The year was 1984, and downtown Franklin, TN was on the verge of great revitalization. The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County, TN’s first annual Main Street Festival was that spring, and now, 36 years later, Main Street Festival is still going strong.

     

(Left: Ed Stolman’s building on 4^th Avenue and Main Street, used as a model for revitalized streetscape in 1982. This building is now home to Franklin Mercantile Deli Center: Franklin Art Festival in the early 1980s. Right: Omarts, Inc. replaced Hardcastle Motors in 1983 and is now home to Bink’s Outfitters. Photo Credits: Williamson County Historian Rick Warwick)

Main Street Festival is a staple of the cultural heritage of Franklin, and one could argue that “Buffalo Bill” is a staple of Main Street Festival. One of Franklin’s most joyful personalities, “Buffalo Bill” Beyer, has been a vendor at all three of the Heritage Foundation’s festivals for 18 years.

Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the original Buffalo Bill – famous for his Wild West shows that toured the country in the late 1800s – Beyer often dresses in Texas style with cowboy boots, cowboy hat and a handlebar mustache. He always had a passion for the Old West, fostered by his grandfather, who was a horse tamer for Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. “They called him ‘Buffalo Bill of the East’ because he was a New Yorker mixed in with all these cowboys,” Bill explains. Bill acquired his grandfather’s nickname when he started putting on gunfight skits with his family at an amusement park.

With his grandfather’s old saddle, a couple of pistols and a bullwhip, Buffalo Bill was born. Bill attracted media attention and leveraged his popularity to put on events for inner-city kids in Dallas. From cattle drives to wagon trains to camps, Bill used the character to present historic education to kids.

Fast forward to 2001, when Buffalo started selling pretzels and sausages at Main Street Festival. His signature mesquite smoked sausage-on-a-stick is a fan favorite at all the festivals. “People don’t want to walk around with a plate at a festival,” said Bill. “They want to hold something in their hand, walk down the street and enjoy the festival.”

Bill has been in the vending business for 40 years and says the Heritage Foundation festivals have a special atmosphere. “Main Street Festival gets you rolling, starts festival season and has a home town feel,” said Bill.

    

Speaking of home, Bill relocated from Texas to Franklin to help his daughter, Dawn Beyer, pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Dawn started singing and wrote her first song at 10-years-old in Texas. To help support Dawn’s love of music, Bill traded a 53 Chevy for her first guitar. Dawn’s talent got her noticed and connected with a big producer who suggested she move to Nashville. Landing in Franklin instead, Dawn started playing at local restaurants and bars before making her way to Broadway.

Only 3 years ago, Dawn was sitting on a stool in downtown Nashville singing for empty chairs and selling pretzels at the Franklin Main Street Festival. Now after multiple viral videos and commercial radio song cuts, Dawn Beyer is quickly becoming the girl to listen to online and is booked year-round playing her own original music.

“This year’s festival is really special to me because Dawn is headlining,” said Bill. “I am very proud of what she has done with her career, she is exactly what it means to be a self-made musician.”

Dawn Beyer will be performing at Main Street Festival on Sunday, April 28 on the main stage. She will also be performing at the Franklin Theatre on Tuesday, April 30 at 6:00 p.m. We invite you to experience Dawn Beyer live at both Main Street Festival and the Franklin Theatre. Tickets for her performance at the Franklin Theatre can be purchased here, http://bit.ly/2u0eCF8.

The Heritage Foundation of Williamson County’s 36th Annual Main Street Festival, Presented by First Tennessee Bank will take place Saturday, April 27, 2019 – Sunday, April 28, 2019. One of the of the largest events in the Southeast, the festival is expected to draw a crowd of about 100,000 for a fun-filled weekend of music, arts and crafts, food and children’s activities.

Also, don’t forget to check out the great stores and restaurants in downtown Franklin, and check out the other great vendors at Main Street Festival this year!

For more information about the Heritage Foundation’s 36^th Annual Main Street Festival, Presented by First Tennessee Bank, visit williamsonheritage.org/mainstreet/.