Free Things to Do in Nashville

Looking for something fun and FREE to do in Nashville? The list begins below.

Be sure to call ahead and confirm dates, times, location, and the fact that the event is free--things may change without much notification.

The Osborne Brothers outside the Grand Ole Opry Performance Hall, performing as the part of the free Opry Plaza Parties held in the summer.

Events & Places to Visit

FREE Wi-Fi is now available in Centennial Park. Bring your laptop (with wireless card) and access the Internet through free wireless Internet is provided compliments of the Metro Parks Department. Centennial Park has always been one of the coolest, hippiest places to take a stroll. Now it's even cooler. You can cruise the Web while sitting outdoors. The wireless network is called "Metro-Parks" and is operational during park hours. For more information, call 615-862-6222 or visit Nashville Parks.

Upcoming

Free Concerts

March 4, 2008: Doing anything Tuesday, March 4, at 5:30 a.m.? CBS’s “The Early Show” is inviting Nashvillians to a live concert featuring Miranda Lambert and Rodney Atkins at the Wild Horse Saloon in downtown Nashville. The concert will be televised as part of The Early Show's coverage of the Academy of Country Music’s nomination announcement. Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will be announcing the nominations. The broadcast is live from 6 am to 8 am Central Time, but CBS is asking that you arrive by 5:30 a.m. They suggest that people send an email to confirm that they are coming, but the venue is large and can accommodate a large amount of people if they simply show up. Please email Nicole Keller (kellern@cbsnews.com) for more information or to confirm you'd like to come. Phone: 212-975-2824.

More free events from the Tennessean's Ms. Cheap

Past Events

June 23-October 14, 2007: The exhibit "A Moment of Eternity: The Art & Expression of Chinese Poetry Calligraphy" is available for viewing at the Main Library in downtown Nashville.

July 1-31: The exhibit "Wildflower Photo Exhibit" is available for viewing at the Green Hills Library.

July 1-31: The exhibit "Nonnie Waller Cake & Truffle Boxes and Limoges Porcelaines" is available for viewing at the Green Hills Library.

July 14-Sept. 1: Metro Parks' Big Band Dances are a summer tradition in Nashville that attracts all levels of dancers, plus those who just come to enjoy the music. This year's concerts will include free dance lessons from some of the city's best instructors, and as before, are held at the Centennial Park Event Shelter (behind the Parthenon, near the sunken garden). The free lesson begins at 7:00 pm with music and dancing from 7:30 until 10:00 pm. Bring a lawn chair. Open to all ages, food and beverages for sale. Free admission and free dancing lessons. 615-862-8400.
Schedule of Big Band Dances:
July 14 - Rory Partin Band
July 21 - Paul Ross Band
July 28 - Big band Ballroom
August 4 - Rory Partin Band
August 11 - Radio Daze
August 18 - Swing Town
August 25 - Music City Swing
September 1 - Moonlighters

July 6-Aug. 31: Concerts at the Red Caboose
Bring the family and your picnic basket to hear these free concerts at the Amphitheater in the Red Caboose Playground, located at Hwy 70 and Colice Jeanne Road in Bellevue. For more information, call 862-8424. Concerts are 7 to 9 pm. Free admission. 615-862-8400.
Schedule of Red Caboose performances:
July 6 -John England and the Western Swingers
July 13 - Melissa Sigler & the Blue Keys (New Orleans Blues)
July 20 - Boomerang (Rock Golden Oldies)
July 27 - The Moonlighters (Big Band)
August 3 - The Kaddilacs (American Pop and Swing)
August 10 - Bill McCallie and the In Cahoots Band (Chattanooga Country Bluegrass)
August 17 - Hillbilly Casino (Rockabilly)
August 24 - Nashville Community Concert Band (60 piece orchestra will play popular
American and semi-Classical)
August 31 - Chief Smiley Ricks performs a Mardi Gras, Cajun/Indian Celebration

August-Sept. 2007: Shakespeare in the Park. Held outdoors in the Centennial Park Bandshell. Performance begins at 7:30pm with pre-show entertainment beginning at 6:30pm. FREE admission. For more information, please visit Nashville Shakespeare Festival. Performances of two plays include the following:

• The Merry Wives of Windsor
  August 16-19, 25-31, September 3, 8 & 9
• The Two Gentlemen of Verona
  August 23, 24, September 1, 2, 6 & 7

Aug 24-26, 2007: Flea Market at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds runs from Friday 8:00am-5:00pm, Saturday 7:00am-6:00pm, and Sunday 7:00am-4:00pm. Admission is free, but parking is $3.00.

Aug 26, 2007:Family Day at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. 1:00 pm- 5:30 pm., FREE. Enjoy a fun-filled day of exciting art activities, live concerts, and theatrical performances with your friends and family. The traditional lion dance will be performed in the Grand Lobby to welcome our guests. The Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville will present a unique dance/theater production in the auditorium. Enjoy interactive martial arts and Chinese yo-yo (tzuh-ling) demonstrations in the Turner Courtyard, and followed byactivities in the upper-level studios relating to both Lyrical Traditions and the Ashcan paintings in the upper-level galleries. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 919 Broadway, Nashville, TN, Call 615-244-3340 for more information.

September 3, 2007: Celebrate Labor day afternoon in Centennial Park for Americana Labor Day Music & Visual Arts Festival. Bring the whole family to stroll walking paths around Lake Watauga in Centennial Park. Food and beverages for sale, the program runs from noon-6:00pm. Free admission.

October 6-7, 2007: Celebration of Cultures returns to Centennial Park. This fun-filled day celebrates the different cultures in Nashville through music, dance, wares, a hands-on children's area, and dancing. Hours are 10:00am-6:00pm at Centennial Park's bandshell, lake, and Parthenon. Free admission.

July 4, 2007: Musical entertainment begins at 4 p.m. at Riverfront Park in downtown Nashville as part of the city's Fourth of July celebration. The grand fireworks display, an annual event for Nashville, begins around 9 p.m. at the Riverfront.

June 23, 2007: Elvis' flying pink cadillac will be one of the weird and wonderful human-powered contraptions to compete in Flugtag Nashville Saturday, June 23 at Riverfront Park. "Flugtag" is German for "flying day" and the first Redbull event took place in Vienna, Austria in 1991. Since then more than 35 Flugtags have been held around the world. This will be Nashville's first Flugtag, with 29 teams competing. They'll be launching their outrageous flying machines from a 30-foot ramp over the Cumberland River. Viewing Flugtag Nashville is free and open to the public. Riverfront Park opens at 11 a.m. and the first flight is scheduled for 1 p.m. See videos of some of the memorable flights from past Flugtags.

June 15, 2007: Jefferson Street Jazz Festival. From the 1940s through the early 1960s, Jefferson Street was one of America’s best-known districts of jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues. Famous African-American musicians played repeatedly in the many clubs. Little Richard, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Fats Domino and Memphis Slim performed here regularly. Nashville artists, many with hit records, made the district their home.

The Jazz and Blues Festival is FREE (although $1.00 donations will be accepted). The music and lots of other activities run from 11:15 a.m. until 11 pm OR later. The Festival takes place on Jefferson Street between 26th and 27th avenues.

May 19, 2007: Fourth Annual Tour de Nash. The Tour is designed to introduce residents to some of Nashville’s best places to bike or walk and to challenge them to live a more active lifestyle. All tours start and end near the East concourse of the Titans Coliseum (LP Field ) and highlight bicycle and pedestrian facilities across Davidson County. There's also a free health fair associated with the Tour de Nash. Don't miss out on these wonderful spring events while the days are actually acting like spring.

FREE Health and Wellness Fair

The Tour de Nash will include FREE general health and wellness screenings from 7:00 a.m. to noon for Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Body Mass Index (BMI), Diabetes Risk Assessments, plus FREE demonstrations on physical activity, nutrition, cancer prevention, mental well-being, and other health conditions. Partners include: HealthSpring, Jenny Craig, the American Cancer Society, and the American Lung Society.

Walking Events

Tour de Downtown
Don’t ride a bike? No problem! Join us for a *FREE* 2-mile or 4-mile walking tour of the East Bank Greenway and Downtown Nashville. Participants in the walk will receive a free water bottle. All participants must be registered.

Tour de Bikeways (Family Ride)
Enjoy a *FREE* 7- or 12-Mile Family bike ride, touring along bike lanes in East Nashville and portions of Shelby Bottoms Greenway before returning to LP Field via Davidson Street. Participants in either ride will receive a free water bottle. Bicycle helmets required for all cycling events. Participants in either ride will receive a free water bottle, a wrist band and food and drink at various rest stops. Register for the FREE family ride events now!

[May 4-6, 2007] TACA's spring fair in Centennial Park. The Tennessee Arts and Crafts Association puts on two big shows a year, bookending the summertime weather with one in May and one in September. This is a grand event in Nashville and a wonderful chance to enjoy the spring weather. Stroll among the stalls of well-crafted jewelry, ceramics, sculptures and more. There'll be food and activities for the children and a chance to go a bit slower and take in the sights. FREE ADMISSION & PARKING.

[Dec. 1, 2006] Nashville's annual Christmas parade takes place tonight in downtown. The floats, bands, baton twirlers--the whole moving festival of holiday cheer--starts on Lower Broad at 7th Avenue and winds its way down 2nd Avenue and across the Woodland Street bridge to end at LP Field--the Titan's Coliseum. The parade begins at 7 p.m.

[Oct. 14, 2006] Today's the Bluegrass and Biscuits Fall Festival at the Loveless Motel. The music and crafts demonstrations go from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and it's FREE to the public.

Sat., Oct. 7, 2006, 10:00 a.m. to midnight: A Day of Music—Free—at Nashville's new Schermerhorn Symphony Center. From 10 in the morning to midnight, the Nashville Symphony invites all of Nashville to an Open House in the new hall. You're invited to stroll the lobbies, pick up a snack, enjoy brunch or a beverage at one of the bars, relax in the open courtyard, and enjoy the wide variety of music being played in one of the many performing spaces. For details on free tickets and music schedule, go here.

Sat., Oct. 7, 2006, 10:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. : Celebrate Autumn with the Hands-on-Harvest at Belle Meade Plantation. This year marks the 11th anniversary of the free, family-friendly event where children and adults can discover the work of harvest time firsthand. Participants can learn what it was like to perform everyday chores without the use of today's modern conveniences. Scheduled activities include dipping candles, churning butter, washboard laundry, picking cotton, stringing beans and quilting. Visitors can even learn how to card and spin wool taken from a llama onsite. Costumed interpreters will also demonstrate open hearth cooking and blacksmithing.

Enjoy storytelling from Indians and Longhunters and play the same games that children enjoyed hundreds of years ago. Tour the original 1790s cabin while listening to the sounds of the Mountain Laurel Dulcimer Trio.

This event is FREE and open to the public. Regular admission fees apply to the Mansion tour. For more information about Hands on Harvest contact Elizabeth Atack at (615) 356-0501 x. 26.

The grand spectacle above: look at the stars. Astronomical observations at Dyer Observatory. See schedule for free observation nights and directions to facility. Call 615-373-4897 for more information.

Great FREE Places to Visit Around Nashville

Bicentennial Mall near the Farmer's Market

Centennial Park: An urban park on West End Avenue, with the world's only full scale reproduction of the Parthenon. The monumental museum dates from the 100 year celebration of Nashville's birthday. A lovely park with a running and bike path, fields for playing touch football and soccer, and benches for reading. Red tulips in April. (Note: Centennial Park is free, but the Parthenon itself requires an admission fee.)

Tennessee State Capitol Building: designed by William Strickland and occupied by the Union Army during the Civil War (see photo from 1864).

Radnor Lake State Natural Area offers hikes, canoe floats, and specialty events each month. A variety of activities are available, free of charge from Radnor Lake State Natural Area. Reservations for programs open at 9:00 A.M. on the dates listed and will be taken until full. Please call 377-1281 to sign up.

Warner Park Nature Center: Hikes, star parties, and nature programs for all ages. Call 352-6299 for events or check web site.

Model Train Display: The Nashville Garden Railway Society's 4500-square foot layout is located in Nashville's 100 Oaks Shopping Center, directly in front of the second floor escalator. The display is open to the public on Sundays from noon until 4 p.m. (And on many Saturdays 11a.m.-5 p.m. when volunteer members are available.) 100 Oaks Shopping Center, 719 Thompson Lane.