Home is where the light is.

(A carnival rides spin in Manteno, IL for Oktoberfest, Saturday September 25th, 2010.)

After spending several years in Japan coming home has been a challenge and a blessing.  I have found myself chasing light and jobs as the days grow colder.  Several small town festivals have popped up in recent years as some the Midwest small towns have experienced a bit of a population boom. 

No town in the Midwest has grown as fast as Manteno.  Manteno’s recent Oktoberfest was entertaining and was larger than what I would have expected from this community.  They have taken small town pride to new heights with their Oktoberfest festivities.  Manteno’s down town is well kept and quaint.  It is the picture-perfect image of a Midwestern Illinois town. 

 

(Raining day for the Harvest Days festival in Dwight,IL September, 18th 2010)

Dwight is another small Midwestern Town that has grown in recent years.  The Harvest days festivities were filled with food and fun.  The day got off to a raining start, but soon became a wonderful day. 

The Downtown area of Dwight has an Amtrak station and small shops that line the streets.  This train station only has couple of regular stops a day in stark contrast to a Japanese train station, with multiple stops a minute.  Japanese small towns aren’t that small these days, but in the US small towns are either growing or dying.   Luckily these two small towns are thriving.