Greetings friends,
Is it spring yet? Wow the fog is back and the winter is cold, but it doesn’t mean that we aren’t getting out and about in Modesto USA. Winter is time for change and gives spring the opportunity to, well, spring. It’s always amazing when each month, we put this ModestoView together, how many events are happening. People are waking up, needing to get out, gather, and be a part of the community. There is a good feeling in town as people are really starting to hang out again. People are putting down the phones, turning off the noise, and living local.
This is really showing at places like Chinn’s International and other fun food and drink spaces that pay special attention to what they are creating, offer personalized service and menus that are tasty and exciting. One of Patrick Chinn’s goals is to be inclusive, international and expand his flavors.
That is really what our local culture is all about. It is inclusive and we do celebrate our wide variety of cultures. Each February we celebrate Black History Month. The history we learn and the opportunities we have really depend on us all gathering together with respect. We need more of this now, more than ever and Modesto can be a good role model for success. Our food, our art, our theatre, our music and our education are all better when we take time to understand each other. We hope you enjoy the people and events you will learn about in this issue.
In the midst of all of this, we lost Preservation Coffee, a local fave. What this means is we can’t let our guard down. If we have a special place, we need to support it. We need to take our friends and keep our favorites alive.
I am really grateful for people that step up and make a difference. In January we celebrated the American Legion Citizen of the Year, Ann Endsley and Modesto Chamber Citizen of the Year Brent Burnside. These people are our friends and they take a lead and step up and make our community better and encourage more people to get involved. That’s a cool thing about Modesto; that people and groups and really make positive change. I am also grateful for people that create experiences that bring new people to town and into downtown. Thanks to Kathy and Dave Halsey as they transform downtown into a winter wonderland with Modesto On Ice, attracting more people downtown that have never been before. Now, what are we going to do now they are here and will they come back? How about this idea? What if this Modesto On Ice space became a Roller Rink the rest of the year? This could be a downtown game changer. Thoughts?
You may know that we are working hard to build the Graffiti USA Museum and things are really lighting up! Thank you to all of the donors, volunteers and local companies that have contributed to the construction. It’s truly going to be a game changer for Modesto. It has already become Modesto’s gathering place from car shows, vinyl swaps, race check ins, meetings, conferences, celebrations of life, reunions, crab feeds and even pinewood derbies, quilt shows and a new art gallery this month. One of my projects in the new 10th St Experience is Murf’s Records, that will soon be a vintage record store, adjacent to Nichol News and the Modesto Radio and Music History Museum. Again, thank you. Our next phase is to build our new lobby that will host a new California Welcome Center. Let’s do this and please take my calls when looking for donations and sponsorships.
Modesto is the “other California” and the Almond Blossom Cruise, created by Visit Modesto, will be attracting people from all over the world. California needs more tourism as the USA is suffering from global travel declines and we need to promote. What Modesto offers with our classic car culture, our ag culture and our arts and entertainment cultural designation as the Dos Rios Cultural District will really help is do this. We have to work harder to show who we are, to attract visitors, attract new business and create civic pride.
ModestoView is a special publication. I believe in print media, where you can explore, peruse and keep, not swipe and scroll. Thanks to all that read it front to back and save it for the calendar. I, my family and my company Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group volunteer our time and resources to make it happen each month. Creating a positive platform for Modesto is important to us. We have an amazing ViewCrew team of writers, musicians, creators and innovators that share their talents and insights. Thanks to our advertisers, we are able to professionally design, edit, print and deliver ModestoView monthly to showcase the good in our community, without the politics and conspiracies that circle in social media. Thank you readers, supporters and advertisers for helping this mission succeed and encourage you to support the businesses in these pages that help us deliver the largest magazine circulation in our area.
I am grateful for my family’s support as we do this and continue our mission to “Serve Civic Pride Daily” as we have since 1997.
Chris Murphy
Publisher and Founder, ModestoView chrism@modestoview.com
