The Weekendist: Busy, Busy, Busy Edition

Morgan Levy

This weekend is, well, the busiest we’ve had since last year when all this stuff happened at the same time. It’s kind of unfortunate that The Powers That Be decided to hold all of these events on the same weekend. because we can’t do everything (but we’re sure going to try). Now, if only we could learn to teleport…

You’ll find us at Rites of Spring, the Nashville Film Festival, Record Store Day at Grimey’s, and at the Earth Day Festival. Let us know if you’re going to one of the events we can’t make it to!

FRIDAY

  • Rites of Spring. Vanderbilt Alumni Lawn, 3pm-12am, $40/day or $55/both days. Big-name rapper T.I. headlines Friday’s Rites of Spring at Vandy, with openers Run With Bulls, Blueskyreality, K’NAAN, Okkervil River, Santigold and Q-Tip.
  • Nashville Film Festival. Regal Green Hills Cinema, $11 regular price per screening, $9 student price. So the Film Festival runs until next Thursday, but it’s a great way to spend your weekend. So pick out a few films to screen from the schedule, and have a good time!
  • Highballs & Hydrangeas. Cheekwood, 7pm-10pm, $20 at the door. Art, cocktails, gardens and schmoozing. If that’s your thing, you can always count on Cheekwood.
  • Nashville On The Rocks. Country Music Hall Of Fame, 5:30-9pm, $55 at the door. As one of the many opportunities to get your fancy drink on this weekend, Nashville On The Rocks raises money for The District, Inc., a non-profit that is dedicated to the revitalization of Nashville’s historic urban areas.

SATURDAY

  • Ragin’ Cajun Crawfish Boil. Greer Stadium, 4pm-9pm, $20 at the door. The 10th Annual Ragin’ Cajun Crawfish Boil may be a good way to finish off a day of festivals and music (or take a break in the middle, at least). We like this particular crawfish boil because all of the proceeds benefit two charities, the Nashville Sounds Reading Club and NAJCC Charities. And really, you get a pretty big bang for your buck, because your $20 covers food, soft drinks, and live music from some great 80’s cover bands. And $1 beers sound promising!
  • Singin’ In the Rain. The Belcourt, Saturday 12pm, Sunday 12pm & 3:10pm, Monday 7pm, $6.25. The Belcourt’s Weekend Classics series presents Singin’ In The Rain this week, and who could resist that?! There are several showtimes that run through Monday, so pick the one that’s most convenient and enjoy the blast from the past.
  • Herb Society of Nashville’s Annual Herb Sale. Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Sports Arena, 9am. The Herb Society of Nashville has a long list of unusual herb plants that will be available for sale, but be prepared to brave a frenzy of gardeners! [via Bites]
  • Cherry Blossom Festival. Metro Courthouse, 2pm, free. At Nashville’s very first Cherry Blossom Festival, the first 100 trees will actually be planted right before our eyes! We’re not sure what the “festival” entails, but it seems like the start of something that could grow into a beautiful tradition.
  • Earth Day Festival. Centennial Park, 11am-7pm, free. We can’t speak highly enough of one of our favorite festivals every year, the Earth Day Festival. Go and learn, snag some freebies, and enjoy being outside after all of this bipolar weather we’ve been having.
  • Record Store Day. Grimey’s, 10am-8pm, free. Okay, we’ve been giving Grimey’s a lot of love, because they always have the biggest party on the block, but we’d hate for everyone to forget about the OTHER independent record stores in town that will be participating in Record Store Day as well. The Great Escape is planning a sidewalk sale, and The Groove in East Nashville has a pretty impressive party planned too.
  • Rites of Spring. Vanderbilt Alumni Lawn, 3pm-12am, $40/day or $55/both days. Saturday’s Rites of Spring lineup includes Pico Vs. Island Trees, Stardeath and the White Dwarfs, Erik Baker, Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek), Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, Grand Ole Party, N.E.R.D. and of course, headliners The Flaming Lips. We’re anxious to see if they’ll scale down their antics for this outdoor mini-fest, but we sure hope not.

SUNDAY

  • Downtown Home Tour. Downtown, 12pm-6pm, $10. The 2009 Live It Up! Downtown Home Tour showcases twelve downtown dwellings, including some of the newer contemporary lofts and condos. Visit Nashville Downtown Partnership for more info.
  • Taste of Cool Springs. Cool Springs Galleria, 7pm-9pm, $40 at the door. Raising money for the United Way of Williamson County, Taste of Cool Springs ticketholders will enjoy sampling food & wine from dozens of  the area’s restaurants and shops. A full list of participating vendors is here.
  • Music City Walk Of Fame Induction Ceremony. Nashville Visitor’s Center inside the Sommet Center Tower, 2:30pm, free. On Sunday, a long list of folks will be receiving pretty commemorative stars in the Music City Walk Of Fame, and the ceremony is open to the public. Dr. R.H. Boyd, Cowboy Jack Clement, Mike Curb, Marty Stuart, Josh Turner and CeCe Winans are in this month’s class.

So there you have it. This weekend just might kill us, but at least we’ll enjoy it.

Photo by BOBXNC.