As the pandemic lock-down drew to a close in late May 2020, the OptiMystics got to work. We heard from local business owners over the next couple of weeks, who lamented the fact that even though they were open (with restrictions), people just weren’t coming in to shop. Traffic along the main streets through town had increased again, but no one was stopping in town. It seemed that travelers and locals alike thought Monte Vista was still basically closed. So we put our heads together (not literally) to come up with a plan. How could we let people know that Monte Vista was open for business?
With Ken Hamko leading the charge, we quickly came up with and implemented a simple idea, signs all over town that Monte Vista was Open. We got together with a local print shop and had two large banners and about a hundred smaller signs made, all saying the same thing:
By mid June, the large banners were up at both ends of town on Highway 160, letting people know that Monte Vista businesses were open. We also walked up and down the main shopping district in downtown Monte Vista, handing out the smaller printed signs to every business that was open. Without exception, the business owners listened as we explained what we were doing, willingly took a sign, and proudly displayed them in their windows. We took lots of pictures along the way and conducted social media campaigns to further drive the point home. We’re proud to say that our efforts helped raise awareness of the fact that our local businesses were open.
Please note that while some of the pictures may or may not not accurately reflect this, current health guidelines and recommendations were followed at the time that they were taken.