‘Christmas on Main’ brings good cheer, good weather, good music, and Christmas goods for Santa’s sack

Christmas, or at least the Christmas spirit, arrived early in the Town of Front Royal’s Historic Downtown Business District this weekend. The planned and permitted “Christmas on Main” event from mid-morning into the early evening hours of Saturday, December 12, saw a one-day return to the downtown walking mall concept with cooperative weather – partly sunny, dry and temperatures drifting into the low 60’s.

Downtown retailers and other merchants, artists and craftsmen took advantage of the opportunity to set up outdoor stands to display their wares that Santa would be proud to distribute on his rounds two weeks away.

If you get chilly in the shade outside, you can shop inside; or you can wait for the sun to return to these artistic skies. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

Musical entertainment was set up at various spots along East Main. Two we encountered were the Famous Last Words duo of John France on guitar accompanying the powerful and diverse voice of Maria Price outside of C&C Frozen Treats; and harpist/multi-instrumentalist John Kovac and friends at the new Mountain View Music Studio (www.mountainviewmusic.org) at 217 East Main in the old Royal Quality Shop space. John was accompanied at various points by Mountain View principal Karena Tapsak’s husband Mark on full-sized accordion and their son Alex on guitar and concertina. Nothing like learning an instrument to get you through pandemic quarantine downtime.

Above, ‘Famous Last Words’ is John France on guitar and Maria Price displaying her impressive vocal range through holiday to rock and pop classics during two sets. Below, John Kovac on home-crafted harp is accompanied here by Alex Tapsak on concertina at the Mountain View Music Studio space at 217 East Main.

A dance performance, which the Royal Examiner camera unfortunately missed, was held by the Jig and Jive dance troupe, getting a big shout out from event organizers Amanda Horn and William Huck.

As to the day-long experience and sponsorship of “Christmas on Main” C&C Frozen Treat’s ever-enthusiastic Huck observed “the community are the sponsors – We love this community and it’s an honor to be a part of it. Love and Magic that’s what the true Front Royal/Warren County is built upon. I judge the success by the memories shared. So yes, I would say very successful.”

And from our periodic forays into the event over the course of the day, it appeared they would be early Christmas memories shared by a significant number of the community’s citizens, including many children and any visitors lucky enough to have picked this day to check Front Royal’s downtown out under outdoor parameters allowing for social distancing under often sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures.

Above, Will and Nina Huck in their Father and Mother Christmas guise check the action out at Saturday’s ‘Christmas on Main’. Below, there was room to run and let some pent-up energy out among the Village Commons Gingerbread House village and Gazebo area.

Enjoy the idyllic late fall scene before we batten down for the season’s first threatened snowstorm predicted to potentially drop eight or more inches mid-week, after a possible prepatory dusting on Monday.

Santa was represented by Anthony Lockhart, who wasn’t lonely for long – when Santa calls, children answer. Further below this dog may be thinking he’d like a nice snowman toy to chew on for Christmas.

More scenes from the Dec. 12 ‘Christmas on Main’ in downtown Front Royal.

What’s not to LOVE with Santa around, stores open, merchants and the sun out and temperatures flirting with the low 60’s in mid-December? Maybe Wednesday’s forecast of 8-to-12 inches of snow! Well, winter is almost upon us – for all you ‘White Christmas’ lovers.

A snowman appears to be lost in the Clouds at East Main’s intersection with Cloud Street. Perhaps he is wondering if he will melt if he leaves his storefront shade to ‘touch the sky’ (with yet another Cloud St. mural lyrical nod to Jimi Hendrix).