Rockland named one of '20 best small towns to visit'
Photo / Courtesy CMCA
CMCA is one of Rockland's attractions highlighted by Smithsonian.com in its designation of the city as one of the "20 Best Small Towns To Visit in 2017."
Thanks to a nomination by the Maine Office of Tourism, Rockland has been recognized by Smithsonian.com as one of the "20 Best Small Towns To Visit in 2017."
Yes, we know, technically it’s a city with a population of 7,219. But there are other cities on Smithsonian’s list so we won’t quibble about that distinction.
Smithsonian’s sixth annual 20 best towns list features “remote hideaways to coastal harbors” and other towns that were singled out “for their diversity of character.”
“We set out on a quest to find 20 great slice-of-life (and if you’re Rockland, Maine, also award-winning slice-of-pie) small towns of unique flavor,” Smithsonian stated in its introduction to this year’s towns. The magazine consulted geographical information company Esri to help identify possibilities for this year’s list.
Not surprisingly, Smithsonian highlights Rockland’s Farnsworth Art Museum, noting that this year it's celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late great artist Andrew Wyeth with a series of exhibitions. It also mentions the “forward-looking Center for Maine Contemporary Art” and the First Friday Art Walks as other art venues for visitors to check out.
Other Rockland attractions mentioned include (of course) the Maine Lobster Festival, the Rockland lobster boat tour and Lynn Archer’s Brass Compass Cafe, a Rockland staple, which is home to the mighty “King of Clubs" lobster club. The article closes with the encouragement: “Don’t leave Rockland without trying a bite of pie. The town didn’t earn the nickname 'Pie Town USA' by the Food Network for nothing.” It mentions the “Pie Moms,” Rockland’s annual pie-a-thon in January, and Berry Manor Inn, the LimeRock and Granite historic inns, which “offer packaged pie lodging specials to complete a pie-fect experience.”
Here are the other towns on the list: Talkeetna, Alaska; Harpers Ferry, W.Va.; Kent, Conn.; Makanda, Ill.; Grand Marais, Minn.; Ojai, Calif.; Snowmass Village, Colo.; Abilene, Kansas; Spencer, Iowa; Mineral Point, Wisc.; Hana, Hawaii; Bell Buckle, Tenn.; Oakland, Md.; Zoar Village, Ohio; Rincón, Puerto Rico; De Smet, S.D.; Cheraw, S.C.; Page, Ariz.; Hill City, S.D.
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