Layne Varney
The weather has been terrific, and it’s hard to believe that the peak season for SunBird, March, has already arrived. This place is crazy busy with activity! Many recreational and sport leagues are having season-ending tournaments and championship games. Clubs, organizations, and various states are having their season-ending banquets. If at the clubhouse, one can easily observe and hear all of the fun taking place. These are just some of the SunBird highlighted events for the month of March, not including the various routine daily and weekly activities.
The Desert Winds Concert Band, with 45 senior musicians, is performing at the clubhouse on Sunday, March 1, for all to enjoy. A Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band will be live in concert on Tuesday, March 3, at the clubhouse with a matinee and evening show, presented by the Kare Bears. SunBird’s annual Classic Car Show is Wednesday, March 4, featuring a variety of classic and modern cars, starting at 10 a.m. at the parking lot east of the clubhouse. The annual SunBird Garden Club Home and Garden Tour on Sunday, March 8, is always such an excellent event touring a handful of newly improved homes within SunBird. The SunBird Singers and Ringers’ Spring Concert is presented by your friends and neighbors with two nights of wonderful music on March 11 and 12 in the ballroom. An early St. Patrick’s Day celebration is on Saturday, March 14, with a corned beef and cabbage dinner, music, and dancing, sponsored by the Irish Club. On St. Patrick’s Day, Tuesday, March 17, the annual Golf Cart Parade begins at 2:30 p.m. just south of the clubhouse on Waterview Drive. The annual Conley Cup golf tournament of SunBird residents forming the USA and Canadian teams begins Friday, March 20. Come watch the fun kick-off of this event and cheer on both teams for a friendly competition of golf. SunBird’s annual Art Show is Saturday, March 21, in the ballroom from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with various art displays from our very own residents. SunBird’s annual Outdoor Spring Music Fest this year is titled “Rock the Block” and is scheduled for Saturday, March 28, at 5 p.m. There will be live music, food available, games, and great times. Don’t miss any of these fun events! For more details on these and other events, please see the rest of this issue of the SunBird News or go to sunbirdhoa.com.
Spring is approaching on the calendar; however, the weather has been so nice that it feels like it has been spring for the last two months. About this time of year, some of our residents are beginning to think about preparations to leave during the summer months. SunBird encourages neighborhoods within the community to have regular block parties. This is a great way to get to know your neighbors and build friendships, and it is also a good way to strengthen crime prevention. The best way to fight crime is within your own neighborhood. Sharing contact information, emergency contacts, and schedules of when you or other neighbors will be present in the community will help others stay informed of the activity in the area. If your neighborhood is not having regular block parties, get one started. It could be as simple as inviting a few neighbors and meeting in a backyard or driveway, or schedule a place at the clubhouse. Several neighborhoods within SunBird have been doing this for years. Get to know your neighbors a little better and help improve crime prevention within the community.
Street sweepers come through SunBird on a quarterly basis during the evening hours. One of the unique differences of the layout of SunBird is that the streets do not have sidewalks along the roads. Not having sidewalks reduces the barrier and distance between the roads and the landscaping of each yard within SunBird. The front and some side landscaping of each home bordering the roads increases the likelihood of having landscape rocks, dirt, and debris ending up in the curbs of the road. Street sweeping equipment is not intended to pick up large amounts of concentrated rocks, dirt, or debris collecting in the curbs or roads for a couple of reasons. By attempting to pick up large amounts of rocks and debris, the street sweepers’ revolving brooms and vacuum can create a bigger mess by spreading this through the street from a concentrated area that was in the curb. It can also fling rocks away, causing potential danger around the area. Lastly, it can damage the street cleaning equipment, as they are not intended for this type of heavy-duty clean-up. The street sweepers are scheduled to visit SunBird the evening of the first Tuesday in March. To assist with the cleaning of the roads, please look at the areas around your yard to see if rocks, plants, or other debris is in the curb line of the road, and remove these from the curb or roadway. These efforts will greatly assist the street sweepers with trying to sweep the roads. Even on a perfect sweep of the roads, dirt lines and marks will be left behind, as that is just part of the process of vacuuming and spraying water to keep the dust down. Working together, we can help keep the streets in SunBird a little cleaner.
During the Super Bowl championship football game last month, many commercials were highly spotlighted and can be very entertaining. There was a commercial aired during the game that displayed neighbors in different circumstances relying on the kindness of other neighbors. The commercial was very inspirational, with the song playing in the background from the ‘70s show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood titled “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” The commercial ended with a statement something like, “America could use a good neighbor just like you,” encouraging all of us to be a little kinder to each other. SunBird would not be SunBird without the many, many, many people who join and assist with the events and work. We truly appreciate our committees, clubs, class leaders, organizations, and many volunteers who work hard, freely offering their time and service to make SunBird a great place to live! Thank you!