Each TIAA
member is invited to participate and may bring one guest at the
member price. Others may join us at the nonmember price. Contact
Jessica Stewart at
admin@tialumni.org or 214-567-8444 to register. Payment is due seven days prior to event to
reserve your place on the bus. Make check payable to TIAA and mail to TIAA, PO
Box 740181, Dallas, TX 75374.
Waco Tour – Monday, Aug. 9 – Join us on a luxury bus to visit
the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and the Baylor University Mammoth
Site. The Rangers have a heritage that began with the earliest
settlements in Texas. They have been compared to other world-famous
law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, Scotland Yard, and the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The museum features historic Ranger
badges, Purvis Thompson machine gun and fabulous displays of Ranger
memorabilia. Next, we’ll create some memories on the river as we
dine at Buzzard Billy’s Bar & Grillo (honest). Buzzards has been
recognized year after year for incredible dishes including seafood,
steaks, pastas, and outstanding desserts. For something wonderfully
different, try their armadillo eggs and the fried gator fingers.
Then we’ll tour the largest known concentration of prehistoric
animals at the Mammoth Site, where 68,000 years ago a group of
Columbian Mammoths were caught and killed in a mudslide. Their
remains were hidden beneath the earth in the Bosque River Basin
until 1978. The site was kept a secret until 2007 when the Waco
Mammoth Site was opened. The bus will depart Texins at 9 a.m. and
return about 6 p.m. Cost of $32 per member and $36 per nonmember
includes transportation and entry fees. Please register by Aug. 2.
American Airlines Center Tour – Tuesday, Aug. 24 (Note date
change.) – Catch a TI
bus to Victory Park in downtown Dallas and tour the American
Airlines Center with us. The tour will offer an educational and
interactive experience and take us behind the scenes and give an
insider's view of the inner workings of this fast-paced industry. We
will begin in the bowl where little known facts are revealed such as
building logistics and event conversion. Then it's off to the event
level, where the magic begins. We will visit the press box, a luxury
suite, party rooms, as well as other facilities in the building and
– if scheduling permits – a team locker room. We will leave the
Texins Activity Center at 10 a.m., join the 10:30 a.m. tour, go to
lunch at House of Blues at our own expense, and return to Texins
about 2 p.m. Cost of $10 per member and $11per nonmember includes
entry fee. All tours are subject to the AAC event schedule, so the
date of our tour may change. Please register by August 20.
Choctaw Casino in Durrant – Thursday, Sept. 30 – Join us for
a comfortable and complementary bus trip to the Choctaw Casino in
Durant, Oklahoma, just 90 miles north on highway 75. The bus will
depart Texins at 9 a.m. and return about 6 p.m. The recent $300
million expansion of the Choctaw Casino Resort includes an elegant
entrance with an enormous fire and water sculpture. Inside the
lobby, guests are greeted by a sweeping curtain of water, in front
of which proudly stands a sacred white buffalo sculpted of crystal.
The rich reds, oranges, turquoises, and blacks of Choctaw beadwork
are featured throughout the resort. This striking design, with its
respect to the Choctaw Indian Nation, has resulted in the most
luxurious Indian gaming destination in the country. The gaming floor
(110,000 square feet) houses 3,000 slot machines and dozens of
gaming tables for Three Card Poker, Let it Ride, Blackjack, Ultimate
Texas Hold’em, Pai Gow Poker, Mini Baccarat and Roulette. A serene
full-service spa provides a peaceful alternative to the casino
gaming. Dining options range from the elegant 1832 Steakhouse to
casual dining in the Tomatillo Mexican Grill, the bright and airy
Butterfields Buffet, the Blue Moon Café, and a large food court with
fare ranging from Austin’s famous Salt Lick BBQ to pizza and deli
sandwiches. We expect to fill the bus, so register early.
Hangar Dance at Meacham Field – Saturday, Oct.
2 – Hangar dances are 1940s recreational dances that are held in
airplane hangars. The Vintage Flying Museum is holding their 20th
annual hangar dance as a fund raiser with the money going toward
aviation preservation, education and archiving efforts. Going to a
hangar dance is like stepping back in time. Lots of people dress
vintage, right down to spectator shoes, rolled hairdos, WWII
uniforms, etc. There will be a big band playing the hits of Glenn
Miller, Harry James and other greats from “back in the day” right in
front of a B-17 Flying Fortress. We will spend the evening dancing,
watching the swing dance clubs in action, chatting and living it up
war-era style. If the great music and dancing aren’t enough, there
is also an opportunity to learn about WWII from exhibits around the
hangar or the evening’s special guests, WWII veterans, or to bid on
the silent auction. (They may offer tours through the B-17 for a
small donation.) Due to the scheduled departure time, please plan to
eat before the trip. Soft drinks and snacks are available during the
evening. Their publicity states that you can BYOB if you wish. We
will leave the Texins Activity Center at 6:30 p.m., gather at our
reserved table, and return around 11 p.m. Prices are $40 per member
and $44 per nonmember. The best way to find out about hangar dances
is to attend one, so come on and join us! Please register by Sept.
24.
“Shrek” at Fair Park Music Hall – Thursday, Oct.
14 – Join us for the 2010 production of “Shrek The Musical”
and watch the antics of Shrek and his followers which include a
cookie with an attitude, a donkey who won't shut up, a bad guy with
a short temper plus a fairy-tale princess. “Shrek” tells the story
of a swamp-dwelling ogre who goes on a life-changing adventure to
reclaim the deed to his land. Joined by a wise-cracking donkey, this
unlikely hero fights a fearsome dragon, rescues a feisty princess
and learns that real friendship and true love aren’t only found in
fairy tales. Drive or take DART to Fair Park. (State Fair Parking is
$15; DART Senior Day Pass is $2). If traveling by DART, take the Red
or Blue line to Pearl Station, transfer to the Green line (MLK) and
get off at Fair Park just a half block from the Music Hall. Entry
for seniors is free on Thursday or for holders of Music Hall
tickets. Spend as much or as little time as you want at the Texas
State Fair and then meet up at the Music Hall for the show at 2 p.m.
The show lasts approximately 2-1/2 hours with a 15-minute break.
Ticket prices are $54 per member and $60 per nonmember. Tickets will
be mailed upon receipt of check. Please register by Oct. 7.
Franconia Brewery in McKinney – Saturday, Oct. 30 –
The name Franconia translates to Franken in German which is a small
region within Germany having the largest breweries-per-population
ratio in the world. Franken also is the birthplace of their brew
master. With a brewing heritage that dates back to the 1800’s,
Franconia is the first fully functional brewery in McKinney. They
will show us the many delicate steps of brewing a quality Bavarian
brew – they brew original German-style lager, Bavarian-style wheat
beer and a German Dunkel or dark lager. From the raw materials to
the filling of kegs, you will get an in-depth tour of their entire
production. We will depart Texins at 11:30 a.m., enjoy lunch at our
own expense at The Pantry in McKinney, take a private 2-hour tour at
2 p.m. and then sample some beers before returning to TI about 5
p.m. Cost is $15 per member and $17 per nonmember. (Oh, and you must
be at least 21 years old!) Please register by Oct. 22.
Tentatively Planned
Events – Subject to Change:
"ICE!" at Gaylord Texan in Grapevine – Monday, Nov. 29
Light Crust Doughboys Concert at the Pocket Sandwich Theater –
Monday, Dec. 6
Bureau of Engraving & Printing – Tuesday, Jan.
11
Museum of Biblical Art – Wednesday, Feb. 16
Green
Star Recycling – Wednesday, March 16
Texas Civil War Museum –
Thursday, March 24
View TIAA Event Calendar
View Dallas area on-going events