ThisWeek CW 02/02/2012
Town Hall was filled last week with local business owners, community volunteers and city officials to preview a new Destination: Canal Winchester video aimed at attracting outside interest and investment to the city.
“I’m grateful this many folks came out to see something new and exciting,” Destination: Canal Winchester executive director Bruce Jarvis said. “Destination: Canal Winchester is a citywide organization. However, in this video, you see a lot of downtown because it is one of the strongest, most distinct areas and when you’re trying to attract outside people, this is the main card to play.”
Destination: Canal Winchester replaced the Main Street Canal Winchester organization, which focused on tourism and business development in the city’s historic district. The new organization is now the city’s official convention and visitors bureau, responsible for promoting tourism, historic preservation and the city’s economic well-being.
Mike and Carol DelGrosso have lived in Canal Winchester for 21 years and are principles at Milenthal-DelGrosso, a communications and marketing company. The couple spent the last year capturing events and daily activities around Canal Winchester for use in compiling the video.
“We’re benefactors of their talent and through them, we found people that really get what Canal Winchester is about,” Jarvis said. “The first planning for the film started about a year ago and the first footage was taken in late spring, so the video is time slices from then all the way through the Christmas in the Village event.”
The video offers a glimpse of the early days of spring, at the city’s farm markets, an overview of local businesses, various recreational activities such as bicycling and fly-fishing, all the major festivals leading up to views of Canal Winchester awash in the glow of holiday lights during Christmas in the Village.
“I think every grade school child should be made to do what we did, which was to go around the community and talk to residents and find the hidden treasures here,” Carol DelGrosso said. “Everyone was so welcoming and inviting. I learned a lot and I’m so proud to have been a part of this project.”
DelGrosso said it was difficult to edit a year’s worth of video down to a finished product that is approximately seven minutes long. It can be viewed online at www.destinationcw.org.
“It pains me that it got boiled down to just a small snapshot,” she said. “I definitely see more of these little snippets we can share with the community coming out in coming months because there’s so much great imagery to show off.”
According to DelGrosso, several interviews not used in the video are slated for future use by Destination: Canal Winchester in its promotional projects.
The video was funded by a donation from Dick and Jo Weiser, according to Jarvis, who thanked them for their philanthropy.
“This is our home and we like to do anything we can to further Canal Winchester,” Dick Weiser said. “We’re just giving back. If you have an opportunity to be involved and you have the means to do it, then do it.”
The audience at Town Hall applauded after the video viewing, with several people providing positive feedback.
“I think this video gave you a pretty good snapshot of what happens in Canal Winchester,” Mayor Michael Ebert said. “We saw people working and playing and doing what they normally do. If there’s something it missed, I don’t know what it was.”