Events Expands to Two Days

It’s easy to see why they call it Middle Tennessee’s biggest family fall festival. The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County’s PumpkinFest, held in downtown Franklin, celebrates the season with arts & crafts, live music, costume contests, autumn-inspired food and drink, and more.

Last year, more than 135,000 people turned out for the annual event, which until now was held on one day only. Now, as the festival marks its 41st year and continues to attract even bigger crowds, organizers decided it was time to stretch it over the entire weekend. 

“This year, for the first time ever, we’re expanding the PumpkinFest,” says Will Clark, Associate Director of Brand and Content Marketing at the Heritage Foundation of Williamson County. “It’s going to cover two full days to give the community a little breathing room and allow more people to attend.”

People of all ages can head down to Franklin’s Main Street on Saturday, Sunday, or both (October 24th and 245h) and embrace all of the things that make this time of year so special. There will be more than 140 arts & crafts vendors, some 30 food and beverage trucks, a variety of live musical acts appearing on three different stages, a KidZone, and costume contests featuring kids, adults, and even pets.

“There are costume contests for people in different age groups,” Clark explains. “We’ll bring them up on the Main Stage and have judges vote on a winner for each category. And then there’s the pet contest, which is always a crowd favorite. People dress up their pets, mostly dogs, in these different costumes and everyone goes crazy over it. It’s a lot of fun.” 

He points to Autumn Alley as another big festival attraction. 

“We have a whole block called Autumn Alley set up on that stretch of Main Street between Mellow Mushroom and White’s Mercantile. And we have all kinds of things set up there like corn hole, hay bales, pumpkin checkers, and more. And then there’s our pumpkin tree. It’s a wooden sculpture type of thing in the shape of a tree, and we’ve set pumpkins on all of the different levels. Tell folks to make sure they get their photo taken at the pumpkin tree.” 

The PumpkinFest is one of a series of festivals and events put on by the Heritage Foundation of Williamson to highlight the community. (Others include the Heritage Ball, Main Street Festival, and Dickens of a Christmas.)

“We’re a non-profit organization and our mission is to preserve the character and culture of Williamson County, and festivals are a big way we do that,” Clark says. “The PumpkinFest is free and open to the public, and we encourage everyone to come.”

Hours for this year’s festival are Saturday, from 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday, from 11 am to 5 pm. For more information, visit: https://williamsonheritage.org/

EAGLE SCOUT BUILDS LENDING LIBRARY FOR ANIMAL CENTER 

Eagle Scout Candidate, Ben Hamby of BSA Natchez Trace District Troop 13 recently built and installed a lending library for Williamson County Animal Center (WCAC). Hamby chose to do the project because he wanted to do something that helps both children and animals. “The library is a great way for kids to improve their reading skills and to get more exposure for the animals at the shelter,” he said. 

Hamby’s library is now an extension of WCAC’s Book Buddies program that claims to benefit both young readers and animals by providing a non-judgmental space for children to practice reading and socialize the cats and dogs at the animal center. After completing a class about animal body language, children ages five to 12 years can then read to selected shelter pets. Registration for the class is on WCAC’s website. 

As WCAC’s Humane Educator, Shannon Luna facilitates Book Buddies and manages the lending library. She believes in the power of reading to inspire empathy and understanding; “This library gives us another way to invite children to explore stories and facts about animals,” said Luna. “Which, in turn, plants the seeds of compassion, advocacy, and responsible pet ownership." 

The library is located near the parking spots for individuals with disabilities in WCAC’s public parking lot and is accessible for public use at all times. Luna encourages patrons to borrow and contribute age-appropriate books that relate to animals and animal welfare. 

WCAC is located at 1006 Grigsby Hayes Court in Franklin, near Franklin Christian Academy. The center is open to the public Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.; Saturday 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.; closed Sunday. Times may vary due to holidays.