Fun day planned at Franklin’s Old-Fashioned Christmas event

Children will be able to get a taste of Christmases past this Saturday in Franklin during the Franklin Retail and Business Association’s Old-Fashioned Christmas event.

The celebration is planned from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the downtown, and registration is free. The first 200 children to register will get a free stocking, Jennifer Taylor, head of the Retail Association, said.

To register, parents and children can come to the table in front of Edward Jones from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Children will get a little mesh stocking and go get some goodies from some of the stores, and some stores will have games,” Taylor said.

Victorian City Art and Frame and Iron Furnace Coffee will both have craft stations, and Anderson’s Furniture will have a Christmas backdrop for photo ops, Taylor said.

There will also be a scavenger hunt organized by teachers from Sandycreek Elementary, and a balloon artist, face painter and hair tinsel artist will be downtown.

For kids who want to Christmas shop for their families, the Galleria at Olde Liberty will host its annual Kris Kringle shop with gifts $5 and under, and free hot cocoa will be available from Venango County 4-H dairy princess Kaylee Knapp, Taylor said.

And of course, the Christmas spirit would not be complete without a visit from Santa, who will be at the Barrow-Civic Theatre along with Mrs. Claus.

While there was discussion about getting an ice rink for this year’s event, Taylor said there won’t be one this year and the rink is “unlikely to happen” because of logistical problems.

“Where would we put it, where would it be flat enough, who would watch it,” she said. “The company might only be able to set it up on Monday, then we’d have to take care of it all week, that kind of thing.”

Instead, this year’s event will be much the same as last year.

“It’s not so much a shopping event as the Retail Association’s chance to give back something,” Taylor said. “It’s old-fashioned in that it’s small and I guess cheesy. It’s a day to walk around downtown, have some treats, do some crafts,” she added.

 

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