​​Franklin on Ice lived up to its name this weekend as the festival carried on despite the subzero wind chills.

"It's just slow and steady," Franklin events coordinator James Shreffler said of attendance Saturday afternoon.
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Shreffler admitted the crowd sizes were smaller than other years but still surpassed temperature-adjusted expectations. 
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With the lingering cold weather, Glacial Ice Works, this year's carving company, has seen decreased attendance at other recent events.

​Franklin on Ice was the best crowd they have seen in a few weeks, Shreffler reported. 
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He credited that to the festival's strong history, the supporting events around town and maybe a little cabin fever.

"It's definitely nice to get out of the house," he said. 
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While no crowd numbers are available to the come-and-go winter gathering, the ice blocks were easy to track.

Ninety-two blocks to make a total of 32 sculptures of various sizes.

Among the temporary statues was a patriotic display featuring two eagles in flight, the Liberty Bell and the number 250.
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"That's our premier sculpture. It's 15 blocks," Shreffler said. 
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The annual slide for kids was also built on the picnic table patio as well as the throne near the Egbert Fountain.

​All built and carved by Glacial Ice Works, the name for recently sold DiMartino Ice Company.

Shreffler said the company was purchased by a DiMartino family member and many of the employees stayed with the company, so new name but familiar faces in Fountain Park carving the ice on Friday and Saturday. 

The festival also included an array of indoor options to help visitors warm up and make a day of it. 
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This included annual Franklin Retail Association and Franklin Fine Arts Council chili cook-off fundraiser at the Grumpy Goat Distillery.

Jamie Woods was voted the top cook out of 10 entries.

​The Franklin Elks Lodge won the business category. 

At the Barrow-Civic Theatre, the 10th annual Nature Art Showcase and Sale was held. More than 50 artists had various works on display, all inspired by the natural beauty of northwestern Pennsylvania. 
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There was also a magic show, Holey Jeans performance, storytime and crafts at the Franklin Public Library, and free hot chocolate and snacks at many of the downtown stores. 

In a blink of an eye it was 10-2. The Rocky Grove Orioles soared ahead stealing  and scoring at will.

​The Groves Noah Baughman and Aiden Focht  seemed to have everything they threw up drop. Connor Ritchie even drilled one from a bit behind the arc as they took a 26-8 lead after the first stanza. 

They scored even more in the second quarter and set up the running clock for the entire second half.

​It was the most points the Orioles have scored all season besting by one their win against Cambridge Springs with an 87-50 trouncing.
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Baughman led with 29 points. Landen Carter, this season's leading scorer had 14 and Focht dropped 12.
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This team seems for real, now 4-0 in Region 2 and 8-4 overall. Cochranton drops to 1-2 in the region 4-5 overall.

Inside was the place to be Wednesday night and the organizers of the annual First Night Oil City had plenty of places for folks to stay warm.

Getting there, however, was another story. 

The crowds were understandably small. The snow covered roads and sidewalks were no fun to traverse. But the smell of sauerkraut upon entering Trinity United Methodist Church immediately warmed you up. And there was plenty to do even if that was the only place you went.

Clowns making balloon hats and painting faces, magic and storytelling as well as the popular family bluegrass band Echo Valley were all under one roof along with some pretty good-looking pies and the traditional kraut mixed with pulled pork and sides of nacho chips and cheese sauce.

But for those willing to brave the winds and snowflakes and venture out for more, there was a variety of music to be enjoyed on both sides of town.

Christmas Eve was no different.
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Rev. Randy Powell of the Baptist Church and Darrell Greenawalt of the Christ Church joined together to lead services at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the sanctuary.

In between, Rev. Eric Phillips led the Redeemer congregation in a more formal service in Clark Hall.
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“Darrell, Randy and I have been working together, have been friends, meeting together but also helping each other with different ministry needs and stuff like that,” Phillips said. “We already had a relationship and friendship as pastors, so it’s been kind of neat having all three of our congregations here.”
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Phillips came to Franklin about four years ago seeking to start an Anglican congregation and approached Powell about his knowledge of available spaces that could be used for worship.

More than 300 people gathered at the Rocky Grove fire hall Saturday for the inaugural Zen Dads’ Christmas Bash. The event was designed as a place for families to have fun, share some cookies and hot chocolate, visit with Santa and the Grinch, dance, make crafts and, most importantly, share some holiday spirit as a community.
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The party was an add-on to a toy drive conceived by Andrew Shipwash, Tim Tobin and CJ Hellem, who created Zen Dads in October after Shipwash came upon a large number of Halloween costumes that he and Tobin gave away.

The effort was a huge success and got them thinking about what they could do next. 

“I wanted to do a toy drive for Christmas and Shipwash was all in," said Tobin, whose calm temperament as a parent inspired the Zen Dad name.

Franklin Retail Association once again hosted the annual Old Fashioned Christmas Saturday draw 100s downtown for some fun and games while shopping local for the holidays.

Santa was on hand to listen to children and adults wishes for this holiday season, lots of hot chocolate was handed out, songs filled the area and inside businesses, kids took home their own homemade  crafts and the streets were abuzz with activity.

A walk in any shop and people were having conversations and wishing each other Marry Christmas and good cheer.

It's been an eventful year at the Barrow-Civic Theatre with a busy schedule of plays, musicals and special acts. 

To honor the standout performances from community members, the theater has created the Barry Awards.

Not named after anyone named Barry, rather it's a fun play on the Barrow. This is the first of what the organizers are hoping becomes a yearly event.

Similar to the Emmys and Oscars there are multiple categories with nominees picked by a committee.
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​The categories include Lead Actor and Actress for both plays and musicals, Featured Performers in plays and musicals, Youth Lead Actor and Actress in a Musical, Best Play, Best Musical, Best Youth Musical, Best Costume Design, Best Choreography, Best Director for both plays and musicals, Best Music Direction and Best Musical Ensemble. (See graphics for the list of nominees.)

The winners will be determined by a voting committee of audience members who attended all the shows nominated based on box office ticket records kept by the theater.

The awards will be announced during a Red Carpet & Black Tie fundraiser at 7 p.m. on January 17, 2026 at the theatre.

​August Babington will serve as the host for the event, which will also include performances and a sneak peek at next year's schedule.

​Tickets are $30 and on sale now. 

We aren't on the voting committee, but we were lucky to take in all the shows. Well except "Who's Holiday", which is on our list for next month. 

So many memorable moments and performances that we could mention, but don't want to influence any judges decisions.
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So if seeing this awards announcement has got you feeling reminiscen and you're looking for a remindert, we've got you covered.

Below are links to our coverage of all the 2025 shows, listed in the order in which they were performed throughout the year.

​And if you are struggling to think about a certain show, there are tons of photos to help you remember and relive the great performances and productions.

​Enjoy!

Cindy Lou Who is all grown up, a little rough around the edges, and ready to spill the eggnog-soaked tea about what really went down after that fateful Christmas with the Grinch.

Equal parts festive and wildly fun. Who's Holiday is the twisted adult comedy you never knew you needed - where holiday cheer comes with a dash of sass, a splash of booze and a lot of heart.

​Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, 12 and 13; and at 2 p.m. on Dec. 13 and 14. Some performances will be in the Little Theatre and others on the Main Stage. 

Tickets on sale now. 

For the next month and a half motorists rounding the corner from 13th Street to head through the heart of Franklin's downtown along Liberty Street will be surrounded by the lights and colors of the holiday season. 

Franklin lit itself up in grand fashion once again with several activities for kids including a holiday flavored nighttime parade followed by a no holds barred fireworks display that commenced shortly after the town's Christmas tree was electrified to the sounds of ooh and ahh.

Each year it is a spectacle unique to this little town that draws thousand to the downtown streets to experience the shared spirit of community as they kick off the holiday season.

Tonight and tomorrow night treat yourself to a little early holiday cheer while supporting young talent at the Franklin Area High School's performance of the Irving Berlin classic "White Christmas.

​The show starts at 7 p.m. and features students from both Rocky Grove and Franklin, as well as an older FHS member playing a general with a shot up leg

What does your costume of choice say about you at Halloween?

I'm  going to reveal something that might shock people who know me as a creative sort. When it comes to Halloween I suck at being creative. 

Maybe because I ended up in the emergency room getting my stomach pumped as a wee lad after eating something we weren't exactly sure why it made me so sick, but I just never quite figured out how to get into the dressing up vibe.

​I guess those that know me and see how much effort I put into my everyday wardrobe might say my lack of attention to dressing up for anything jives.

But it is fun, as a photo journalist, to see how people represent themselves. With kids it gives you insight into what they are into at the moment. Whatever Disney film is current usually dictates quite a bit of attention.

Kids YouTube shows also dominate.

T-Rex blow up costumes are fun to watch as the wearer tries navigate simple things like walking or grabbing candy from a bowl held by Dracula while threatening to bite the Lord Prince of Darkness' head off (see above photo.)

And Dracula is fun from the comical representations to the pretty darn realistic. Again, perhaps revealing of character traits, at least in terms of the ability of committing to a charactor.

​From sexy to scary, whimsical to odd, well thought out to tossed together, we tell something about ourselves in how we decide to dress up.

For me, after my ill-attempted hobo where I still had charcoal on my cheeks as the ER doc shoved a tube passed my tonsils making me want to die even more than whatever evil was churning in my belly, but I just haven't found my personality in dress up beyond just remembering to wear pants.

My two costumes of note were my "guy with a stick" that I picked up in the yard after realizing I totally forgot it was a costume party and the time I cut the rear end out of a pair of jeans and told everyone I was Prince  at the Grammy's. (not convincing but my hairy derrière did become a popular photo op among my photographer friends that night.}

So I guess even my ill-attempts were still quite personality revealing?

I'm amazed at how people really go all out decorating their yards and businesses and have so much fun doing so. The bigger the decorating scheme the more visitors and therefor more money spent on candy.
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And I love how many communities create dozens of activities for families to come out and engage with one another. It is curious to witness the numbers of people and sheer support folks have in sharing simple things like sweets with one another just for the smiles they receive in return.

​Many organizations spend hundreds of dollars to give families a little community fun several times throughout the season.

Without jumping high up on a soap box and getting called all levels of hypocritical, it's disheartening getting on social media to read those comments by people complaining about this or that trivial thing about a three day festival that they didn't like. 

​One that draws over 100,000 people to experience it's downtown to choose from a dozen varieties of cheesy fries, perhaps buy a big wooden sign to decorate the house or an equally big bag of kettle popcorn to chomp on for days, eat a free apple, listen to some music to get away from the hustle bustle for a breather, play on bouncy houses, see old friends, get up close to a Packard in mint condition, pet a mini-goat or just get off our fat behinds and walk around a bit outside.

This is Franklin, Pennsylvania for three days in October. The rest of the time it's your quaint little downtown that many brag about.

So why take the time to get all Kareny on social media to complain about the crowd size or any number of weird things that bother you about a festival you decided to go to?

The annual Applefest gets its fair share of curmudgeony sorts that find a need to express their opinions that no one asked for on social media, which is their right.

I admit I don't like crowds or taking twice as long to walk from point a to point b, but you know what... I don't have to go. I could decide not to cover the festival. 

But I do go to cover it, I do find moments to get out of the crowd for a breather, and there are plenty of places to get away. 

I choose to go because it is important for the area and it is filled with people and businesses that I care about. It is just three days.

And I do have fun than more 10 times over than those things that bother me. And if I have a complaint, that's on me. No need to get on social media and show everyone what jerk I am.

​Applefest is perhaps the one event that really puts Franklin on the map. And not just those three days, people come back to experience the town the other 362 days.

It is also an event that brings tens of thousands of dollars to the area... that puts some farmer's market folks into the black for the year and frankly, is just a fun time for 94.37% of the people who go and 100% of the people who don't have to listen to idiots bitching about nothing. (Just a an educated guesstimate.)

There are always ways to improve things. I know personally that the people who put so much time into Applefest welcome constructive ideas.

They understand there is no event that can't be improved upon and that others can have good ideas that lead to positive advancements of an already successful festival.

They welcome input properly delivered. Usually Facebook post complaints are not the best avenue.

​Some of the things overheard or read this weekend astound and truly make me understand how little people actually know about how things work. 

This year a small group of folks who feel a need to spread their brand of Christian beliefs took advantage of the huge number of people in Franklin to stand on very public ground in front of the courthouse to spread their ideas.
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They had the right to be there as long as they did not disrupt visitors to the festival from passing by from one park to the other.

​I never felt they were disruptive physically and when I personally found myself disrupted mentally I knew that was on me. 

I did laugh out loud passing by at one point because of something that was not directed at me at all that I found ironically amusing. I thought, "I can choose to let it bother me, as one social media commentator most certainly did, or not let it bother me and go about my business."

The usual complaints about how difficult it can be getting through town or finding parking close to downtown..

Yet there are several alternative parking venues that are free and the Applefest organizers use their budget to pay for free shuttle services. Several area businesses turn their lots into pay lots, often donating that money to a non-profit organization or group.  And in the 10-ish years of covering this festival I've always found a spot. Yes I have to walk a little sometimes, but again, my big belly could use more of that.

Applefest 42 by the Numbers:
75 apple dapple cakes
100 bushels of apples handed out
175 apple pies
300+ vendors
400+ vehicles in the car show
500+ runners/walkers in the 5K
700+ pancake meals
3,000 apple dumplings
1 million views on Facebook
TOO MANY VISITORS TO COUNT
The 3 Best Days of the Year.

Franklin's Barrow Civic Theatre's stage will get a little wet over the next two weekends.

​No they are not having roof issues, they are ready to present their two months of hard work to bring you their production of  Singin' In The Rain.

And on the third day... Sammie got her prize.

Oil City ninth-grader Samantha Bartlett, who won a chance at a bow hunt for a bull elk, got one on her third day of hunting.

She had earlier opportunities  to bag smaller bulls, but chose patience instead.

It paid off.

Early Monday, just as day was breaking she was able harvest this bull estimated between 750-850 pound, 13-point (7x6) with an estimated green score of 310 inches.

Soon after her proud grandparents shared a couple photos of they smiling 14-year old granddaughter.