John Villani has discovered something: Small towns are great for vacations. Especially if you like to sample art, music or theater when you visit new places.
“For about eight years I’ve been covering the arts scene in Santa Fe for different publications in Santa Fe and Albuquerque,” says Villani, 42, the author of “The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America” (John Muir Publications; $15.95).
“Interviewing artists over the course of eight years, just talking to them about their lives and where they’re coming in from to do exhibitions or performances here in New Mexico, (I’ve learned that) they live in a lot of these small towns around the country. They live in places like Salida, Colo., or Bisbee, Ariz., or Springville, Utah.”
So Villani decided to visit some of the towns he was hearing about from these artists, and that led to some great vacation experiences–and a book as a bonus.
“These are driving trips,” says Villani, though sometimes he’s able to fly, but that’s complicated. “For instance, to get to Eureka, Calif., I’ve got to fly from Albuquerque to Denver, Denver to San Francisco, San Francisco to Eureka. There is an airport in Eureka; it has three flights a day.”
A more typical trip would be one he took recently in the Midwest. “I drove this big loop last June from here to St. Louis, then to Hannibal and Quincy and on to southwest Wisconsin. From there I went to Madeline Island in Lake Superior and then I went over to western Minnesota, then to southeast Minnesota, then over to Iowa. Then down through Iowa into Kansas. I’m driving on two-lane blacktop just trying to find out where these clusters of people are and how they can possibly make a living in these small towns.”
What he learned was that “these small towns are places where artists can live cheaply and safely, sometimes near a small university, sometimes not.” Villani says he stays as often as he can at bed-and-breakfast inns. “I will call the local arts agency and find out if there’s somebody who has a bed and breakfast who’s involved in supporting the arts.”
But sometimes his travel is more casual. “I’ll take a hiking trip in Texas and swing through a town that I’ve heard of and just start poking around, go into restaurants and bars and find out what the lay of the land is. People in these small towns are very supportive of the fact that somebody who comes from New Mexico is interested in them. They want to be as helpful as they can, knowing you’ve come a long distance to celebrate what makes them and their own cultural scene special.”
Villani makes a point of telling them he doesn’t want to eat in the best restaurants or stay in the best hotels. He wants an experience that gives him the flavor of local life in each town. “I want to go to bars and eat bar food. I want to hang out the way they hang out; I don’t want to do anything special. I try to just key into the local experience as much as I can–get off of that mainstream.”
This sort of travel is not for those who like their vacation adventures programmed. You’ll have to learn most of the pertinent information about the town after you arrive–unless you’ve chosen one of the towns in Villani’s book, where the work has already been done for you. Villani suggests that travelers who want to find their way around an unknown small town go to a bookstore in a new town and look for the free publications that are given out there.
“I go to coffee shops and do the same thing,” he says. “I go to the bulletin boards in the natural food markets. I try to find out what alternative ways of maintaining a network exist in the arts community, whether that’s the music community or the drama or performing arts community or the visual arts community. I try to find out what’s already there. And I go to the local art galleries and ask the staff what’s happening in this town. Is there an opening coming up? What’s happening that I can just sort of drop in on? Or I’ll go to a bar where there’s locally created art hanging on the walls and I’ll ask the bartender about the artist. My advice is to try to get a good sense of what makes that place tick in its own way, from a local level. Chambers of commerce and convention bureaus are helpful, but in some communities they kind of miss the mark because they’re so mainstream, they’re so tied into the business community.”
In a pinch he’ll call the local radio station, he says, and ask for the name of the best Italian restaurant or the bar where the deejays hang out. “I just talk to people who should know. Usually the radio station people are keyed in. Sometimes I’ll call the entertainment editor for the local newspaper and ask a few questions. One of the things I always do is try to find out when the local paper publishes its entertainment section. If it’s out on Friday and I arrive in town on a Wednesday I’ll go to the local newspaper offices and ask for last Friday’s paper and buy it so I can have that for a few days and map out what’s happening.”
Villani says he finds that by going into the arts end of the communities you get a much richer experience. “You’re going to manage to sidestep the generic travel experience. You’re going to get away from the fudge shops and the T-shirt shops. A lot of what we see around this country is redundant. If it’s not a chain operation it’s inspired by a chain operation. Who eats all this fudge, anyway?”
One of his favorite small towns, Villani says, is in the Midwest. “On this last trip to the Midwest, I really liked Lanesboro, Minn. I just fell in love with this little town where there are art galleries on this revived main street and there’s a wonderful theater that has productions eight months out of the year. They do a live local radio show from the theater on Saturday night. It’s just a beautiful setting; there are wonderful bicycle trails. The people are very friendly and they support each other. And you’re less than an hour outside of Rochester; there’s an airport there. You can get into Minneapolis in two hours for a weekend.”
Another Villani favorite is Bisbee, Ariz. “It’s just 10 miles across the border from Mexico, and it’s such a cool little town. It’s loaded with people in the performing and visual arts who are starting their own stores and restaurants. Nobody seems to have a whole lot of money, but everybody has a whole lot of purpose. It’s a town where the arts community really rebuilt it and turned it into a fabulous place. And if you get bored in Bisbee you can drive for 15 minutes and you can be across the border in Sonora, drinking mescal at a little cantina where a guy wants to shine your shoes for 50 cents. It’s just wonderful. And the weather is beautiful. It’s a pretty part of the desert, a green part.”
Villani says that in Illinois he likes Quincy. “The wealthy people have stepped up to the plate and put a lot of money and energy into maintaining and expanding the city’s cultural infrastructure. Quincy has a tremendous amount of potential, and they’re welcoming artists with every possible inducement: low rent, low crime. The town is full of lovely Victorian homes. And the people are friendly.”
Most of these small towns, Villani says, are near rural settings with bicycle trails and state parks so there is plenty of entertainment for families. “They’re not near amusement parks, but in a place like La Pointe, Wis., on Madeline Island, you have these beautiful beaches, places to sail, kids can ride their bikes all over the island. You can take a boat into town for dinner. It’s a gorgeous place for a family to take a vacation. These are all safe, low-keyed towns. Bring your bicycles. I do. Wherever I travel I take a bike.”
There is one thing you can’t do in most small towns, Villani admits. “You’re not going to be able to hop in your car and try that new Ethiopian restaurant. But you’re going to find nice places to eat in the town or in a nearby town. You’ll have more than enough for a weekend or a week. I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.”
DETAILS ON (SMALL) ARTS TOWNS
Here are some arts towns within an easy drive of Chicago, as recommended by John Villani in his book “The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America”:
Illinois
Galena (population: 3,600): Located in the northwest part of the state, about a 5-minute drive from the Mississippi River and 10 miles south of the Wisconsin border. Wooded state parks, cross-country skiing and riverboat gambling are other attractions of the area. Art galleries, theater and classical music, often with vacationing musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Festivals in July, October and November. Chamber of Commerce: 815-777-0203.
Quincy (population: 39,000): In west-central Illinois, right at the Mississippi River. There are state and community parks on both sides of the river, and Cannon Dam and Mark Twain Lake in nearby Missouri provide opportunities for water skiing and summer camping. The 2,000-square-foot Quincy Art Center has exhibitions of Midwestern art and classes and lectures. Theater, opera, symphony and foreign and art films are part of their busy performing arts scene. Chamber of Commerce: 217-222-7980.
Indiana
Columbus (population: 36,000): An hour south of Indianapolis in south-central Indiana, Columbus is about a half-hour drive from Indiana University in Bloomington. The rolling green hills of Brown County State Park, Hoosier National Forest and Lake Monroe provide plenty of outdoor activity. The town has the Columbus branch of the Indianapolis Art Museum, galleries, shops and lots of performing arts, including dance and music of all types. Chamber of Commerce: 812-379-4457.
Iowa
Cedar Falls (population 23,000–plus 13,000 college students): In northeast Iowa, two hours by car from Des Moines. Near several state parks, Pine Lake, which has water skiing, and Heery Woods, which has hiking trails. The town has a nature center, golf course, fishing lakes, hiking and biking trails, and the University of Northern Iowa within its boundaries. There are many art exhibition spaces and art education classes because of the university. Diverse performing arts include theater and music. There is a jazz festival in June and an arts festival in July. Chamber of Commerce: 319-266-3593.
Minnesota
Lanesboro (population 858): In southeastern Minnesota, Lanesboro is surrounded by a hilly, forested landscape. Snowmobile trails, trout streams, bicycle trails and cross-country skiing available as outdoor activities near the town. The town, itself, is quiet, with many turn-of-the-century mansions renovated as bed-and-breakfasts. There are many art galleries and drama and music performances from late May through Christmas. Chamber of Commerce: 800-944-2670.
Wisconsin
La Pointe (population 180 winter, 2,500 summer): La Pointe is located on Madeline Island, on the western end of Lake Superior. The island has a state park and an 18-hole golf course. Fishing, sailing and a beautiful shoreline are major attractions. Crafts, galleries, performing arts and all types of music can be found in La Pointe and nearby Bayfield, which is reached by ferry. Chamber of Commerce: 715-747-2801.
