Happy Holidays Friends,
My how quickly the seasons change. Fall always brings a new freshness and winter really cleans it all up. I truly hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I treasure every moment I have with my family. I know that I am very thankful for my family, friends and my co-workers. The people we surround ourselves with are where we get our inspiration, direction and strength.
Our house has a firm line on Christmas décor. The day after Thanksgiving, we make the change, quickly and thoroughly. It is a wonderful thing that after all of these years we still enjoy decorating our tree, listening to Dean Martin holiday music and our annual screening of Christmas Vacation. Who would have thought that 35 years after this movie came out, it is our transitional holiday experience, complete with family dialog enhancement. Best of all, Jamie loved it A new era begins.
I hope you will join us on December 19 at the Intermission at the State Theatre for a special ugly sweater 35th Anniversary Christmas Vacation screening, complete with adult eggnog.
It seems like we are racing down the freeway toward the end of the year. I already feel like every evening is booked and just how will we get everything in. But one thing for sure is that Rockin’ Holiday is ready to go. Thanks to our SPWG and Collins teams, 10th St Plaza is a Rockin’ North Pole winter wonderland. We are so happy that we are able to do this for our community. Thanks to our sponsors we are able make this a FREE event for people to get pictures with Santa, enjoy the Rockin’ Tree, hear some great local music and best of all, Rockin’ Snow. It is so fun to make some magic and hope you get a chance to enjoy it.
As John Lennon once said, “so it is Christmas, and what have you done”. As the year end approaches, please check to see that we are looking out for others. There are coat and toy drives, the Community Christmas tree at the Mall, kettle ringing for Salvation Army and donations for the Gospel Mission and a variety of other ways to help. If each of us do a little, it ads up to a lot for people that are in need.
As we look forward to 2024, our goal needs to be teamwork. There are good things happening in our city and there are still challenges. As we gather for the holidays, let’s work together to find ways to do things better, bring more people to the table. It is so great to have a new era of teamwork with our downtown organizations, and as President of Visit Modesto, introducing more people to our community is good for our civic pride, or economy and our future.
There is a new energy this holiday season and people seem to be optimistic. We are making big progress at the Graffiti USA Museum, the Children’s Museum is open, and Mod Shop returned, Rockin’ Holiday is opening and there is a good buzz. I hope you share that feeling and know that’s what we work hard for every day here at ModestoView. Let’s team up, get involved, support our local economy and make sure that we tell Modesto’s story for a shared sense of pride about where we live.
I look forward to sharing some great holiday experiences with you this year. See you out and about and please, let me know what you like about ModestoView and also what you don’t so we can keep making it better.
With gratitude.
Chris Murphy
Founder and Publisher, ModestoView. chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
