p(hoto by JIM STREET)
Jim Glendinning with Pilar Pedersen, left, and Gwynne Jamieson toasted a new bench with Glendinning’s name in Alpine’s Railroad Park Saturday. The bench was dedicated to the “Footloose Scot” during the Alpine Downtown Association Heart of the Arts promotion. Glendinning has visited more than 136 countries around the world, written many travel books and offered tours of Mexico, including the scenic Copper Canyon between Chihuahua and the West Coast.
By JIM STREET
The Alpine Downtown Association said Monday that Saturday’s Heart of the Arts event in the downtown business district was its most successful promotion to date.
Partially funded by the city of Alpine Hotel Occupancy Tax, Porter’s Thriftway and West Texas National Bank, the event was advertised locally, as well as in out-of-town media, concentrating on the Midland-Odessa area.
Popular Alpine travel writer Jim Glendinning was honored as part of the event in Railroad Park. A teak bench donated to the park by Alpine Teak Store was named in his honor.
Glendinning sat on the new bench with friend Pilar Pedersen and ADA Railroad Committee Chair Gwynne Jamieson as others looked on, many snapping pictures on their cell phones.
Jamieson’s committee is working with other non-profits to upgrade the park in the heart of downtown Alpine.
Richard Hinkel, who described himself simply as a “volunteer,” read from prepared remarks about Glendinning’s contribution to the area.
A native of Scotland and a graduate of Oxford, Glendinning chose Alpine as a place to live after visiting many countries.
As of the writing of the remarks, he had visited more than 136 Countries. He currently is battling cancer.
“Jim needs no introduction to most of us,” Hinkel said. “He is a business operator and published author who has been calling Alpine home for 25 years now.
“His volunteer work with the Alpine Library and volunteer work with local organizations has insured that most know his name,” he said.
Hinkel said the Alpine bench is the U.S. version of another with Glendinning’s name on it in Batopilas, Chihuahua, in the scenic Copper Canyon.
Glendinning’s travel business, which went by the name of “the Footloose Scot,” offered tours of northern Mexico, including Copper Canyon on the train route from Chihuahua to the West Coast.
Hinkel said Glendinning “will always be most renowned for having made Mexico both more accessible and more enchanting.”
Glendinning poured shots from a bottle of Sotol and Hinkel led a toast, then splashed shots of the state drink of Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila on the bench.
The ADA said many visitors to businesses told merchants they had heard about the event in Midland and other cities, mostly from friends and social media. Both the Midland Reporter-Telegram and the Odessa American published ads and stories and news releases and ads appeared in other papers including the Big Bend Sentinel.
Radio ads and stories were heard on National Public Radio and Alpine stations KFLF and KALP.
Other visitors said they were from Pecos and other cities in the area. The ADA said the fact that many said they heard about it from friends and social media indicated the ads and stories reached many beyond those that saw them in the papers or heard them on the radio.
The event featured Alpine’s artists, both performing and visual. Four musical venues plus strolling Mariachis may have contributed to the success of the evening.
Internationally-acclaimed jazz guitarist Gerhard Kraus of Dallas, accompanied by Ted Arbogast and Ron Steinmann of Terlingua, set up shop in the lobby of the Holland Hotel playing many jazz and standard compositions.
Alpine’s Rick Ruiz and his Grupo de la Paz entertained at the new Taste and See Bakery on 5th Street while a block away, another Alpine favorite, the Swifts, played at the Whitlock Gallery on 6th.
Artist Nancy Whitlock also offered a “kissing booth,” allowing significant others to smooch each other for $5 or hug a friend for $2. Proceeds will help ADA fund other activities.
On Murphy Street, artist Tom Curry presided over a jam session at his gallery and Mariachi Alegre, also of Alpine, strolled Murphy Street and Holland Avenue.
Two galleries, Catchlight and Gallery on the Square next door on Holland Avenue, had a joint reception and other galleries reported doing well.
ADA Vice President David Busey chaired the Art of the Arts Committee, working with the city to coordinate promotion of the event and lining up performances.
The ADA was created in 2016 to promote businesses and economic development in the central business district. It received its tax-exempt 501-C-3 status last year.
It created four Heart of Alpine events last year and is working with area taxing agencies for tax relief for people who repair old buildings and create new businesses.
NOTE: Jim Street is President of the ADA.
