A queer femme
fashionista finds
community in rural
Arkansas

And though it all started with fashion—Alysse’s outfits are a fierce rebuttal to the strangers who routinely fat-shame her, both in real life and online—Alysse soon found that the more she posted about traveling, the more comments she got from queer followers, who were both surprised and delighted by the sheer number of LGBTQ+-friendly destinations she posted about. Alysse was inspired by it, too.

“Travel has really opened my eyes to the ways in which LGBTQ+ folks create community all over the world,” she says, noting that her first trip outside the U.S., to study in Italy aged 20, felt formative: “I went to a gay bar in Rome and the experience really stuck with me. I remember how free and vibrant everyone felt.”

Today, she deliberately seeks out queer communities in every destination she visits, finding the places she can feel comfortable enough to be her authentic self. “I love that a lesbian bar in Puglia, Italy is different to one in Atlanta, G.a. But I know walking into either that I’ll be accepted and celebrated.”

Eureka Springs has been hailed ‘the gayest small town in America.’

However, having checked off plenty of cities, Alysse is intrigued by a different kind of destination: a 2,000-person community in Arkansas’s Ozark mountains. Once a Victorian resort town famed for its “healing” local waters, Eureka Springs has more recently been hailed “the gayest small town in America.” Rainbow flags flutter from every other storefront and, not satisfied with one annual Pride event, it hosts three “Diversity Weekends” a year.

To Alysse, this sounds like “the kind of community I’ve been seeking since I was a kid”—a small town where differences are celebrated, not hidden. It feels like a meaningful discovery for her followers, too: “Everyone knows cities are havens for LGBTQ+ people. But queer travelers don’t only want to vacation in big cities.”

For Alysse, the opposite of the queer traveler’s comfort zone is where she’s headed: a small town in a largely rural region. But she’s immediately encouraged by the friendliness of Bentonville, Arkansas, the closest city to Eureka Springs. Being a Marriott Bonvoy rewards member, she chooses the Aloft Rogers-Bentonville, from Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of hotels, for her weekend stay. It’s one of the go-to accommodations when thousands of LGBTQ+ people descend upon the area for Eureka Springs’ June Pride.

That scenery is on full display during the bucolic hour-long drive to town. The leafy landscape eventually reveals an old-timey downtown, surrounded by foothills where striking Victorian homes tuck into every verdant nook and cranny.

And though the springs that first made Eureka a tourist draw aren’t immediately apparent, there are more than 60 natural springs in the area, many of them cloistered inside manicured gardens or underground caves. To see some of the prettiest springs, amble through the town center along the Natural Springs Trail, from the limestone cavern of Grotto Spring to the ornamental Basin Spring fountain.

But for all the turn-of-the-century small town charm, there’s a distinctly countercultural current in Eureka’s surplus of rainbow motifs and crystal shops.

Alysse’s first stop is Three Bird Cafe: the “three birds” are chef-owner Jennifer McDermott, her wife Rayna, and their daughter, Emma-Lee. The seasonally inspired menu celebrates Arkansas produce; a sweet potato cinnamon roll, made with locally grown sweet potatoes and locally sourced honey glaze, soon has Alysse involuntarily “mmm”ing.

As Alysse eats, the McDermotts proceed to blow her mind with observations about local life, among them: What it’s like to raise their daughter here (they’ve all been embraced by the community); where to go for brunch (there are several weekly drag brunches, which, Alysse notes in astonishment, Cleveland doesn’t even have); and what to do if you ever have a problem (post to Facebook, and the entire community instantly rushes to your aid). Like many people Alysse meets in town, they were encouraged to move here by friends who raved about the gorgeous nature and welcoming feel.

Some of those “OG” misfits can be found around town today. Arguably the most groundbreaking community patriarch is artist Zeek Taylor, who, along with his now-husband Dick, participated in the first legal male same-sex wedding in the South.

Zeek’s art hangs all over town and even the state—he won the Arkansas Governor’s Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement—but undoubtedly the best place to see it is the by-appointment gallery next to his house. The artist is chipper and welcoming as Alysse enters his home studio, and Zeek is quick to point out that’s just how it is around here: “It’s not gay-friendly. It’s just friendly.”

From across the coffee bar, Belén and Alysse establish an instant, yin-yang rapport (Belén: preternaturally serene; Alysse: spectacularly ebullient). Ever the friendly Eurekan, Belén offers to show Alysse some of her favorite spots. The pair visit everything from a queer-owned taproom, Brews (offering trivia nights, poetry slams, and karaoke competitions) to the Instagram-famous “Cash and Boardman” rainbow stairs.

The story behind the mural is typical of the town. Inspired by rainbow crosswalks in iconic queer districts like San Francisco’s Castro, two Eureka high school students submitted designs for the artwork, which were then combined by local muralist Doug Myerscough. It seems fitting Eureka designed and painted its own unofficial symbol: one that brightly celebrates being an all-inclusive community.

As her trip draws to a close, Alysse is, above all, inspired. “I feel really hopeful that Eureka Springs has found this way to be a haven for everybody,” she reflects. “It doesn’t happen often that I leave a destination with a transformative idea about how we can better the country, and perhaps the whole world.”

As someone who was bullied for standing out in her own small hometown, Alysse is especially encouraged to see Eureka Springs standing out together as a community; one that keeps growing in spirit and size. So, while she’s happy to shop under any circumstances (see those fabulous outfits), she’s even more gratified knowing that spending money with queer-owned businesses helps preserve Eureka’s LGBTQ+ community.