\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Imagine your favorite live performer taking the stage at a theater hosting national and international acts. No, you’re not in New York or California \u2014 you’re in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, a tiny yet vibrant\u00a0hidden gem art hub. Home to around\u00a04,500 residents, Sellersville packs a historic theater, a boutique hotel, a fine dining restaurant, an annual arts festival, and fun shops into just over one square mile.<\/p>\n
Sellersville’s best-known native is Impressionist painter Walter Emerson Baum, who lived\u00a0from 1884 to 1956\u00a0and helped establish various art institutions and museums\u00a0north in Allentown, an artsy Pennsylvania city with world-class bites<\/a>.\u00a0Before becoming a destination for the arts, settler Samuel Sellers\u00a0established Sellers’ Tavern along the\u00a0busy Bethlehem Pike stagecoach route in the 1700s. The\u00a0arrival of the railroad\u00a0in 1856 fueled\u00a0cigar manufacturing before the town turned into a creative arts hub.\u00a0Travelers can reach Sellersville via Interstate 476 from Philadelphia, located 40 miles south\u00a0and home to a mosaic-filled urban art garden<\/a>,or Route 309 from Allentown.\u00a0Those flying into Philadelphia International Airport or Lehigh Valley International Airport can rent a car to explore the area.<\/p>\n Sellersville’s artistic energy is on display year-round, but especially each September during the Pennridge Gallery of the Arts, adowntown festivsal featuring\u00a0artists selling handmade crafts alongside\u00a0live music\u00a0and local food vendors. Artists can compete in various categories to\u00a0to win cash prizes up to $500, as well as Best in Show. The festival also shines a light on the next generation of creatives with an award for young aspiring artists.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Performing arts and historic stays in Sellersville, Pennsylvania<\/p>\n If scoring affordable Broadway tickets<\/a> in New York feels out of reach, Sellersville’s thriving arts scene provides a spectacular alternative.\u00a0Sellersville Theater and the neighboring Washington House Hotel and Restaurant sit side by side,\u00a0creating an evening of\u00a0fine dining, entertainment, and a comfortable night’s rest in one of 11 boutique hotel rooms.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sellersville Theater’s intimate stage\u00a0occupies a restored horse stable built in 1894. It later became the\u00a0Selvil Theatre, survived several fires, and reopened in 2002 as the live performance venue it is today. Touring comedians and musicians encompassing genres from folk and jazz to rock and country\u00a0 perform there, with such headliners as\u00a0Billy Bob Thornton and Sister Hazel. One Google reviewer<\/a> called it “a wonderfully quaint theater that has stayed true to its roots,”\u00a0while\u00a0another\u00a0described it as a “great small intimate venue.”<\/p>\n Next door, the Washington House Hotel and Restaurant serves contemporary American cuisine and offers boutique accommodations inside a historic property whose roots date to the 1700s as a farmhouse.\u00a0Entrees include seared Atlantic salmon with grilled corn risotto and asiago tortellini with saffron butter sauce. One wrote, “We absolutely loved the room, the cozy bar, and the dinner was phenomenal,” while another couple, whose anniversary dinner turned into an overnight stay after car trouble, called it the “best decision [they] ever made,” crediting the accommodating staff for turning an inconvenience into a highlight of their visit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Shop and sip your way through Sellersville, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas<\/p>\n Sellersville’s creative side also spills out into a collection of independently owned caf\u00e9s and shops. At the Fizzy Fern, plant varieties and other local arts vendors share the scene with funky espresso drinks and nostalgic craft sodas, along with specially-made lotus-based energy drinks. One Google reviewer<\/a>\u00a0praised the caf\u00e9’s “plants, local art, trinkets, homemade gifts and more,” adding, “the coffee is always made perfectly … this has become our new little gem!”<\/p>\n Just down the street, The Next Chapter Bookstore is an inviting stop for bookworms near and far. The independent, women-owned shop was founded by mother-and-daughter team Helen and Jess Ward, who turned their lifelong love of books into a welcoming gathering space. Visitors can explore shelves of new and used books while chatting with the owners. One Google reviewer<\/a> described the store as “a little gem filled with new books, used books and even children’s books,” adding, “The atmosphere is so inviting. I can shop for hours and not feel rushed. The owners are kind and accommodating.”<\/p>\n