  Let $M_C(G)$ be the moduli space of semistable principal $G-$bundles over a
smooth curve $C$. We show that a flat degeneration of this space
$M_{C_{\Gamma}}(G)$ associated to a singular stable curve $C_{\Gamma}$ contains
the free group character variety $\mathcal{X}(F_g, G)$ as a dense, open subset,
where $g = genus(C).$ In the case $G = SL_2(\mathbb{C})$ we describe the
resulting compactification explicitly, and in turn we conclude that the
coordinate ring of $M_{C_{\Gamma}}(SL_2(\mathbb{C}))$ is presented by
homogeneous skein relations. Along the way, we prove the parabolic version of
these results over stable, marked curves $(C_{\Gamma}, \vec{p}_{\Gamma})$.
