, will talk about exciting upcoming projects involving the festival’s student scholarship program. Alongside him will be a string quartet made up of some of this and last year’s scholarship students.
The students will relate their experiences at the 2017 festival as well as their aspirations and goals for the 2018 season. These students will provide insight into the incredible learning opportunity they had working with the professional musicians of the Northern Lights Festival. Open Circle will then be treated to a short masterwork concert by these accomplished students, and Wilshire will demonstrate what a very high level music class looks like.
For more information, see opencircleajijic.org.
Shriners’ Paella Fest
Dr. Tony Pinto prepares and serves his famous Spanish paella at the Lake Chapala Shrine Club Paella Festival Sunday, January 21, 1-5 p.m., at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo in Chapala.
The proceeds from the festival will be used to provide physical examination of lakeside children to determine if they qualify for treatment locally or at the Mexico City Shrine Hospital, the cost of which is financed by the Shriners.
In 2016, the Lake Chapala Shriners funded 171 trips to the Mexico City hospital and 80 trips to treatment at Lakeside or in Guadalajara, spending 435,00 pesos. To learn more about Shriners, see Shrinershospitalsforchildren.org.
Tickets for the Paella Festival are 300 pesos, and are available at the event or via David Eccles at 331-017-1724.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.." />
LCS Seminar
Lake Chapala Society (LCS) members are invited to attend a TED seminar titled “Will Humans Soon Disappear?” presented by Israeli historian Yuval Noah and facilitated by Clive Overton, Tuesday, January 23, noon to 1:15 p.m. in the LCS Sala.
With the help of novel technologies, within a few centuries or even decades humans may upgrade themselves into completely different beings, enjoying godlike qualities and abilities. Is this inevitable?
Neill James Lecture
Pete Soderman presents “Recovering in Chaos” at the next Neill James Lecture, Tuesday, January 23 at LCS.
Americans are killing themselves with drugs like never before. More Americans died from opiate overdoses in 2016 than were killed in the Vietnam and Iraq wars combined. One out of every eight Americans suffers from an alcohol-related disorder, a 50-percent increase over the previous decade.
The American Dream has become a nightmare for some, and unfortunately there’s no single cause we can point to as a source of the problem. The economy, the unsettled political situation, health care, climate change, government policy, and the threat of war all contribute to an environment in which recovery from addiction, becomes orders of magnitude more difficult, as the addict can’t see a clear path to a life better than the one they’re currently living. Is there anything to be done?
Pete Soderman is the author of “Powerless No Longer,” and “Thinking Recovery,” two books which explore cognitive recovery methodologies. He has a weekly podcast titled: “Recovering in Chaos,” which focuses upon the difficulties associated with recovering from self-defeating behaviors in the current environment. A computer engineer by trade, he has worked with recovering addicts for over twenty years, and is currently facilitating a local meeting of SMART Recovery(r), a leading science-based self-help group.
LCS bus trip
The Lake Chapala Society heads to Guadalajara’s Galerias Mall and Costco Wednesday, January 24. The bus leaves promptly at 9:30 a.m. from the sculpture in La Floresta. Sign up at the LCS office.
Singles
The Lakeside Singles will meet Thursday, January 25, 4-6 p.m. at Manix Restaurant, Ocampo 57, Ajijic. Special meal and drink discounts and live music will be offered. Free valet parking is available. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve your space.
Spiritual Naturalist Society
The Ajijic Chapter of the Spiritual Naturalist Society will present an Introduction to Spiritual Naturalism Friday, January 26, 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Lake Chapala Society Sala. The talk will be facilitated by John Stokdijk. Everyone with interest is welcome.
Spay-ghetti No-balls Dinner
The 5th annual Spay-ghetti No-balls Dinner to raise funds for the admirable work of Tails of Mexico will be held at the Raquet Club in San Juan Cosala Saturday, January 27, from 5-8 p.m.
The dinner features all-you-can-eat spaghetti (meat or vegetarian), with a Caesar salad, garlic bread, and a cash bar. There will be a dessert auction.
Tickets are 350 pesos each and are available at Diane Pearl, or online at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you want to reserve a table for the fundraiser, the following information is required: the name of the person reserving the table, the names of the people sitting at the table (they must have purchased their tickets), size of table, inside/outside, and any other special requests.
Visit tailsofmexico.weebly.com to learn more about the work that your support has helped!
Chiliheads unite!
Get ready for the 40th Mexican National Chili Cookoff to be held the weekend of February 23-25 at Tobolandia waterpark.
This three-day extravaganza provides non-stop entertainment and lots of food and handicrafts as a sideline to the margarita, salsa and chili contests, while raising hundreds of thousands of pesos for local charities.
To rent a booth, call Jorge at 331-279-1721. To enter any of the competitions, see mexicannationalchiliookoff.com. Volunteers are needed, contact Sandy, 765-6329 or Varol, 766-3167.
CASA
The Culinary Arts Socity of Ajijic (CASA) enjoyed tasting members’ presentations of soup and yeast breads at their January 15 meeting held at La Mision Restaurant in West Ajijic. Winners in the two categories were Monica Molloy for a shrimp curry Laksa soup, which also won the presentation award, and Janet Jorch for an apricot and walnut cake.
In the soup contest, second place and the people’s choice award went to Sally Meyer for a Jamaican jerk chicken jump up soup and third place was taken by John Hawks for his chili Colorado. In the bread category Robert Kalan took second place for savory herb and bacon yeast rolls; third place was a tie between Carol Westbrook for orange pecan cranberry brioche and Tracy Reuter for pletzel. Best presentation and people’s choice was given to Jose Melendrez.
Next month’s meeting will be a festive Valentine’s celebration with a main dish category of seafood or fish and “Your Heart’s Desire” for dessert.
For more information regarding CASA, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Buddhists
The Heart of Awareness Insight Meditation Community offers several opportunities each week for silent mediation. All sessions are open to the public and chairs and cushions are provided. There are brief written instructions on meditation for beginners.
One-hour meditation periods are offered Sunday and Monday, 9 a.m. and Thursdays, 11 a.m. Wednesday, January 24, the regular 45-minute meditation period which begins at 4 p.m. will be followed by a video from the series “Freeing the Mind When the Body Hurts” by Vidyamala Burch. The session ends by 6 p.m.
The meditation center is located at Guadalupe Victoria 101 in Ajijic. All are invited regardless of experience or affiliation. For further information, see, heartofawareness.org.