Well, it was another great weekend in Jamestown and Chautauqua County.
The weather was very good and many people spent lots of time outside and visiting our downtown. If you were downtown on Friday it simply made your feel good like I have said before, a "real sense of place." We started Friday with the Farmer's Market. There were all kinds of activities on Friday evening that included graduation ceremonies. The Jamestown Savings Bank Arena had Shawn Patrick McGraw and his band on its back patio. Locations with outside dining were all busy - there were cars and people everywhere just plain enjoying themselves. Saturday brought all kinds of people to Jamestown to enjoy the attractions we have along with many activities.
This weekend we had some guests here from California and we had the opportunity to spend time with them right here in Jamestown. I thought I would pass along their thoughts, comments and impressions of Jamestown. First of all, I would let you know they had similar comments to the production crew of Fireball Run - that we have a "hidden gem" here in Jamestown.
Our guests were very surprised by how nice Jamestown is with the great architecture and all the improvements that are obviously being completed. They came here to Jamestown with no real expectations, but I believe spent almost the entire time of their visit right here in downtown Jamestown. These were fresh eyes, and while we all live in the United States, there are some real differences between community locations and what actually happens. Our guests also like to see revitalization and the use of older buildings in reuse situations which are very evident here in Jamestown. They were pleased with our use of older buildings.
One topic of conversation was water. They could not belief how readily available good water is here. They told us that water is a real problem in their area of California and there is a ban on such things as watering lawns. They even have timers in their shower so they do not take too long in the shower and use too much water. It's hard for us to imagine such concepts.
We also visited our downtown eating establishments. They were impressed by not only the quantity of good food but also the quality. We had the pleasure of spending time in one of our outside cafe establishments and they were liked how friendly and nice the people in Jamestown really are. We visited the Shawn Patrick McGraw concert on Second Street between the Train Station and the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena and thoroughly enjoyed the concert and the people attending that event. They found Jamestown to be extremely safe and also very clean. They also remarked on how nice the weather is here in Western New York, as well as the scenery.
Friday we took them to the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Center. I believe they were blown away by the quality of this Jamestown attraction. They found it not only attractive but very informative. They enjoyed it enough that after touring the museum they went back in and made a free-will donation to the Lucy Desi organization.
I think they were also very surprised by the number of things happening in Jamestown, and at one location we visited I heard another visitor say they can't say there is nothing happening in Jamestown. Our friends arrived in Jamestown with no preconceived idea of our community. They left with a huge appreciation of what we have and how we are handling our city of Jamestown.
It is my guess you will see them back here in Jamestown in the future to continue to enjoy what our community has to offer.