Arts and Culture Day leADership moDesto

Courtney Morse / Marketing & Communications Manager / Center for Human Services

The 40th class of Leadership Modesto, the one and only “Best Class Ever,” met up again on the first Friday in March for Arts & Culture Day with Best Day Chairs Ever Kate Trompetter and Dave Rogers.

Our first stop was the Gallo Center for the Arts where we heard from representatives of Sankofa Theatre Company, YES Company, and Gallo Leadership. Sankofa is a local theater company that performs its shows at the Gallo Center. YES Company is a youth musical theater program for grades 7-12. We were treated to a performance by students Leanna and Roland, along with Director Maggie. We heard from Ryan Foy, Director of Produced Theatre and Special Programming, as well as Chad Hilligus, Chief Executive Officer, about the Gallo Center’s in-house productions (which is rare for a performing arts venue) and how they book shows and keep the doors open. We concluded this stop with a behind the scenes tour and our first impromptu music experience - a drum circle with Drum Love.

Giddy with excitement and having just played music together, we skipped on over to the Mistlin Gallery. There, we perused the current shows and learned about upcoming shows and events. The gallery changes its shows about once a month, and it’s completely free to stop in and view.

On the way to our third stop, the State Theatre, we had another impromptu performance by local musician Kevin Marin. He played the guitar and sang while Dave Rogers played a drum beat. At the State Theatre, we learned about the variety of events from movies to poetry slams to concerts to film competitions; there is so much that goes on inside that historic 1934 theater, and so much more to come.

We took a pit-stop for lunch at Valley Music Institute (VMI), a school of rock for all ages. They take eager up and coming musicians with any or no experience, put them in a band, teach them the instruments as well as stage presence, and then have them perform. Many bands and individuals go on to perform all over town. While we were there, we were visited by Liisa Davila with Opera Modesto.

She opened our minds to all that Opera is - hint: it’s not all boring and stuffy, and it takes some serious skills including yoga, language learning, stage presence and of course voice lessons. Liisa performed a song for us and we were in awe of how she transitioned from normal talk to belting out opera in a completely different language.

On our way to the next stop, the McHenry Museum which most of us hadn’t been to since the third-grade field trip that all local schools take, we had one final impromptu musical performance by local musician and VMI alum, Zoey Rae. Zoey performed two songs for us on her guitar. At the museum, Board Member and MJC Professor Talitha Agan led us on a brief tour of highlights and the layout before letting us explore on our own. The building was formerly the McHenry Library from 1912 until 1971. In 1972, the historical society turned it into the McHenry Museum. This two-story piece of history is filled with exhibits and it is free to visit.

The final stop of the day would take us to Prospect Theater where Artistic Director Jack Souza spoke on the theater’s 23-year history which started with a group of local thespians who wanted a local theater company. It is a small, intimate space where guests can enjoy a locally produced play up close and personal. In addition to the theater portion, there is a new venture with improv called the Artist Lab. Instructor Richard Hogeboom led us through some group improv exercises to demonstrate how improv can be used in many different ways.

The best way to describe this day is “rich”. Modesto is rich and overflowing with arts and culture. There are a variety of shows, performances, musicals, movies, productions, galleries, theaters, and live concerts. Beyond all the live events, there is art everywhere you look from murals on buildings to art in cafes. There are several annual shows and events celebrating local artists like ModShop, PorchFest, the MAMA Awards and more. There is no shortage of culture or things to do in Modesto. And, make sure you check out the ModestoView for all the latest!