“A Dickens Of A Christmas”- Our Visit To Franklin, TN
Earlier this month my wife and I made our annual trip up to Nashville to catch the Predators play hockey at Bridgestone Arena.
The Preds were playing the Las Vegas Golden Knights for the first time on Friday, December 8th. It was an exciting game, but we didn’t get a win (or even free Wendy’s Frostys). The team got a point for the overtime/shootout, and we got a great surprise the next day…
Nicki did a search for places near our hotel for breakfast. She found a few, but one a little bit further out in downtown Franklin, TN really peaked my curiosity- The Frothy Monkey! It was only a few minutes drive, and traffic was pretty light. We really liked the look of the downtown area- reminded us of more yuppie/less hippie cleaner Midtown Memphis. We noticed one of the streets near The Frothy Monkey was blocked off, and we saw lots of tents lining the street and even some folks walking around in Victorian style costumes. We drove down a few side streets until we could find a place to park. It was around the corner and up a bit, but not too far of a drive.
The weather was VERY cold that morning, and the Monkey was packed. Didn’t see any open tables to sit (other than outside in the cold), but did notice a staircase. We got in line and placed our breakfast order and went upstairs to wait. We both got a large Mexican Hot Chocolate to drink. It hit the spot, and had a bit of a kick.
The upstairs area had plenty of seating. Most folks were sitting in a large side room, but there was only a few in the section to the right we sat in. Downstairs they gave us a table number/letter shaped like a ‘K’ monkey, and while we were waiting in line Nicki bought me a Frothy Monkey button and coffee mug. It came with a bag of “Festivus” coffee.
We both ordered the “Bob” (2 whole grain pancakes, house-made syrup, choice of 2 sides- $8.50). Nicki got eggs over easy with fruit, and I got scrambled eggs and sausage. It was just what was needed for such a cold morning.
After we finished breakfast we walked up the block back to where we had seen the street festival going on. It was packed with vendors on either side and lots of attendees walking, shopping, and talking. I recognized a couple of the artist vendors from the River Arts Fest in Memphis, TN this fall. I didn’t see any signage to point out to clueless out of town folks like myself just exactly what festival this was. Finally I stopped and asked one of the ladies in costume what we had stumbled across. She replied with a smile, “A Dickens Of A Christmas!” Well, that made a lot of sense..!
We saw lots of Father Christmas (and Mother Christmas)- each with extremely detailed costumes, which looked much warmer than what we were wearing!
There were folks playing bells in front of a church, there were town criers, and we encountered a Jacob Marley and the chains he forged in life!
We saw several street musicians and street performers, and even the local police officers got into the act!
Actually, everywhere you looked folks were getting in on the act- and we were feeling under-dressed, and not just because of the biting cold wind..! Oh, and lots of delicious food smells were in the air as we strolled down their main street.
It seemed to go on forever, and even when we got to the town square with the large Christmas tree we saw more vendors and visitors down each of the side streets.
It was a very family friendly event, even for the four legged members of the family. You may want to bundle up some of the less thick furred ones- especially when it gets as cold as that weekend did.
I really would love to attend this festival again, but I also want to go back just to visit this theater and many of the shops, galleries, and restaurants we saw while wandering the streets of downtown Franklin, TN.
If you’re in the middle Tennessee area I highly recommend checking out The Dickens Of A Christmas celebration and many of the other events happening in Franklin, TN– it’s worth the drive!
I hope you all have safe travels, stay warm, and have a very Merry Christmas!
Lin
