My Town Destination: Chelsea, MI, Washtenaw County
Trip Type: Weekend Trip
Date of Visit: 10/19/18-10/20/18
Town Ambassador/Contact: Monica Monsma Phone: 734-475-1145 / Email: [email protected]
One of the great things about Chelsea, MI is the convenience of walking to everything in town. I would recommend the best way to do this is to stay at the Chelsea Victorian Inn. This Inn is beautiful. When I stayed in October, the fireplace was going upon my arrival, along with wine, and other snacks to greet me! The Innkeepers are truly accommodating and warm. The rooms are cozy, clean, and charming, and it’s only steps from downtown Chelsea. In the morning I had an incredible homemade breakfast and then was off to explore Chelsea.
Abundance of Unique Shops
You will notice right away the abundance of unique shops in Chelsea. Being that it is a town of only 5,200 its really remarkable the number of places to keep you busy exploring. I would recommend Chelsea as a great weekend trip destination for Christmas shopping if you’re looking for something different and fun. Here are a few places I had the pleasure to visit: The Potting Shed, The Garden Mill, Bumble’s Dry Goods, La Maison, and lunch at Cleary’s Pub. For more information on unique shops of Chelsea visit the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce.
Remarkable Arts and Culture
Located on Park Street is The Purple Rose. Currently celebrating its 25th year, the Purple Rose was started by acclaimed actor Jeff Daniels, who is a Chelsea native. “The theatre is a creative home for theatre artists to define our collective Midwestern voice. It is a place for emerging talent and seasoned professionals to learn more about and to practice their craft; a place for patrons of the arts to laugh, cry, and perhaps even learn something new” (https://www.purplerosetheatre.org/about/history/).
The show I went to see was Diva Royale, written by Jeff Daniels. I never laughed so hard, and I was all by myself!
The town also has a great farmer’s market, craft and antique shops, and historical preservation. Some of the great ones I had the pleasure to experience are listed below in “Market Finds”.
A Great Place to Live
Chelsea has so much to offer for people who want a small town feel, but want many amenities of a larger city. There are great coffee shops, dining, and recreation such as the Waterloo Recreation Area and Sugarloaf Lake all nearby. There is also good infrastructure for walking and biking, such as the new DTE Energy mountain bike trails. It is only about 15 miles from Ann Arbor, making this destination small town close to a commercial airport, and Winter’s Field airport is located in Chelsea. In addition, Chelsea has a very low unemployment rate of 3% (https://datausa.io/profile/geo/chelsea-mi/), and is the home to factories such as Jiffy Mix and Chelsea Milling Company. All a perfect combination for a great small town!
MTT Antique and Market Finds
Great Antique Shops and Farmers Markets are familiar sights in small towns. This can also include Thrift Shops, Local Eats, and the like! Here are some great MTT Antique Finds from Chelsea:
Moran’s Vintage Barn Boutique
The Historic Chelsea Depot- (Venue hosts market oriented events open to the public. They had a craft fair the weekend of mu visit).
MTT Referral
My Town Today has started a referral section of each article. It’s based on the fun of visiting a town, and finding out what town the majority of its citizens would recommend for My Town to visit next.
The referral for this entry is: Dexter, MI. Stay tuned for My Town Today to pop up there soon.