Greetings friends,
As parents, our job is to make magic and create experiences for our kids. The kids in our own families and the kids in our community. It is really impossible to be too creative in helping our kids become creative and curious people and there is magic to be found in everything. Working on the Graffiti USA Museum, or the new Modesto Children’s Museum or serving on the board at the Gallo Center or the State Theatre or representing kids in the court system with CASA or the Salvation Army, we can all make positive change and keep it magical and enchanting for our kids. Thanks to people like Jake and Katie Barber who have become an amazing catalyst for change and believe in this magic.
How do we make magic? Our kids need to know how cool our city is and there are many possibilities, so when you support our museums and the arts, you are not just investing in a building, you are investing in our education and enchantment of our kids so they learn about our culture and our history and appreciate growing up here. Then the odds that they remain in Modesto or come back after going away to college, if that is their path get much higher. It is up to all of us to make this magic, create the jobs that will attract them and a place where they feel proud of and safe. If people are proud of where they live, it shows, in our people, our attitudes and our economy.
It hardly seems like it was 15 years ago that the Gallo Center opened. I remember eating dinner at Galletto, amazed that Tony Bennett was at the next table and it was really special. One of the most exciting things was the MAMA Awards 2007 was part of the Gallo Center opening weeks. It was such an amazing experience for us to present this show, with all of the different genres like Moonshine Bandits, In the Absence, Good Luck Thrift store and so much more. I think, to this date, there has never been so much variety in one night on the Gallo stage. This month, the 2022 MAMA Awards will celebrate the best in our local music scene and voting begins on Sept 15.
For the last 15 years, the Gallo has provided a regular menu of great entertainment and the performing arts went to a new level, with our local theatre groups having a great stage to perform. Companies like Yes Company thrived and a new era of stage performance and downtown energy began. The Prospect Theatre has grown, the Gallo Repertory has been created, the Ill List is a national caliber event and the talent level in Modesto remains high.
Vibrancy. This is an overused word, but it is really important. One or two things doesn’t create vibrancy, it is the compilation of many things working together. We need the cultural and educational opportunities of our new museums. We need to community gathering of events like MoBand, that comes from music in the schools and neighborhood building programs. We need volunteerism in our schools and we need urban planning and ag preservation to create a business friendly region that feeds the world and attracts young and old professionals. We need so support the arts and invest in the arts so that artists and musicians can practice their profession and make a living. We need live music as part of our culture and that is a real challenge right now. We are still coming out of a pandemic, we are still working hard to get everything back up to full speed and I know, with our great local businesses and our amazing ModestoView readers that get out there an make a difference, we can connect all the dots and legitimately build a vibrant community that will be strong for the future.
Please check out the Modesto Children’s Museum and take time to notice the great local businesses that have helped bring this, and our other museums to life. Our community is grateful. I am grateful to all of the local businesses that support ModestoView so we can continue to spread good news every single day.
With Gratitude,
Chris Murphy
Publisher and Founder, ModestoView
chrism@modestoview.com<mailto:chrism@modestoview.com>
Caption Chris, Jamie and Chief Brandon Gillespie at the LaLoma Neighborhood gathering
