Downtown and around

Downtown Harrisonburg offers quirky charm and plenty of entertainment.

Downtown Harrisonburg is in the middle of a revitalization effort — literally. Take a walk on Main Street and you'll notice that one half is renovated with new brick pavers, benches and light poles while the other is still stuck in the '70s waiting on grant funds to undergo a similar transformation. It's this kind of quirky charm that characterizes downtown Harrisonburg.

On any given day you are just as likely to find old-timers chewing the fat in front of Downtown Shoe Shine Parlor as you are young professionals catching the free wireless signal at Denton Pocket Park. Art lovers can happily spend time visiting the concentration of museums and galleries designated as Virginia's first Arts & Cultural District, while young children and co-eds share space at You Made It! paint-your-own pottery studio. Come downtown and experience unpretentious recreation at its finest.

No visit to downtown is complete, however, without checking out one of its many restaurants. Hot dogs at Jess' Quick Lunch and ice cream at Kline's Dairy Bar are still favorites, but downtown now boasts 24 dining establishments with choices as eclectic as the rest of the city center. Southern fare, Greek, Ethiopian, pan-Asian, Indian, tea with dainty sandwiches, authentic Mexican, fine dining, seafood and American all co-mingle peacefully within downtown Harrisonburg's mile-long border. This is truly a community that values the unique tastes of all its members.

Don't miss the Farmer's Market.

Few places in the valley have more of something for everyone than the Explore More Discovery Museum. Children, parents, adults of all ages, teachers, JMU student volunteers, tourists and local businesses all rally around the only museum in the valley dedicated to children’s growth and learning.

Many JMU students equate Massanutten Resort with one activity: skiing. The off-season at the mountain retreat holds many pleasures in its own right, though. Most notable is the Massanutten WaterPark. The indoor portion of the multilevel, 42,000-square-foot park is open year-round and is kept a glorious 84 degrees at all times. If the prospect of eight slides, tube rides and indoor bodyboarding doesn't float your boat, this time of year the resort also offers golf, fishing, horseback riding, miniature golf, go-carts and chairlift rides.

Step off campus and enjoy the sights of Harrisonburg and beyond.

Just a short drive south of Harrisonburg is the Green Valley Book Fair. Renowned throughout the mid-Atlantic, this outlet bookstore contains more than half a million books at deep discounts. Thanks to publisher returns and overstocks, you can pick up brand new books of every genre, from classic literature to bestsellers to cookbooks to children's books for 60 to 90 percent off retail. It's a great place to do holiday shopping on a budget.

Discover more! Harrisonburg may be small, but it doesn't have to be sleepy. Take a step off campus and you'll discover new trails, new tastes and a new take on southern spirit.

Want to read more about the local community? Read the fall 2009 Madison magazine feature by Cara Ellen Modisett ('96, '98M). A former Breeze editor, Modisett is editor of the award-winning Blue Ridge Country magazine. Her Madison feature takes readers on a cultural, culinary and historic tour of the sites in and around the 'Burg.