Joe Pless, a longtime member of the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County and Franklin, said people keep coming back for the festivals in downtown Franklin because they are free. One of the things about our festivals is there may be bigger ones and better ones, but ours are always free to the public. Franklin Alderman and Heritage Foundation President Ernie Bacon said in terms of booths and vendors, this weekend's festival was the largest ever. Doris Luttrell of Summerville, Ala., brought her crafts to Franklin over the weekend as a vendor for the second year in a row. We do a lot of business.
Most people come through and look first and then come back to buy.
Luttrell who was invited to the Main Street Festival during the Americana Sampler craft show in Nashville said there was a steady stream of people both days this weekend. It's not only vendors who benefit from the large festival crowds, but the permanent Main Street merchants as well, Bacon said. Some benefit more than others but I've not found one who says it hurts. He said in years where there has been bad weather on festival days, the downtown merchants tend to do better business. But no such luck this year, since temperatures climbed into the mid-70s Sunday afternoon.