MILWAUKEE — The story of Milwaukee is a story city leaders want to tell even without the initial Democratic National Convention plans in place. Leaders said they're still working to get their message out there, even with much of the DNC now being virtual.
On Friday, two new commercials from Visit Milwaukee highlighted what's still the official host city of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
"The DNC went virtual and so did we,” said Visit Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith when asked how to sell the city to potential visitors.
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Williams-Smith said while 50,000 people won't be in Milwaukee in-person, there are still ways to keep the city and its people at the forefront of the conversation over the next week.
"Thirty videos were curated and narrated by authentic Milwaukeeans to give the people who can't be here a sense of what they are missing." Williams-Smith said.
Those videos are part of a virtual tour and campaign of Milwaukee ahead of the DNC.
Ahmed Nasef, owner of the Syrian restaurant Damascus Gate narrated the Mitchell Street virtual tour video. He hopes people will consider Milwaukee after learning about it during the convention.
"They're missing out on a great experience. Milwaukee is a great place to be in the summertime," Nasef said.
Nasef acknowledges Milwaukee also needs to continue working to address serious longtime challenges such as institutional racism and segregation.
"Life is too short. If you're going to spend it hating each other, it's going to be a wasted life," he said.
Nasif said there's nowhere he'd rather be than Milwaukee and he's happy to have played a role in telling the city's story to the nation.
Visit Milwaukee says it's hoping and working to make its two commercials hit primetime spots during the DNC.
The videos can be seen here.