"They think we're over by Alaska!"
That's how Erie Art Museum Director John Vanco jokingly refers to people's unwillingness to travel to northwest Pennsylvania from other parts of the state.
Vanco and other arts supporters are hoping to change a few minds this week as the Governor's prestigious Awards for the Arts is held for the first time here.
The thinking is that Erie has a chance to make a good first impression, which could lead to other opportunities down the road.
"When we study cities that have made (economic) turnarounds," Regional Chamber President Barb Chaffee told us, "they all had strong cultural districts."
Pennsylvania's art community is coming to Erie for the awards, which gives Erie the chance to show off places like the Warner Theater, the Erie Insurance campus and the Erie Art Museum.