Something amazing happened on March 1, 2011. The Modesto City Council approved the special designation of 10th and 11th Streets as the Historic Graffiti Cruise Route. This is such a huge milestone in the history of Modesto and for the future of our city. Modesto has a very special brand, one that is all about the small town feel blended with the arts and culture of huge cities, a brand that is fueled by the feeling that is represented in the movie American Graffiti by Modesto native George Lucas.
For the first time, we are going take Graffiti Summer to the next level and promote our connection to American Graffiti in new ways that will attract visitors from around the world and create civic pride and a new awareness of our history. This is just the start, people travel around the world to see the Field of Dreams, walk the waterfront in Hoboken, propose at the top of the Empire State building and soon they can stroll the historic streets of American Graffiti. Wop bom a loo bop a whop bam boom.
One of the best things about Modesto is the way our local government encourages people to get involved and speak up. Whether it is acting upon the ideas of a citizen like the cruise route, or engaging in community forums, the city makes it easy to get involved and make a difference. A brilliant example is the partnership of the City of Modesto and the ModestoGarden Club. The Modesto Garden Club creates so much beauty in our city in so many places. Whether it is a park partners program, or a NEAT team clean up or pulling the community together to attract the Amgen Tour of California, it is rare that a city welcomes so much cooperation. We are all lucky in this way.
One of the other great things about Modesto is that when someone comes up with an innovative idea, raises the bar, takes something to the next level, the people and businesses in our area respond, whether it is the support for Greens Market, or the embracing of a new restaurant or the support of an innovative business, Modesto deserves special recognition.
Now, more and more cities are fighting back against these city rankings by the cowardly business magazines. It just tells you that we need to be shouting what makes us unique and special from the rooftops and make sure that we go on the offense so our brand and special features are well known, do we don’t have to keep playing defense after the fact. We can do it, you can do it and together we will make the Greater Modesto Area a better place.
