The 2021 Celebration runs from June 30 through July 4.

Videos of past 4th of July Celebrations

The videos above give you the sights and sounds of past Celebrations. For 2021, there will be no fireworks. (The uncertainties of the pandemic made planning for fireworks this year impossible, according to the Franklin July 4th Coalition.)

There will be a Blues music festival throughout the day on Saturday, July 2.

You can see the full schedule of events here.

Learn more about Franklin’s 4th of July Celebration here.

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“ArtWeek” is something of a misnomer:  over the years, it has grown into ten days of events, shows, and activities in many participating Massachusetts communities.  

Franklin Cultural District site of many ArtWeek events

This will be the first ArtWeek in Franklin with The Franklin Cultural District officially in place.

Full schedule of events

You can download the ten day schedule of ArtWeek events in Franklin via the hotlink at left or in the image below.

“Taste of ArtWeek” craft and food festival in Franklin Saturday, April 27

The first weekend of ArtWeek in Franklin, MA gets off to a fun start with live music, food, drink, and a craft fair this Saturday, April 27. It’s called the “Taste of ArtWeek” and is a new event in town. You can access a comprehensive review of all the scheduled events for the Taste of Artweek here or in the hotlink embedded in the image below.

This new event in Franklin runs from 4 PM to 8 PM on Saturday, and it will be held at the Franklin Town Common and the adjacent Hayward Manor. 

It’s a grand opportunity to get outside, see and be seen, meet local crafters, and have a good time enjoying the warmer weather! You’ll be able to inspect and buy a variety of handmade crafts, decorations, jewelry, and artwork.  There will be a juried crafts exhibition, food trucks, and a beer garden. (Wine will also be available for purchase.) 

Purchase tickets on-line

You can purchase tickets for use at the food trucks and the beer garden on-line here or by following the hotlink in the image below.

Taste of Artweek supports good causes

The Taste of ArtWeek proceeds will benefit both the Random Smile Project charity and the Franklin Cultural Council.

If you can’t attend the Taste of Artweek event, you can make a donation to Random Smile here.  And you can contact the FCC here to get involved in this important support for the arts and culture in Franklin, Massachusetts.

Here’s hoping the Taste of ArtWeek is a big success and becomes an annual event in town!

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The approval of the district also entitles Franklin to funding and support from a range of state departments and programs that further the arts and historic preservation.  In announcing the approval of the Franklin Cultural District, Franklin Cultural District Committee’s website quoted the MCC’s Executive Director Anita Walker as identifying the “Red Brick School, Franklin Historical Museum, and the Ray Memorial Building” as potential recipients of such funding and support.

Franklin Cultural District includes many cultural assets

The Franklin Cultural District is geographically extensive. It includes the downtown, Dean College, the town common, the High School and Oak Street Elementary/ Horace Mann Middle schools, the Union Street Cemetery and the former mill buildings on Fisher and Howard Streets.

This is a highly walkable district with many shops and eateries and interesting things to see. 

Congratulations to the many town residents who worked hard to make the Franklin Cultural District a reality!

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Shows and music

Fun for families and kids

More ArtWeek  in Franklin

Franklin, MA is a great place to call home

All the events being held in town during ArtWeek are testament to the vibrant arts and cultural scene in Franklin, Massachusetts.  If you’re in the market to buy a home, consider buying your home in Franklin, MA.  It’s a wonderful place to live and a smart investment to boot!

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Events begin Wednesday, July 27 at 5 PM

The first day of fun begins at 5 PM this Wednesday at the Franklin Town Common. Highlights include arts related children’s activities (block printing, sidewalk chalk art and face painting),

and a live performance at the beloved Town Gazebo by Franklin’s own Electric Youth.

Later in that evening, head over to the Black Box Theater for a series of one act plays – admission is free!

Lots of fun on tap

There’s a boatload of entertainment and activities slated throughout the four day Franklin Cultural Festival in Franklin, Massachusetts!

Click on the hotlink in the image above to access an interactive schedule of all the days’ events and performances slated at this year’s Franklin Cultural Festival.

Thursday, July 28

On Thursday, events kick off at 5 PM at the Franklin Historical Museum,

where you can enjoy the sounds of The Fiddling Thomsons,

and take in the many interesting exhibits and artifacts documenting the industrial past and bygone days of Franklin, MA.

That same evening at the Town Common, you can partake in  some Laughter Yoga,

and enjoy Shakespeare on the Common at 8 p.m.

Friday, July 29

On Friday, July 29, you get to go to the beautiful Auditorium at the $105M+ Franklin High School for a summer music performance starting at 11 AM.

There will also be a live rock music concert by the Kevin T Wolfe Band at the Sculpture Park on Panther Way at 6 PM and Shakespeare on the Common returns for another engagement at 8 PM at the Town Common.

Saturday, July 30

The Festival concludes on Saturday, July 30 with an extensive slate of events.  Check the schedule (linked above and here) for all activities planned that day; highlights follow:

On Saturday, the action will be both inside The Black Box Theater at 15 West Central Street, Franklin, MA and outside in its large parking lot.

There will be live music inside and outside the theater all afternoon.  The music will accompany the Taste of Franklin, where you’ll be able to sample food offerings from many local restaurants and eateries (nominal charges may apply). A series of free plays will be presented starting at 6:30 PM.  Events continue right up to 10 PM, so plan for a late night of fun and entertainment!

Please attend the second annual Franklin Cultural Festival and help it grow into a wonderful Franklin tradition!

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Spend some quiet time with art

Franklin’s newest outdoor cultural asset is the Sculpture Park located on Panther Way near the Franklin Police Headquarters.

The Park was built on the site of the former town swimming pool.

Old retaining walls and dams remain, creating water habitats for wildlife and a peaceful environment for human visitors. There are picnic tables and an attractive bridge that leads to the art exhibits.  Franklin is fortunate to have a readily accessible spot to take in art and to see wildlife enjoying the resource as well!

Video of Franklin Sculpture Park

The video above shows what you’ll find to enjoy at the Franklin Sculpture Park.

Dance exhibition at the Park

A dance exhibition was recently performed at the Franklin Sculpture Park as part of the Franklin Cultural Festival.

In the above video you’ll see the talents of students at the Palladino School of Dance at Dean College in Franklin, MA. As described on Dean College’s website, the Palladino School of Dance is recognized as one of the top dance programs in New England, offering conservatory-level instruction in ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop and tap dancing.

The Palladino School and Dean College are just a part of the vibrant arts and culture scene in Franklin, Massachusetts.  Building on Franklin cultural resources, the town is in the process of establishing a Franklin Cultural District.  The District will further cement Franklin as a “destination community” for home buyers seeking a great place to live in the suburbs of Greater Boston!

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The theater is located in the Dean College Campus Center and is both air conditioned and handicap accessible. There is plenty of free parking in the Dean parking lot at 109 West Central Street, Franklin, MA.

You can easily buy tickets to “The Wiz” online or at the theater door.

Colorful, fun show, great for kids and adults alike

A preview of “The Wiz” was performed on the Franklin Town Common recently as part of the Franklin Cultural Festival.

The preview was wonderful!  The actors are talented and energetic, the singing is first rate and the costumes are colorful and engaging.  My 9 year old (who hasn’t met a video game he did not love) was entranced!  He wants to go to the full show; if he likes it, your kids will too!

Take advantage of this opportunity for you to expose your children to live theater right in Franklin – the whole family will have fun!

College towns make lively places to live

One thing home buyers look for in a community is a robust cultural life. That’s where a college town distinguishes itself! Franklin, MA is fortunate to be home to Dean College, a key contributor to the quality of life in Franklin.

Dean students enliven the downtown area, supporting places in which to eat and socialize. Dean also contributes heavily to the arts in Franklin with its School of the Arts and the Palladino School of Dance. Dean is also affiliated with the Star Players of Massachusetts which stages professional quality theater open to the public on the Dean campus.

Contact Warren Reynolds with any questions you have about buying a home and living in the Town of Franklin, Massachusetts!

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It’s great to see another family oriented celebration in Franklin taking its place on a roster of quite a number of annual festivals and events hosted in this Massachusetts town of some 32,000. Here’s just a partial list of the events in town that Franklin residents already enjoy every year: summertime Concerts on the Common, the Strawberry Festival, the 4th of July Celebration, the Feast of St. Rocco, the Harvest Festival, and the Holiday Stroll.

Cultural districts help communities thrive

But the importance of this new Festival to the Franklin community extends well beyond the inauguration of another fun thing to do in town.  The Franklin Cultural Festival is a key component of a joint effort by town officials, local businesses and Franklin educational institutions to have a Franklin Cultural District in the downtown area officially recognized (or “designated”) by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) under its Cultural Districts Initiative.

The goal of the MCC’s Cultural District Initiative is to help artists, cultural organizations, and arts-related businesses to locate and thrive in the approximately 30 designated cultural districts that already exist throughout the Bay State. The Initiative seeks to spur economic growth and foster tourism in each district, helping promote the reuse and revitalization of older urban centers while increasing property values throughout the communities in which each district is located.

MCC designated cultural districts can receive support and assistance under certain programs established or identified by the MCC and draw on existing cultural resources to encourage artists to live and work in the host communities.

If Franklin is successful in getting an officially designated district, it could become another major step forward in the ongoing revitalization of the Franklin downtown area.

Can’t have a cultural district without a lot of “culture” already in place

The key to a successful effort in obtaining official designation of a cultural district is demonstrable community participation in the arts. The Franklin community has many valuable building blocks already in place that will support a vibrant culture district and should help the Franklin Cultural District get designation from the MCC.

These resources include educational institutions such as the Dean College School of the Arts and Dean’s respected Palladino School of Dance.

Franklin’s downtown is also home to the nationally recognized Franklin School for the Performing Arts.

Franklin School for the Performing Arts

Having a Franklin Cultural District in place should encourage some of the students at these educational institutions to decide to stay in town after graduation and practice their crafts locally.

Other supports for a Franklin Cultural District

Franklin is home to performance venues such as the Black Box Theater, the Circle of Friends Coffee House, and the Main Stage Theater at Dean College. In addition, the Franklin Town Common is eminently walk-able from the downtown area and hosts summertime concerts and many annual community events. The auditorium at the new Franklin High School is stunning and should be an asset to the community for years to come.

All these venues would help sustain the Franklin Cultural District by giving performing artists stages on which to put their talents on display.

Tourism and business good for Franklin

Franklin abounds with good places to eat and drink, which is important for the tourism aspect of the proposed Franklin Cultural District. Here are the eateries scheduled to participate in the “Taste of Franklin” event Sunday during the Franklin Cultural Festival in Franklin, MA.

The Franklin Historical Museum is another asset to the downtown’s intellectual life and is a good tourist destination.

If you are looking for more proof of an economic rationale for a Franklin Cultural District, Jane’s Frames is a stalwart of the arts in the heart of downtown Franklin. The Franklin Art Center opened in town within the last five years and has become a successful supporter of the visual arts in Franklin. The Franklin Art Center was instrumental in the recent establishment of the Franklin Sculpture Park.

A Franklin Cultural District should encourage more such arts-related businesses to open in Franklin, MA.

Increasing the appeal of Franklin as a place in which to live and grow

This post has reviewed some of the significant cultural resources that exist in Franklin, Massachusetts.  These help make Franklin, MA a great place to call home!

The Franklin Cultural District would help tie all those cultural resources together and augment their beneficial impact on the Franklin community. Having a designated Franklin Cultural District would also further cement Franklin’s growing recognition among Massachusetts home buyers as a “destination community” on the I-495 corridor. The District would help Franklin compete for business and attract more educated, affluent home buyers. Franklin residents have so many reasons to support the establishment of a Franklin Cultural District!

Contact Franklin broker Warren Reynolds for help with buying or selling a home in Franklin, Massachusetts!

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Franklin Cultural Festival starts Wednesday

The Franklin Cultural Festival kicks off this Wednesday afternoon with a puppet show for the kids at the Franklin Public Library. The official opening ceremonies will be held at the Town Common at 6 PM, followed at 6:15 PM by the group Electric Youth in a live performance of hit songs made famous by a range of artists including Bruno Mars, Adele, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra.

The show is free and will be accompanied by an eight piece live band.  Future Shock, a special ensemble of young entertainers aged 5-13, will also appear at the show at the Common’s gazebo.  Bring blankets and lawn chairs and enjoy a summer evening at the Franklin Town Common!

Also that same Wednesday evening starting at 8:30 PM at the Black Box, 15 West Central Street in Franklin, you can take in a free performance by the Franklin Performing Arts Company.

Entitled One Acts, the show is a live presentation of a series of one act dramatic and comedic plays. Also on Wednesday you can enjoy learning how to draw using the Zentangle method at Jane’s Frames on East Central Street (6 PM start, preregistration required).

Five days of fun and the arts

The Cultural Festival in Franklin, Massachusetts will showcase the talents of scores of local artists and performers and will be made possible by the hard work and support of many Franklin businesses and educational institutions. Entertainment and events for a wide range of ages and tastes will be on display during those five days.

Download 2015 Festival brochure

Because there’s so much going on each day of the Franklin Cultural Festival, it would be a challenge in this post to give all of the events and performers their just due! You can download the official brochure for the Cultural Festival by following the hotline in the image above.

Full schedule of events

You can access an interactive schedule of events by following the hotlink in the image above.  The schedule is part of a website created created for the Franklin Cultural Festival.  (Note that if you are reading this post after the Franklin Cultural Festival has concluded, these two links may break over time.)

As you can see in the above links, there will be lots of entertainment at the Culture Festival for young children, including Wednesday’s puppet show, a clown act, watercolor and mural painting, fashion design with newspaper, and a hands-on session with drums.

For older kids and adults, there will be plenty of live music and musical theater performances featuring previews of The Wiz and a live adaptation of School House Rocks. You can watch dancers at the Franklin Sculpture park and you’ll get to take in performances of Shakespeare on the Franklin Common! The culinary skills of local restaurants will be available for tasting on Saturday, August 1 at the parking lot of the Black Box (15 West Central Street).

Support the Festival

Come out and support the first Franklin Cultural Festival by attending as many of the events as you can! If possible, please donate to support this wonderful event for Franklin, MA.

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Enhanced by a 10-piece ensemble of professional musicians, Humbug! retells Charles Dicken’s classic A Christmas Carol for modern times.  As the FPAC’s website says “Newly restaged for THE BLACK BOX, Humbug! delivers a holiday gift of hilarity with a timely – and timeless – message!”

Support the local arts community

Humbug! is a great opportunity for you experience a live performance at THE BLACK BOX, the exciting 200 seat theater and multipurpose event facility recently opened by the FPAC and its related Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA)

THE BLACK BOX is located at 15 West Central Street, Franklin, MA.  THE BLACK BOX represents large financial investment in downtown Franklin by the FPAC and the FSPA. THE BLACK BOX already has benefited Franklin by being opened to the public for free performances during the Franklin Holiday Stroll.

Franklin is very fortunate to have both the FPAC and FSPA operating in town.  They and THE BLACK BOX deserve your patronage!  You can learn more about this new live performance venue by following the link here or in the image above.

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