Destinations

By Jan Shepherd, Globe Correspondent, 05/18/03

		Sensible traveler  Destinations  Where they went  Get in gear

New Britain, Conn.
`Winslow Homer's America' — Through July 13

In the first phase of his career, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) created 220 wood engravings that were published in 11 magazines and newspapers, among them Harper's Weekly and Ballou's Pictorial. Two New Britain fans of Homer's engravings, Lindsley Wellman and the late Judith Weld Brown, spent 33 years collecting the work and fell only three short in their mission to buy at least one copy of each engraving. Their collection of 217 illustrations forms the nucleus of the New Britain Museum of American Art's "Winslow Homer's America," which was curated by Wellman, and is part of the museum's centennial celebration. Homer, who at 39 switched to painting, used the illustrations as inspiration for many of his later oils and watercolors. For the exhibit, the museum shows all 220 engravings and adds select paintings, from its collection and from other museums, that are related to the illustrations, which often depicted life in New England.

56 Lexington St. 860-229-0257. www.nbmaa.org.

Racine, Wis.
New art museum — Ongoing

Chicago architects Brininstool + Lynch transformed a former downtown bank into a 46,000-square-foot glass-and-concrete home for the new Racine Art Museum. The 10,000 square feet of galleries quadruples the exhibit space for the fine arts and crafts collections of the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, which was founded in 1941 on a 13-acre park about 2 miles from downtown. The intown location finally allows the museum to show off one of the country's most significant collections of contemporary crafts in glass, ceramics, fiber, metal, and wood, said Bruce W. Pepich, executive director and curator of collections. "We're the only museum in the country that doesn't segregate fine crafts from fine arts," Pepich said. "Of the museum's 3,000 pieces, 1,500 are crafts." The opening exhibit, "Introducing RAM: The Building and Collections," is up through Labor Day. Pepich is especially pleased with a streetside gallery that is visible night and day where a selected craftsperson creates a yearlong installation for the space. The debut honor goes to renowned glass sculptor Dale Chihuly and 10 blown glass "Basket" sets in vivid reds and oranges. The complex also has a museum store, arts library, and outdoor sculpture courtyard. The original Wustum campus continues as an arts education center.

441 Main St. 262-638-8300. www.ramart.org.

Woodstock, N.Y.
Arts colony centennial — June 7-Sept. 7

When the Wright Brothers were figuring out how to fly, Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead was welcoming the first artists to Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in 1903. Cofounded with his wife, Jane Byrd McCall Whitehead, writer Hervey White, and artist Bolton Brown, Byrdcliffe is America's oldest continuing arts colony, where visual artists, composers, and writers live and work either in monthlong summer residencies or as year-round tenants. The 300-acre site has 35 buildings. As part of the colony's centennial celebration, the Whiteheads' Arts and Crafts-style home, White Pines, is open to the public for the first time beginning May 31 for Sunday afternoon guided tours. Panels and displays in the house detail Byrdcliffe's leading role in the American Arts and Crafts movement. Among other centennial events are self-guided tours, guided tours on Sundays, panel discussions, open studios, a ceramics open house, a painting weekend, and music and theater performances. In town, the largest-ever exhibit of pottery, textiles, furniture, metalwork, woodwork, and fine arts made at Byrdcliffe is on display at three venues. The Woodstock Guild owns Byrdcliffe, a gift from Whitehead's son Peter, who died in 1975.

Upper Byrdcliffe Road. 845-679-2688; 845-679-2079. www.woodstockguild.org.

Fairbanks, Alaska
Midnight Sun Festival — June 21

Alaskan-style cabin fever is over for another year when all of Fairbanks celebrates the longest day. Beginning at noon, the town folk indulge in 12 hours of fun, games, and food. "It's an intense 12 hours," said Guy Douglas, event coordinator for the Downtown Association. This year is special because it is the centennial of the founding of Fairbanks. Among the spirited activities while the sun is visible for more than 21 hours are a baseball game that ends at midnight, a golf tour, an aviation fly-in, a 10K race, live music on three stages, hayrides, a carnival, pony rides, and gold panning. "The people are elbow-to-elbow in the river for gold panning," said Douglas.

Downtown locations. www.downtownfairbanks.com. 907-452-8671.

Chicago
`Monster Trucks' — May 23-Sept. 1

Who says learning about propulsion, gravity, and safety is boring? Those are some of the fascinating subjects dealt with in "Monster Trucks: The Science of Extreme Machines," a touring exhibit making its world premiere at the Museum of Science and Industry. The hot American sport operates with mammoth machines that jump, flip, and bounce because of the science and technology behind the 5-ton competitors such as "Grave Digger," "Jurassic Attack," and "Samson." Among the attractions are a deconstructed drive train, demonstrations of a suspension system, a 66-inch tire, truck art, and videos of track action. Visitors also can climb into the cab of a genuine monster truck named "Grave Digger."

57th Street and Lake Shore Drive. 773-684-1414. www.msichicago.org.

Glenwood Springs, Colo.
Glenwood Caverns — Ongoing

Life has become easier at the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. Instead of a harrowing bus ride on a winding mountain road, a new tramway whisks visitors from the Roaring Valley Fork base to the top of Iron Mountain in seven minutes. Capable of transporting 250 passengers an hour, the tram climbs 1,400 feet on 4,200-foot-long cables. The caverns, an attraction from 1895 to the start of World War I, were reopened to the public in 1999 after the site was purchased by Jeanne and Steve Beckley. The Cave Tour is a one-hour, guided walk through the caverns and the historic Fairy Caves. The Wild Tour is a three-hour, on-the-belly trip through rarely visited sections of the caves.

51000 Two Rivers Plaza Road. 800-530-1635. www.glenwoodcaverns.com.

Istanbul
Music festival — June 6-July 3

The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts' International Istanbul Music Festival welcomes performers and ensembles from London, Tokyo, Budapest, Berlin, and other faraway points as well as local musicians. The schedule includes three orchestral programs, six chamber music concerts, five recitals, and one choral and two traditional programs. Among the performers are Berlin's Akademie Fur Alte Musik, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Tokyo String Quartet, the London Philharmonic, soprano Cecilia Bartoli, pianist Fazil Say, and Tsugaru-jamisen player Shinichi Kinoshita. The host city is represented by the Istanbul Chamber Orchestra, the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Istanbul Maftirim Jewish Choir. The Young Soloists Series features 11 concerts in three programs.

Various locations. 90-212-334-07-00. www.istfest.org.