Nashville for Free

Cherry blossoms make spring a reality for me. I know that winter is over when I see those beautiful blooms all over Nashville. Sure, Spring gives me insane allergy fits, but damn, it’s beautiful, thanks in no small part to those trees.

Apparently cherry blossoms, or sakura, have been a symbol of U.S.-Japan friendship since the Mayor of Tokyo donated 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C., in 1912.

That’s why Sister Cities of Nashville and Japan America Society of Tennessee host the Cherry Blossom Festival every year. It’s a celebration of Japanese Culture and American friendship that features a musical showcase, tea ceremony, origami, a CosPlay contest, Japanese food booths and more.

A 2.5 mile walk with the Mayor will take place at 9am in Public Square Park, and the festival will get started at 10am, also at Public Square Park.

-Emily

The first thing you have to know about Halloween in Nashville is that the biggest, most family-friendly Halloween event in the area is in Franklin. Yes, I’m talking about Pumpkinfest.

The first time I went to Pumpkinfest it was completely by accident. My mom happened to be in town and we thought it would be fun to go to Franklin and we were pretty pleasantly surprised. There were great vendors, tons of people, food, costumes, music, and celebrities.

Pumpkinfest is a huge event for Downtown Franklin. It runs this Saturday from 10am to 9pm and apparently there will be over 75 arts and crafts vendors, a kids’ fun area (on 3rd ave), a stage, a Great Pumpkin (!!!), a Franklin Tomorrow Chili Cook-off, Battle of the BBQ, and a costume contest that only costs $1 to enter. There will also be Cemetery Tours presented by Franklin on Foot, but those cost $15 for adults and $5 for children.

Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for the famous people, but be cool if you see them. There’s so much else to see at Pumpkinfest.

-Emily

Photos from the 73rd National Folk Festival (September 2-4, 2011) by Kate Cauthen, featuring Oyama & Nitta, Massive Monkees, The Holmes Brothers, The Marshall Ford Swing Band, and Samba Mapangala. More photos here.

America. With puppets. And a Texan.

If there’s one time of the year in Nashville when you can expect a party, July 4th is it. Not only do we have an awesome fireworks display downtown, we have lots of other parties and celebrations scattered about the city.

Sunday

A Prelude to the Music City July 4th Celebration at Riverfront Park – 12pm-late-ish
If you’re the kind who likes to pre-game a party as much as possible, or if you just want to hear some good music, get some samples, win some stuff, and participate in some activities, then this event is for you. It’s sponsored by Dr. Pepper and Kroger and starts at noon. The activities run until 7pm and the music, featuring Port Chuck, Lighter Ray and The Dirty Guv’Nahs starts at 6pm.

Monday

Hot Chicken Festival in East Park – noon-5pm
If you’re one of the first 500 people in line at this heated festival you’ll get free hot chicken from Prince’s, 400 Degrees, Bolton’s, Pepperfire, and the chicken shack. Even if you miss the free bird you can still buy this local (and personal) favorite, listen to some sweet tunes, and have a great time in general. The Hot Chicken Festival has become a N4F tradition, so please join us!

Franklin on the 4th in downtown Franklin – 10am-10pm
Franklin sure does love having parties, and we at N4F love them for it. There will be a patriotic costumed Children’s Parade (3pm), free music and entertainment from 2 stages, a petting zoo, bungee jump, antique cars, a rock climbing wall, and more. Starting at 9pm there will be a fireworks display. The Franklin website recommends watching them from The Park at Harlinsdale Farm.

Brandon Jazz presents: 8 off 8th AMERICA STYLE at the Mercy Lounge – 9pm, 21+
If you want discounted beer, local music, a great place to watch the fireworks, AND the opportunity to register to vote check out the Mercy Lounge’s July 4th-themed 8 off 8th, brought to you by Brandon Jazz. Performers include Brandon Jazz & His Armed Forces, Bravo Max, Tesla Rossa, The Billy Goats, Dungeon Honey, Tex Rambunctious, and, of course, Uncle Sam.

Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th at Riverfront Park – noon-10pm
It’s the biggest July 4th party in Nashville, and one of the biggest in the country. Over 100,000 people come to watch the July 4th fireworks in Nashville, and that’s because they’re pretty damn good, if I do say so myself (why wouldn’t I?). It’s so big they need two stages for the music! The music at the first stage starts at 12:30 and will feature performances by The Jompson Brothers, Ayla Brown, The Willis Clan, The Cleverlys and The Dirty Guv’Nahs. The Main Stage entertainment begins at 7:00pm with the Grammy-winning Nashville Symphony, Street Corner Symphony (finalists from ABC’s “The Sing-Off”) and Darius Rucker. Fireworks begin with the Nashville Symphony at approximately 9:30pm.

Now, I know not everyone watches the fireworks downtown. That would be insane. I’ve been known to watch them at the Belmont Parking Garage (cookies, music, and a great view), and something tells me Love Circle is quite the popular place to hang out on July 4th.

So tell me, where do you all go to see the July 4th fireworks?

-Emily

In honor of RC Cola and Moonpie’s tandem celebration, Nashville for Free’s newest blogger Meryem Dede and founder and EIC Emily Harris took the mile drive through Tennessee to attend one of the South’s largest festivals of sugar-filled traditions. Housed in Belt Buckle, Tennessee, this year’s 17^th annual RC Cola/Moonpie Festival was filled with deep-fried gooey goodness, local artisans, live entertainment and some first-class people watching. For the first time ever, Nashville for Free has decided to commemorate this most festive of events with a dual post.

Meryem: The festival was about Moonpies and RC Cola, but in reality the showcase of the celebration was Bell Buckle itself. With a whopping population of 391, Bell Buckle is the quintessential small town. The main sponsors of the festival were the only stores in the town and there were attendants who had been attending since the event’s first year. I would have liked if the festival was a little more clearly organized, but with the small-town atmosphere and easygoing nature and attitude of those in attendance, it didn’t really matter if the parade ran on time or the ½ hour cloggers only performed for 10 minutes.

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Food: Nashville has a lot of it. From meat & threes to hot chicken to fantastic burgers and beyond, Nashville has some good food going on. But sometimes that good food isn’t easy to find. My first year in Nashville I always complained because there wasn’t any awesome food in Nashville. Wah wah wah. I was so used to my Cincinnati delights (Skyline, Graeters, LaRosas) that I couldn’t see what was right in front of me! Of course, it didn’t help that I didn’t have a car that year, but I digress.

One of my favorite festivals back home is the Taste of Cincinnati. There were tons of booths of Cincinnati-centric food, there was music, and it was located right downtown. I could eat Izzy’s until I exploded if I wanted to, and for an affordable price.

Taste of Music City, I am happy to report, promises the same kind of experience I’ve joyfully had my entire life, only instead of my once and former home it features my current and future home. There will be approximately 50 food vendors, which is far too much to eat in one sitting, so don’t even think about it! You’ll be buying the food with tickets that you have to buy first — either now or at the festival — and I think I read somewhere that none of the entrees will cost more than eight tickets.

In addition to the food stuffs there will be plenty of entertainment. Street performers, beer garden, kid zone, eating contests and live music. Performers will include Girl Talk (not that Girl Talk), Jason O’Toole, Ashlee Hewitt, Sarah Darling, Jeff Bates, San Rafael Band, and Mike Bauer.

Taste of Music City will take place this Saturday, June 4th from 11am-10pm in Public Square Park. Parking underneath the square is only $3, but will probably fill up, so get there early, eat much food, and be happy.

-Emily

I’ll admit that I don’t know a lot about Granville, TN. I know that it’s a small town on the Cumberland River. I also know that it’s about 1.5 hours away, this Saturday they’re having a festival that’s totally worth mentioning.

Heritage Day is a big festival for Granville (it’s the only one I hear about all year). It’s on the scenic banks of the river and will feature an antique car show, an anqitue tractor and engine show, food court, children’ rides, a petting zoo, and a Confederate Civil War living history memorial service. I’m not 100% sure what that last one means, but it looks to be a great family-friendly event. It runs from 10am-4pm.

Heritage Day is also partnered with the Uncle Jimmy Thompson Bluegrass Festival, which attracted 8,000 people last year. 650-WSM host Eddie Stubbs will be there as your guide through the competition ($3 to register) that starts at 11am through the live music of One Way Out and Stoney Lonesome starting at 6pm. Any event that can get 8,000 people to attend is worth checking out. The Bluegrass Festival will be held at Sutton General Store.

Happy pickin’!

-Emily

October 8-10, 2010, celebrates the annual Festival of the Written Word here
in Nashville.  Free and open to the public, but get there quickly!!! Seating
for special events is on a first-come basis.  The festival, held at War Memorial Plaza, welcomes more than 200 authors in nearly every genre imaginable.  No matter what your tastes, there is sure to be something to please everybody.  Hours of the festival are Friday, October 8th from noon-6pm, Saturday the 9th from 9am-6pm, and Sunday the 10th from
noon to 5pm.

The festival will be marked by several special events, such as live music at
The Café Stage, an event where chefs will prepare and discuss recipes from
their cookbooks, and children’s events highlighting children’s authors such
as Tracy Barrett and Tom Angleberger.  Local authors from Nashville will
also be available to meet and discuss their works.  Come out and enjoy three
days of music, arts, and above all, great literature, with this awesome
opportunity!!

-Abbie

This Saturday brings the Celebration of Cultures Festival, which will be held in Centennial Park. Last year 28,000 people enjoyed this event and it was named one of the top 20 events in the Southeast. It’s a great opportunity to learn about and enjoy over 40 different cultures.

As I said, this event will take place this Saturday, October 3rd (tomorrow), and will go from 10am-6pm, rain or shine. The calendar, which you can download HERE details all of the events, of which there are a lot, and has a map of the different booths and stages. In other words, this event is big.

Other than specific events, from what I’ve been told there will be…

• Food from around the world
• Dance and musical performances on five different stages
• “World Market,” where vendors will sell hand-crafted, imported items
• A children’s area featuring interactive, hands-on activities
• “Global Village,” offering a glimpse of daily life in countries such as Panama, India, Mexico, Bolivia, Somalia, Japan, Jamaica, China and Kurdistan
• New this year is TEENS UNITED!, where local teens from different countries will showcase their cultural traditions.

Yes, I took those straight from the press release. I’m not ashamed. It was a good press release.

Free parking is available in the HCA lots across from the north side of the park. Take Charlotte Pike towards town, turn right on 25^th Ave. N. and stay to the right (Park Plaza). Festival parking will be straight ahead.

For more info on the event check out their website, http://www.celebrationofcultures.org/

-Emily

This Saturday brings the Celebration of Cultures Festival, which will be held in Centennial Park. Last year 28,000 people enjoyed this event and it was named one of the top 20 events in the Southeast. It’s a great opportunity to learn about and enjoy over 40 different cultures.

As I said, this event will take place this Saturday, October 3rd (tomorrow), and will go from 10am-6pm, rain or shine. The calendar, which you can download HERE details all of the events, of which there are a lot, and has a map of the different booths and stages. In other words, this event is big.

Other than specific events, from what I’ve been told there will be…

• Food from around the world
• Dance and musical performances on five different stages
• “World Market,” where vendors will sell hand-crafted, imported items
• A children’s area featuring interactive, hands-on activities
• “Global Village,” offering a glimpse of daily life in countries such as Panama, India, Mexico, Bolivia, Somalia, Japan, Jamaica, China and Kurdistan
• New this year is TEENS UNITED!, where local teens from different countries will showcase their cultural traditions.

Yes, I took those straight from the press release. I’m not ashamed. It was a good press release.

Free parking is available in the HCA lots across from the north side of the park. Take Charlotte Pike towards town, turn right on 25^th Ave. N. and stay to the right (Park Plaza). Festival parking will be straight ahead.

For more info on the event check out their website, http://www.celebrationofcultures.org/

-Emily