Events

THE CONTRIBUTOR CALENDAR

Nashville’s Best Free Events Downtown

Whether you’ve lived in Nashville for years or you’re just in town for a few days, there’s always a way to get out and about without spending a ton. Every two weeks, The Contributor rounds up some of the best local fun to help you navigate all the city has to offer as well as volunteer opportunities and the occasional quick hot tips for the tourists from a vendor.

BLACK HISTORY TOURS

Throughout February at the Tennessee State Museum, 1000 Rosa L Parks Blvd

This 45-minute tour at the state’s museum, which is free for all visitors, is a highlights tour of Black history in Tennessee. A museum educator will guide visitors through the galleries and outline stories of Black Tennesseans from the frontier to the quest for freedom and from the Civil War to Civil Rights. The Legacy of Black Entrepreneurship in Tennessee, a Lunch & Learn series, is also happening at the museum in February as well.

RICHLAND PARK MOVIE CLUB: BLACK HISTORY MONTH SERIES

Throughout February at Richland Park Branch, Nashville Public Library, 4711 Charlotte Ave.

On Feb. 16, the Richland Park Branch of the Nashville Public Library will host a screening of Summer of Soul (2021), the documentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which celebrated African-American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity. As the final film in the series, on Feb 23, the library plans to screen Amazing Grace: Aretha Franklin

LORRAINE: THE GIRL WHO SANG THE STORM AWAY

Throughout February at the downtown Nashville Public Library, 615 Church Street

The library location downtown is bringing a free special musical show on Feb. 17, 18, 24, 25 at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. This show, which features marionettes and is based on the book by Ketch Secor and illustrated by Higgins Bond, follows Lorraine and her Pa Paw, who are musicians and love to play songs to get through tough times. The story shows Lorraine as a big Tennessee mountain storm rolls in and their instruments are nowhere to be found.

VANDERBILT COMMODORES VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS BEARS

Feb. 21 at Hawkins Field, 2600 Jess Neely Drive

The Vanderbilt Commodores will face off against the Central Arkansas Bears tickets at Hawkins Field in Nashville at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 21. Tickets start at just $4, which is a great price for a night out watching baseball.

IN CONVERSATION WITH ANDREW FEILER, FRANK BRINKLEY AND CHARLES BRINKLEY: A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN

Feb. 24 at the Tennessee State Museum, 1000 Rosa L Parks Blvd.

Andrew Feiler, Frank Brinkley and Charles Brinkley will be in conversation on opening weekend of A Better Life For Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, And The 4,978 Schools That Changed America. The exhibit shows images by Feiler of schools involved in a historic collaboration between white businessman Julius Rosenwald and Black educator Booker T. Washington, which led to the building of nearly 5,000 public schools. Feiler drove more than 25,000 miles, photographed 105 schools and interviewed former students, teachers, preservationists and community leaders for this project.