John Villani
John Villani, a travel and arts writer and columnist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is author of The 100 Best Art Towns in America(Avalon Travel).
All over America, the arts are blossoming in small cities and towns. Especially when accompanied with the amenities provided by a local college, these towns provide an ideal retirement community for people seeking an environment free of the stresses of big city life, but with a rich cultural environment to keep their minds youthful. Among my favorites…
This well-preserved and affordable old waterfront community of 25,500 is about an hour’s drive southwest of Providence, Rhode Island. Many artists live here and in Old Lyme, half an hour to the west. The region has numerous art galleries and performing arts centers and is close to Mystic Seaport, a major tourist attraction rich in maritime art. Institutions in the area that provide access to arts and culture of all kinds include Connecticut College, the University of Connecticut at Avery Point and the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts.
Notable attractions and events: Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford… Annual Hygienic Art Show (January) — the show and gallery are named after the restaurant formerly in the same building as the gallery.
Information: New London Chamber of Commerce, 860-464-7373, www.chamberect.com.
One and one-half hours south of Rochester, this town of 26,000 is the home of the glass manufacturer Corning, one of the world’s largest. It is a center for artists working in glass, including many independent artists as well as those employed by Steuben, the fine art division of Corning. The town of Corning also offers many other forms of visual and performing arts.
Notable attractions and events: Corning Museum of Glass… Festival of Art (July)… Rockwell Museum of Western Art… Jazz and Harvest Festival (September).
Information: Corning Area Chamber of Commerce, 607-936-4686, www.corningny.com.
This fast-growing town of 20,900 is an arts powerhouse situated in an area of great natural beauty between the Gulf of Mexico and Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve and several other national parks and wildlife preserves. Naples has two highly regarded community arts centers as well as dozens of commercial art galleries and even more artists’ studios. The town is also home to the 85-piece Naples Philharmonic Orchestra plus a youth orchestra, ballet company and the 110-voice Philharmonic Center Chorale.
Notable attractions and events: Philharmonic Center for the Arts… Naples Museum of Art… Naples National Art Festival (February).
Information: Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, 239-262-6376, www.napleschamber.org.
This town of 82,500, home of the University of Kansas, is within a 45-minute drive of Kansas City. Nestled among rolling hills and prairies, with many creeks and wooded boulevards, it is very affordable. Its highly educated and creative residents enjoy a breadth of cultural amenities that some much larger cities would envy.
Notable attractions and events: Lawrence Arts Center… Spencer Museum of Art… Lawrence Community Theater… Haskell Indian Art Market (September)… Lawrence ArtWalk (October)… Art in the Park (May).
Information: Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau, 785-865-4499.
This town of 4,000 is 90 miles east of New Orleans and close to the barrier islands comprising the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It became a boomtown when casinos began opening there in 1992. The population has diminished as a result of hurricane Katrina — but is expected to surge to higher than before the storm. The influx of money has enabled Biloxi and neighboring Ocean Springs to sustain two art museums and a range of arts groups as well as the Gulf Coast Symphony and the Gulf Coast Opera Theater. The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, named after George Ohr, the father of American pottery, and former Biloxi mayor Jeremiah O’Keefe, is known for its collection of pottery and other ceramics.
Notable attractions and events: Walter Anderson Museum of Art… Peter Anderson Arts and Crafts Festival (November)… George E. Ohr Fall Festival of the Arts (October)… Mardi Gras in nearby New Orleans (February).
Information: City of Biloxi, 228-604-0014, www.biloxi.ms.us.
This town of 61,000, an hour’s drive north of Denver, is a national center of sculpture. The art form dominates the city’s cultural life and fills its public spaces, but there are also abundant opportunities to enjoy the other visual and performing arts.
Notable attractions and events: Loveland Museum/Gallery… Rialto Theatre… Sculpture in the Park and Loveland Sculpture Invitational exhibitions (August)… Art in the Park (August).
Information: Loveland Chamber of Commerce, 970-667-6311, www.loveland.org.
This picturesque, high-altitude town of 43,500 retains much of the architectural charm of the Victorian era when it was founded. Many arts-minded individuals have moved here from Phoenix, which is just a 90-minute drive away. Artists, sculptors, musicians and performers form a rich cultural community together with arts faculty members and students from Prescott College and Yavapai College. The town supports two art museums and a history museum.
Notable attractions and events: Phippen Art Museum… Arts Prescott Gallery… Tsunami on the Square, featuring jugglers, fire dancers and acrobats (June)… Arizona Shakespeare Festival (September)… Arizona designer craftsmen open studio tour (November).
Information: Prescott Chamber of Commerce, 928-445-2000, www.prescott.org.
This small, friendly, prosperous, safe and charming town of 1,600 in winter and up to 10,000 in summer is right on the Pacific Ocean. Less than two hours from Portland, it has attracted an extraordinary number of artists. The community theater, located in a former ice rink, offers performances year-round.
Notable attractions and events: Coaster Theatre Playhouse… Sandcastle Contest (June)… Stormy Weather Arts Festival (November).
Information: Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce, 503-436-2623, www.cannonbeach.org.
This unpretentious Northern California city of 84,400 is about three hours from San Francisco. California State University, Chico, employs dozens of painters, actors, dancers and musicians and has four art galleries and a performing arts center with four theaters. There is also a community of nationally known glass artists.
Notable attractions and events: Chico Art Center… Janet Turner Print Museum… Blue Room Theatre… Open Studios Tour (Fall).
Information: Chico Chamber of Commerce, 530-891-5556, www.chicochamber.com.
