Greetings Friends,
Happy December everyone!
One of the coolest things I have seen over the last few months is the number of people on Facebook that say, “I wish I lived in Modesto” when we post some of the great things happening in town. This is music to my ears. It is true my friends, there really are so many things happening, for what ever it is you need, from music, to community events, volunteer projects, Rockin Holidays or Modesto On Ice and ModShop. There are a lot of things that make cities the same, you know “those” statistics, but what ModestoView is all about is showcasing the things that make us interesting and special. And there are a lot of them. I don’t know about you, but the conversation at my house is not “what are we going to do?” but “What do we have to miss?”. This is a real and serious, but good to have, problem. Thankfully I have the ModestoView calendar to keep me in line.
You know, with problems come opportunities. Opportunities for our city to shine bright. Just like the epic and amazing new Rockin’ Holiday Tree for 10th St Plaza’s Rockin’ North Pole. This has been one of may favorite projects for the ModestoView and Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group teams. Teaming up with Brian Friend, aka Laser Voodoo, turning 10th St in to retro winter wonderland for the people of our city to enjoy, making downtown a place to gather and celebrate. Events like this, ModShop, ArtWalk, MAMA Awards, Graffiti Summer, Holiday parades and MoBand Concerts in the Park bring our community together and really make Modesto unique. Think about how many other cities have these kind of things, not that many. We are already planning ways to make next year even more exiting next year. If you have ideas of your own, let me know.
I love history. I truly believe that you have to know your history to have a successful future. It makes us who we are, and can give us that feeling of civic pride. On my giving list this year is the Ken White/Touchstones book Life and Times of Modesto. This is a wonderful snapshot of who we are, and the stories that have made us who we are. I was fortunate to have written the chapter about Graffiti and the history of Cruising. Our Rockabilly, Graffiti and Cruising future makes up a lot of the things that make Modesto cool & unique. Because of the success of American Graffiti, we are the #homeofstarwars. With Rockin Holidays, we combine the classic Graffiti theme with Star Wars as the Last Jedi premiers on the 14th. Nowhere else in the world can you celebrate being the Home of American Graffiti, Home of George Lucas and the Home of Star wars at the same time. (see 12 Days of Star Wars on page 5) Talk about special. History being our future? Wow man. Far out.
Be proud of where you live, tell your friends around the world about it. We can build on this foundation to make our city even better. We are counting on you, our ModestoView friends to spread this message. Our future depends on it. May the Force be with you.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all. Best wishes to you and your families from our family.
Chris Murphy
Founder & Publisher – ModestoView, Historic Cruise Route, Rockin Holiday, ModestoGraffiti USA
chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
