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ORANGE — The City of Orange has a lot going on and, as Mayor Larry Spears says, Orange is open for business.

The city’s new logo and rebranding was unveiled a few months ago as an effort to enhance the city’s brand and highlight its unique attributes and vibrant community spirit, according to information from the city.

Spears said city staff, marketing department and Convention and Visitors Bureau came together with the idea to rebrand the city, get a new logo and find a company to create a promotional video showcasing the city, what it has to order and to attract newcomers to Orange.

Orange, he said, is sometimes forgotten as Beaumont and Port Arthur surround it.

Councilmembers approved the idea and Marketing Alliance Inc. was brought in to create video and photography.

“They went and visited everything possible, airboat rides, Lamar State College Orange and the Stark Foundation,” Spears said.

The company also used drones to get creative shots of the area’s attributes.

The video shows Spears and LSCO President Dr. Thomas Johnson providing testimony.

Spears said there has been a positive response to the video. He shared the video on his personal Facebook page and on the Mayor’s Facebook page and viewers were impressed.

Even at his job he has had coworkers tell him they “didn’t know Orange had all of that.”

“We want people to know, when they see me in the video, I say we are open for business,” he said. “We want investors to come and see what we have and see how they can be part of the growth we have.”

He said God is put first in Orange and the growth that occurs is attributed to Him.

The video can be seen on the city’s Facebook page and website.

“So here in orange we have a mantra that we started in 2018 and it’s very simple – no matter who you are or where you are we want you to know that when you come to the City of Orange we’re about the people,” he said in the testimonial. So dealing with different businesses, entities, prospects we want them to know we’re not just a city, we’re not just a business or a municipality. We are a group of individuals that want to put God first, that want to grow, that want to do what is right and we want to make sure that we’re inviting any and everyone that wants to be part of making Orange better than it was the day before.”

The project with Marketing Alliance Inc. was brought to city council on Feb. 27. It was funded by the advertising budgets of the Economic Development Corporation and Convention and Visitors Bureau for a cot not to exceed $25,850, according to information from the city.

Upcoming events

• Nov. 14 — Orange Public Library is hosting a double feature of Free Birds. Showings will be at 10:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. Nov. 14 at the library, 220 5^thSt.

For more information, contact the Orange Public Library at 409-883-1086.

• Nov. 16 — The Orange Recreation Center is hosting the 2^ndAnnual Co-Ed Volleyball Tournament. The event starts at 10 a.m. at the Recreation Center, 1405 W. Orange Ave.

Entry is $20 per team. For details call 409-883-1072.

• Dec. 7 — The Explore Orange – Convention and Visitors Bureau is thrilled to bring back the Gumdrop Shop Holiday Market at Stark Park in downtown Orange. The event is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Stark Park, 201 7^thSt. For more information, call the Convention and Visitors Bureau at 409-883-1011.