BWW Reviews: Destination ARTS! Gallery Fest in Waynesboro, PA - Weekend Getaway In South-Central Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is, without doubt, one of the more popular tourist states. It boasts historical attractions such as Philadelphia and Gettysburg, two major league football teams and two major league baseball teams as well as all of the other major sports, and then, of course, there's Hershey, home of candy bars, amusement parks, and the Hershey Bears. Recently, however, one of the small Central Pennsylvania towns near Gettysburg, and south of Hershey, has become noticed as well - for something not historic, sports-related, or chocolate-covered (although there's chocolate to be found there, and plenty of it). Waynesboro, on state route 16, west of Gettysburg, currently has one of the largest collections of pop-up art galleries in the country, in a few-block area.

Destination ARTS! has made Waynesboro a weekend stop for the Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia areas rather than simply being the very pretty town along the way to your intended stop. That seems only appropriate, as only six miles away, Blue Ridge Summit was once one of the grand vacation destinations and weekend home sites for wealthy East Coast residents (in the summers there was a regular train run between there and Baltimore). It's now, alas, a historical footnote as the birthplace of the Duchess of Windsor, but it's very close to the new activity in Waynesboro.

Destination ARTS! is a project of the Arts Alliance of Greater Waynesboro, headed by Andrew Sussman. Vacant buildings and local storefronts - and an active furniture store whose owners are delighted by the project - have been turned into galleries of fine and decorative arts, with pieces ranging from oil paintings by esteemed Baltimore-area artist David Buckley Good to local jewelers and fiber crafts artisans displaying their wares, almost all of which are available for sale. However, the latter points do not indicate that this is primarily a crafts show - it is, in fact, a curated event, with trained volunteer docents at each gallery location. The senior curator, Marjorie Tressler, is the former gallery director of Mansion House Gallery in Hagerstown, Maryland, as well as a portraitist and oil painter. Her assistant curators are Jeannie Woods, the retired director of the Washington County (Maryland) Museum of Fine Arts and Tom McFarland, a retired area arts instructor and professional artist.

Exhibits at the galleries change as sales are made, but major changes in each are planned for six-week intervals. A second "grand opening" of the event will be held on September 6 with new installations at each of the galleries.

Of the seven galleries and eight storefronts, three are worthy of particular note. The gallery occupying 50 West Main Street, "Small Town Hosts Big City Art," features fine arts, mostly representational, and primarily paintings, the centerpiece at the present being a French street scene by David Buckley Good, although works by Ben Jones, Fritz Biggs, and Brad Clever, among many others, are also on the walls. Although all of the artists are contemporary, there's an astonishing mix of painters, styles and techniques present - watercolors, oil paintings and acrylic works are all featured, ranging from highly stylized, brightly colored, very modern waterscapes to small, traditional still-lifes; quality is the only firmly-defining characteristic among the pieces.

The gallery at 22 West Main, "Through The Lens And Of The Earth," features pottery and ceramic sculpture, fiber arts, and jewelry as well as photography. Most of the photographers are partial to nature subjects, although there is a mix of styles as well as of artists' backgrounds; one is a former White House photographer now doing art photography. Photographers include Janie Moltrup, Danny Bingaman and Raymond Gehman. Ceramicists include Hilda Eiber and Mike McIntyre. Fiber arts shown include quilting and hand weaving. Lovers of art quilting may be disappointed that there are not more, and larger, pieces on display, at least at this time, but what is there, including Carolyn Wolff's not-for-sale "We Went To Vermont In October," is worth seeing; Wolff's piece must be appreciated in person to admire the stitchery involved. These are exhibits of the sort that put to rest the ideas that ceramic sculpture means little figurines or just one more bowl, or that fiber arts are one's aunt's annual Christmas sweaters or the Pennsylvania Farm Show's "sheep to shawl" contest. Wolff's wall hanging and Gitte Kolind's ceramic "Lotus" are arresting pieces that deserve to inspire comment.

"Homegrown Art" at 37 West Market Street, at the Furniture Market showroom, features artists living or raised in the Waynesboro area. Artists shown include oil painter Donna Bingaman as well as photographer Brandy Shelley, whose 3-D effect color piece of an abandoned school bus in the country is both visually and emotionally striking as the best photography should be.

The festival accompanying the gallery exhibition runs through October, as do the galleries, although several galleries will continue into the spring of 2014. All events are on weekends. There is a series of children's programming including interactive arts and crafts lessons, storytelling, music, and drum circles. Other programming includes outdoor concerts at various galleries, which have included folk groups, concert pianists, steel drummers, and singer-songwriters. Aside from gallery locations, indoor musical performances are on Friday nights at Christine's Café on West Main Street, and at the Beck and Benedict Music Theatre at 118 Walnut Street, which is regionally known for its weekly public bluegrass jams. Christine's Café also hosts Saturday evening open mic nights. The Destination ARTS! music schedule is available at the Arts Alliance website, www.artsalliancegw.org.

A second grand opening of Destination ARTS! featuring a new art collection for the galleries will be held on September 6, 2013; information on the event should be available on the website.

However, humans do not live by art and music alone. If you come to Waynesboro for Destination ARTS!, your entire weekend won't be filled merely by gallery browsing and music. What's a visitor to a small town to do? In the case of the Waynesboro area, Renfrew Museum and Park, 1010 East Main Street (open Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 pm) provides a look at historical decorative and functional arts, including a notable collection of John Bell pottery. Visit www.renfrewmuseum.org. The grounds of the park also play host to outdoor concerts and occasional theatre, including an annual August Jazz Festival. The connected Renfrew Institute for Cultural and Environmental Studies (www.renfrewinstitute.org) schedules outdoor events ranging from owl walks and bird walks to astronomy lessons and kite flying festivals. Plan Destination ARTS! one day and Renfrew on your other afternoon - or for a non-musical evening of owls and howls.

For other recreational activities a short drive away from Waynesboro, the Fort Ritchie (Maryland) Community Center is only a short drive away. Located in the tiny hamlet of Cascade, Maryland, on the site of a former military base that was a major employer in Waynesboro years ago, it now hosts a huge collection of activities - everything from speakers to Zumbathons to boating and fishing in not one but two lakes. Although many of its activities are parts of regular classes, visitors are welcome. The directions, the schedule, and a full activities list and very clear fee schedule are available at www.thefrcc.org.

And then there's golf: Waynesboro has its own 12-hole municipal course, and approximately 15 minutes away from the town are the Penn National courses, which are 90 minutes from either the Washington Beltway or the Baltimore Beltway. Penn National's two courses, the Founders Course and the Iron Forge Course, have both been awarded four stars by Golf Digest; information is available at their website, www.penngolf.com. For information about the municipal course, which is on the southern edge of Waynesboro, call 717-762-3734 or visit www.waynesboropa.org.

In the past, Waynesboro boasted a destination outlet mall. That mall is now gone (Beck and Benedict's Music Theatre is in that location), but there are certain destination and boutique stores in town. Two of the most interesting are The Candy Kitchen and the adjacent Neverland Games, both on the square on Main Street. The Candy Kitchen, which has a second store in Frederick, Maryland, is known regionally for its artisan hand-dipped chocolates, which have been created at that location since 1902. Owner John Leos, a member of the original family, owns the company and continues producing chocolates and other candies according to his mother, Despina Leos', original recipes - he is proud that the store still has her personal cookbook and recipes. One of the few successful historically family-owned candy businesses that hasn't "gone corporate", its products include hand-dipped truffles and a dark-chocolate-covered habanero sea salt caramel, as well as chocolate-covered butter almond toffee. The peppery caramels are not numbingly hot, but are chewy and delicious. As for the toffee, Leos, who is deceptively slim, professes to have wound up eating an entire pound at one time - though admittedly taking more than a few minutes to do it. This is not a promising worksite for "I Love Lucy" (if one remembers the iconic candy-packing episode). The store boasts original marble-slab candy counters, stained glass, and a collection of antique candy and chocolate molds that are still occasionally put to use, but are on display in the store. Although it once had table service for sandwiches and drinks, those days are over, and that area is used for display now. Alas, chocolate production does not take place before your eyes, but packaging of chocolates in their signature boxes does; you still pick out the chocolates you want from the hypnotic display of milk-and-dark-covered nuts (check out the dark chocolate cashew clusters), caramels, and other assorted chocolate delights spread out in glass cases on the counters and watch them go into the box. If you're lucky, one of them might make its way directly to you while you talk with Leos or his staff - yes, there just might be free samples, especially for younger members of your party. Sugar-free chocolates are made here, but not necessarily on a regular basis; call (717-762-3969) to check on availability. Neverland Games, owned by Tony Vigil, puts to rest any notion that game-lovers are couch potatoes who live in their mothers' basements. Located in a stunning first-floor store on the square with exposed brick walls, the store sells everything from poker chips to Mah-Jongg tiles, as well as Magic: The Gathering and similar fantasy role-playing games. A huge room behind the main shop hosts casual gaming, evening and weekend tournaments, and just hanging around to meet other people - socializing is encouraged, and at the counter, a glass-front soft-drink cooler signals that sitting around being comfortable is encouraged. Whether you need a Nintendo game or a chess board, it's here, as is a games library that allows customers to decide whether they might enjoy a game by allowing them to try it themselves. Not a high-volume, low-service electronic games store like the one at the mall, it exudes warmth and encourages browsing and idle chatter - you're likely to make a friend or two before you leave the shop, whether you're buying electronic games for younger relatives or a new backgammon set that you didn't intend to walk out with. Browsers are welcome, and likely to return. If it's early enough in the day when you leave, chocolate is waiting for you next door. But you have to eat sometime - and while chocolate is delicious, you might need something a bit more substantial. Without leaving the square, journey from Neverland to Japan - Sapporo is across the street. The Japanese restaurant, owned by Hyon and Eyijin Song, a Korean couple, boasts some of the freshest sushi available, decreed incredible not only by local standards but by urban visitors. Hyung Seok Moon, the sushi chef, produces works of art whether on an assorted sushi platter or sushi boat, or producing one brilliantly cooked scallop served on its shell with the slightest garnish. A recent lunch included a better-than-standard miso soup, a sunomono salad with jewel-like small chunks of fish that could be mistaken for fresh fruits from a distance, the aforementioned scallop, and a remarkable hamachi kama (grilled yellowtail jaw) that, despite its being claimed as an appetizer, is nearly the size of an entrée itself. Teriyaki and tempura dishes were also produced for the non-seafood eaters in the group, and the guest who wouldn't eat raw fish was promised something special, which was delivered - their Hawaiian Roll, a visually stunning and even better-tasting crunchy cooked roll, containing cooked salmon and cream cheese. After the array of appetizers presented, the sushi boat for two, with rolls, individual pieces, and sashimi, could easily have fed six. It was a pleasant surprise that sea urchin was regularly available. Although the establishment is noted for its sushi, there is a full Japanese menu and a limited selection of Korean specialties, and vegetarian dishes (as well as gluten-free and dairy-free) are part of the regular menu, and brown rice is available both on the side of entrees and on sushi upon request. Expect everyone in your party to be able to find things that they not only can eat, but will enjoy. Although its seating capacity is limited, word of Sapporo's quality and extremely friendly service has spread, and the restaurant, which is fairly new, is already expanding into the next building. Perhaps the sushi bar will be expanded - the sushi chef is both knowledgeable and entertaining, and he's happy to explain everything there. He's adept with both cooked and raw sushi, sashimi, and multiple kinds of vegetable rolls, as well as a wide assortment of regular and hand rolls. It's located right around what was the location of the old White Swan Tavern, and so the white swan roll and the black swan roll are particularly appropriate here. (The historic tavern's bar back can be found behind the candy counter at The Candy Kitchen.) If you prefer Mexican cuisine, or if you plan to stay right by Beck and Benedict Music Theatre on a Friday evening, Montezuma is located next door on Walnut Street, in the same building. A much larger space than Sapporo, Montezuma is the Waynesboro branch of a well-established and highly regarded local chain of Mexican restaurants - there are two branches nearby in Chambersburg as well, and one in Gettysburg. Regularly crowded, it plays host to more than just tacos and burritos, though those are available as well. Specialties include a chile verde with pork cooked in tomatillo sauce, as well as carne asada and pollo asado, though there is a full section of vegetarian dishes as well, and other dishes, such as their chilaquiles, can be made meat-free for the asking. As with Sapporo, vegetarians are not merely accommodated, but have a reasonable share of the menu with multiple options in each category, and the staff is knowledgeable about ingredients and preparation. Fajitas del mar are a combination of shrimp, scallop, and crab with vegetables that arrives sizzling on an iron skillet - you may not get to wrapping them in the tortillas, but just might wind up attacking them directly on the plate to avoid waiting. Shrimp fajitas and fajitas tropicales, which are chicken, steak, or shrimp with vegetables and pineapple, are on the menu as well as the usual varieties, and vegetarian fajitas are available for the asking. Quesadillas include spinach and mushroom variations as well as the usual - and off-menu, but requested by patrons, is the spinach and mushroom combination quesadilla.

As for the "usual" - the tortilla chips are freshly made, as is the salsa, which is thin but flavorful and has plenty of fresh cilantro. Its heat level varies slightly depending on who prepared it, but it is usually mild-to-medium. A queso cheese dip is also available, spicy but not hot in heat level; it's very hot when served however, and you may wish to let it stand if you prefer your cheese slightly thicker. It's a white cheese, not the frequently-encountered bright orange that signifies pasteurized cheeses were used for chile con queso. Other appetizers are also available. Refried beans are blissfully creamy and very good, though the rice is fairly standard. Desserts also feature "the usual" - fried ice cream, sopapillas, and the equally fried "xanga" dessert, but there's a house-made flan that's light, creamy and not-too-sweet under its caramel and well worth checking if you've room for dessert.

There are various lodging options in the area - confirmed golfers might prefer to stay at the Penn National course and lend their arts-interested guests the car - but in Waynesboro itself, the preferred weekend getaway destination is Burgundy Lane Bed and Breakfast, only about two blocks down from the Destination ARTS! galleries. An old brick home, dating from 1887 and expanded in 1910, it was once the home of a local physician. Now owned by Dave and Margaret Schmelzer, who transformed it into the present charming residence, it boasts six regularly available themed rooms of various sizes, including the Castle Room which is complete with massive fireplace, "stone" walls, and a suit of armor, as well as an extremely comfortable canopy bed and a claw-foot tub. The Captain's Quarters has a nautical theme, not overdone, that feels like a day at the beach. The Honeymoon Suite features a two-person hot-tub as well as a fireplace. This reviewer stayed in the Captain's Quarters, which was a bright, comfortable smaller room. The attached bathroom (rooms have their own baths) was large, bright, and extremely clean, a shower-only, no tub room, which I knew in advance, that had more than enough fluffy towels to dry off with. A flat-screen television was on top of the armoire, and a listing of available channels was provided in the room. Wireless internet took a few moments to set up, but worked well and consistently after logging in. I found the mattress a bit firm, but most people seem to prefer their mattresses firmer than I do. The owners are gracious and friendly, as is the official host of the establishment, Sunny, a very playful Welsh corgi who presides over the dining room. You'll be asked you food preferences and what time you plan to be up in the morning, as a delicious and potentially huge breakfast is provided in the dining room under Sunny's watchful supervision. The Schmelzers have no trouble accommodating gluten-free or vegetarian guests, along with other special needs - just let them know in advance. The home also has a small library with books available to guests, a parlor where guests can entertain their own guests, and even toys available to keep the youngest guests occupied when needed. The establishment is well-plugged-in to the local community, and there's plenty of information about activities both in Waynesboro and in the surrounding area in a nook for guests to review. The owners are also familiar with everything, including driving directions - ask them how to get places, and you may wind up with directions preferable to the ones on your GPS.

The primary rooms available are on the second floor, which may be the only drawback to a perfect stay - as an old home, it's not as handicapped-accessible as a modern hotel. One first-floor room may be available; it's best to call well in advance to inquire.

For detailed information on Burgundy Lane and for reservations, visit www.burgundylane.biz. It can also be reached at 717-762-8112 to ask Margaret questions directly.

If you have time, consider an extra day and a drive into the wider area, particularly Gettysburg or Chambersburg, which boasts its own pieces of Civil War-era history (as does Waynesboro, with the Battle of Monterey Pass having occurred straight down the road), or spending your Sunday evening in good weather at Pen Mar Park in Cascade, which boasts not only a fine scenic lookout, but a dance pavilion with live music and Sunday dances from June into September. During the summer there's also Totem Pole Playhouse, one of America's oldest and best summer stock theatres, which runs shows from late May to Labor Day and features a substantial crowd of active Broadway actors on stage during the season, which is a short drive past Penn National.

Waynesboro is quaint without being either Pennsylvania Dutch or a Civil War tourist trap, and without forcing artificially contrived quaintness on visitors; the pace is calm and the arts crowds (and locals as well) friendly. It's worth the visit to discover a Pennsylvania town that hasn't been turned into a commercial tourist enterprise like the Lancaster area, and that boasts the current gallery scene that it does. Get there the weekend of September 6 for the second grand opening, and enjoy the festival atmosphere.

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