GERMANTOWN STREET FESTIVAL/OKTOBERFEST
Oct. 10, Historic Germantown
As Mardi Gras is to New Orleans, as the Tomato Art Festival is to East Nashville, so these two celebrations are to Nashville's Germantown community, whose roots reach back to the early 19th century. The neighborhood has celebrated Oktoberfest for three decades, and though the event has split into two separate festivals, that just means twice the lederhosen, twice the Tyrolean hats—and twice as much for the day's tens of thousands of visitors to see, do and drink.
And hear. Manning the main stage at the Germantown Street Festival will be Nashville's amazing Long Players, all-star sidemen and session greats who perform a different classic album every month in its entirety. For the festivities, bandleader Bill Lloyd enlists longtime Rolling Stones saxman Bobby Keys to re-create his parts on the immortal Sticky Fingers LP—including that hellacious honkin' solo on "Brown Sugar." Meanwhile, at the 30th annual Oktoberfest folks will be dancing the "Beer Barrel Polka" to Die Musik Meisters and jitterbugging to the sounds of Music City Swing.
Both events feature street performers, arts and crafts, along with an entire section of activities for kids. And to earn all those brats and beer, sign up for the Germantown Street Festival's Paulaner Bier 5K Run—certainly the only athletic event in town where you might run alongside a costumed dead ringer for the St. Pauli's Girl. See historicgermantown.org for more information about the Germantown Street Festival and nashvilleoktoberfest.com for Oktoberfest.
• Sept. 18-20: For three days, the 27th annual African Street Festival will transform the TSU campus into a whirlwind of combined cultures, celebrating the crossroads of African and American food, art, dance, performance and music. Call 251-0007 for more information.
• Sept. 25: Join the more than 45,000 people annually who flock to Centennial Park for the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists' TACA Crafts Fair, now in its 38th year, featuring 180 artists and crafts workers from across the state.
• Oct. 3: Chinese lion dancers, Caribbean steel drummers and dozens of other performers meet across continents at the Celebration of Cultures, co-sponsored by Metro Parks and Scarritt-Bennett Center at Centennial Park, which has blossomed into one of Nashville's premier fall events. Taste the traditional foods of many lands, experience daily life from Japan to Jamaica in the "Global Village," and shop for artisanal goods spanning the globe in the fest's "World Market."
• Oct. 4: Contemporary Jazz Series In his latest group project El Movimiento, Nashville saxophonist Rahsaan Barber journeys into the world of Latin jazz with Dominican percussionist Giovanni Rodriguez and trumpeter Imer Santiago. The group kicks off the Nashville Jazz Workshop's concert series on thefirst Sunday of every month at the Jazz Cave, 1312 Adams St. Admission is $10.
• Oct. 10: Enjoy an afternoon of antiquing, crafts, wine sampling, kids' activities, live jazz and more at Belle Meade Plantation's 24th annual Fall Fest.
• Oct. 17-18: Comic-book legend Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men) toplines the October Comic & Horror Expo at the Nashville State Fairgrounds.
• Nov. 20: Yule go crazy as the high-stepping Rockettes set up residence at the lavish Radio City Christmas Spectacular, running through Dec. 27 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
• Nov. 26: Start Thanksgiving Day a few thousand calories down by running the 16th Boulevard Bolt, the five-mile race that last year sent almost 8,000 people sprinting down Belle Meade Boulevard. Online registration begins Oct. 1; see boulevardbolt.org for more information.
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