FDP Reminds People to Shop Local

The Franklin Downtown Partnership has published a Holiday Happenings and Gift Guide to remind residents to shop local! See the guide here. 

Light Up Downtown Franklin and Beyond!

The Franklin Downtown Partnership is inviting everyone to participate in “Light Up Downtown Franklin and Beyond” with lights and winter decorations in businesses from Nov. 20 to Jan. 31 from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Thank you to our sponsors: Dean Bank and Fenton Financial Group!

Volunteers Needed for Downtown Holiday Decorating

Winter Decorating will take place on Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Volunteers are needed to help with the effort! Please email Eileen Mason to let her know you can help.

November General Meeting

Join us for the next general meeting of the FDP. It will be held on Thurs., Nov. 4 at 8:30 a.m. via Zoom. Email downtown.franklin@yahoo.com for the Zoom link.

Vote for Franklin in America's Main Street Contest

Franklin's town center is among 114 American Main Streets nominated in the "America's Main Streets Contest," a movement of independently owned businesses dedicated to educating communities about buying local. Learn more about the nomination in the Country Gazette article. You can vote multiple times. All votes must be cast by Nov. 7. Vote here. 

FDP Partners with The Ellie Fund

The Ellie Fund’s Do Good Franklin Goes Pink Campaign will run from Oct. 24 to Oct. 30, during National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Local businesses can participate by decorating their storefronts pink, hosting events, donating a percentage of sales or collecting contributions in support of the Ellie Fund. Proceeds from the campaign will benefit Ellie Fund patients by providing these essential support services: nutritional & grocery assistance, transportation to appointments, housekeeping, childcare reimbursement, prepared & delivered meals, and integrative therapies. Learn more about the Do Good Campaign here.

To register your business to participate, please complete this form.

Attention Harvest Festival Vendors

 All Harvest Festival vendors should have received your set-up instructions and map last week.

If you have not received them, please email FDPEvent@gmail.com.

The FDP information booth will be located at Dean Bank on Saturday if you have any questions during Saturday's event set-up.

Harvest Festival Registration is Open

If you are a Franklin Downtown Partnership member and have paid your 2021 membership, you can receive a free booth space. Non-members of the FDP will pay $125, with the exception of food vendors. Non-member food vendors will incur a separate fee and need to contact the FDP office prior to registering. 

Booth spaces are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and we expect to sell out of booth spaces this year.

Businesses on Main Street need to contact the FDP office if they plan to participate so committee members can reserve their space. Remember: ALL businesses and restaurants need to register online in order to secure a space.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: If you would like to volunteer to help with this event, please contact the FDP office.

SPONSORS NEEDED: If you would like to be a sponsor of the Harvest Festival, please contact the FDP office.

Scott Martin is the Harvest Festival Chair. Chris Peterson is the Harvest Festival Vendor Relations Coordinator. If you have questions, contact Chris at fdpevent@gmail.com.

Attention Restaurant Owners & Food Service Providers

All food vendors at the Oct. 2 Harvest Festival need a temporary food permit. The fee is waived so there will be no cost for the permit. Complete this form for the permit. 

Please fill out by September 5, 2021.

18th Annual Harvest Festival Preparations in Full Gear

The Franklin Downtown Partnership has scheduled its 18th annual Harvest Festival, a family-fun community event, on Saturday, October 2.

The Harvest Festival will be held in downtown Franklin from noon to 5 p.m. on Main Street, Dean Avenue, West Central Street, and Depot Street, as well as the large parking area behind Rockland Bank. The event’s rain date is Sunday, October 3. 

Visitors to the Harvest Festival will enjoy local entertainment, delicious foods from local restaurants, fun kid crafts and activities, shop specials, artwork and crafts by area artisans and helpful information from community groups and vendors. Dancing on Dean will feature live music from two popular local bands: Ben Gardner’s Boat and The Driftwoods. 

Organizers expect booth spaces for this event to sell out. Partnership members receive a booth for free; non-members pay $125. Downtown businesses must register to ensure store-front space. Booths are assigned on a first-come first-serve basis. You can find the registration link at http://bit.ly/FranklinHF. Email Chris Petersen, vendor coordinator, at fdpevent@gmail.com with questions about booth spaces. Scott Martin, president of the FDP, is once again chairing the Harvest Festival.

The Partnership welcomes business owners to help support the Harvest Festival while gaining publicity for their businesses with sponsorships. Please email the FDP office at downtown.franklin@yahoo.com to become a sponsor. 

Many businesses are helping make the Harvest Festival possible by sponsoring it. Thank you to platinum sponsors Dean Bank, Mosquito Mary's and RI Motorsports and Detail; silver sponsors Bissanti Real Estate Appraisals & Consulting, Glen Meadows Apartments, Hockomock YMCA, Liberty Tax, Middlesex Savings Bank, Rockland Trust & The Enclave of Franklin; and bronze sponsors: Arcadia Dental of Franklin, Beaux Regards Photographic Art, Camford Property Group, Chestnut Dental Associates, D.G. Ranieri Real Estate, Encore Music Academy and Recording Studios, Edward Jones - Kevin L. Johnson, Fenton Financial Group, Keefe Insurance, La Cantina Winery, LeafFilter North, Mint Dental of Franklin, MyFM 101.3, Nerds to Go, and Senate President Karen E. Spilka.

Franklin Downtown Partnership Unveils Flower Alley

The Franklin Downtown Partnership (FDP) unveiled its finished Flower Alley between 15 and 17 East Central St. this week. The unveiling comes after months of planning by the FDP and mural paintings by five Franklin Art Association members.

The floral-centered murals that line the alley will comprise one of approximately 25 stops along Franklin’s Ladybug Trail. The Ladybug Trail will feature ladybug sculptures, as well as murals, to help promote economic development in downtown Franklin. 

"Eventually, visitors will walk along the trail using a digital map and view signage

detailing the history of Franklin," FDP Executive Director Lisa Piana said. “The FDP believes economic development projects like this encourage people to walk around the area and enjoy the art, historical sites, and the many wonderful businesses and restaurants in our downtown.”

Read more here.

Signs By Cam employees, FDP Executive Director Lisa Piana, mural artists and members of the Ferrara family gathered at the unveiling of Flower Alley

 Ferrara sisters Anna and Giannina with a mural created by AnneMarie Tracey

FDP Executive Director Lisa Piana and artists Amy Adams and Peg Munson

Registration for 18th Annual Harvest Festival to Open Soon

Registration for the Harvest Festival will open August 1 for 2021 FDP Members only.  A link to the online registration will be sent to all FDP members on August 1.  

If you paid your 2021 membership, you will be able to register and receive a free booth space. Booth spaces are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and we expect to sell out of booth spaces this year.

Restaurants need to contact the FDP office if they plan to sell food and would like a space in the food court area.

Businesses on Main Street need to contact the FDP office if they plan to participate so committee members can reserve their space.

Remember: ALL downtown businesses and restaurants need to register online in order to secure a space.

Registration for non-members will open August 10 on the FDP website. Non-members pay $125, with the exception of food vendors. Non-member food vendors will incur a separate fee and need to contact the FDP office prior to registering. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

If you would like to volunteer to help with this event, please contact the FDP office.

SPONSORS NEEDED

If you would like to be a sponsor of the Harvest Festival, please contact the FDP office.

IMPORTANT:

ALL businesses NEED to REGISTER online. Even if you called or emailed the FDP office, you will still need to register online beginning Aug. 1 in order to reserve a space.

Scott Martin is the Harvest Festival Chair. Chris Peterson is the Harvest Festival Vendor Relations Coordinator. If you have questions once registration opens, contact Chris at fdpevent@gmail.com.

Harvest Festival Scheduled for October 2, 2021

The FDP is forging ahead with planning the 2021 Harvest Festival based on the decrease in COVID-19 cases and the planned widespread vaccination by the fall. The FDP is optimistic that the town can resume its Harvest Festival this year on Sat., Oct. 2 with a rain date of Sun., Oct. 3.

Held every autumn, with the exception of last year, the Harvest Festival draws thousands of people to the closed-off streets of downtown Franklin to enjoy community, entertainment, food, art, kids actives and more. 

Businesses and organizations that plan to have booths at the festival must have paid their 2021 membership dues. Booth spaces will be limited - FDP members will get to sign up first to secure their free spaces.

“With recent developments with increased vaccine accessibility, a number of FDP members and people throughout the community are seeing some light ahead,” said Scott Martin, president of the Franklin Downtown Partnership Executive Board. “Knowing how we all want to be together again, and how much people want to return to the kind of events that bring our community together, our FDP will move forward with planning our Harvest Fest for the first Saturday in October.”

The Strawberry Stroll, normally held in June, has been canceled for this year but the FDP is looking forward to hosting it again in 2022!

Ladybugs Populate Downtown

Have you noticed all the new ladybug sculptures popping up in the downtown? The Franklin Downtown Partnership has been busy placing more ladybugs around town and hopes to have 15 ladybugs downtown by the end of the summer. New ladybug locations include Intermission, Franklin Historical Museum, The Rome, Franklin Public Library, All-State Insurance, Agway, Simon's Furniture, Rockland Trust by the Kindness Rocks Garden, and the Franklin School for the Performing Arts alleyway on Main Street.

Take a walk in our beautiful downtown and enjoy all the new sculptures!

FDP General Meeting June 3

Our next FDP General Meeting is on June 3 at 8:30 a.m. Please join us!

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83387999976 Meeting ID: 833 8799 9976 One tap mobile +13017158592,,83387999976# US (Washington DC) Dial by your location     +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) Meeting ID: 833 8799 9976 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kezqMIpCT3

Ladybug Trail Springing to Life

The FDP, in collaboration with other local organizations and businesses, is launching an exciting new project to create a sculpture trail connecting historical and cultural sites in downtown Franklin. The Ladybug Trail will use ladybug sculptures to tie approximately 25 sites together. Visitors will walk along the trail using a digital map and view signage detailing the history of Franklin and the names of the artists who painted the ladybugs. The purpose of the Ladybug Trail will be to promote economic development in downtown Franklin by encouraging residents and visitors to enjoy all that Franklin center has to offer by visiting, dining, and shopping at downtown businesses while they walk the trail of sculptures. Read all the details here.

April 1 FDP General Meeting

It's no April Fool's joke, our next FDP General Meeting is on April 1 at 8:30 a.m. Small business owners, in particular, are encouraged to join us to hear our featured speakers:

Speakers include:

• Kaitlyn Pintarich from Berry Insurance will present "How to Market your Business in a Post-Pandemic Economy"

• Dawn Porthouse from Liberty Tax will present "How to Navigate the New Small Business Tax Changes"

See the Agenda Here

Click Here to Join the Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 862 0862 9910

One tap mobile

+13017158592,,86208629910# US (Washington DC)

Dial by your location

    +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

Meeting ID: 862 0862 9910

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcLBBQyMxR

Spring Beautification May 22

Spring is in the air at the Franklin Downtown Partnership! The FDP and Franklin Garden Club is seeking volunteers for its spring beautification project. The volunteers will plant fresh flowers throughout the downtown area on Saturday, May 22. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for beautification. Please email Eileen Mason at emason4234@gmail.com if you are available to volunteer or Lisa Piana at downtown.franklin@yahoo.com to sponsor beautification.

Summary of General Meeting Information

 If you didn't get a chance to join our general meeting, you can still get all the important COVID-19 information that was shared by local and state leaders during that meeting by reading our update here: https://conta.cc/3jC0FpW

General Meeting Feb. 4, 2021

The first FDP general meeting of 2021 is scheduled for Thurs., Feb. 4, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. on Zoom. The meeting will focus on small business loans/assistance and vaccine distribution. Email the FDP office for the Zoom link. See the agenda here.

$284 Billion Small Business Relief Bill

The U.S. Congress has approved a $900 billion bill that includes an extension of last spring’s Paycheck Protection Program, allowing another $284 billion or so in forgivable, federally backed loans for ailing small businesses. Read the details here.