Franklin turns 200 with plans for a year-long birthday

Franklin’s Bicentennial Committee had their second meeting in the Franklin City Hall council chambers Thursday morning.
It was announced that the committee will meet every third Thursday of the month, with times varying between morning and afternoon meetings based on availability of attendees.
Franklin will turn 200 years old in April of next year, and the Bicentennial Committee is tasked with the organization of the celebration’s various possible forms and visages.
Ed “Tiger” Verdin, committee co-chair, announced having secured, with the help of committee member Tammy Rogers, a $5,000 grant from the Louisiana Seafood Board in the form of shrimp and catfish to be sold at this year’s Harvest Moon Festival.
It was further announced that a New Year’s Eve party is being planned to take place starting at 6 p.m. on Dec. 31, and ending around 12:30 or 1 a.m., at the parish courthouse parking lot.
This, according to Diane Wiltz, committee co-chair, will begin a year-long celebration of Franklin’s becoming incorporated in 1820.
The committee plans to celebrate the bicentennial with particular events and themes for each of the twelve months of 2020, the machinery and functionality of which events is still speculative.
However, plans are crystallizing and budgets are being whittled, under the assumption that donations and grants will need to be sought to stretch the overall budget for the observing of the bicentennial.
Alfreida Edwards noted that diversity should play a decisive role in the planning of the festivities, and esteemed it paramount in the portrayal of African Americans in the roles they have played in the life of Franklin.
It was also announced that Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard has approved an official logo for the festivities, and that several bands have already been booked to play in the New Year’s Eve lineup.