Growing up in a small town myself, I understand that we take pride on the small-town events we get to host. Fall will be upon us soon, and it seems like most of these events are in the near future.

It’s a time when everyone can get together and enjoy something they all have in common: the place they live or the place where they are from.

It is also a time to remind us why small towns are so special and why we love living in them. Though they may not always have everything that a big city has, and they aren’t close to many places, they do always have small businesses and most stores that sell everything we need.

When big cities host events, they can’t always close down an entire road for it. Or if they can, I guarantee the residents of that city can’t walk through the street of the event and know the majority of the people there.

Most large cities don’t celebrate the people who started it, but most small towns do. We care about where we are from and how the town came to be the way it is.

For many, these events are a time for us to participate in something that pertains to us or to show our encouragement and cares towards someone we know who is participating.

Not growing up in Franklin, I haven’t been to many of the small-town events here or in Southampton; I mostly went to the ones held in Isle of Wight County. But as my job is here now, I’m beginning to become more acquainted with what events are going on, when they are happening and why they are so important to the residents of this area.

This weekend many events are going on around here; to name two, the Franklin Cruise In Grand Finale and the 22nd Heritage Day.

These events are one of the things that keep these small towns alive and they are more important now than ever, because the small-town lifestyle is seemingly disappearing from America.

If you have time in your weekend, you should come out to one of the events going on and show your support for the place you call home. You’ll probably see an old friend who you haven’t ran into lately, or if you’re like me and have never been to these particular events, you’ll probably learn something new.

REBECCA CHAPPELL is a staff writer for The Tidewater News. She can be contacted at 562-3187 or rebecca.chappell@tidewaternews.com