A new Corn Palace promotional video had members of the City Council buzzing Monday evening, and for good reason. The 16-minute, professionally produced movie replaces a film that had been shown to Corn Palace visitors for almost two decades.
But how, members of the council wondered Monday, can we spotlight this new promo and impress the thousands of guests who will see it this summer?
First, some background on the movie.
It made its debut Monday during the council meeting, at which council members and other attendees watched it on a large projector screen in the Council Chambers at City Hall. The film was produced locally by Wiese Design Video and tells the story of the Corn Palace, through historic photos and narration.
It suggests a few other places in Mitchell to visit, and tells viewers that "the Corn Palace lives on because it has a story to tell about a state and a people who have prevailed in a land that writes its own rules about who lives here and what grows here."
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A story to tell. ... That's nice. We like that.
The Corn Palace is a great story, and one that our summertime guests should fully understand before they jump back in the car and head to Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone or whatever destination is circled on their map. When the city's tourists fully understand why the Corn Palace was built and what it means to us, they may leave with a better knowledge of our area and why, exactly, we celebrate a corn-covered palace on Main Street.
Next for the council is to decide where the movie should be played. For years, a promotional film has been shown behind curtains in a corner of the Palace, but Monday, some at the council meeting questioned if that's an adequate location.
One idea put forth is to show the movie in the Council Chambers, which would force City Council meetings -- and various other city meetings -- into another location during tourist season.
If the council has no problem with that, it seems like a pretty good idea to us. Their meeting room is spacious, can easily be darkened, is very accessible and yet away from the hustle and bustle of the Corn Palace floor.
That quiet room would indeed allow the Palace to better shine the spotlight on this new promotional video.
Whatever is decided, we're pleased about the excitement the new movie generated Monday night. It's a great attitude to take into the 2009 tourist season.
