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LAKESIDE LIVING
July 2014 |
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PAST EVENTS A JOYFUL ESL CELEBRATION Twenty two teachers, along with 300 students, family and friends, celebrated another completed school year of the Lake Chapala Society’s English program for the Mexican community on May 24.
Pictured are Nestor Solano and Director Inez Dayer. Says Inez, “Nestor is a third level student who works as a gardener, has perfect attendance for the year and does all of his homework promptly and perfectly. He is just one of many students who make teaching so rewarding.” Interested in teaching as a volunteer? Email Inez at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The next school year starts in mid-September. WHEELCHAIR TENNIS, ANYONE? The Racquet Club of San Juan Cosala recently sponsored the first Wheelchair Tennis Tournament at Lakeside. The name of the wheelchair team is called Club Jaliscience de Tenis Silla de Ruedas. There were a total of twenty-four players and seventy spectators.
The club is promoting wheelchair tennis throughout Mexico, and is also providing new and used wheelchairs for people in rural Mexico. There are over 100,000 people in Mexico who are home bound and in need of a wheelchair. If you can help or know of someone that can donate a wheelchair (s) please call Tito or Richard: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. LIGHT SENSITIVE The Naked Stage’s June show was Light Sensitive by Jim Geoghan. It was directed by Robin Lawrason.
 The cast, left to right: Georgette Richmond, Liz White, Jim Ryan, Fred Koesling, with Director Robin Lawrason.
BIRTHDAY GET-TOGETHER FOR ELEGANT SENIORS Longtime Lakeside resident Ross Brownridge celebrated his 85th birthday on May 31 with a festive noontime party at the Happiness Garden above Casita Montana in Ajijic.
 Ross Brownridge, The Birthday Boy
Also honored were six other “elegant seniors,” ranging in age from 80 to 93— Mimi Gardner, Michael Hall, Ruth Wehelm, Norda Paul, Gudrun Jones (representing husband Dryden), and Lili Kawanakoa.
COMING EVENTS ACT NOW! The Lakeside Little Theatre is planning two summer offerings in July. On Monday, July 7, there will be a Volunteer Expo coordinated by LLT Production Manager Kathleen Neal. Then, starting on Wednesday, July 9 there will be a three-week Actors’ Workshop coordinated by Roseann Wilshere.
 Director Roseann Wilshere
The Volunteer Expo is intended for those who would like to be crew members or otherwise help backstage. The free three-hour session will be followed by a theatre tour and a chance for participants to visit with department coordinators on the terrace afterwards. There will be a sign-up sheet at the door, starting at 9:30 a.m. The Actors’ Workshop will consist of lectures, experiential exercises, scene run-throughs with feedback from the facilitator, Roseann Wilshere, and independent work on scenes and rehearsals. She will teach techniques based on the book Audition by Michael Shurtleff. This book is a must-read for all would-be actors. Teams of participants will either choose or be assigned a scene of approximately 10 minutes, and after rehearsals the intensive will culminate in on-stage performances at the theater on July 26 and 27. For preregistration sign-up for the Actors’ Workshop, go to the LLT e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and enter Preregistration on the Subject line, or phone Collette Clavadetscher at 766-5317. Payment for enrollment and membership is due on July 9, from 10 to 11. The 150 peso fee includes lunch the first day and LLT membership. Current LLT members pay only 50 pesos. LEARN TO SHOOT (PHOTOS, THAT IS) Jill Flyer has just announced a fascinating summer schedule of photography and Photoshop classes. She is going to teach four classes of camera basics and composition combined with travel photography (sights, scenes and people portraits).
 Photographer Jill Flyer
The classes will be held on Wednesdays at 2 p.m., July 9, 16, 23 and 30 in Mirasol. The cost for all four classes will be $550 pesos. If someone misses a class, Jill is always available for a make-up session. Jill is also offering three followup classes, in Photoshop. For more information and enrollment, and directions to the class and how to get copies of Photoshop installed, please write Jill at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call at 766-3025. IT’S A BUSY MUSICAL SEASON
 Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra
John Keeling, Viva Musica President, has announced the summer program for Lakeside music lovers. Sunday July 13 Impressions of Italy (Conductor: John Nelson) Verdi: Four Sacred Pieces; Puccini: Edgar; Giordano: Fedora; Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana; Respighi: Roman Festival. Friday July 18 Homage to Richard Strauss No.2 (Conductor: Marco Parisotto) Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier; Schumann: Cello Concerto; Strauss: Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Ticket prices for all bus trips are 250 pesos for Viva members and 350 for non-members. Tickets are available at LCS Thursdays & Fridays 10-12. Friday trips leave at 4.30 p.m. and stop at a better restaurant in Guadalajara before the concert. Sunday trips leave at 10.30 a.m. Buses leave just east of Farmacia Guadalajara. Seats are reserved only when tickets are purchased. Viva orders the symphony tickets ten days ahead, so please make your purchase before that time. Viva Summer Concerts Sunday July 20 Cesar Becerro, bass baritone, singing operatic music, accompanied on the piano by Tim Welch. He is another Viva scholarship winner and will be studying voice in Mexico City. Sunday August 31 Guitar recital by Duo Medina-Gracian, a virtuoso guitar duo from Guadalajara playing wonderful music arranged for two guitars.
 Sergio Medina and Hugo Ernesto Gracian
These concerts will be in the Auditorium at 4.00 p.m. Tickets are 200 pesos and will be on sale at the Auditorium, Diane Pearl Colecciones, and LCS ticket booth Thursdays & Fridays 10-12. These concerts will be in the Auditorium at 4.00 p.m. Tickets are 200 pesos and will be on sale at the Auditorium, Diane Pearl Colecciones, and LCS ticket booth Thursdays & Fridays 10-12. This procession, Mass, and fiesta include numerous groups of Azteca Danzantes from different regions and attendance from all nine of the Lakeside villages.
THIS RACE IS A BIG DEAL ……and fun to watch, too Top-notch extreme terrain runners from Mexico, Canada and the United States come together at the Ajijic Plaza on Sunday, July 20 for the 2014 North American Central American Caribbean (NACAC) Mountain Championship Race.
 2014 Team Members
For the past eight years, the NACAC Mountain Championship has been held on a rotating basis between the three North American countries. This year Ajijic was selected as the Mexico venue. Fittingly dubbed as the Solo Para Salvajes (for savages only), the main Chupinaya event is a one- loop race following a 13.8-kilometer (8.57 miles) course. It starts in the Ajijic Plaza at 1,550 meters (5,020 feet) above sea level and climbs up to 2,400 meters (7,875 feet) before descending back to the starting line. The competition also encompasses a recreational race, open to joggers and hikers opting for a less taxing 6.5-kilometer route that turns back at the halfway point of the long course. A former participants shared these words. “The race was over two and a half hours for some of us and pushed the limit of my abilities! The finish was perfect as the crowd cheered for everyone that finished—thank you, Chupinaya.” Spectators also enjoy this race—they can get in on the race energy without having to do the work! Look for where to register and the starting time in the Guadalajara Reporter. IS IT ART, OR ISN’T IT? In July The Naked Stage will present Mass Appeal, directed by Graham Miller. Cast members are Allen McGill and John Jones. This is a play about the many levels and meanings of friendship. It tells the story of the relationship between Tim Farley, a popular parish priest, and Mark Dolson, a young firebrand seminarian who challenges church positions in general and Father Farley in particular. As the play progresses, each man is profoundly changed by the experience of knowing the other. The production will run July 25, 26 and 27. The e-mail address for future reservations: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Reservations guarantee a seat until 3:50, after which seats will be sold to those waiting without reservations. The Naked Stage is located at #10A Rio Bravo. Directions: west on the carretera from Ajijic, south on Rio Bravo, about two blocks down behind Daniel’s Restaurant on the east side. Daniel’s is open for lunch and dinner with a no host bar available at 3:00 p.m. The box office opens at 3:15 and the show starts at 4:00 p.m. WHERE YA FROM? All of us expats are from someplace else, mostly Canada and the US. We can identify our countries of origin, but fine tuning a definite answer to “where are you from?” gets hard. Lately a group of four ladies having lunch tried to answer the question.
 Left to right: Darlene Webb, Britt Proud, Susie Wagner and Judy Kells
First they looked perplexed. The next question is, “You mean originally? Or do you mean the place I lived the longest? Or most recently?” And so on. Like many—or even most—of Lakeside residents, the four have moved multiple times. Judy, for instance, has lived in eight provinces of Canada. Swedish Britt lived for eleven years in Indonesia, and too many other places to mention. Susie and her late husband traveled widely for his work and she still has that momentum going. Darlene, the Maine snowbird at the table, says she once moved eight times in two years. Whatever their backgrounds, these women are representative of a lot of Lakeside residents. Even those who have been here a long time hop on planes or sign up with tour companies or even travel around Mexico on their own, by car or bus. A LIVELY BUNCH OF BRIDGE PLAYERS The Monday Bridge Group that meets at Maria Isabel Restaurant on Mondays at 1:30 has been going for over ten years. Some of the original members are still playing. All levels of bridge players are welcome, although those who haven’t played since college might want to brush up on their game, since the group plays six rounds of four hands. Each round has to be completed in half an hour. Given that advice, interested people can join the group for a yearly membership of eighty pesos a year. Daily games are twenty pesos for members and thirty pesos for guests.
 Alicia Salcido and Kathy Kuntz, Co-Chairs
Twice a year the club has social get-togethers, one at Christmas and another a going away party for snowbirds. If you’re interested, drop in some Monday at one o’clock and talk to either Kathy Kuntz or Alicia Salcido, Co-chairs.
ONGOING EVENTS HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW? Join others every third Wednesday at 10, to share your expertise on growing vegetables and herbs in the Lake Chapala area. The next meeting will be on July 16 at Azul Frida Restaurant, Carretera #61 New members can contact John McWilliams at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 376-766-0620. SQUEAKY WHEEL READINGS La Rueda (the wheel), a new coffee/gallery in San Juan Cosala, stages monthly readings in English. They are held on the first Wednesday of each month. The next reading will be on August 6. Directions to La Rueda : at the only stop light in San Juan Cosala, turn towards the lake. Go one block and turn right at the plaza (on Porfirio Diaz.) Drive two blocks or so, past Viva Mexico restaurant on your right. Please arrive at 3 pm to order refreshments. The readings begin at 3:30. Writers who want to read, or those needing further information, can contact Judy Dykstra-Brown at 387-761-0281 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. AMERICAN LEGION IN CHAPALA Saturdays: 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. Fish Fry Sundays: Burgers & Dogs 12 - 3 p.m.
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