The following rural travel guide for Broome Art Trail 2020 was written by Connie Barnes, Artisan Gallery Retail Manager and Broome Art Trail Site Coordinator
I’ve always loved the fall art trail events in our region. Every year I’ve made it a point to travel the Susquehanna County Art Tour and then the Greater Ithaca Art Trail. These events are held during the most luscious time of the year in this part of the country with nature’s bounty overflowing and Mother Nature painting the hills and valleys – we are truly blessed. And for the second year, the Broome County Art Trail will once again be offered, this time in October. The foliage will be at its peak and the views will be spectacular. Be sure to drink in all of the natural beauty around you as you drive to each of the venues!
This past weekend, I drove the rural part of the Broome Art Trail with Shawna Stevenson, BCAC’s Programming and Marketing Manager. It turned out to be a great trip! The weather was perfect, the sun was shining and a hint of autumn was in the air. We started out heading up Airport Road in Binghamton. If you’re following our route, be sure to look to your right at the hills surrounding Rockwell Collins at Choconut Center. Those are the hills just east of Glenwood Road and part of the Broome-Tioga BOCES campus. It was alive with brilliant goldenrod and the shrubs were just turning a rich crimson.
Our first visit was Rich Nolan’s place at 439 East Maine Road. Take a left at the light at Choconut Center onto East Maine Road. Drive up East Maine Road for about 5 minutes and you’ll see Rich’s place on the right. His beautiful cherry and walnut creations are stunning and his designs are mind-boggling. I’m anxious to hear about how he does these pieces.
At the end of Rich’s driveway, we took a right onto East Maine Road and headed north for about 5 or so miles. Around a sharp bend we encountered a large field of sunflowers – beautiful! Turning a quick right onto Nanticoke Road, we arrived at the beautifully restored Janet W Bowers Museum and the One Room Schoolhouse, venues on the Broome Art Trail.
After stopping for lots of photographs, we drove northeast to Whitney Point via Route 26 for about 10 miles. We arrived at our first Whitney Point locations, several within a few doors of each other. The Mary Wilcox Memorial Library, Piccadilly Lane (a charming shop filled with country fare, décor and more), The Meeting Place and the Saving Grace Art Center (a former church, beautifully restored). It’ll be easy to see the works of (and chat with) many artists in this cluster of buildings.
We were starving by now and stopped at Aiello’s for lunch. We highly recommend it! (Delicious – and authentic – Greek salad and the Chicken Parm sandwich, served on the most delicious bread!) Suitably stuffed, we headed across the intersection of 79 and 26 up the hill on Rte. 206, just a few miles to Dings Hollow Road and the home of La Due Guitars. We were charmed by a sweet workshop surrounded by lovely landscaping and across the road another breathtaking view.
We decided to visit Cole Johnson’s studio and headed southeast on Rte. 79 to Chenango Forks, then turned right onto Rte. 12. We found our way to 400 Port Road and were impressed once again by the beautiful surroundings. Next on our route was Crocker Hill Woodworks at 432 Crocker Hill Road. These artists are surrounded by so much beauty, it must be an inspiration every single day!
Next week we’ll make the trip around the urban sites beginning in Binghamton then heading out to Johnson City, Endicott and finally ending up in Vestal. Happy trails!
