Chelsea, Michigan

This small town is equidistant from Lansing and Detroit, and provides a pressure-cooker escape from each metropolitan area. The Clocktower Courtyard Gazebo provides the sounds and wares of local artists, and the Chelsea Center for the Arts offers classes, workshops and community outreach projects. The Chelsea Gallery’s Artist in Residence series is conducted every week in the summer months. The Chelsea Farmers Market in downtown runs every Saturday from May through October. The Chelsea Community Fair has taken place for over 70 years and includes a demolition derby, tractor pulling competitions and a youth horse show. Elisha Congdon, one of the town’s founders, named the community after his hometown of Chelsea, Massachusetts.