Franklin's Town Square Turned Into an Art Studio for a Day

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  August 13, 2026

Downtown Franklin spent last Saturday covered in wet paint and loose wool, and nobody seemed to mind. ARTFEST 2026 took over the Town Square from 10 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, free to anyone who walked up, with local artists running hands-on stations for every age that showed up.

Macon County sits about 70 miles southwest of Asheville, an hour and a half down US-74 and then south on US-441, and Franklin is the county seat at the end of that drive. The Uptown Gallery on Main Street put the whole thing together through the Macon County Art Association.

What actually happens at ARTFEST?

Not a craft fair where you look at things behind a table. The whole point is that you make something and take it home.

"From learning how to felt and creating a pair of copper earrings to pouring paint onto a canvas to make your own masterpiece, ARTFEST offers hands-on experiences for every age," said Kay Wolf, the event's coordinator. "Parents especially enjoy watching their children discover new creative talents while making memories together."

That last part is the tell. Felting and metalwork are not skills most kids run into at school, and watching a nine-year-old figure out that they are good at something they have never tried is a decent way to spend a Saturday morning. Adults tend to end up at the pour painting station and stay there longer than they planned.

Admission was free. Sponsorship money and event proceeds go back into arts education and visual arts programming across the county, which is what the association works on the rest of the year. Renee's Cake Shoppe was among the community sponsors.

Why do so many Franklin events land on the second Saturday?

Because the merchants planned it that way. ARTFEST shared the day with the Franklin Downtown Merchants Association's Second Saturday Sip & Shop, a monthly event where you can carry an adult beverage under Franklin's social district rules while you walk the shops on and around Main Street.

Stacking a free family arts event on top of Sip & Shop is smart small-town programming. Parents bring the kids to the Town Square, then drift down Main with a drink while the shops are open and the sidewalks are full. The businesses get foot traffic, the art association gets an audience, and nobody has to choose between two events on the same weekend.

If you missed August, the next Sip & Shop is Saturday, September 12. Franklin runs it every month, and the second Saturday is worth marking down if you are the kind of person who likes a downtown that actually has something going on.

Is Franklin worth a look if you care about the arts?

For a town of its size, yes. Franklin has the Uptown Gallery on Main Street and an art association with real membership behind it, so the arts are not something you have to drive to Asheville for.

That matters more than people expect when they are looking at Western North Carolina towns. Plenty of mountain communities have views and not much else once the season ends. Franklin has a downtown that stays busy through the fall, plus Highlands 30 minutes east and the Nantahala just west.

The arts scene here is not a marketing bullet point somebody added to a brochure. It is a handful of people like Kay Wolf who organize a free event on the Town Square and get a crowd because the community shows up for that kind of thing.

If a town like Franklin sounds like the kind of place you have been picturing, Jon Tharp knows the area and is up for a conversation about it.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ARTFEST in Franklin NC?

ARTFEST is a free, family-friendly arts event presented by the Uptown Gallery and the Macon County Art Association on the Town Square in downtown Franklin. The 2026 edition ran Saturday, August 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees of all ages worked directly with local artists on hands-on projects, including wool felting, copper earring fabrication, and pour painting on canvas, with take-home art projects and interactive demonstrations throughout the day. Admission is free. Sponsorships and proceeds support arts education and visual arts programming across Macon County, so the day doubles as a fundraiser for the association's year-round work.

When is the Second Saturday Sip and Shop in Franklin NC?

The Franklin Downtown Merchants Association holds Sip & Shop on the second Saturday of every month along and around Main Street in downtown Franklin. The August 2026 edition fell on the 8th, the same day as ARTFEST, and the next one lands Saturday, September 12. Franklin's social district rules allow you to carry an adult beverage from a participating business while you walk between shops, which is what gives the event its name. Most of the activity happens in the afternoon, and parking is generally easiest on the side streets a block off Main.

Where is the Uptown Gallery in Franklin NC?

The Uptown Gallery sits on Main Street in downtown Franklin and is operated by the Macon County Art Association, a member organization that has promoted the visual arts in the county for decades. The gallery shows and sells work by local and regional artists across painting, pottery, fiber, jewelry, photography, and woodwork, with rotating displays rather than a fixed permanent collection. It also serves as the organizational home for classes, workshops, and community events like ARTFEST. Downtown Franklin is right off US-441, which makes the gallery an easy stop on the way to Highlands or the Nantahala.

How far is Franklin NC from Asheville?

Franklin sits roughly 70 miles southwest of Asheville, which works out to about an hour and a half of driving depending on your route and the season. Most people take US-74 west toward Sylva and then pick up US-441 south into Macon County. Franklin is the county seat and the largest town in Macon County, with Highlands about 30 minutes east on US-64, Sylva about 30 minutes north, and the Georgia line roughly 20 minutes south. The Nantahala National Forest surrounds much of the area.