Best of Nashville People, Places & Events

BEST CHARITY EVENT: OKTOBERFEST

BEST BOOSTER OF LOCAL FILM: ANDY VAN ROON

My turn to embarrass the Keyser Söze of Nashville filmmaking, an offstage string-puller who shuns the spotlight yet remains the one degree of separation between most everyone working here in film or TV. Van Roon was founding president of FilmNashville, the organization that banded together local film and TV professionals and offered them health insurance; he conceived and produced last spring’s Nashville Arts Summit, which assembled an unprecedented breadth of the city’s arts groups to share ideas and resources. Most recently, he’s built Nashville’s chapter of the 48 Hour Film Project into a breeding ground for festival-ready shorts and feature-film test runs, and his grassroots lobbying effort with others on behalf of the state’s long-overdue incentives-package overhaul was cited by many as crucial. Oh, and one other thing—this was all volunteer work. Van Roon, whose oft-mentioned vampire-prince looks belie a soft-spoken Old World charm, is now at work on several projects, including a large-scale animated musical called Snowyville that he co-wrote and will co-produce. If the many people he’s helped out buy a ticket, it should make its money back the first weekend. —JIM RIDLEY

BEST NIGHT TO GO OUT FOR DINNER: DINING OUT FOR LIFE FOR NASHVILLE CARES

Once a year, Nashville CARES makes it awfully easy to donate to charity. You eat out, and the restaurant donates at least 30 percent of the tab to an organization devoted to helping people with HIV/AIDS. Participating restaurants range from pizza joints to some of the city’s finest dining meccas, and a few pony up as much as 100 percent of your bill. The Nashville CARES website (nashvillecares.org) lists each restaurant and its percentage split, so you can check before you choose. Last April, the event raised more than $70,000 at 62 restaurants. That money helped fund everything from counseling, housing aid and home-delivered meals to assistance with medical insurance and dental care. —LISA ROBBINS

BEST PLACE TO SEE COUNTRY GIRLS GONE WILD: CADILLAC RANCH

Cadillac Ranch has everything a cowboy could ask for: sex, steak and dollar PBR. Here, droves of city slickers and country boys congregate en masse, eyes glued to a dance floor illuminated by blue neon lights and the sequin-adorned tops of girls who’ve come to realize that two-steppin’ just ain’t hot enough to rope in a cowboy. Trust us, you ain’t seen country until you’ve got yer eyeful of lithe ladies in cowboy hats dry humping—er, dancing—to the “Cotton Eye Joe.” The walls of the club may be lined with murals of gunslingers, longhorns and various cacti, but this isn’t your parents’ dance hall. Because nowadays, nothing says, “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” like a half-naked cowboy getting knocked off the mechanical bull, as his little buckin’ bronco finds its way out of said cowboy’s boxer shorts to join the party. —ELIZABETH ULRICH

BEST TRIVIA NIGHT: THURSDAYS AT 3 CROW BAR, 8 P.M.

Finding a trivia night that’s competitive—with a crowd you’d actually like to clink mugs with—isn’t easy. There’s always the potential to stumble upon a scene where too-drunk gamers have clearly turned up for the dollar beers alone. But Thursdays at 3 Crow Bar bring a booze-sloshing meeting of the minds and a top prize—$50 in bar cash—that you’ll actually have to work for. Plus, the folks at Trivia Time have dumped techie trivia gadgets to craft a paper-based game with real retro charm. It hearkens back to the days of recess kickball, when friends doled out high fives with complete abandon. Now, you can get your warm and fuzzies with teammates who value shots over Swiss Cake Rolls, which is, of course, endlessly more fun. —ELIZABETH ULRICH

BEST CRIME PREVENTION EFFORT: EAST NASHVILLE CRIME PREVENTION LISTSERV/MEETING