Greetings friends,
Wow, we have a kindergartener. It just doesn’t seem that long ago that Becky and I were walking our girls to Lakewood School, waiting for them at the playground and here we are starting all over again at Lakewood as grandparents. There are exciting new chapters and we are looking forward to the new learning and growing, as they learn about the world around them. It’s impossible to learn too much. We all need to think about the world they will be getting and do our part to make sure Modesto is a great place to live in the future and this American democracy will remain intact.
Here we are ¾ of the way around the sun for the year 2025 and that means it’s September, Modesto’s unofficial month of non-profits. There are golf tournaments, galas, banquets and fashion to celebrate Modesto’s diverse service groups. I have said for years, one of the key secret sauces of Modesto is our amazing volunteer network and generous donors. It all boils down to this; we get the community we make. We need to take care and lift up those that are disadvantaged or in need. The government has slashed funding and grants have been cancelled to so many of our critical organizations that we depend on locally. It’s now up to us to make sure these survive to serve the community and protect the most vulnerable. Check out our non-profit event review page so you can get involved and let your elected officials, locally, statewide and federal, know that these services are critical.
Life is a process of investigating, reading, exploring, thinking, analyzing and then connecting all of the dots. This is why we need to take advantage of our area museums, to make sure that we know our history, we celebrate our local cultures, learn about natural history and teach our kids to be curious and enjoy learning. Our BigView is all about our area museums and how you can connect.
You can expect to be pulled in all directions this month, as the performing arts season is underway, Jay Leno returns to the Gallo Center to kick off the new season. Our friends at Modesto Children’s Museum have their imagination celebration and our low-rider community is putting together a big holiday event at the end of the month. We are proud to feature the new(ish) Executive Director of the State Theatre, Jeff Meanza and
This month, Pride returns to Graceada Park on September 27 and it’s not just another year. LGBTQ+ attacks are on the rise. Seriously? Why should anyone get to decide who someone else loves? Let your own beliefs and religion guide your own life and not others. Love and respect all. Hate or discrimination has no place here, or in any community.
Finally, as a musician, I know how cool the local music scene can be we had a rockin’ August with rockfests, brown bags, coffee concerts, punk shows, and much more. Modesto has been recognized nationally as a hidden gem for live music, so let’s do what we can to put us visible on the radar. Get your nominees and suggestions in to mama@modestoview.com and make sure you vote for your favorites for the 26th MAMA Awards, coming up in October.
Hope to see you all out and about and let’s all do our part to make things better. ModestoView has been here since 1997, spreading the good information across our community. Here we are over 28 years later, lighting the “Positive Modesto” beacon daily. We all need to work together to do this and amplify each other.
We can do this Modesto. Make sure you like and follow our socials @modestoview so you are in the mix.
With gratitude,
Chris Murphy
Founder & Publisher, ModestoView.
chrism@modestoview.com
