In the Spirit

A few of the merchants get into the spirit of the holidays during Franklin's Dickens Christmas by displaying vignettes in their front windows. The Mercantile added live women to their vignettes. Dressed in period costume, the two ladies were busy crafting. One did charcoal portraits while the other, shown above, knitted beaded purses. One of her creations is on the table behind her. The Patchwork Pantry had a harpist (left) entertain the crowds from the sidewalk in front of their store.

PS. Dog lovers, click here.

Watered-down Jingle Bells

Street performers are a part of Dickens Christmas in Franklin, and this guy attracted a lot of attention. He was playing Jingle Bells at the time I snapped this photo. . .and he was quite good!

Some of you may not be aware of how he's creating music. He has crystal wine goblets of different sizes and shapes, and he's filled them with different amounts of water. He wets the tips of his fingers and then rubs them over the rims which creates a beautiful, musical sound.

It was beginning to sound a lot like Christmas yesterday!

A Dickens Christmas

This weekend, Franklin, which I featured a few weeks ago, held its annual Dickens Christmas on Main Street through downtown. Some vendors dress in period costumes, and one can take an

old-fashioned carriage ride (above) around the square. The dog, Cage, is a big hit as are the two horses that pull the carriage (right).

In addition to the carriage ride, the festival features artisan booths as well as a variety of foods, and there are a number of street performers. The shop owners on Main Street also decorate and participate in the festivities. While it was rainy and quite warm (70 degrees today!), the crowd did seem to be in the holiday spirit.