Taking a cue from the French Quarter’s popular event, the St. Francisville Main Street Merchants Association hosts its own White Linen Night beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 28, 2010. The evening promises to put a little sizzle into summer by pairing popular shops with the area’s finest eateries, local artisans and musicians. Trolley transportation will link the featured locations along Commerce, Ferdinand and Royal Streets, and each retail outlet is offering special red-hot deals to draw customers to the downtown area to shop in the cool of the evening. Stroll along the street, hop on and off the trolley, but by all means make it to as many participating destinations as possible, because intrepid shoppers who make it to every location receive a special reward.
Long the center of commerce for the surrounding rural area, the historic little rivertown lends itself perfectly to such a spectacular event. Nearly all of its finest mercantile outlets are confined to just a few short streets, for St. Francisville was established in the opening years of the 19th century atop a narrow finger-ridge stretching along an elevation toward the Mississippi River below the bluff. There was only so much level space suitable for building, so the downtown area has been spared modern intrusions and is listed as several inclusive Historic Districts on the National Register for its architectural integrity and significance. Today the picturesque downtown area remains alive and vital, still the community center of activity, with upscale shops in historic commercial structures side-by-side with gingerbread-trimmed Victorian homes and churches shaded by century-old live oaks.
White Linen Night is designed to showcase a sampling of just about everything the St. Francisville area has to offer. Colorful shops offer everything from gifts and decorative objects to antiques and specialty clothing. Participating restaurants run the gamut from down-home soul food and ethnic dishes to fancy gourmet cuisine, so shoppers can nibble while they browse. Artists, craftspersons and artisans will show a variety of works ranging from rustic birdhouses and other crafts to copper metalworks and fine-art jewelry as well as paintings, prints and photography. The local library, historical museum and town hall get into the act with special exhibits. And live music will fill featured locations with everything from blues to banjo picking, turning this special evening into one big ol’ block party encompassing the entirety of downtown St. Francisville and everything in it.
