Belcourt Theater nD Festival Fundraiser

Nashville doesn't have an official Fashion Week just yet, but this nearly weeklong roundup of regional and local designers, films and indie music benefiting The Belcourt combines all the necessary ingredients for our own Southern-steeped version. While the 85-year-old arthouse screens a series of director Jacques Tati's whimsical French films, local boutiques around town will host evening soirees of sipping and perusing. The five-night festival culminates at the theater in The EnD fashion show (Sept. 26, 5 p.m.) featuring Southern artisans Billy Reid and his durable masculine chic, denim devotees Imogene + Willie, and the dreamy, hand-rendered designs of Alabama Chanin. Local band the PawnShop Kings perform, the models are handpicked customers of the brands, and documentaries on the designers by producer Loree Gold will screen throughout the evening.

The week begins with Wine and Whiskey Wednesday (Sept. 22, 5:30 p.m.) at Billy Reid and H. Audrey at the Green Hills Hill Center. On Thursday (Sept. 23, 5 p.m.), hit Imogene + Willie's 12South boutique for their Supper, Song & Cinema night, where the evening promises not only a fine education in the magic of raw denim but also a wealth of vintage curiosities, a sunset 16 mm showing of Brando's brooding study in biker rebellion The Wild One, taco truck Mas Tacos on site, and Triumphs and Harleys on display outside. That Saturday (Sept. 25 at 11 a.m.), meet at the Belcourt for Mimosa's, Mary's and a Movie featuring Tati's Jour de Fete, a Provence-provided light brunch and music from Robby Hecht. For tickets, visit belcourt.org or ndfestival.org.

DON'T MISS:

FASHION

Sept. 18: If you like scouring thrift stores but wish the goods were better curated, try a swap-meet for charity at Second Harvest Food Bank's fundraiser Haute Swapping for a Cause. Guests may bring up to six items to swap with others in the Haute Lounge, or bid on the silent auction where secondhand finds from the likes of the Predators and Nicole Kidman could find their way into your life. Food, drink, massages and makeovers from Sephora abound. Gift bags for the first 50 ticketholders; a canned good buys you two potentially prize-winning tickets. Velocity in the Gulch; 21 and up only.

Sept. 18 - 19: Local Honey is the nexus of the local fashion scene, with owner and designer Shea Steele as its curator, motivator and all-around party planner. This weekend she shows off the best of the silver rack with a two-day debut of fall collections from local designers, many of whom she's mentored along the way. On Saturday starting at 2 p.m., view new pieces from local designers Shannon Lea, Brouhaha, Lladybird and others, including Steele's White Rabbit line. Photo collections from local shutterbugs (including our own Jude Ferrara Rush) will be on display, and music from romantic troubadour Tristen, synth-goths Nite Nite and rowdy rockers Natural Child and more provide the thump. Grab a brew and try a slice from Pizza Buds, Nashville's new mobile pizza truck. Sunday at 6 p.m., enjoy vino from Jackson's along with a fall fashion show from menswear designers and vintage hounds T&P, who've put together 20 vintage looks for men and women.

Sept. 24: Fashionable kindheartedness is the rule of the day with Casino Couture, a '60s-inspired casino night — Vegas attire requested — for an evening of roulette, poker and blackjack, fancy cocktails and charitable contributions, all to benefit the Mary Parrish Center for victims of domestic abuse. 8 p.m. at Gaylord Springs Golf Club.

Oct. 27-28: No need to leave Nashville to jet-set: check out the elegantly embellished, boldly colored tribal evening gowns that dominate this trunk show collection from Marchesa, featuring the 2011 Resort and Spring Collections from designer Georgina Chapman (who happens to also be the wife of film heavyweight Harvey Weinstein). The show benefits the Nashville Symphony's Spring Fashion Show. Spaces, 6000 Hwy. 100.

Nov. 4: The fashion industry often dances a line between artful escapism and befuddling solipsism — for many, all those beautiful pictures and rail-thin models provoke a terrifying sense of inadequacy. Fashion for EveryBODY aims to subvert that despair with its annual fundraiser for the Eating Disorders Coalition, assembling community role models to walk the runway (in current fashions from local retailers) and change the conversation about body image. Tennessee Mornings co-anchor Shane Tallant hosts. Commodore Ballroom, 310 25th Ave. S.

FESTIVALS

Sept. 17-19: The 28th annual African-American Street Festival diversifies this year to include additional countries from regions where African culture permeates, such as the Caribbean and South America. Enjoy genre-hopping from reggae to blues to jazz to country music, while partaking of native food, vendors, crafts and a children's pavilion with activities for kids. TSU's Hadley Park

Sept. 18: Dog lovers, rejoice: This Saturday's 21st annual Dog Day Festival and Music City Mutt Strutt offers a wealth of dog-friendly treats, from pet portraits and contests to doggie training classes and craft tents. Benefits the Nashville Humane Association. Centennial Park

Sept. 18: OK, so getting your kids to spend a day doing chores the way folks did them in the 1800s is probably a tough sell. So try leaving that out, and pitch them instead on the idea of going back in time two centuries to an antebellum log house for the Fall Folk Festival, featuring food, music, train rides and 19th century activities more complicated (read: using legs and stuff) than any video game. This year marks the debut of the vendor-filled Log House Marketplace. Buchanan Log House, 2910 Elm Hill Pike

Sept. 19: The Latino Family Festival at the Nashville Zoo offers a twist on the zoo's everyday offerings, with Spanish translators on hand and traditional tunes and dances to complement their keeper talks and animal shows. Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Sept. 24-26: This year's TACA Fall Craft Fair brings a wealth of arts, crafts, entertainment and food together for three jam-packed days. Centennial Park

Sept. 25-26: Harvest Days at the Nashville Zoo is a weekend-long celebration of the history of the historic Croft House. Families are invited to wander the grounds, where they'll encounter artisans, crafts and activities from the home's lifespan, beginning in 1810, featuring storytelling, weavers, pen and ink stations and woodcutting. Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Oct. 2: Get multi-culti this season with the Celebration of Cultures, where 40 different cultures will be explored through food, music, dance and activities. The Global Village offers day-in-the-life traditions from as far away as Panama and China, with lots of kid-focused fun. Centennial Park

Oct. 8-10: Bookworms, take note: The only thing better than turning those crisp pages (or scrolling through your electronic reader) is meeting authors in the flesh, and hearing them wax creative about the writing process. The Southern Festival of Books offers more than 200 such authors, with a head-spinning array of panels, discussions, signings and talks on all things written-word. There's even a cooking stage where chefs whip up some of their prized published recipes, plus lots of activities for the young ones. More info at tn-humanities.org. Legislative Plaza

Oct. 9: Beer and brats are the theme of the day at the side-by-side Oktoberfest and Germantown Street Festival, two Germantown neighborhood parties that blend into one big celebration of German culture. Take your pick of Deutschland's offerings, whether it's polka, kielbasa, a mug of brew or the annual Bier 5K run. Germantown at 7th Ave. N. and Monroe

Oct. 17: Hit the country for a trip back to a bygone way of doing things, from making molasses at a sorghum mill to watching some country clogging and bluegrass at the Tennessee Agricultural Museum's Music and Molasses Arts and Crafts Festival. Old-fashioned storytelling and free buggy rides make this an extra-nifty event. Ellington Agricultural Center

Oct. 28-30: Don't feel like trick-or-treating in your neighborhood this year? Head to the Nashville Zoo for Ghouls at Grassmere, a family-oriented adventure in fright that offers mazes, games, hayrides, costume contests, theater and entertainment galore. Also Oct. 15-17 and 22–24. More info at nashvillezoo.org. Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

Nov. 12–13: It's the 150th anniversary of the Civil War — in 2011. But Tennessee, which is second only to Virginia in the number of battles (more than 400) fought during the conflict, witnessed a foreshadowing of failure a year earlier when native son John Bell lost his bid for the 1860 presidency — an election whose outcome helped prod the country into war. It's for that reason Tennessee kicks off its sesquicentennial commemoration of the event this November with "The Coming of the Civil War," a two-day history nerd-out of ceremonies, documentaries and living-history enactments. Speakers will also weigh in on Tennessee history and the politics and military matters of the day, from whether secession was necessary to debates on whether abolition required war. Ain't hindsight grand? Visit tngov.com for the full schedule of events.