March 13: All things Irish take over Franklin

The luck of the Irish will flood downtown Franklin Saturday and bring sunny weather and warm temperatures to the town’s free St. Patrick’s Day celebration, organizers hope. The event is slated to be held from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on historic Main Street.

The Irish festival will be complemented by Brew, Stew and Stroll from 6-10 p.m. that evening.

While the Irish festival is free and open to the public, tickets for “Brew, Stew and Stroll” are $20 and are available at various locations around Franklin.

“We will be featuring a variety of beers imported from Ireland, including one that hasn’t been available here until now,” says Darryl McCreary of McCreary’s Pub, one of the organizers of the event. “We are working with Guinness beers and DET Distributing to provide an authentic Irish experience.”

Beer tasting will be held in 20 Main Street locations, such as The Iron Gate, What’s in Store, The Cottage Company, Kandle Kitchen, Stampareami Bros., Gray’s Card and Gift, Rock Paper Scissors, The Cellar, The Heirloom Shop, Timeless Creation, Yarrow Acres, Emmaline’s, Over the Rainbow, Franklin Booksellers, The Greenhouse, Faye Snodgrass Gallery, Barker-Phillips, McCreary’s Pub, Sandy’s Downtown Grille and Franklin Mercantile.

Other than beer tasting, the day’s activities will include Irish dance and music performances on Main Street, chess and checkers, children’s activities and Irish foods. Main Street will be closed for the two blocks between the Public Square and Five Points the day of the celebration. No beer tasting will occur before 6 p.m.; however, the street will be filled with the smells of roasted potatoes, fried potatoes, turkey legs, Irish stew, fish and chips and all things Irish.

For those who plan to attend the beer-tasting event, a special glass will be issued with a map of the tasting sites and a description of the beers, which will be sampled in 2-ounce quantities at each location. The exception is Franklin Mercantile on Fourth Avenue North, which will serve as the Guinness headquarters.

Tickets are $20 in advance and available at The Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County, The Review Appeal office, Over the Rainbow and Gray’s Card’s and Gifts. To order tickets by phone, call 951-8500.

For more information on the event, log on to www.historicfranklin.com.