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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- \3SSj < vi* V/'VYY*;- ■ r ' f Jig: IfC- lipiC ■*’ tA *7 y ' / 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 • www.americanprofile.com Norman Rockwell’s nostalgic Home for Christmas depicts Stockbridge’s Main Street. Photos by Robert RaMini