TGIF, Nashville. The cicadas are starting to wind down, and we’re officially pronouncing it safe to go outside again – wait, did someone say it’s going to be 95 degrees all weekend? Sigh. Despite the heat and a stray divebombing bug or two, this weekend’s best activities are outside and we think they’re worth it. Here are our top picks for the weekend:
Bank of America Museums On Us at the Frist Center and Country Music Hall of Fame. Friday & Saturday, June 3-4, free. If you’re a Bank of America cardholder, it’s your lucky weekend! The first weekend of every month is Museums On Us for BOA cardholders, and in Nashville that means you get in free to the Frist Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame on Friday and Saturday. The program is nationwide, so even if you’re not in Nashville, look up a participating museum near you and give it a whirl!
Taste of Music City. Friday, June 3 from 5-8pm; Saturday, June 4 from 11am-10pm. Friday is 21+, $25 in Public Square Park. Saturday is all ages, free, in Public Square Park and down Deaderick Street. Line the streets with food and move over! Taste of Music City is Saturday, but they’re kicking things off with a Friday preview evening that features tastings from many local breweries and distilleries for $25. Come back Saturday for the main event, an all-day street festival with free admission (just pay for food and drink tickets as you go). More than 45 local eateries will be represented, so there’s sure to be something for everyone.
Franklin Theatre Grand Reopening and 1937 Street Party. Main Street in Downtown Franklin, Friday, June 3, 6pm, free. After several years sitting empty, the Franklin Theatre is ready to throw open its doors once again. At this evening’s 1930′s-themed street party, catch a free outdoor screening of The Wizard of Oz, King Kong or Swing Time, or bring your dancing shoes to join in with the free live music and swing dancing. Stores will be open late for you to browse while you wait for the 9:30pm screening of Gone With The Wind (but only if you have a ticket, it’s sold out!). Welcome back, Franklin Theatre!
Food Network Canada’s Eat Street Taping. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, June 4-6 from 12-2pm each day, various locations. We wrote about Eat St. coming to town to tape a Nashville episode earlier today, so head over here for all the details. Eat St. will be filming at three local food trucks in different locations around Nashville over lunch this weekend (and Monday), and they need hungry Nashvillians to show up and get their grub on during the taping. Support your favorite truck or try a new one, and you might get to be on the show!
First Saturday Art Crawl. The Arcade/5th Ave between Church & Union, Saturday, June 4 from 6-9pm, free. If you’ve been getting tired of the same old same old at the art crawls, it’s time for you to give it another shot. Several new galleries join the lineup this month – Picture This in the Arcade, The Bank on 3rd Ave and Tennessee State Museum on Deaderick – and the old favorites have some excellent exhibits lined up.
Big Band Dance featuring The Moonlighters. Centennial Park Bandshell, Saturday, June 4 from 7-10pm, free. It’s time for Big Band Dances again! The first of this year’s series features The Moonlighters, and as always free dance lessons from 7-7:30 and 8:30-8:50, with music, open dancing and fun for everyone in between.
Photo by Tom C. Frundle.
Related posts:
- The Weekendist: Not At The ‘Roo Edition
- The Weekendist: Party In The USA Edition
- The Weekendist: It’s June, Baby! Edition
- Get Your Dancing Shoes Ready: Dancing In The Park 2009
- The Weekendist: Weekend Mania Edition