After the gifts are unwrapped and the Christmas dinner dishes are done, the rest of the day can feel like a letdown, right? Not if all the family wraps up in all those new knit scarves and hats (I got three sets of gloves last year) and heads down to LP field to see the Titans play the Chargers. Buy tickets!
Even if not everyone in your family is a ball fan, you gotta get out of the house and do something on Christmas, especially if you’ve got out-of-towners. And, let’s face it, Jeff Fisher and his Titans may not quite have coal in their stockings, but they will have to deal with the AFC West powerhouse Chargers, and they need our support. So get out there and pray, for a victory that is.
You know, when you grow up someplace, and something is so familiar, you can’t believe everyone doesn’t know about it? Like Seattle and grunge. Or, New Orleans and po boys. Well, until recently I thought everyone knew what “meat ‘n’ three” meant. So here’s the obvious explanation—your choice of meat and three sides, and Nashville’s the place to get it. Here are some of my favorites:
I go to Arnold’s Country Kitchen for their fried chicken, and in futile hope of running into any one of the Dixie Chicks. (Just when do they go there? Never when I’m there.) If you’re looking for a great milkshake, Elliston Place Soda Shop’s your spot. And if you’ve got the appetite for all-you-can eat, family style, check out Monell’s.
And, by the way—what the heck is a stumptown, anyway?
After a long, exhausting shopping day at the mall, don’t you think you deserve a little fun? This season, Nashville’s historic Belcourt Theater, in Hillsboro Village, will be showing two great holiday flicks. They might not both be your cup of tea, but one or the other will probably pique your interest.
On December 3, the Belcourt will be hosting a special event, a screening of the modern Christmas classic, The Polar Express. The night is a benefit sponsored by Crye-Leike Real Estate with all proceeds going to Camp Hope. Tickets include dinner and a silent auction and children are welcome.
On the entirely other side of the spectrum, on December 19 & 20, the theater will screen Black Christmas, about yuletide horror at a sorority house. Hey, it’s the season of giving and the Belcourt offers something for everyone.
This is one of the Nashville events that I look forward to all year. I’m sure a lot of people think it’s nuts to go check out acres of cars most people can’t afford (especially in this economy), but I love it. It probably comes from a childhood filled with Matchbox cars (loved setting up the track, over and over) and remote-controlled cars. I just know it’s a great way to spend a day.
It’s all happening at the Nashville Convention Center on the last weekend in November. I like to see what the new trucks and SUVs are looking like, but I’m really curious, too, to see the 2010 hybrids. There will be reps from Motor Trend and all the major car makers, so it’s also a great opportunity to ask a lot of questions. And I don’t know what you drive, but I’m not parking my ride anywhere near the show.
Dora and I had a great dinner right here at the hotel the other night, at Café Isabella (Dora said it was the best Chicken Parmagiana she’s ever had). While we were eating, Dora asked me if we’d had many weddings, or things like that, at the hotel. If she was asking, I realized people needed to know what a great place we have for a big wedding event like that.
In the first place, the hotel caters the event, and the food is first-rate. The hotel itself looks great, the grounds are really cool. And if you’re like me, I need a place to wander off to during any big shindig, and the Pink Slip (our bar) is perfect for that. And, of course, at the end of the party, you can just stumble upstairs to your room. Can’t beat it.
Just in case you think that all I listen to is country music and honky tonk, I’m here to tell you that my tastes are far broader than that. That’s right; Dora and I are going to see one of the old masters at Andrew Jackson Hall (a great venue, BTW) on the fifth of November. I’ve been listening to Leonard Cohen for decades, can’t believe he’s coming our way.
I bought Songs of Love and Hate in my teens, after a girl broke up with me, and I knew Leonard knew how I felt. I defy you to listen to “Hallelujah,” one of his all-time bests (off of Various Positions), and not choke up a bit. And, Cohen isn’t just an amazing singer/songwriter—the guy writes poetry, novels, even spent a long time at a Buddhist monastery. Hey, he’s everybody’s man.
When I was just a tyke, my parents took us out to California. I don’t know if I’ve been as excited for a trip in my entire life. We went to Disneyland, the La Brea Tar Pits (how that ever got to be a popular tourist destination, I’ll never know). But, for some reason, the Walk of Fame really sticks in my memory. Maybe it’s because when I stood on George Reeves’ star, I felt like Superman for just a minute.
I’ve got to say, I do get the same kind of rush when I’m on Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame, one of Nashville’s best attractions, in my opinion. When I’m surrounded by all the greats—Randy Travis, Martina McBride, Little Richard, Elvis (of course), and so many more—I’m reminded of all the great music I’ve seen in this city of mine over the years.
The Walk is an easy one-mile stroll that connects to downtown’s Music Row, and it’s a great way to while away an afternoon, and start up good arguments about who was the greatest.
One of the only things that makes the end of summer in Nashville less painful is that fall brings October, and October means Oktoberfest – a great event anywhere, but Nashville does it right. The big one is in Germantown, of course, and is hosted by Church of the Assumption and Monroe Street United Methodist Church. It’s free and is one of Nashville’s best.
There’s live music on three stages, including Die Musik Meisters, Music City Swing, Steff Mahan Band, and Ted Guillaum, polka dancing, street performers, arts and crafts booths. There’s “Fun Land” for the kids and a tour of historic churches (for those who like that sort of thing). Last year there were also some booths with some cool German antiques, something I haven’t seen before.
Saving the best for last, there’s all that German food and beer. Give me a grilled bratwurst on a fresh-baked roll with spicy mustard, a stein of pilsner, fresh-baked streudel for dessert, and I got no complaints.
I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this green Nashville music event yet, and now there are only two more nights (Oct. 1 and to check it out. On Thursdays, at Public Square Plaza, you can listen to great music, FREE, at Live On The Green. If you haven’t seen Public Square Plaza yet, it’s worth going for that alone.
The Plaza is as green as they come. It’s a 2.25-acre green roof on top of a five-level underground parking garage. It has its own irrigation system, using 50,000+ gallons of collected rainwater. In keeping with the theme, the concert series has incorporated several environmentally conscious elements: Nothing is sold in plastic bottles, a free bike-check is available, leftover food is being composted—you get the picture.
And, oh yeah, the music. October 1 is Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Maureen Murphy and October 8 is Citizen Cope, Ricky Young, Next Big Nashville. It’s never been so easy to go green.
OK, I’ve never planned a bachelorette party, that’s true. But I’ve had my hand in few bachelor parties in my day: hired buses, done the pub crawl thing, traveled into, ahem, what I’ll call exotic territory. One time we even raced Go-Karts. That was fun.
But lucky for me, when Dora’s niece recently got engaged and started talking bachelorette party, I knew exactly what to do: I booked them into the Preston for the special “Raising Hell before the Wedding Bell” package.
If you’ve got someone in need of some pre-wedding distraction, be the hero and suggest the same. Here’s what they’ll get: The package includes a great workout—pole-dance fitness lessons actually—followed by a limo ride to dinner. It also includes a scavenger hunt. And they can stay out as late as the bars will have them—they get a late check-out. So now I guess I can say I have planned a bachelorette party.
Just in case you think that all I listen to is country music and honky tonk, I’m here to tell you that my tastes are far broader than that. That’s right; Dora and I are going to see one of the old masters at 
to check it out. On Thursdays, at Public Square Plaza, you can listen to great music, FREE, at 