Nashville’s Fourth of July celebration

Did you know that the Nashville Fourth of July celebration is considered one of the best firework displays in the nation?  Well, it is.  In past years, it has brought over 100,000 people to Riverfront Park and this year should be no exception.

The all-day event kicks off at noon on July 4 with the opening of the Family Zone which includes a variety of food vendors.  At 1:00 p.m., attendees will be treated to live music (after all, we are the Music City) with the official two-hour concert kicking off around 7:00pm.  So far, the musical line-up will include…

• Trace Adkins
• Barry Scott
• Jaci Velasquez
• Julianne Hough
• Ayla Brown (National Anthem)

At 9:30 p.m., the fireworks magic begins, featuring the Nashville Symphony in a live performances of patriotic and classical favorites.  Hope everyone can make it out to celebrate the USA’s 234th birthday!

Trailer Trash and Will Smith go together for a great time!

Can anyone tell me exactly what goes in Trailer Trash?  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, that’s OK.  You’re obviously new to Nashville and by the end of this summer, you’re destined to find out.  If you do know what I’m talking about, you probably know that question is as hard as calculus to a 3rd grader (or a college student in my case).

Trailer Trash is the trademark flavor for Nashville’s premiere ice cream destination, The Pied Piper Creamery (114 South 11th Street in the Five Points district).  Name a candy…any candy…and it’s more than likely used as an add-in ingredient for the flavor.  Not a candy fan, huh?  No worries.  They’ve got about 150 other flavors to choose from.  And if you can’t find a flavor you like out of that selection, well, maybe you should just go suck on an ice cube because obviously ice cream isn’t for you.

Here’s an idea: this Friday (July 2), grab up your favorite person (or maybe even a low-maintenance date that you’d like to impress) and then head over to The Pied Piper Creamery and grab some ice cream.  Once you’ve got your treats, head back this direction and hit up Nashville Shores for the kick-off of their summer 2010 Dive-In Movies Series.  They’re showing Independence Day (one of many Will Smith saves-the-day movies) at 8:30 p.m. on the shores of Percy Priest Lake.

Need a gift for dad? Hit the American Artisan Festival this weekend.

Father’s Day is coming up, right?  So what do you get for a dad who has everything (or mostly everything)?  Answer: you get him a piece of art or something that you think he would appreciate but probably wouldn’t take the time to get for himself.  That makes the timing of the 40th annual American Artisan Festival this weekend perfect!  Spend the weekend browing the work of over 165 exhibitors from 35 states across America. These artists specialize in everything from wood, metal, leather and hats to photography, jewelry and much more.

Additionally, there will be great live music and food vendors ready to satisfy your appetite after a day of browsing.  There is even a children’s art booth for little ones to create their own handiwork.  Best part: admission is free.

The festival kicks off this weekend at Centennial Park downtown, about 15 minutes away from Stewarts Ferry.  Festival Hours are as follows.

Friday, June 18 from 12 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 19 from 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Sunday June 20 from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Anyone headed to Bonnaroo this weekend? Here is the schedule!

I’m sure there are a handful of you out there at Stewart’s Ferry who will be making the trip down to Manchester, TN (about an hour or so from Nashville) this weekend for the now world-famous Bonnaroo Music Festival.  And why wouldn’t you?  Bonnaroo has become Tennessee’s…no, make that the Southeast’s…actually, let’s call it one of the USA’s summertime pride and joys.  This is a chance to catch world-class and legendary music acts that span across all genres and have an absolutely blast doing it.

In any case, I just wanted to provide a link to the weekend schedule for everyone to check out.  I noticed that it’s kind of hard to find for some reason on the event website.  If you go and you need to get something to eat while you’re there (duh…like who is not going to eat?), make sure you try an “arepa” at the Centeroo Food Market.  As the Nashville Scene describes it, it’s a “Columbian-style cornmeal patty that is a relative of the Salvadoran pupusa and not dissimilar to a quesadilla on steroids.”  Mmmmmm…sounds delicious!

Have a safe trip!

What a great “Rolle” Model the Tennessee Titans Drafted

I’m feeling good about the Tennessee Titans folks.  Not necessarily because of their potential on the field this fall, but because they’ve made a concerted effort to add players with great character to their roster.  Are you familiar with Myron Rolle, the Titan’s 6th round draft pick this year?  He may not be a superstar on the field (yet) but his off the field actions are making him someone that will be a great role model for our youth.

Rolle graduated in 2 1/2 years from Florida State where he played safety for three years. Then instead of entering the NFL draft, he chose to skip his senior year to join the likes of President Bill Clinton and former NBA great Bill Bradley and become a Rhodes Scholar, an honor that only 32 men and women earn each year. He spent this past season in England at Oxford University studying for a graduate degree in medical anthropology.

According to an AP/FOX Sports report, Rolle presented a pair of $1,000 donations Tuesday to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund and the Metro Nashville Disaster Response Fund. The money came from the foundation he started in January 2009 after playing his final game at Florida State and before heading to England for his studies.

Now you might be thinking, “well $2,000 isn’t much for an NFL player.”  But keep in mind that this guy isn’t getting the same money a first rounder gets.  He’s much closer to Joe Average’s tax bracket than he is to Peyton Manning’s.  Furthermore, he hasn’t even signed a contract or made the final cut of the team yet.  Basically, he hasn’t made any money yet playing football.  He says that he gave the money because it was the right thing to do and that he wanted to help out.

What’s crazy is that many teams and scouts passed on him and questioned his commitment to football because he made the decision to further his education. He will be able to answer those critics when he gets in the game. In my opinion, Rolle and his pursuit of education is a great inspirational story for Tennessee’s youth and as such should be considered as a role model.

Arts For Nashville Flood Relief Fundraiser

Members of the Nashville theatre and dance community – including many performing companies and individual artists – will take part in ARTS for Nashville-Flood Relief Fundraiser, to be held Saturday, May 22 at 7 p.m. at the Larry Keeton Theatre in Donelson. They will join forces to raise money for those people affected by the recent catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee.

Among participants in ARTS for Nashville are cast members and dancers from many shows currently in production or recently produced throughout Nashville.

The Keeton Theatre – formerly Senior Center for the Arts – is located at 108 Donelson Pike, Nashville, in the FiftyForward Donelson Station building.

Who steals from the rich to give to the poor?

Anyone headed to see Robin Hood this weekend?  I’m actually looking forward to it.  In this age of robbing from the poor and giving to the rich (see Wall Street bailout plan), I’m all for a little vice versa action.  This will be the fourth time that Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott have worked together.  American Gangster and Gladiator are two.  Name the missing movie and get a cookie   Here is Yahoo.com’s description:

Upon returning to his northern English village after years away fighting in the Crusades, Sir Robin Longstride learns that, in his absence, the Sheriff of Nottingham has inflicted misery on the masses by dramatically increasing taxes and abusing his power. Armed with his military intelligence and some astonishing archery skills, Robin attempts to restore peace to his homeland. In addition to battling on behalf of the peasants, Robin also fights for the heart of the recently widowed Lady Marian.

If you need movie times, here you go:

Regal Opry Mills 20 & IMAX, Regal Hollywood 27, Regal Providence Stadium 14

This weekend: Memphis or bust!

Looking for something to do this weekend?  Well, iIf you live in Tennessee, you probably already know that the Beale Street Music Festival kicks off this weekend April 30 – May 2. It features what’s probably the hottest musical line-up at a music festival in 2010, including (but not at all limited to):

Friday, April 30 (5 pm – 12:30 am)

WIDESPREAD PANIC, LIMP BIZKIT, GOO GOO DOLLS, BLUES TRAVELER

Saturday, May 1 (1:00 pm – 12:30 am)

ALICE IN CHAINS, FLAMING LIPS, YO GOTTI, PUDDLE OF MUDD, SEETHER, COLBIE CAILLAT, JERRY LEE LEWIS, HALL & OATES, MICHAEL McDONALD, BOBBY BLUE BLAND

Sunday, May 2 (1:00pm – 10:30 pm)

EARTH, WIND & FIRE, 3 DOORS DOWN, ALISON KRAUSS & UNION STATION featuring Jerry Douglas, BOYS LIKE GIRLS, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH

Basically, make your way to Memphis for the day (or weekend) or you’ll be super sorry. This is one of the largest parties in the United States for a reason. You won’t find a better opportunity to catch a better variety of great music, including some of the most authentic blues music you can find, along with great people having fun!

They’re baaaack…2010 Tennessee Titans Schedule

The 2010 NFL schedule was finally released this week.  I bet that it’s no coincidence that the schedule came out the same week that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suspension was announced.  How ironic that the Steelers have no prime-time games in the first six weeks of the season.  LOL.  In any case, there are a lot of good matchups coming down the road.  There’s plenty to be happy about or complain about depending on who your favorite team is. 

Without further adu, here is the 2010 Tennessee Titans schedule.  What do you think?  Planning on going to any games?

Critically acclaimed John Lennon biopic at Nashville Film Festival

If you’re a movie nut like me, you already know that the Nashville Film Festival is in full swing.  The festival – running through Thursday, April 22 at the Regal Green Hills 16 (3815 Green Hills Village Drive, Nashville, TN 37215) – is  one of the most popular in the United States and a great way to sample a wide array of directorial and production styles in flavors from local to international.  Personally, I can’t wait to check out Nowhere Boy.  It may be the most anticipated film of the festival (in other words: get your ticket now!)  It’s a “pre-Beatles John Lennon biopic.”  Check out the trailer I posted here.  It plays on Thursday at 8pm in two different screens (in case you’re interested).

For those of you movie novices, here are some tips to keep in mind, courtesy of Nashville Scene.  Check out the festival schedule and make plans to attend a viewing if you have time.  Enjoy!

To begin with, you’ll want to get advance tickets, either at the ticket office in the downstairs Green Hills lobby or online at www.nashvillefilmfestival.org. You’ll especially want advance tickets for anything with a visiting celebrity (such as the closing-night film, Teenage Paparazzo, with director Adrian Grenier in attendance), a local element (such as the certain-to-be-controversial Southern Belle), or that has only one show.

If shows sell out, watch the downstairs lobby for announcements of additional screenings (or cancellations). The NaFF has wisely built repeat screenings of some of its most popular selections into the closing-day schedule: those should be announced late in the fest.

Make sure you show up at least a half-hour ahead of time, as lines build quickly (and traffic can congest the adjacent parking garage). Arrive even earlier and you can spend some time hanging out on the landing outside the downstairs entrance, which has become a de-facto chill zone for visitors, filmmakers with downtime between screenings and the hardcore movie aficionados whose conversations typically fill the Belcourt’s front stoop.

Which leads us to our annual recommendation: Ride the buzz. You’ll be spending a lot of time in line, but you’ve got a natural icebreaker to strike up a conversation with the people around you. Find out what people have seen, and if a film you’ve never heard of rouses a lot of enthusiasm, take a chance on it. This may be your only opportunity to see it in a theater, especially with the cast or filmmaker in attendance.

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