Virginia: Shore town's charm attracting artists, tourists

Articles: Virginia: Shore town's charm attracting artists, tourists

Posted by admin on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 03:13 AM

Major tourist development has largely skipped over the Eastern Shore and its low-lying, marshy string of barrier islands, leaving the remote peninsula thinly populated and much as it might have been two centuries ago. Farmers continue to till the sandy earth for soybeans, tomatoes and green beans, while watermen trawl the Chesapeake Bay for crabs and fish, as they have for generations.
But the outside world is beginning to take notice of the Eastern Shore's graceful inlets and historic towns. Few places are the changes more noticeable than in Onancock, a town of 1,200 about 75 miles north of Norfolk, where a small artist colony has sprung up that attracts hundreds of well-heeled tourists every summer to mingle with the weathered fishermen at the Onancock Wharf. Art galleries now line the town's main thoroughfare, Market Street, as do a number of stately mansions from the early 1800s that have been beautifully restored and turned into upscale bed-and-breakfasts. Moneyed entrepreneurs from South America have opened restaurants serving Mediterranean fare and expensive martinis with names like the "Vantini" (a mix of vodka, champagne and peach schnapps). A small playhouse produces works by Neil Simon and Truman Capote, using local talent and playing to an audience that is typically packed in the summer. Down the street is a gourmet food shop, where patrons can choose from dozens of imported wines and numerous types of cheese. In juxtaposition to this "new" Onancock is the Corner Bakery, a family-owned shop in the town's small downtown, where crabbers and fishermen still stop for doughnuts and strong coffee before heading out to sea in the morning. At old Methodist churches with spires that pierce the sky, residents rummage through items at yard sales and munch on baked goods sold out front. Stolling downtown It's the town's isolated charm and these apparent incongruities that make Onancock special. Small-time development has revitalized the centuries-old downtown, but fast-food restaurants and retail chains are nowhere to be found. First stop for any visitor is one of the Victorian-era bed-and-breakfasts that cater to the summer's burgeoning tourist crowds. A treat is the Montrose House located just outside the town center, set amid a well-manicured, two-acre Italian garden and outfitted with antique American and English furniture. Richard Caden, who moved from Washington, D.C., to Onancock 10 years ago with his partner, bought the 200-year-old mansion for a mere $125,000, renovated it and installed a new heating system. Caden has a decorator's touch and has transformed the grounds into a pleasing garden, which is particularly enjoyable at sunset while drinking a South African red wine from the gourmet food shop, the North Street Market. Most visitors next take a stroll through the small downtown. A good start is Kerr Place, named for John Kerr who began building the Federal-style home in 1799. Now a museum maintained by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society, Kerr Place is one of the finest homes from the early 1800s remaining on the peninsula. Nearby is the Cokesbury United Methodist Church, which is Onancock's oldest church, dating back to 1854. Quakers and Presbyterians came to Onancock first, but no permanent church had been established until a Methodist bishop started preaching in the town in 1788. At the end of Market Street lies the town's small wharf -- one of only two deep-water harbors on the Eastern Shore, which is what first attracted English settlers to the area in the 1600s. For years, Onancock's port served as an important trade and passenger link between the Eastern Shore and cities on the Virginia mainland, Washington and Baltimore. The last steamboat docked in Onancock in 1935, but ferries continue to operate daily cruises to Tangier Island, a remote crabbing community in the Chesapeake Bay where residents still speak with the lilt of their Cornwall ancestors. The ferry ride takes three hours for a round trip. Arts scene Onancock (pronounced oh-NAN-*****) faded with the decline of the railroad and steamer, but its nascent arts scene is spurring a resurgence. Armando Suarez, a native Argentine who spent most of his life in New York, was one of the first artists in town when he arrived in 1988 to open a pizza shop and gallery for his leather crafts. Sixteen years later, Armando's is a hip nightspot, offering a variety of pasta and seafood dishes, an inventive martini list and live music. He describes Onancock as "the Eastern Shore's unsuspecting pearl," then surveys his busy restaurant on a Friday night and exclaims, "just look at all the people!" Miguel Bizzotto also came to Onancock from Argentina to open a gallery for his leather handbags, then followed with his own cafe. Bizzotto's serves a range of veal, steak and seafood dishes and has an extensive dessert list, including tantalizing and decidedly non-local items like gelatto affogato al caffe and creme brulee. The gallery shows Bizzotto's work alongside other artists' from the Eastern Shore, many of whom use the bay for inspiration. Painters produce watercolors of gentle seascapes, while woodworkers carve every kind of shore wildlife imaginable -- crabs, terns, sandpipers and dolphins, to name a few. Jewelry, ceramics, pottery and glass artists also work in and around Onancock, adding to the scene. The Art Council of the Eastern Shore brings the Virginia Symphony and the Richmond Ballet to town once a year. Caden, the B&B owner, says the arts have completely transformed the sleepy town he once knew -- creating a tourist draw in an unlikely place. "It brings a little cosmopolitanism to the country," he said. "The fact we can see the ballet and live in a town of 1,200 people is amazing."

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