What better venue than Modesto’s historic  State Theatre to view a documentary film of one of the greatest eras of California history? Edmund G. “Pat” Brown was among the last of California’s larger than life politicians back when it was still possible to be both visionary and progressive.

“California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown,” features a cast including some of the Golden State’s greatest and most prominent politicians, each one as complex and unique as the state itself. Just consider the likelihood that our recent political history would include figures as diverse as Tom Hayden and Arnold Schwarznegger, Willie Brown and Gray Davis, Nancy Pelosi and current second-term Governor Jerry Brown, Pat Brown’s son.

The film, written and directed by Pat Brown’s granddaughter, chronicles Brown’s eight year term as Governor during the fabulous sixties. Brown’s vision and accomplishments encompassed everything from the California Aqueduct through our expansive highways and included a system of higher education that became the envy of the world.

The film is showing Tuesday, October 30, at 7:00 pm. Early arrivals will have the opportunity to meet Sacha Rice, the award-winning filmmaker whose close family relationship to Brown provides an unusually intimate look at one of California’s political giants.

Few California residents today know just how much Brown’s investment in California’s future has meant to those who’ve been profiting from his vision for half a century. “California State of Mind” shows what enlightened government can achieve and serves as an effective lesson for those who’ve come to deprecate government’s potential for improving the public’s quality of life. More information is here.