Winter Wonderland, parade kick off season
Franklin residents and visitors alike rung in the holiday season with the first Winter Wonderland on Saturday night and the Christmas Parade on Sunday afternoon.
Traditional Winter Wonderland festivities that involved close contact between patrons had to be eschewed this year to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infections. To replace them, the town set up a Christmas display in the town square. While the street was closed from 4-8 pm, hundreds of guests took their first opportunity to get their pictures made with the scenery. The general consensus was that it made a fine replacement.
“We’ve been up here for nine years, and they’ve never done it like this,” said Jane DeVries, who came to get some photos with her husband early in the event. “It’s a really beautiful setup.”
Main Street businesses made sure to capitalize on the increased presence downtown by hosting special attractions for patrons. The Scottish Tartan Museum had a live window display, Santa Claus roamed the streets throughout the evening greeting people, and many vendors had special sales going to kick off the holiday shopping period.
Musician Slaten Dooley kept a crowd around Ruby City Gems as he played for patrons by the store’s front door.
“This year, it’s been horrible trying to book performances,” Dooley said. “Any and all opportunities to play at venues that will have musicians are important to keeping the industry alive.”
Dooley wasn’t the only one who got a nice boost in business from the event. Business owners stayed extra busy with crowds of visiting families pouring in and out of their stores. After seeing a decrease in diners when the leaves finished falling, Root and Barrel owner Gary Murphy said the restaurant was filling reservations as fast as their social distance policies would allow.
“We can fit about 75 people right now and it’s staying full,” Murphy said at the event.
The first day of Winter Wonderland also coincided with Small Business Saturday, making the turnout even more important for Main Street merchants. Martha Holbrook, owner of Mossy Rock, said her store had seen heavy traffic all day. Many of those customers said they were prioritizing shopping at small businesses that weekend, which gave her hope for the upcoming year.
“We’ve had people tell us that they’re actively supporting local businesses,” Holbrook said. “It makes us feel valued.”
By the time the tree lighting took place at 7 p.m., there was barely enough room to stand in the town square area. People from all over Macon County were thrilled by the opportunity to spend some time celebrating the start of the season with their neighbors. Skip Bishop, who moved to Franklin from Florida two and a half years ago, thinks there’s no better place to enjoy a Christmas festival, and he’s looking forward to attending the next.
“If they had something like this when we lived in Florida, we never would have gone to it,” Bishop said. “Here, we want to go to as many as we can.”
On Sunday morning, Nov. 29, the Franklin Chamber of Commerce put on a show with a slightly modified take on their annual Christmas parade. The chamber told potential attendees for weeks in advance that social distancing would be a priority. With the exception of a spaced-out marching band at the front of the procession, participants in the parade stayed on their transports, and spectators were asked to remain in their cars. Most didn’t, but many stood by them instead of comingling.
The route for the parade was also extended so that it started on West Main Street and snaked back around onto East Palmer Street before concluding on Highlands Road so that spectators could choose their spots without having to worry about running out of room.
Chamber director Linda Harbuck said keeping people safe was the most important consideration, but she also thought the modified format proceeded at a more regular pace than previous parades and that the chamber might keep some changes for future events.
“It seemed like the parade went smoother and everybody stayed together well,” Harbuck said. “I don’t know what to attribute that too except for that we didn’t have any walkers. … We didn’t want to make a big COVID fright for anyone and I thought it went very well.”
Regardless of the extra rules to take into account, dozens of families, businesses and other organizations were excited to participate in the parade. Some of them were just excited to get out and celebrate the season after an extended period with minimal downtown events, like Savannah Sanders, who rode of the back of a truck for Ridgecrest Towing and Auto Services.
“I’m glad that we get to do it,” Sanders said. “I’m having to wear this mask through it all, but that’s OK.”
The Zonta Club of Franklin participated in the parade for the first time in hopes of increasing awareness for addressing women’s issues, an especially urgent task given their lack of fundraising opportunities this year.
“We didn’t get to do our big fundraiser this year,” said Roxanne Chambliss with the Zonta Club. “Today, we get to put Zonta’s name out there and remind people that we’re still here.”
Following the huge success of the previous night, the parade managed to draw a very large crowd. For families who were restless from months of quarantine and isolation, the celebration was a much-needed respite that made things feel like Christmas right away.
“We come here every year,” Ashley Dills said of her family. “I have three girls, and staying at home all day just won’t do.”
The second Winter Wonderland is scheduled for 4-8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5.