Talent Oregon – Small Town Haven in Southern Oregon

September 14, 2016 Retiring in Southern Oregon

A small city with a huge personality is the way many of the locals describe their laid back town of Talent.  If you are a senior looking for that down-home atmosphere with culture, restaurants, quaint atmosphere and a vibrant art crowd, then you have found your dream town.  Situated just north of Ashland Oregon, Talent is one of the core cities that make-up the small, peaceful, yet sophisticated southern Oregon area.  In Talent, you have fewer attractions and a smaller tourist profile but more affordable housing prices than its famous Shakespearian neighbor city to the south.

Camelot Theatre Company

Not desiring to allow Ashland to overshadow it, Talent has its own art and cultural hotbed of activity.  The Camelot Theatre Company features high quality theatrical productions in a newly built professional theater at a price that won’t break your budget.

Restaurants and the famous Sammy’s Cowboy Bistro

Several restaurants enhance the town with many offering uniquely alternative, organic, healthy choices.  Some of the town’s restaurants include, Julek’s Polish Kitchen (Polish/Organic), Bangkok’s Atchara (Southeast Asian/Thai food), Harvest Café (organic food), Talent Café (breakfast/lunch items), Jupiter Cafe and Juice (organic breakfast/lunch), Arbor House (Italian), Tacos Michoacán (Authentic Mexican), Subway (sandwiches).

One of the most unique and sought after restaurants in the entire southern Oregon region exists in Talent Oregon.  Sammy’s Cowboy Bistro is not what the name seems to imply but rather fine dining food that consistently ranks at the very top on many the online review sites.  The outside the restaurant may not look like much, but step through the door and you are in for a wonderfully unique experience. This restaurant features homemade, organic, top-notch fine dining dishes in an unusual atmosphere.  The menu changes often and features set items on various days of the week. Check their website prior to your dining experience so you know what to expect for the dishes of the day. Reservations are recommended as this is a favorite dining spot for out-of-towers visiting the Shakespeare Festival and other Ashland and southern Oregon attractions.

Coffee House Culture

In the center of town you’ll find the Downtown Coffee House with lots of art, craft and technology oriented individuals working at their computers and discussing their latest script, book, artwork, website project or computer program.  Workers and loungers enjoy a variety of freshly made, quality pastries and desserts as they sip their lattes and drink tea infusions throughout the day.

Shopping for Daily Needs

Also in the center of town is the largest supermarket called Ray’s.  Known throughout the southern Oregon region, this market is large and has most needed food items and typical supermarket products at reasonable prices.  Crown Market, a more modest yet well-stocked store offers additional general food and necessity choices.

Doctors, Clinics and Dentists

For medical and dental services you’ll find a few family practitioners in Talent in addition to a newer Asante Physician’s Partners Family Medicine clinic providing top-notch medical services.  In regards to dental care, there are a number of local dentists in the town offering everything from standard dental services to more complex Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.

For more advanced medical services, Medford offers complete clinical, hospital, laboratory and complex dental services with numerous doctors and two technologically advanced hospitals with cardiovascular and cancer centers.

Events – Harvest Festival, City-Wide Yard Sale and Green-Up Clean-Up Month

Talent is the location of the annual Harvest Festival.  It is held on the first Saturday of October.  Inviting visitors and locals throughout southern Oregon to town the festival brings a fun-filled day the entire family can enjoy with live music, food and crafts along with a harvest parade down Main Street Talent.

Many bargain hunter seniors will enjoy the Talent City-Wide Yard sale in the month of May. The entire town gets together for what becomes the mother of all yard sales.  Imagine a yard sale with participants from the entire town.  You should be able to find that special clothing, piece of art, furnishing or knick-knack you’ve been looking for at this huge community function.

Being responsible and not wishing to take their town for granted, Talent also encourages community participation.  In May the town sponsor’s the Green-Up Clean-Up month, billed as an opportunity for the community to participate in the beautification of their proud little City.

The Talent Evening Market

One of the greatest pleasures of living in Talent is the feel of local community. The town’s people gather together each and every Friday all summer long for their home town Talent Evening Market. If you are health minded and looking for fresh organic produce straight from the farm then this is where you want to find yourself on summer Fridays. The tradition brings locals and visitors together for more than just produce though.  Here you’ll also find handmade crafts, prepared foods, and live music. Some very talented musicians make their way to the Evening Marketing playing bluegrass, folk, jazz, rhythm and blues, old rock and roll, reggae, Latin and more. The market is located across from City Hall at the corner of Main St and John St.  The running time is from 5:30 pm until about 8:30 pm when everyone retires to their quarters or begins their Friday evenings in downtown Talent or Ashland.

Local Newspapers abound

Besides the two major local newspapers from Ashland and Medford, Talent has its own monthly newsletter called The Flash which is part of Talent’s local publication, the Talent News & Review.

The Talent Historical Society

If you find yourself wondering how this charming town got its start or who the pioneers were, then the Talent Historical Society will answer your questions and more.  The organization was found in 1994 as a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and interpreting the history of the Talent area in Southern Oregon.

Located directly downtown you can view various historical artifacts and historical collections that include but not limited to diaries, Civil War letters, photographs, cemetery records, old newspaper clippings, oral histories and more. Walking tours of Talent are also provided and you are welcome to use the facility as a meeting space.

Conclusion

Although Talent is a small and quaint town, it is a growing city with new retail developments being planned and sprouting up. The town is focused on protecting what it has and ensuring growth is controlled yet encouraged.  If you are a senior who wants the best of small town America without sacrificing culture and the restaurant scene, then Talent may be your haven.