Sankey: ‘Legacy in Lights’ helps illuminate what makes Gonzales special

To Gonzales Economic Development Corporation (GEDC) executive director Susan Sankey, what makes a town like Gonzales unforgettable is a perfect mix of three things — its landscape, its history and its people.

She believes strongly in the ability of the Texas Legacy in Lights digital mapping project that recently wrapped filming to “brilliantly illuminate” those qualities she says Gonzales has in abundance — to the point that GEDC helped fund the content portion of Texas Legacy in Lights through a $370,720 performance agreement with Gonzales Main Street.

Created by John Franklin Rinehart’s Austin Film Crew, Texas Legacy in Lights will cast an immersive video about the history of Gonzales onto the surface of the Memorial Museum, 414 Smith St., twice a night for six nights each week.

The 3D canvas of light and illusion is similar to “San Antonio: The Saga,” a 24-minute projection that is digitally mapped across the surface of the San Fernando Cathedral façade in San Antonio and draws thousands of visitors to the Alamo city every year.

“I think the stars have aligned here with the talent, the resources, the circumstances and even the challenges that, as a community, all come together so that we can share our unique story with the whole world,” Sankey said. “It's the Come and Take It story in October in Gonzales, Texas. When we light up the facade of the Gonzales Memorial Museum, we're not just flipping a switch, we're igniting a legacy.

“Legacy is more than history. It's how history lives on. Legacy in Lights is our modern day battle cry. It's how we celebrate our past, tell our story and invite the world to be part of it. It reminds us and teaches our children that what started here in Gonzales changed Texas forever. It changed the Southwest United States, our nation and our world.”

Sankey said Legacy in Lights helped answer a call for heritage tourism that was created following a 2017 tourism assessment of Gonzales by the Office of the Governor for Economic Development and Tourism.

It was estimated eight years ago, when the report was completed, that direct travel spending in Texas totaled more than $74.7 billion, supporting 677,600 jobs directly and generating some $7 billion in state and local taxes while supporting jobs across many sectors, including leisure and hospitality, transportation, retail trade, services, finance, real estate, construction, insurance and government.

“Heritage tourism focuses on experiencing the cultural, the historical and the natural heritage of the destination. It involves visiting places that have historical significance, traditional customs, architecture, art and practices that reflect a community or a nation's heritage,” Sankey said.

“In 2017, when the report was done, it was estimated there was more than $23.7 million in total direct visitor spending within Gonzales. As a result of this visitor spending, an estimated 190 jobs were supported within the city. Additionally, tourism generated an estimated $504,000 in local taxes and $1.48 million in state taxes in Gonzales alone in 2017.”

She said Texas Legacy in Lights can be a way to draw tourists to the other great things the community has to offer.

“They can stay for the story. They can tour our historic homes. They can visit the Gonzales Memorial Museum in our museum district. They can take photos at the cannon,” Sankey said. “They can shop in our historic downtown, our Main Street District. They can see our many historic sites. They can fall in love with our charm. We invite them to keep coming back, to stay a while. They can even move here.

“Perhaps the most beautiful impact of Legacy in Lights isn't the tourism alone. It's the transformation it inspires right here at home, it's the opportunity that can bring a community together. Legacy in Lights sparks unity in telling our story. We all become ambassadors for Gonzales in preserving our history.

“This is our opportunity to connect generations — and isn't that the kind of legacy worth celebrating?” Sankey asked. “It's a declaration we remember, we celebrate, we shine, we welcome Texas Legacy in Lights and sharing with the whole world the Come and Take It story. It's our unique story, and it's worth preserving. It's worth telling the rest of the world, it's our heritage, it's Gonzales.”

The Inquirer had the opportunity to interview Sankey more about the project in detail:

I know that there's critics out there who say, ‘Why would you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make a film? You know, where's the tangibleness in that? Where is the return of investment on something like that? Help people understand why this is something that you're saying.

Sankey: I think telling our story, which is way overdue, is invaluable, and for too long, that story has gone untold. When I lived several states away, and I would see the Come and Take It flag, I would stop and ask people, ‘What does that flag mean?’ because when I saw it, it was my spark to my hometown. But the people really couldn't tell me the story about the flag. Recently, as an economic development project, we had an entourage from Japan who's opening a business in Gonzales, and they were very familiar with the Come and Take It story. They've done their homework, they've done their research, and they're a new business in our community.

Our story is unique. It should be told widespread and the value of that is it. How do you put a price tag on that? Furthermore, I would say that the budget that this production is happening is very frugal. A lot of people have come together to help make this happen because they see the value in telling our story. For years, people have wanted our story to be told, and we have found a way where the stars align, like I said earlier, with the resources, with the talent, but I also recognize and appreciate your question, because I think that the challenges that have come along with this from people who question maybe the cost of it. The reality is, it costs a lot more than it's been then it is being spent to produce it. I believe that I don't know the final numbers on that, but I think, I think the people who question that have made us dig deeper on why this is so important, and that helps us be better at delivering this project and doing it for the community with a level of quality, yet being responsible with the resources we have. And I think that's very important.

How impressed have you been with the quality of production that has taken place so far from what you've seen?

Sankey: My observation is the cast and crew has been excellent. They've been hustling around, doing the things that need to happen to make sure that this is delivered at a level of quality, that this becomes what the level of expectation is for it. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product, and I'm looking forward to seeing the story unfold that we know so well, that we can share with generations. And I think preserving this and being true to the history of it, I'm very impressed with that as well, and I think that a lot of thought and care has been brought forward to dig deep for the facts and to honor the history.

It’s going to be the 200th anniversary of the founding of Gonzales. This year, there will be a big celebration for that. You talk about the stars aligning; talk about how well it aligned to the fact that you will be able to celebrate this milestone with this great accomplishment of having this film produced?

Sankey: I think it's hard to take 200 years and wrap that all into a single event, or a single day, or anything that that doesn't do justice for what that 200 years really means. I'm so excited for the timing of this, because I think that, besides being like a tree — the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago — the next best time is now. Our story is so unique and has such a need to be historically preserved. The timing of this production for the Texas legacy and lights and having that coincide with our 200th birthday as a community — I think that's very special. I think it also can help position us for what Texas is going to experience soon when it celebrates its birthday and its bicentennial as a state. And I think that all of these things coming together and aligning for the timeline is very special.

What steps are getting done as far as to work maybe with some of the other historical cities that have been involved in Texas Revolution, including San Antonio with the Alamo, or Goliad with La Bahia, or some of the others, and maybe to try to market Gonzales and this event coming up to have people visit the Independence Trail?

Sankey: You know, the Texas Independence Trail that we're part of is very important, and it's very significant for who we are as a community. I haven't been directly involved in those tourism efforts, but I recognize that is a really good opportunity. And I also think that talking about Green DeWitt's colony and the communities that formed that is very important, and the position of Gonzales that was once the capital of that colony. Those are significant milestones in our history that we have a great opportunity to connect with our other communities around us, but also the historic communities that bring Texas together to tell our whole story. I think that's an opportunity that we have as a community.

You're a Gonzales native yourself. What kind of pride is this bringing upon you to have something like this being done, to discuss and promote your hometown?

Sankey: It's really exciting to see the story unfold this way. Every year, we have Come and Take It celebration, and we do a lot of things that try to honor our history, and I think all of those events are very important. I've been very blessed to live in a lot of different communities across the United States and travel across other parts of the world. I think that nobody's ever really asked me why I came back. I never intended to be gone this long after I graduated from high school here, went to college and graduated from college. I always wanted to come back so seeking the right opportunity and being to work with the community and really give back in a way that hopefully has an impact for the whole community, is important to me, and I value and appreciate the opportunity that I have. I feel very blessed to be able to do that.