The Clovis Veterans Memorial District’s Community Heritage Center will be opening to the public and will be an interactive experience that not only gives recognition to those who served, but to those who made the City of Clovis possible.
The center will exhibit not only the backstory of the founding of Clovis, but also showcases how the city is intertwined with the wars that impacted the United States. As it was stated, this center will “capture the essence of our community.”
CEO of Clovis Veterans Memorial District, Lorenzo Rios stated, “It reminds you of the roots that has made our community what it is and it’s a celebration of the past as a reminder of the responsibility of the present.”
The center tells a story as much on the outside as it does on the inside. The building is surrounded by murals that start on the east side of the building which, according to Rios, isn’t just a coincidence. Since the sun rises from the East, the murals that begin the story were intended to start there as a symbolistic meaning about how Clovis started and also a symbolistic child waving goodbye to the soldiers who are off to battle.
Walking south on Veterans Parkway, you’ll see the start of the murals that represent the past moments like the building of Clovis and soldiers preparing for war. As you travel around the south part of the building, you’ll see dark silhouette murals of the many wars our country was involved in throughout the decades. From World War 1 to the Vietnam War, each one is symbolized with its own mural and silhouette.
Once you walk around to the front of the building, you’ll notice the silhouette of that same boy that waved goodbye waving a flag showing his patriotism and welcoming back the troops. Phrases are placed across the front of the building like the preamble, “We The People”, and “E Pluribus Unum”, which translates to “out of many, one”. As you finish viewing the western side of the building, you’ll see at the end images that depict the future and what the community and country is working towards.
Rios talks more about this depiction saying, “It’s not an end, but actually a tip to the future. And as a tip to the future not only is it a welcome home, it’s also a celebration.” These murals are only the beginning of this interactive journey. The next step is walking into the center, where things become more immersive.
The interactions start as soon as you walk in. The Clovis Hall of Fame gets you started by showing you all those people that helped make the city what it is. You can even use a touch screen monitor to learn more about the members of this prestigious club. After you pass this monument, you get a moment with three of the founding fathers of Clovis. When you walk close to the photos, motion detectors will trigger a video interaction with these three people that helped create this city that we call Clovis and some of the important things they did for the city.
After you experience the three founding fathers of Clovis, you’ll get to have different interactions that give you a feel for the times that built the city for what it is. You’ll have interactive moments like seeing the flume, how it traveled to Clovis, how much it helped build the city, and agricultural inventions to help farmers build their farms and grow crops to help the city.
As you transition from the founding and creation of Clovis, you’ll be submerged into the big wars that Clovis was intertwined with. To make the experience better, you’ll get different types of things that make you feel more intermixed with the meaning of these wars. From touch screen monitors that give you some history and insight, to feeling like you’re inside the trenches fighting in World War I. The trenches are so realistic, “the only thing missing is some mud”. Along with these interactions, there will be posters and signs that explain the significance of each item that is in the center.
This center is something that the Memorial District hopes brings families into a new world with a new experience that they’ve never seen before. Rios expresses how he sees this center being something that the public isn’t expecting to interact with.
“The idea is that you’re having a multi-sensory engagement with the exhibits and an intergenerational conversation,” Rios said. “What that means is, you can talk to grandpa and talk to your kids, and to the youngest kid walking through here and everybody, they should see something that interests them and engages them.”
The grand opening of the Community Heritage Center will take place on Veterans Day, November 11th starting at 9 A.M. The opening will feature a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and other activities as you wait for the doors of the center to open.
For more information on the Community Heritage Center opening, you can visit the Clovis Veterans Memorial District Facebook page. You can click on the event for more information.