As I write this towards the end of the first week of 2024, Monte Vista’s city officials have already begun discussions with The OptiMystics about the logistics of putting on this year’s Cinco de Mayo Street Festival. So much growth requires so much more advance planning, and we’re honored as well as grateful for the city’s proactive assistance with what is becoming a community tradition. More on that in a minute.
Meanwhile, let’s take that minute to sum up the latter half of The OptiMystic’s 2023 adventures among our growing and rapidly interconnecting communities.
We’ll begin with the SLV Fast Friends Car Club’s Draggin’ Main Block Party on the first weekend in June. The OptiMystics, renown street party warriors that we are, were tapped by SLV Fast Friends to help organize their concluding event on Adams Street, which not only involved vendors, but live music from Ol’ Scratch, who performed a memorable set. The sight of children dancing in the street between the bank and Rain Brews made for a memorable event.
SoCo Suds & Sounds in August was in the Cinco spirit of “build it, and more will come every year.” Among the many highlights were the demonstrations by Ms Kai’s Dance Academy and the Monte Vista Mini-Cheerleaders in front of the stage on the west side of Chapman Park. Thanks to the LOR Foundation, visitors to 2023’s Suds & Sounds enjoyed live music with multiple acts. We were astounded by the estimates put out by others, which placed attendance that day at over 4,000 people; roughly the population size of Monte Vista. As with Cinco, Suds & Sounds is having growing pains. And as pains go, we’ll take ‘em. With the support we’ve gotten from our sponsors, the city, and the public, we remain OptiMystic.
Throughout the late summer and autumn, new businesses were popping open like a string of firecrackers across town. One of the greatest things to come out of 2023 for us was our partnership with the Monte Vista Chamber of Commerce to show support for these businesses as we cut the ribbons for their grand openings. Somehow in these straitened, inflationary times, people are stepping up to fill the empty spaces.
It’s a lesson in focus. We can either complain about what’s against us, or we can get to work with what we’ve got to make things better. Negativity is contagious. So is bold optimism. We’re not taking credit for the explosion in business activity in Monte, but we’re proud to say we’re helping wherever and whenever we can.
Our engagement with RERC (Recreation Economy for Rural Communities) proved fruitful in terms of learning what can and cannot be done in Monte Vista, given its infrastructure and amenities. There is still much to learn and absorb before committing to any projects, but we have all of 2024 ahead of us. We’re grateful Monte Vista was chosen by the program leaders. It’s an opportunity to improve upon Monte Vista’s existing resources to make it more of a destination town than a stopover for travelers.
Having concluded our hot minute, I want to mention one of the finest accolades the OptiMystics received this year. In November, the Church Project hosted Campfire Conversations, a traveling group of people from varying ethnic and professional backgrounds in the San Luis Valley, sharing their stories. One of the speakers, in answer to a group question about what made them feel good about the Valley in the present day, mentioned our Cinco de Mayo festival. “The community,” he said, by way of explanation.
That was all, and it was worth more than the Nobel Prize to us. Reach out to the community, and the party happens naturally. The 2024 Cinco de Mayo Street Festival will be Monte Vista’s fourth, but we’re already feeling the pressure to make this worthy of the legend it has already become in its few short years. It’s early January, and we’re already taking meetings and drawing up plans. We’re talking Chihuahua races, cultural talks, live demonstrations and all kinds of wild stuff.
Here’s to Monte Vista’s Happiest New Year yet!
L. Roy Aiken, Secretary
OptiMystics CAN!