Main Street Festival
Downtown Franklin’s 30th annual Main Street Festival returns April 27-28, 2013! The two-day weekend event will feature more than 200 artisans & crafters, three stages, two carnivals and an international food court. Click herefor the entertainment lineup.
The free street festival will begin on Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Fourth Avenue Street Dance will continue until 10 p.m. Saturday night. Activities will re-open Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
Main Street Festival is presented by First Tennessee and produced by the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County and the Downtown Franklin Association. Joining as a major sponsor this year is Mars Petcare and Pedigree pet foods.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The event is expected to attract more than 130,000 visitors to a full slate of family-oriented activities, non-stop musical entertainment and international flavors of more than 20 food vendors.
Handmade work to be exhibited includes original oil and watercolor paintings, pottery, jewelry, furniture, woodworking, ornamental iron, stained glass, photography, home and garden accents, birdhouses, leatherwork, and much more.
In addition to a juried arts and crafts show with more than 200 entries, the festival offers a special area of children’s activities on Third Avenue South between City Hall and the Old Courthouse.
ENTERTAINMENT
Free entertainment is offered continuously on three stages—the First Tennessee Stage on the Public Square, the Heritage Stage on Fourth Avenue North and the Beer/Wine Garden Stage on Fourth Avenue South. Click here for the entertainment schedule.
There will also be a full-scale, traditional carnival at the silo property at First Avenue South, just outside the festival area. The carnival opens earlier than the festival on Thursday, April 25, and goes through Sunday, April 28.
Carnival hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Thursday nights and all day Sunday are “wristband” days at the carnival, during which a $20 wristband offers unlimited access to the rides.
FOOD
Three food areas offer a tasty variety of everything from roast corn on the cob and stuffed baked potatoes, Polish sausage, Greek gyros, and Asian and Mexican cuisines. Southern fare includes barbeque, burgers and hotdogs, smoked turkey legs, funnel cakes, kettle corn and more.
TRANSPORTATION
To help manage traffic, a new feature of the event is a shuttle service offered by the Franklin Transit Authority, with free parking at Harlinsdale Park on Franklin Road and at The People’s Church on Murfreesboro Road. Shuttle rides to the event are $1 for adults and 50 cents for children and seniors. Both sites will operate on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.; only the Harlinsdale site will operate on Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
SPONSORS
Major sponsors include: First Tennessee, Mars Petcare, Pedigree, Johnsonville Sausage, Vanderbilt, Williamson Medical Center, Publix Super Markets, The Grove, Wyndham Resorts, and The City of Franklin, with supporting sponsors Fox 17, Clear Channel Radio, The Tennessean/Williamson A.M., Schroeder Chiropractic, Summerwinds Resorts, and FranklinIs.
The Main Street Festival is produced by The Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County and its division, the Downtown Franklin Association. Proceeds from the event go towards the mission of each organization, respectively: to protect and preserve the architectural, geographic and cultural heritage of Franklin and Williamson County, and to promote the ongoing economic revitalization of Downtown Franklin in the context of historic preservation.
The Main Street Festival is located in Historic Downtown Franklin, Tenn., exit No. 65 from I-65, three miles west to the Public Square.
For sponsorship information, contact nwilliams@historicfranklin.com
For food vendor or arts/crafts vendor info, contact revans@historicfranklin.com
School and community groups that would like to perform, contact nwilliams@historicfranklin.com
Professional bands, please apply through www.tneventinfo.com
For more information, see www.historicfranklin.com or call 615-591-8500.
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