Franklin Street (Chapel Hill) - Celebrations

Celebrations

Franklin Street is home to several yearly festivals/gatherings, some of which are nationally famous:

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• Victory celebrations: While students previously held "Beat Duke" parades on Franklin Street before sporting events, today students and sports fans have been known to spill out of bars and dormitories upon the victory of one of Carolina's sports teams. In most cases, a Franklin Street "bonfire" celebration is due to a victory by the men's basketball team, although other Franklin Street celebrations have stemmed from wins by the women's basketball team and women's soccer team. Upon the event the men's basketball team reaches the national championship game, local stores are known to halt sales of Carolina-blue paint to avoid a repeat of the 1982 jamboree which resulted in Franklin Street being painted blue by celebrating fans. On April 6, 2009 after winning the men's basketball national championship, over 45,000 UNC fans and students crowded Franklin Street.
• Halloween: Franklin Street is most notable for its Halloween celebration, which occurs annually on October 31. Tens of thousands of all age groups attend the event each year; nearly 80,000 attended in 2004 through 2007. The event is not town-sponsored and the town actually discourages out-of-towners from attending; yet, an influx of non-residents descend on the town each year despite the town's suggestion. In an attempt to promote order during the event, the Town of Chapel Hill now closes the street to traffic after 8:00 p.m. on Halloween and directs visitors to satellite parking decks around the town, from where buses used to shuttle tourists to the main event area. Attendees of the event typically dress in costume and stroll Franklin Street enjoying the wide array of festive atire and snapping photos. Due to the cost and security concerns of the event, Chapel Hill has attempted to discourage the event in recent years. In 2008, Chapel Hill promoted a "Homegrown Halloween" which would only include locals and not out-of-towners; those from outside Chapel Hill were discouraged from attending. The town requested that Chapel Hill Transit not run shuttle buses from park-and-ride lots as it had done in past years, and Duke University students agreed not to send a bus as they had traditionally done. Bars charged cover fees and alcohol sales were restricted after 1 A.M. The strategy resulted in only about 35,000 revelers for the 2008 Halloween celebrations.
• Festifall: Franklin Street has become well known for its many arts and crafts festivals. However, local gang involvement and violence has led to the canceling of some, including Applechill. But Festifall has stood the test of time.