Sun City 'Butterflies' club popular

     The Social Butterflies club at Sun City MacDonald Ranch is one of the more popular group activities at the age-restricted community, according to Pearl Bottfeld, club president.
      "The Social Butterflies club is all about meeting new people, getting together and sharing ideas," Bottfeld said. "There are a lot of shy people, and this club allows them to meet new people with similar interests and thoughts."
      The club started about a year ago with 40 members, and has grown to more than 100 participants.
      Bottfeld said the group has had an active first year. "Our dances are very popular," she said. "We always have a great turnout at the dances, and it is nice to see everybody together having a good time. We are planning many events here at Sun City MacDonald Ranch."
      The group has already scheduled four dances for this year, Bottfeld said.
      The community features the 36,000-square-foot Desert Willow Community Center, which provides a workout room, aerobic dance studio, swimming pool, spa, horseshoe pits, and tennis and boccie ball courts.
      The community center is also equipped with a computer workshop and rooms for painting, ceramics, quilting and other activities.
      Also featured is the executive-length Desert Willow Golf Course, designed by PGA Hall of Fame golfer Billy Casper and golf course architect Greg Nash.
      The 564-acre community in Henderson, will comprise 2,500 homes at buildout.
      To visit, take Interstate 515 to Lake Mead Drive, head west to Green Valley Parkway, then go south, following the signs. The sales office is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
      Homes are priced from the low $100,000s to the $170,000s, with floor plans ranging from 1,020 to 2,014 square feet.
      Model homes are also open at the Anthem master-planned community in Henderson. The community features three developments: Anthem Country Club, a guard-gated country club; Sun City Anthem, an age-restricted community; and Coventry Homes at Anthem, which includes single-family homes. About 27 percent of the master plan is open land.
      The developer is the builder of Sun Cities nationwide, country club communities, and Coventry Homes neighborhoods.