Current News: (Updated - March 20, 2010)

End of Activities  All scheduled activities for 2010 are over for this winter season at Isla Blanca Park. For me, and I hope for many of you, this has been a good year for activities at the park. It is too bad the weather has not been as cooperative as it has been in most years, but at least we had cards, bingo, line dancing, yoga, aerobics and much more to keep us busy. Thanks to all the volunteers who made these activities happen, and special thanks to Dora Taylor for her leadership as activities director and to Joe Fortugno for continuing success with bingo this year. As webmaster I have special thanks to Fred Lanctot for his photo documentation of this year's activities - they have made this much more interesting.

A Final Word on 2010 Click here the final word for the 2010 Season, The Ending Season by Norm Rourke.

Emergency 9-1-1 Information:  At the Park Meeting on Feb 10, 2010, there was a lot of information provided about 9-1-1 emergency services in Isla Blanca Park. Here are a few things to remember throughout the year if you are in the park:

• If you call 9-1-1 for an ambulance to go to your RV, you need to send someone to the gate to show them the way to your RV space.
• If you are calling from a cell phone, your call may go to one of several different dispatchers, so please stay calm and answer all their questions. The initial call will go to a law enforcement dispatcher, and for a medical emergency they will transfer you to the EMS services dispatcher for our area. We "test called" using cell phones during the meeting. All the calls, which were through three different cell services, were answered promptly.
• According to the EMS who was at the meeting, Texas has a "good samaritan" law. Under that law, if you are a bystander in an emergency situation, you will not be liable for damages for efforts to help someone so long as your efforts are in good faith.
• We are starting a list of people in the park who are willing to help in emergencies and agree to respond when called. These people will come to your RV if you have an emergency and will provide whatever help they can until the emergency services can respond. If you are interested in being on this list and have not yet signed up, you should send an e-mail to the webmaster with contact information including your name, telephone number and site number. We would also like to know if you have some particular skill or knowledge, such as being an M.D. or R.N. or have CPR training, and how long you plan to be in the park this year. E-mail to Webmaster.

Recycling: Many of you may recycle at home, but have never had a way to do it other than for Aluminum cans while at Isla Blanca Park. Now there is a way. Port Isabel has a recycling station now. There are bins for paper, plastic, and cans. It is located at 110 Hickman, behind the police station. Of course, we want you to leave your aluminum cans in the park, but take everything else you want to recycle into this facility!

Check the Blog for new activity ideas. We need your input. Activities Blog

Your Participation Wanted!

Activities Blog: You can participate by posting information on the blog. This blog is a place where you can ask questions, make suggestions, and read other people's comments. You can get to the Blog by clicking here: Click here for the blog. You can also get to it by clicking the link at the top of this page where it says "Activities Blog". Once you get to the blog, click on the "leave a comment" link under the posting.

Once you click on this you will be able to read other's comments and will be given the opportunity to add your own comments.

E-Mail Submissions: You can also send your pictures and stories relating to Isla Blanca Activities, to the park, or about you as a park visitor. Also, if you have a web site of your own let us know.  We hope to build links to personal web pages of island visitors along with their pictures and stories.  As soon as we receive some of these we will have a link on this page to display them. E-mail your stories and pictures to this link:  Submit Pictures and Stories  

Recurring Games - All Scheduled Games have ended until Fall 2010

Bingo

Mondays and Thursdays at 7pm in the Bingo Hall. Cost is $2.50 per package of 10 games.
Lots of Winners! Refreshments available and the price is right!
Come join us for a night of fun!! This is available to Park Residents ONLY !!

Eucre

Tuesday and Thursday at 6:30 pm in the Rec Hall.
This is an easy-to-learn card game. If you want to learn it, put a message on the blog or send us an e-mail and we will arrange lessons

Game Night

Every Wednesday and Friday night the Rec Hall is open to all who want to play cards, dominoes, board games, etc. Bring your friends and play some games! Please note that although these nights are set aside for this, occasionally a dinner or special event gets scheduled on that night so please check the calendar or reservation schedule (at the Rec Hall).

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Regular Activities - All Scheduled Activities have ended until Fall 2010

Jam Session

1:30 pm on Friday afternoons in the Rec Hall. All are welcome to participate. Bring your instrument (or just your voice) if you care to join in. Musically challenged? Well, come and listen!! No cost, unless you buy refreshments.

Line Dancing

Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Rec Hall. Price: Donations for any class given. Check calendar for details. Dance for fun and exercise.

Tom and Bonnie Lawrence will be teaching - Beginners, Advanced and Partners

Wood Carving

The carvers are meeting in the Bingo Hall on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 pm. Whether you are a novice or an expert, come join in - or stop by and admire the handiwork of your fellow campers. No class fees other than the cost of materials. There is interest in setting up another class - possibly on Fridays. It will be posted when the schedule is finalized.

Crafts

Craft activities will be at 1 pm Mondays in the Activities Hall. A weekly notice will be posted in the Activities Hall window each week. The weekly notice will include information about the craft for that week, the supplies needed and the cost, if any.

Yoga

Instructor: Vicki Jones. The focus is on proper nutrition and stretching for maintaining good flexibility.

Aerobics

Get fit at the park. This will be a “low impact” aerobics class taught by Lorena Jones, daughter-in-law of Vicki Jones, the Yoga teacher. She will make the class fit the needs of the students.

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Activities Information

The Dolphin Dove Activities Center includes two buildings - Bingo Hall and Rec Hall. Activities are scheduled in both of these buildings. The Bingo hall is only unlocked during scheduled activities. If you wish to schedule a private event, you will need to obtain permission from Joe Fortugno.  The Rec Hall is open from 8 am to about 9 pm daily.  All are welcome to make use of the facility.  Please check for scheduled activities to avoid conflicts.

The activities at Isla Blanca Park are generally conducted by volunteers.  Specific classes are taught by qualified individuals who may collect a fee for their services and/or material. The majority of activities are open to the public (beyond those camping at Isla Blanca or Andy Bowie) as long as there is sufficient room without excluding park members who wish to participate.  The main exception to this is Bingo.  Bingo is a licensed event in Texas and state law dictates that only park members are allowed to participate. 

We are also limiting Pot Luck to park members (and guests) due to limited space and time.

There is an Activity Director and a Bingo Director who are paid by the park for their services.  There is a Bingo Club and an Activity Club organized to oversee finances and other matters.  Each of these clubs has a Board of Directors elected from campers in the park.  The board meetings of these organizations are open to all campers in the park.  We appreciate participation in these meetings so that you can voice your concerns and make suggestions.  We would especially like to hear about any changes/additions you would like to see.

The Activities Club Board meets the second Monday of each month, around 9 a.m.. This is the Monday preceding the Park Meeting which takes place on Wednesday. The Bingo Board meets every other Thursday of each month in the Bingo Hall.

Elections are held in February to fill board positions on both these boards for the following season.  We are hoping that many more of you will be willing to participate in this process.  Want to know more?  Show up for a meeting!

WI-FI: Wi-fi is available in the park through Orbit Broadband in Harlingen, TX. While the signal strength seems good throughout the park, some people have had problems getting connected or staying connected. If you are experiencing problems, please let Orbit know so they can assist you. If you have questions or need technical support from Orbit you can contact them either by phone or e-mail. Their toll free number is 877 237-5375, their general e-mail address is info@orbitbroadband.com and their technical support e-mail is at support@orbitbroadband.com. It is great to have this service available at last. You can sign up and pay through a secure system when you first get on line.

ALUMINUM CANS for recycling can be placed in the barrels provided either in the Bingo Hall or the Rec Hall.  The cans are recycled by the Activities Club to defray some of the activity costs.  Please DO NOT  put plastic bags in the can barrels.  If the cans are contaminated with other material, they will not take them.  THANK YOU.

MORE ON RECYCLING: Port Isabel has a recycling station now. There are bins for paper, plastic, and cans. It is located at 110 Hickman, behind the police station. Of course, we want you to leave your aluminum cans in the park, but take everything else you want to recycle into this facility!

Meals - There will be no more scheduled meals until Fall 2010

Breakfasts

These are in the Rec Hall on the first and third Saturday. We plan to serve from 7:30 to 9:00 am. We alternate between Pancakes and Sausage and Biscuits and Gravy.

Special Dinners

There is a planned pot luck dinner for both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Regular Potlucks

Wednesday nights in the Bingo Hall. Bring your own table service and a dish to pass. The eating begins at 5:30 pm sharp! Come early to set up your food and grab a seat.

PARK GUESTS ONLY (and their guests when they have visitors)

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Special Numbers

Police Emergency - 911

Contacts list

To contact us about this web site, e-mail to: webmaster@islablancaparkactivities.org - this is not the park office e-mail

Photo by Alfred Lanctot

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