If most tourism destinations are becoming like family reunions you'd rather avoid, then Eureka Springs, Arkansas is the colorful, quirky aunt you love to visit.

Think Arkansas is all about hillbillies and trailer parks? Try a new viewpoint:

Eureka Springs is home to a myriad of lifestyles. Each spring, the town celebrates the diversity of the human spirit with the annual Diversity Weekend. Fun activities celebrate people of all races, religions and sexual orientation. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

Poets, writers, painters, sculptors, musicians and other artists make their home here in the Ozark Mountains. More than twenty art galleries are wedged in historic downtown between the shops and sidewalk cafes, displaying the work of local, regional and national artists.

Hippies, yuppies, rednecks and fundies all call Eureka Springs home, and provide local color like you've never seen.

Where else can you celebrate a UFO convention, Corvettes, frogs and religion, all within the same mile? This recipe gives the town a creative fire that's addictive to anyone who loves a good conversation. Step into a coffee shop and listen, and maybe even throw in an opinion or two.

Hilltops in Eureka Springs no longer mean moonshine and shacks. Artists paint the stunning Ozark views, while Christians celebrate with a seven-story statue of Jesus, and pagans flock to the springs and new age shops. Our music festivals celebrate opera, gospel, jazz and blues, while the clubs pack 'em in with rock acts from every era.

Each detailed piece of Eureka forms an abstract puzzle of color and sound, squeezing the best of big city culture into a friendly Southern handshake.

Finding those old-time roots can still be done, though, because Eureka Springs is home to a dozen parallel universes. Just want to experience old-fashioned family values? No problem. You can follow a family-friendly, Christian path here without even noticing the wilder side.

The joy of Eureka is the town's understanding of individuality and choices. A Kansas minister can stroll down Spring Street with as much ease as a lesbian couple from Chicago.

Folks in this town live by the words at Lady Liberty's feet, and do them one better: we accept everyone for who they are, or who they want to be.

What really defines Eureka Springs is that "independent Ozark Mountain spirit," as described by the National Trust for Historic Preservation when it picked Eureka Springs as one of the Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2001. That spirit lives on, whether it wears tie-dyed cotton, polo shirts or leather pants.