The Franklin Tourism Development Authority will support the 12th annual Ruby Drop with funding to promote the New Year’s Eve event.
The board voted at its November meeting to approve a $4,000 request from Crabtree Family Enterprises. The amount is the same the TDA provided in 2024. TDA Chair Timothy Crabtree recused himself from the vote.
Steve Crabtree came to the October meeting to give an update on the event and shared a little bit of history on how it got started. He said the family had just bought Motor Company Grill in 2014 and one day after work they had one of their family “dream meetings.”
“We’ll sit there and we’ll say, what if we do this? What if we do that? And, at that time, there was nothing happening,” Crabtree said.
They recalled 15,000 people once attended the possum drop held in Brasstown. Crabtree said they thought, “This is the gem capital of the world, what if we build a giant ruby and have a ruby drop?”
The sparkling ruby is 6 1/2 feet tall, 7 feet in diameter and lit with 1,300 LED lights.
Crabtree said the purpose of Crabtree Family Enterprises is providing jobs. “It’s not about making a bunch of money,” he said. “My kids love living here. They don’t want to have to move away. We just strive to break even.”
Their family philosophy is modeled from Ronald Reagan’s premise that “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
“That’s how we feel about our downtown community,” Crabtree said. “If we do well, and bring more people downtown with this event, hopefully everybody will do well. And we get more opportunities. Maybe we can help some young people have jobs in the future because we keep our community vibrant and alive. It’s never been our intent to make a big profit on this. As a matter of fact, we lose money every year. And that’s OK.”
The Ruby Drop is the only public event held in Franklin on New Year’s Eve. Last year, an early drop was added for families with children or those who just want to make it home before midnight.
“I don’t think we ever really expected it to become as big as it is now, but now it’s a tradition,” Crabtree said.
The TDA board discussed ideas on how to help the event grow in the future, such as bringing in a band.
“This is an anchor event for the town,” said Colin McGinnis, owner of Gracious Plates on Main.
The board voted unanimously to fund the request. The funding application stated marketing efforts would include radio and newspaper ads, Facebook and other social media, and flyers posted around town. They also plan to invite WLOS to cover the event.
The Ruby Drop will be held on Dec. 31 with two drops – one at 9 p.m. and the traditional drop at midnight. There will be carriage rides and live music throughout the evening, starting at 7 p.m.
New business
The TDA heard a $4,500 request from the Scottish Tartans Museum & Heritage Center to create woven items with a new tartan designed for the museum. The Town of Franklin has its own tartan. The museum is the only tartan museum outside of Scotland. Museum board president Jim Akins said there are 15,060 registered tartans. The State of North Carolina and the Town of Franklin both have a tartan.
“We think it’s time that the museum has its own,” Akins said.
Akins said they have created two designs – a heavy weight and light weight. He said the lighter weight one would be used to make scarves, neckties and skirts, while the heavier one would be used for kilts. He said they would sell the items featuring the museum tartan at the museum’s gift shop on Main Street. Akins said three people associated with the museum would have kilts made to wear to Highland Games as a way to market the tartan and the museum.
Per the TDA’s procedures, they vote on requests the month following the presentation, so it should be on the agenda for the Dec. 8 meeting.
Financial report
The town has received $50,795.34 in lodging tax from July – September. During the same period in the last fiscal year the collections totaled $47,774.75.
The September collections were $16,927.28 which was the second highest September on record; the highest was September 2013 at $17,939.80. The average collection for September is $13,621.29. The December meeting should include a report on collections during the October leaf season, typically one of the highest months of the year.
The next TDA meeting will be Monday, Dec. 8, at 5:30 p.m. in the board room on the lower level of Town Hall.