From the moment Sorrell Downing drove into the center of Francestown, she immediately knew it was just the place to set down her roots. The funny thing is she wasn’t even supposed to be anywhere near the town.
At the time, the recent UNH graduate – with degrees in economics and international affairs, along with a minor in women’s studies – and her first husband were in search of a house within a certain distance of his job in Merrimack, and in their price range. She found one that caught her eye in one of those old school real estate books that said it was near Francestown Line. Turns out the house, was actually in Lyndeborough, so she never found that house, but she did find Francestown – and the house they would buy.
“I said this is it,” Downing remembers.
That was 25 years ago and the only move she’s made was from one side of Main Street to the other and that was two years after she arrived in town.
There are so many things about the town that drew her in, from the people to the quaint downtown and the meeting house. While first impressions don’t always reveal the whole story, for Downing it proved her initial thoughts of a forever home were correct.
She wanted that small community feel, where neighbors knew each other and people were willing to lend a helping hand. Over the years, Downing has made it a point to contribute to her town, helping with various events, like the annual Labor Day festivities, and fundraisers because that’s just what people should do.
In 2010, Downing found herself as a single mom to six – with three biological and three adopted children to take care of. Working “as many odd jobs as I could,” she said, Downing was asked to help with her friend’s daughter’s wedding, and it set her on a new path in life.
“I had been helping with a lot of events,” Downing said, so she lent a hand. And something clicked. She loved the busy work of preparing for the big day – the design, the coordination – and it was right after that she decided to start Events by Sorrell.
“I kind of threw it out there and said let’s see what happens,” Downing said.
It took time to turn her business into what it is today, because as she puts it, “I didn’t just all of a sudden start having clients and making money.”
But it’s easy to see how she was able to make the transition.
“In our house, every birthday, every holiday is an event,” Downing said.
Now it’s a year-round business that in most years – when a global pandemic isn’t making traditional large weddings near impossible – keeps her calendar full and client list growing.
This year has been tough. There have been a lot of emotional conversations, changing of plans and dreams derailed by the coronavirus. But as someone who has “a natural gift for being calm under pressure,” Downing tried to be the voice of hope and reason for all those couples she had worked so many hours with to prepare for their wedding this year.
She urged them to follow through with their plans to get married and have a party later.
“I’d tell them don’t let this stop your plans,” Downing said.
When Downing got married in 2013 to her husband of the last seven years Jeff, she too hired a coordinator simply because “I wanted to enjoy my wedding day,” she said. Sure, she probably could have pulled it off, but if a seasoned wedding guru like Downing needs help, it shows why her business has blossomed over the last nine years.
There’s just something so special about a wedding day and all the details leading up to it. She builds a relationship with her clients, referring to most of them “like my kids.” Although it isn’t always easy for Downing to simply be a guest.
“The hard part about being at weddings is sitting back and enjoying myself,” she said. “I find myself constantly complimenting every staff member because I know how hard it is.”
Downing knew early on she wanted to be a mom. Her oldest two are twins, Jacob and Ian, and then came Marybeth. All three are accomplished musicians and have traveled around the world sharing their talents. But even with a full house, Downing knew there was room for more.
“I always said I would adopt,” Downing said. And that’s exactly what she did – on three different occasions. First it was a 4-month-old girl from Guatemala they named Sandra, who is now 16, and Downing helped reunite with her birth mother. While it took some time to process, Downing is thankful she was able to help her daughter with learning more about where she came from.
“It’s just a beautiful story,” Downing said. “I wish everyone could have that kind of adoption story.”
Back then it was a different time in the adoption world. They made no requests and soon got matched up with their baby girl.
“Then I said ‘as soon as we land we’re filing papers for another,’” Downing said.
Next came David from South Korea and the final addition to the family was Katie, who is 12 and also from Guatemala. At least she thought that was the final child she would parent. When she married Jeff, he had three children of his own and now the blended family has nine children ranging from 12 to 31 years old.
With Sandra, David and Katie all a little older, there are questions that come up that lead to some heartfelt conversations.
“They always come out of the blue,” Downing said. “But I’ve always given them the best answer I can at that moment in time.”
And it wasn’t always easy when she first brought them home to Francestown.
“When you have a baby, you have those nine months to prepare,” she said. “When you adopt a child, there’s a process that needs to happen, where you have to connect.”
With two children from Guatemala, Downing has a loving relationship with the Central American country. She has been back a few times with a group from Peterborough that provides support in a Make-A-Wish sort of way. Requests are made and when the group goes down there they help with everything – from food supplies and work in the orphanage to installing water filters and new stoves.
All six of her children are musicians and coincidentally it stemmed from an experience at her first wedding day. There were these two little girls playing so beautifully and “I was so impressed,” she said. When she thought it was something she’d like to get her kids involved with she went to her neighbor, who happened to be Jim Bolle, the founder of Monadnock Music, to ask how she could get them started. She saw the importance of learning how to play music – but it wasn’t necessarily just the music, rather the lessons that learning a new skill can create.
Downing herself isn’t a musician. When she was growing up in Connecticut, her parents operated a local theater, something similar to Andy’s Summer Playhouse, but she never went into acting. Instead, at the urging of her aunt, Downing got involved in figure skating. She was quite good at it too.
She trained during the summers at Lake Placid, home of the 1980 Winter Olympics and reached the senior level, which meant she was on the training track for nationals.
“I loved it and to this day, those are some of my dearest friends, my skating friends,” she said.
Downing equated herself to more of a skating dancer and it came to a point right before she went to college that she realized the competition side of it just wasn’t for her anymore. She still skates, but is more of a pond hockey player than anything.
These days Downing gets her exercise by running and playing tennis. It’s not unheard of for her to sign up for a half marathon and just run – sans the training.
“I don’t have the time to devote to training for a marathon, but I can do a half,” she said.
She picked up tennis about a decade ago and finds it a great stress reliever. She’s more of a singles player, playing many days at the Monadnock Indoor Tennis Club, and was a member of the Feisty Fireballs tennis team that went to nationals last summer.
It might not come as much of a surprise, but Downing is also known in the family as someone who will buy something, like a 7-foot giraffe from Guatemala earlier this year, and design a room around it.
“It’s more my eclectic,” she said. “I like personality.
And it’s happening in Francestown, the little town she stumbled upon all those years ago. She’s watched her kids have grown up in the family home, make music and memories, and it’s just where she wants to be. Right down the street from the meeting house and center of town that made her say ‘this is it.’