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!

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

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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.

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