It’s October, a month of spooky vibes, changing colors, and book festivals — in other words, my favorite month of the year. Here are my picks for having a spectacular October in Nashville.
🍁 Fall Fun
- Buy pumpkins, get lost in corn mazes, and take selfies by hay bales at these fall festivals and pumpkin patches.
- Peak fall foliage this year is expected to arrive at the end of the month and last through early November. The New York Times recently named Centennial Park as the best place in Nashville to see fall leaves, but I’ve got eight other options for you to take a fall stroll.
- Last call to hit up your local farmers market! Most close at the end of the month.
🦴 This Is Halloween
- Halloween lands on a Friday this year, and MNPS students are off! Here are some of the best neighborhoods for trick-or-treating, and tips for having a great night.
- There are plenty of ways for adults to celebrate Halloween this month. TailGate Brewery is showing fall movies every Thursday night and on Halloween at their headquarters in Bellevue, from “Ghostbusters” to “Hocus Pocus.” The Belcourt is hosting Shocktober from Oct. 18-31, with a dozen horror movies to give you nightmares.
- For non-movie Halloween fun, attend Eastside Bowl’s hardcore costume party, The Velvet Room’s blood moon ball, or a Halloween murder mystery dinner.
- Ryman’s final Haunted History Tour of the year is on Oct. 3. Check out our episode about it!
📚 Book-It October
- Snag Nashville Public Library’s new t-shirts!
- Stock up on fall books at these pop-ups: Shadowed Pages Mobile Bookshop’s You’re Dead To Me Market on Oct. 5, The Bookshop’s Spooky Book Fair on Oct. 7, and Tempted By Fiction: A Book Lovers Dark Market on Oct. 11.
- Celebrate Banned Books Week from Oct. 5-11 at The Bookshop.
- My favorite local festival, the Southern Festival of Books, runs Oct. 18-19 at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. It’s free!
🎵 Concerts & Festivals
- Oktoberfest runs Oct. 2-5 at Bicentennial Capital Mall State Park.
- Celebrate Nashville’s many cultures at Centennial Park on Oct. 4.
- Support Nashville Pride at the Get OUT, Be LOUD benefit concert on Oct. 5.
- Sing happy birthday to the Opry with Sierra Ferrell and Vince Gill on Oct. 8.
- Float on with Modest Mouse at The Pinnacle on Oct. 9.
- Celebrate DRKMTTR’s tenth birthday on Oct. 17.
- Attend the 44th Annual Tennessee Pow Wow on Oct. 17-19 at Long Hunter State Park.
- Feast at the inaugural Panda Fest on Oct. 24-26 at The Fairgrounds.
- Get your groove on at the Nashville Jazz Fest on Oct. 25-26 at 3rd and Lindsley.
