In a move that may prove to be a potential boon for local merchants, leading travel magazine Arthur Frommers Budget Travel has included Wiscasset as one of 20 small municipalities nominated for America’s “coolest town.”
The designation is part of a contest started by the online arm of the magazine to identify an “emerging” town with a high quality of life, a proximity to nature, and a vibrant arts scene. The magazine describes Wiscasset as a place where “18th century-buildings are adorned with brimming flowerpots” and local antique stores “hawk American folk art, quilts, and 1950s board games.”
Budget Travel goes on to describe Reds Eats as a “rickety hut” on the water and calls Chewonki the “crème de la crème” of campgrounds.
Among the 20 other towns competing for the designation are Eureka Springs, Ark., Alpine, Tex., Ripon, Wis., and Cooke City, Mont.
According to the magazine’s website, nominees must have a population under 10,000 and a discernible “edge,” defined not by “country stores” but rather “avant-garde galleries.”
While the actual nomination process is not clear, the designation could have potential positive consequences as the widely circulated magazine, owned by Newsweek, has drawn 1.8 million unique visitors to its website alone. Visitors to the site, www.budgettravel.com, can vote on their choice through Feb. 11 and provide photos, observations, and supporting arguments.
As of Jan. 18, Wiscasset had received 2414 votes, a full 14,229 behind leader Lewisburg, W. Va.
The contest will run through Feb. 11 with the winner being featured in the Sept. 2011 edition of the magazine.
