Great Places to
Retire: The Best Towns for Art & Culture
John Villani
ll 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...
NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT
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.
CORNING, NEW YORK
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.
NAPLES, FLORIDA
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.
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
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.
BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI
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.
LOVELAND, COLORADO
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.
PRESCOTT, ARIZONA
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.
CANNON BEACH, OREGON
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.
CHICO, CALIFORNIA
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.