November 24, 2006

Howdy from Harlingen!

Welcome to our e-mail newsline!

Jeanna and I got married in Austin, Texas on June 2, 2006! Arriving at the State Capitol Building about an hour early, I spoke to the state trooper on guard duty.  I explained I had permission from the State Capitol Preservation Board for a private wedding ceremony at 1 pm, so "we'll just go off to one side and have a small private ceremony out of everyone's way". The guard replied, "NO YOU WON'T!".  He added, "you're gonna get married right in the middle of the rotunda, right in the center of the big Texas Lone Star!".  I asked, "what about the hundreds of tourists standing on that Lone Star?".  The guard said, "I'll move 'em out of the way!".

So it happened exactly like that!  We had a small ceremony (one bride, one groom, one preacher, two witnesses) right in the middle of the Texas State Capitol Building!  Jeanna and I have long dreamed of visiting the romantic hotel made famous by the movie "Somewhere In Time".  Dreams do come true!  We had a very nice honeymoon at The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan.

We've been on the road almost constantly since the first of April.  Places we've called in the USA include Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Other countries we've called in this year are Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Scotland and Sweden.  It has been a great summer.

We're eager to start the winter square dance season at Fun N Sun RV Resort in San Benito, Texas!  This is the first year for Karen and Dick Fisher, round dance cuers extraordinaire!  I'm sure The Fishers will greatly enhance the dance program at Fun N Sun!

I've set up a nice interactive website to show all Rio Grande Valley Square Dancing (round dancing too).  It's at www.rgvsd.com . Just click on a caller's name, a day of the week, a park, a level, or a cuer.  The screen will show you all matching dances. I don't have all the info yet for all the parks, but I do update the site regularly the very moment more info is received.

Here is the weekly square dance schedule at Fun N Sun. It's listed by level, from beginners on up through Advanced.  We start on Saturday, November 25th:

EASY ABC - no experience needed, first-timers always welcome. Please talk this up among non-dancers or former dancers.  New people can get an introduction to the Fun, Fitness and Friendship of square dancing any Thursday night!

     Beginner ABC (no experience required)  Thursday, 7 to 9 pm

     Experienced ABC (after attending 3 different beginner dances in any order) Thursdays 8:30 to 10 pm

Once you have attended all 3 different beginner dances in any order, you can come to both the Beginner ABC and stay for the Experienced ABC, all for the same price.

CLUB LEVEL - (formerly Mainstream) - for last year's dancers who took a beginner class

     Review / Brushup - Saturday, 3 to 4:30 pm

     Dance - Saturday, 4:30 to 6 pm

     You can come to the Review and stay for the Dance, all for the same price.

     (Club Level class starts Saturday January 13, 3 to 4:30 pm)

PLUS

     Review / Brushup - Tuesday, 5 to 7 pm - if it has been awhile since you danced Plus, or if you just want to review the calls in a fun setting

     Donut Dance, free coffee and donuts:  Thursday 10 am to 12 noon (pre-rounds 9:30 am and between tips)

     Evening Dance, Saturday 7:30 to 9:30 pm (pre-rounds 7 pm and between tips)

     (Plus class starts Saturday, January 6, 1 to 3 pm)

ADVANCED

     Review / Brushup - Friday, 3 to 5 pm

     Advanced Dance - Tuesday afternoon, 3 to 5 pm

     (Advanced class starts Friday January 5, 3 to 5 pm)
 

ROUND DANCING

We're fortunate to have a complete round-dance schedule this year, cued by the fabulous Karen and Dick Fisher.  If you have not met them yet, you're gonna just LOVE this couple!  Here is their schedule, listed by level from beginner on up through experienced.  Their schedule starts on Friday, December 1.

     Beginner Two-Step Class - Tuesdays starting January 9th - 9 to 11 am
     Beginner Waltz class - Fridays starting January 5th - 9 to 11 am
     Phase 2 Two-Step Review - Tuesdays in December - 9 to 11 am
     Phase 2 Waltz review - Fridays in December - 9 to 11 am
     Phase 2-3 workshop - Friday - 11 am to 1 pm
     Phase 2-3-4 dance - Monday - 11 am to 1 pm
     Phase 3-4 workshop - Tuesday - 11 am to 1 pm
     Phase 4-5 workshop - Saturday - 10 am to 12 noon
     Phase 4-5-6 catch-up clinic - Monday - 7 to 9 pm
     Phase 4-5-6 dance - Tuesday - 7 to 9 pm
     Phase 5-6 workshop - Sunday - 7 to 9 pm

     Intro to Ballroom Dancing - Monday - 3 to 5 pm
     Square and Round Dance with Nasser Shukayr - Thursday - 9:30 am to noon
     Square and Round Dance with Nasser Shukayr - Saturday - 7 to 9:30 pm
 

SPECIAL DANCES

We have several fun special events planned.  The first Saturday night of each month we will continue our popular "Blue and White Night".  Bring finger foods and enjoy a special party atmosphere once a month.

We must cancel on Saturday, December 9th (the Park needs the hall for other purposes).  We will also cancel between Christmas and New Years (I married a sweet young lady who wants to see her folks for the holidays!).  We start again on Thursday morning, January 4th.  We'll have our famous Elvis Birthday Celebration on Saturday night, January 6th.
 

RECAP

Please check www.rgvsd.com for the latest info on all the parks.  Or if you're just interested in Fun N Sun only, that info can be found on www.nshukayr.com.  Please tell your friends how much fun square dancing is!  Newcomers can try it any Thursday night at our Easy ABC Square Dances.

We're looking forward to a fun season!  Whether you come to the valley for a day, a weekend, a week, a month, or the entire season, we do look forward to seeing you!  Sincere appreciation to all of you for participating in the world's greatest activity!

With warm regards,

Nasser and Jeanna
Harlingen, Texas

December 9, 2006

Howdy from Harlingen!

We hope this message finds you well!

Just a quick note to let everyone know we will -NOT- have square dancing on Saturday, December 9th.  The park needs the hall for another event.  Our full square dance schedule resumes on Tuesday December 12th.

Saturday night December 23rd is our last dance for the month.  As in previous years, we shut down between Christmas and New Years.  We'll be in England visiting Jeanna's family and friends.

The full schedule starts again after New Years, beginning with the Thursday morning "free coffee and donuts dance" on January 4th.  Saturday night January 6th is our annual "Elvis Birthday Bash" which is always a lot of fun.  Hope you can make it!

Saturday January 6th, since it's a first Saturday, is also Blue and White night.  Many of us wear Blue and White, and you're all invited to bring finger food to share.

All of this info is on the Rio Grande Valley Square Dancing (www.RGVSD.com) website.  I recently added an "Advanced Search" feature, giving you an even more powerful way to find dance events in the valley.  It sure beats sifting through all those newspaper listings!

Wishing you happy dancing,

Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
www.NShukayr.com

December 29, 2006

Howdy from England!

We hope everyone's holidays were wonderful.  Jeanna and I are currently in England to visit her mummy and daddy.  And I always thought you had to go to Egypt to visit mummies! :-) We're having a great time.

In England we always pick up some of Jeanna's favorite things which you can only get from here.  We'll be back home on January 2, carrying huge suitcases full of Authentic British Supplies to last the next several months.
 

WINTER PROGRAM AT FUN N SUN

Our winter program at Fun N Sun Resort starts back in full swing on Thursday morning January 4.

Several special events are planned for January:

Saturday, January 6 is a first Saturday, so it's Blue and White
Night!  You're welcome to wear Blue and White and to bring finger foods to share.  But do come out anyway, no matter what you wear or what you bring!!  This date is also our annual Elvis Birthday Dance.  The King woulda been 72.  Come celebrate Elvis with us. Pre-rounds at 7, Plus squares and rounds at 7:30.

Saturday, January 13 - JERRY STORY special!  We feel fortunate to get Jerry Story on a Saturday night.  Since this is a new addition to the schedule, we ask you for help!  Please tell your friends and others about this special dance!  Have a great time on Saturday, January 13 with Jerry Story and Nasser Shukayr calling.  Pre-rounds at 7, Plus squares and rounds at 7:30.

Classes start this month:

 Mainstream class - Saturday at 3 pm - starts January 13

 Plus class - Saturday at 1 pm - starts January 6

 Advanced class - Friday at 3 pm - starts January 5

Easy ABC Square Dancing starts back on Thursday, January 4 and is continuous:  first-timers are welcome any time.  Tell your non-dancing friends, or even better, BRING them any Thursday night at 7.  When you bring a first-timer, you and your first-timer both dance free.

This year we have a full schedule of round dance classes and workshops by Karen and Dick Fisher.  To get a schedule of planned events, go to the internet and click around until you find it.  Or, even better, check out www.RGVSD.com. :-)
 

RGVSD.COM WEBSITE

We appreciate all of you for using RGVSD.com (Rio Grande Valley Square Dancing) for dance information.  We also thank you for your help in keeping the data current.  Whenever you learn of schedule changes anywhere in the valley, please feel free to forward the info so we can keep the site up-to-date for everyone.
 

THANK YOU!

We appreciate you for reading this update, and we look forward to seeing you in 2007!
 

Happy dancing!

Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
Harlingen, Texas, USA