Newspaper Page Text
Hometown
Spotlight
Re-creating
Rockwell!
The country store’s doorbell jingles
merrily as holiday shoppers shutfle to
and fro. Children play in the street
and dream of what Santa will bring.
Couples stroll arm in arm past quaint
shops. A red ’56 Mercury Mont
clair slowly pulls onto Main Street, a
Christmas tree adorning its roof.
It this sounds like a scene from a Norman Rock
well painting, that's because it is.
Since 1990, Stockbridge. Mass. (pop. 2,276), has
held the Main Street at Christmas festival, highlighted
on the final day by a re-creation of Rockwell’s famous
painting, Home for Christmas. The image, which first
was published in McCall's magazine in 1967, depicts
Rockwells beloved Stockbridge (the artist made his
home there from 1953 until his death in 1978) right
before Christmas. The scene, complete with families
shopping, festively decorated storefronts and a blanket
of freshly fallen snow, became an instant classic.
"Stockbridge has become the quintessential small
town Christmas setting," says Linda Pero, curator of
mr - Wmrmi 7
St(uM?ndgt Main Street jt Christum (Hme fw Christmas). Norman Rockwell £1967 Licensed by Norman Rockwell Licensing, Niles, 111. From the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge. Mass.
by SEAN
CONNEELY
A ’56 Mercury Montclair
is displayed downtown during
the Stockbridge (Mass.) Main
Street at Christmas festival.
the towns Norman Rockwell Museum, which dis
plays Home for Christmas year-round.
Each year, during the first weekend in December,
as many as 2,000 people visit Stockbridge to experi
ence the festival and its Rockwell re-creation.
"It’s like stepping back in time," says Don
Lumpkins, 42, of Norwich, Conn., who, along
with his wife, Julie, attended the festival for the
first time last year. “We loved just walking up
and down Main Street.”
The downtown section of Main Street is closed to
traffic—modern automobiles anyway—for the re-
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creation of the painting, which takes place on Sunday
afternoon, the last day of the three-day festival. Some
50 antique cars line the street, colorful store displays
catch the eye, and locals and visitors alike delight in
the seasons good cheer.
The celebration, scheduled Nov. 30 through Dec.
2, brings a holiday spirit to the town. “The festival is
a wonderful hometown family activity,” says Barbara
Zanetti, executive director of the Stockbridge Cham
ber of Commerce. “The adults really enjoy admiring
the classic cars, but the events of the day, including a
visit from Santa, really revolve around the children.”
Page 10
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Norman Rockwell’s nostalgic
Home for Christmas depicts
Stockbridge’s Main Street.
Photos by Robert RaMini