Why Middletown for Arts on Union?

With all the traffic in and out of here this weekend, I several times was asked "why did you come here" because the town "hardly seems like a place that will support art.

Not so. We are a great community. Arts on Union and my home, which is above the gallery and studio, is situated on a street lined with restored Victorian homes and just a block away from the arts co-op, where we do many interesting activities for and with residents and artists in our community. Middletown also has its own movie theater, in the heart of our business district.

During the course of the last year, slow economy and all, I have learned that moving to Dauphin County's oldest borough and establishing a gallery and study here was definitely a smart move. For starters, it has a train stop (AMTRAK) and its own passenger and freights rail line (M&H), is close to Harrisburg International Airport and has bus service.

We have several top-notch restaurants. Want elegance and upscale? We have it in Alfred's Victorian. Want great decor and great family-style food? We have that in the Brownstone Cafe or the Lamp Post Inn. If you want diner food, we have that, too, in Kuppy's, a true culinary landmark here. Wings or good, homemade pastas? The Blue Room! I try to get there at least once a week for hot wings. The Blue Room also has an interesting family history and the story is told on the front of its menu. Go for the linguini with white clam sauce, if nothing else!

Boating, fishing, walking, picnicing, plein air painting on the banks of Swatara Creek and the Susquehanna River are also features, which means the place is right up my alley since I power walk or run every day and my two Golden Retrievers love water.

The old muckracker in me loves that we have our own community newspaper and this in an era when print media is struggling, consolidating, closing ... As an aside, never doubt the benefits (social, cultural, political) of a local newspaper.

As for towns that support art and artists, I'll take my chances with Middletown. Throughout the weekend, I've heard a lot of positive comments about my work and about having access to a gallery, workshops and art made right here in this historic, working-class town.

Art, like Middletown, after all, is subject to perceptions that are not always correct. That art is highbrow and expensive is not always so. I strive to make art that people can afford to take from my walls and pedestals. Through hands-on workshops and demonstrations, I try to show visitors the peace and joy within the art of living and within living with art.