Rochester, Minn.: More than the Mayo Clinic

Rochester, Minn.: More than the Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Thousands of out-of-towners visit the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., each year, but the city has a lot more to offer than medical care.

Attractions include nine golf courses, including seven that are public; the Mayowood Mansion, a 100-room home with gardens, where the Mayo family lived; 60 miles of hiking and biking trails; antique shops on Third Street; the Rochester Art Center; a system of climate-controlled underground walkways with businesses, shops and dining; and fishing in nearby waterways, from the Mississippi to Silver Lake, to Foster Arend Pond. There’s even a roadside landmark: the 150-foot-high water tower, shaped like an ear of corn, next to the Seneca Foods Plant.

For more information, visit www.rochestercvb.org.

St. Louis welcomes beer lovers for festival

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — St. Louis is the destination for beer lovers next month as the St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival takes place June 5-6.

This is the festival’s third year, with 60 beers on tap and all the festivities in Forest Park under one large “Bavarian beer-fest style tent,” capable of accommodating thousands of visitors, according to the festival Web site www.stlbrewfest.com.

Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door.

The festival has three sessions: Friday, June 5, 6 to 10 p.m.; and on Saturday, June 6, noon to 4 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m.

No one under 21 is allowed into the festival, but designated drivers are allowed in free. See the Web site for details.

St. Louis has been a center for beer-makers since the early 19th century, with German immigrants bringing their beer traditions to the city and Anheuser-Busch headquartered there. Anheuser-Busch offers free brewery tours. Visit www.budweisertours.com/tours for more information.

Wooden workboat photos on display in N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. — A new exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History features photographs of the wooden workboats that were once a vital part of eastern North Carolina fishing communities.

The exhibit, titled “Workboats of Core Sound,” features photographs by Lawrence S. Earley of Raleigh, who worked for 20 years with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. It runs through next spring. Admission is free.

Earley began photographing the boats in 2004 to record their history because so many of the boats now sit idle as the commercial fishing industry has declined. He spent the next few years interviewing residents and shooting more photos.

The exhibit also features audio slide shows of the fishermen discussing their trawlers, skiffs, runboats and haulboats.

Associated Press