Thursday, October 13th, begins one of my favorite seasons in Nashville… Hockey Season!!  The Nashville Predators, now 2-0, are taking on the Phoenix Coyotes in their season opener at Bridgestone Arena.  Fans attending will receive a free opening night t-shirt, and there will be other festivities including a pre-game party on the plaza.  Tickets are still available here or you can go directly to the box office.

Let’s Go Predators!!

Check out these events coming up this week, only in Nashville.

What: Wine Down Wednesday
When: Wednesday, August 24th, 5-9pm
Where: Urban Flats in The Gulch
Info: Enjoy eight wines and appetizers for only $20!

What:  Bar AIDS event benefitting Nashville Cares
When: Thursday, August 25th
Where: Various Bars (see complete list here)
Info: Booze for a good cause, as various Nashville bars donate a percentage of their proceeds to Nashville Cares.

What: Music City Festival & BBQ Championship
When: Friday, August 26th & Saturday, August 27th
Where: Riverfront Park
Info: Over 100 professional and amateur BBQ teams compete for over $20,000 cash/prizes, with concerts featuring Marshall Tucker Band and Ronnie Milsap.

What: Alison Krauss & Union Station
When: Friday, August 26th & Saturday, August 27th @ 8pm
Where: Ryman Auditorium

What: Nashville Sounds Final Home Games of the Season
When: This week through Sunday, August 28th
Where: Greer Stadium
Info: Click here for ticket info and special promotions.

What: Titans vs. Bears
When: Saturday, August 27th @ 7pm
Where: LP Field
Info: Cheer on your Tennessee Titans as they take on the Chicago Bears, preseason.

Guest blog by Joseph Manners, our Nashville Fun NABor.

I will begin this writing with yet another glimpse of someone I was in my past. I am not really sure where I got the idea; perhaps it was from the movie “Fight Club;” perhaps it was something that I read.I just know that one day I decided that I wanted to attend some “anonymous” meetings. You know: the ones for alcoholics, drug addicts, food addicts and sex addicts. I remember clearly looking these meetings up in the Yellow Pages. Over the span of a few weeks I attended various meetings. I never spoke. I merely listened to others as they poured out their lives with addiction. I know that initially I went for the gossip-column feel. I wanted to hear the juicy stories of others as they discussed what they had done. Each meeting was progressively worse for me, and the voyeuristic approach to the pain of others was losing its appeal. My last meeting involved someone telling what appeared at her low point of sexual addiction. The story made me cringe and made me want to cry. However, I knew that I wouldn’t be crying for her but because of my failure as a human to want to enjoy her pain on some perverted level. That was my last meeting, which was about 10 years ago. I am still ashamed of what I did, and even telling it now makes me think of what a lowlife I once was. .

In the past six months I have encountered at least five people who have outed themselves on their addiction. In a few cases it was part of their recovery program. In others, I think it was someone who just wanted to confide in me where they were in their lives. I felt it was an honor to be trusted and on another level I knew that I was being tested. Was I still the same person that I had been 10 years prior?

When one confided in a group of us he said, “Please don’t judge me. I would judge you if the roles were reversed.” I laughed at this because it really sounded like something I would say. But I didn’t think it was appropriate to really say anything at the time. Looking back I can see the glimpse of honesty that he was giving me. Merely, that he was addicted and was seeking help from a doctor. He was looking to us for support.

Another friend came to me to tell me of the lies that he had told me. My worries were in fact real: that he was clearly an addict who needed help. But he had been going to meetings and getting that help for almost a year before he came to me. I wanted to support him. I am not sure that he needed me but perhaps I needed to understand the addiction or part of the addiction to the point that I could in fact not be judgmental.

Nearly ten years later I was sitting in another AA meeting. This time I was there to support my friend. Just like the prior meetings, there was a group of smiling faces and pain-ridden faces. The latter were clearly those in distress at being new or having fallen off the wagon. Yet, they were there to get help. Everyone who spoke that night made fun of the choices that ld them to this meeting. They accepted ownership of what they chose to do. While the stories were different, there were threads of the same truth. They all thought they could stop anytime they wanted. None of them thought they had a problem when friends and family pointed it out to them. In almost every story, they had discussed falling off the wagon. Then they would discuss how much that they hated the feeling the next day. Their brutal, soul dispensing honesty could not be denied or overlooked.

As I recall, the makeup of the people in the room varied. There were a few that I am sure anyone could have pointed out and said he was clearly an alcoholic. However, there were so many people in the room that no one would have suspected. Everyone varied in ethnicity, education, age (the youngest was 18 and the oldest appeared to be mid 60’s) and economic status. The addiction clearly was not given to just one group.

At one point I found myself pinching my leg. I just couldn’t allow myself to be overwhelmed by the sadness of the stories. They didn’t need my pity or my tears. I couldn’t look most in the face. I just knew that I would lose it. But this didn’t need to be about me or the way that I felt. I remember thinking, “Could I ever be this honest to a group of strangers? Could I tell someone my lowest of lows?” I admitted, easily I might add, that some things would need to go to my grave. I then chuckled under my breath at the old joke of Benjamin Franklin, who said, “Three men can keep a secret if two of them are dead.”

Before leaving this particular meeting I started reviewing the stories that had been told. All of them had a great sense of humor about their failures. All of them took pride in the smallest or largest accomplishment of the number of days clean. All of them seemed so very supportive of the strangers in the room reaching out for the first time to say that they needed help.

I think most of us think of addictions are for others that cannot control themselves. Even if we could be honest enough to say that we have an addiction that we could stop. Objects of addictions can include: work, love, television, teeth whitening, exercise, shopping (a/k/a oniomani – who says this blog isn’t educational?)), tanning (a/k/a, tanorexia), sex, Internet surfing, plastic surgery, texting, overeating, Facebook, and the list can go on and on. Perhaps there is a 12-step group for people who make snide comments to others. I am afraid to check because then I might have to admit that I have yet another issue, or worse, that I have to be a founding father of the group. And, let’s face it, most people who should attend the group have an aversion to anonymity – they want to be noticed. So, I’m not certain how well-attended my Snideswipers Anonymous meetings would be.

All humor aside, attending an anonymous meeting as a visitor this time allowed me to see that there is help for each person who seeks it; that all 12-step meetings seek help from a higher power – however a person chooses to perceive that higher power; – and attending put my problems in perspective, allowing me to see that NO ONE is alone. The friend with whom I attended the meeting believes that everyone should attend one 12-step meeting at some point just for the experience.

The meeting concluded with the Lord’s Prayer and then the following: “”Keep coming back, it works if you work it.”

Guest blog by Kimberly Novosel, our Giving Back NABor.

As you all know the goal of GBitNB is to encourage our generation to give back in any way they can. To be honest, we especially love when giving back meets shopping!

Tomorrow is the perfect day to get the girls together and go shopping for back to school wear, new fall work styles, or in my case a dress for my dreaded High School Reunion, at my favorite local boutique Blush!

All day Saturday, July 23rd you can stop by the Blush boutiques in Belle Meade or Brentwood – bring any unopened school supplies and receive 10% off your entire purchase. All of these supplies will be donated to the Martha O’Bryan Center in East Nashville.

As more and more young adults in Nashville are flocking to the hip epicenter of East Nashville, it’s nice to know that we can give to a great organization in the area. The Martha O’Bryan Center’s mission statement is to empower children, youth, and adults in poverty to transform their lives through work, education, employment and fellowship. This organization meets people where they are and spurs them to reach their full potential.

Personally I think this is an exciting organization and look forward to finding new ways to give back to them in the future!

For a list of the supplies the families are in greatest need of, please visit Blush’s facebook page.

Guest blog by Kimberly Novosel, our Giving Back NABor.

The I’m Too Young for This! Cancer Foundation has a special history with us here at Giving Back. We first brought them to Nashville for the inaugural I’m Still Beautiful event in 2008, our very first event as a team. Since then, the event has grown as has i2y’s presence here in town. Now, we have an official i2y Nashville chapter for young adult cancer survivors to socialize and support each other right here in our community. Heading up i2y Nashville is breast cancer survivor Tara Ellis, who you may recognize as the face on our most recent I’m Still Beautiful event poster!

“I’m so excited about having the opportunity to be a part of the i2y family and hopefully be a resource for those who just want some level of normalcy during or after treatment,” says Tara. “I know how important it is to have people around you who understand what you’re going through. I want i2y Nashville to be filled with those kinds of people. I am really looking forward to it!”

i2y Nashville is hosting their first Stupid Cancer Happy Hour on July 13th at Taco Mamacita from 6:30-8:30. Take advantage of this chance to come meet other survivors in your community, or if you’re a supporter of young adult cancer survivors, we’d love to see your face, too!

“Now when you scream, “I’M TOO YOUNG FOR THIS!”, you’ll know you’re not alone. So, welcome to the club that no one wants to belong to but once you’re here, you’re family.” (From stupidcancer.com)

Guest blog by Dawson Ballard and Michael Butell, our Nashville Theatre Scene NABors.

We only have a couple shows happening in the Nashville metro area so we are also going to take you on a trip out of town this time and let you explore some of the other theatre options available in Middle Tennessee.

Street Theatre Company is performing “Free to Be … You and Me” which opens July 15 and continues through July 30 at 1933 Elm Hill Pike. This show was originally an album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, Marlo Thomas, and Dianna Ross. An ABC after school special using poetry, songs, and sketches, followed 2 years later in March 1974. The basic concept was to encourage post-1960’s gender neutrality, saluting values such as individuality, tolerance, and comfort with one’s identity. A major thematic message is that anyone-whether a boy or a girl-can achieve anything. Ticket prices are $6 and more information is available by calling 615-554-7414 or visit www.streettheatrecompany.org.

Circle Players is performing “Fame Forever-Talent Springs Eternal” which opens July 21 and continues through July 24 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro at Tucker Theatre. This show warps through 20 years revealing the fate of the original musical’s characters, now all grown up, and their children who are now students of New York’s famed LaGuardia High School of Music and Art & Performing Arts. A school reunion brings them together and the story shows how talent is reborn in the young who carry the torch, like spiritual DNA, in their ambition for fame. Ticket prices are $18 ($15 seniors/students) and more information is available by calling 615-332-7529 or visit www.circleplayers.net.

Roxy Regional Theatre in Clarksville is performing “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” which opened June 24 and continues through July 16 at 100 Franklin St in Clarksville. Ticket prices are $10 and more information is available by calling 931-645-7699 or visit www.roxyregionaltheatre.org.

Arts Center of Cannon County in Woodbury is performing “Hairspray” which opened July 8 and continues through July 24 at 1424 John Bragg Highway. Ticket prices are $12 ($10 students/seniors) and more information is available by calling 615-563-2787 or visit www.artscenterofcc.com.

Community Playhouse in Tullahoma is also performing “Hairspray” which opens July 15 and continues through July 24 at 404 South Jackson Street in Tullahoma. Ticket prices are $12 and more information is available by calling 931-581-7767 or visit www.communityplayhouse.org.

Cheatham County Community Theater in Kingston Springs is performing “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer-The Musical” which opened July 8 and continues through July 17 at 170 East Kingston Springs Rd in Kingston Springs at the Harpeth High School. Ticket prices are $12 ($6 students/seniors) and more information is available by calling 615-259-2001 or visit www.cheathamtheater.org.

Encore Theatre Company in Mt Juliet is also performing “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” which opens July 15 and continues through July 30 at 6978 Lebanon Rd in Mt Juliet. Ticket prices are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. More information is available by visiting www.encore-theatre-company.org.

Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville is performing “Little Shop of Horrors” which opens July 16 and continues through August 6 at 221 Tennessee Ave in Crossville. Ticket prices are $22 ($21 seniors, $11 students/children) and more information is available by calling 931-484-5000 or visit www.ccplayhouse.com.

Renaissance Center of the Jackson Foundation in Dickson is performing “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” which opened July 5 and continues through July 30 at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson. Ticket prices are $37 dinner and show in the evenings and $27 dinner and show for afternoon performances and more information is available by calling 615-740-5600 or visit www.rcenter2.org.

Guest Blog by Galen Johnson – Food and Beverage Consultant at b. Merry and our Nashville Food and Beverage Scene NABor.

This weekend is “light it up” time across the USA. Grills and Smokers will be pushed to the limit with the sole charge of the creating the perfect BBQ! Secret recipes for sauces, baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw–the list goes on—will be fought for and protected like our countries sovereignty. The casualties of war will remain untouched, neglected and abandoned strewn across tables laced with red and white gingham. But the victors will stand perched and poised after the days battles and lift that celebratory concoction—that “brew” and toast to the triumph of their valor with one drink… ice cold beer.

Beer has been with BBQ for decades. This lush and refreshing satisfaction helps to quench a day’s grilling labor and the heat generated by any pitmaster’s secret sauce. Once you allow the crisp tip of a frigid brew to pierce the searing agony in your mouth, you’ll know why it’s perfect! My suggestions for the best 4th of July “Q brews”, the Yazoo Pale Ale. It’s a Nashville native with just the right balance and body to even out the battle. In the summer, a Hefeweizen is a must have brew. These wheat beers have a dancing lightness on the tongue and pair well with the lighter and crispier foods of the outdoor battlefield. My favorite is Paulaner– the nose is yeasty with a hint of citrus and clove followed by a sweet note of vanilla to complete. Now, when want to have the “knock out” round on the grill, Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre fits the bill. It’s a deep, mahogany Belgian-style brown ale brewed with beet sugar, raisins, and Belgian-style yeast and with 8% alcohol says “to the victor goes the spoils.”

Happy Independence Day … Remember eat/drink/b

Guest blog by Joseph Manners, our Nashville fun NABor.

I know that I will offend someone with this blog. I apologize in advance that you just didn’t get my opinion or my sense of humor regarding this topic.

Just moments after your ass was smacked and your first cries were heard throughout the hospital, your life sand timer was activated, each grain signifying that your death was imminent. Granted, some of the choices of your life will cause the sand to move quicker. But in the end the last grain will fall and your time will be up.

In the book by Gilda Radner, It’s Always Something, she writes: “I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle and end.” That book had such a profound impact on my life – not to make me want to live a better life or to live day as it were my last Mainly, Gilda’s book made me determined to control my ending, how I am perceived or at the very least, the last memory that someone has of me.

I was prompted to read this book after my sister-in-law succumbed to her battle with cancer. My brother held her hand until the end. He said, “No one should die alone.” I tear up every time that I think about that statement. This manly man had something figured out so early in life.

You will need to have some background on me to understand some of my warped concepts on death. My father’s family had two different businesses: one built coffins and the other sold and delivered hearses. So as a child my brothers and I played hide and seek in the coffins. Trust me: crushed velvet or not, when the lid is closed it is pitch black. The head pillows were nice and made it much more tolerable to hide the longest. But I don’t remember a big difference between the cheapest models and most expensive. Perhaps the lid was heavier to open. So if you are concerned that your loved one might come back for you, lid weight might be an important feature. We would also go on family trips to deliver the hearses. Guess who rode in the back? We had a great time. We just saw them as really big Cadillacs. Believe me they had incredible features at the time. Odd, given that really three people (tight fit) would ride in the front. Climate control, power seats, power windows, cruise control and the list went on and on. So my perception of death is much different than that of many others.

As a child, I remember attending too many funerals to count. In my family (perhaps a southern thing) it was a family reunion. Many times, the age old question of how many different varieties of potato salad can be eaten and or made was answered during one of the family funerals. Kids would play while the adults would reminisce about their childhoods or their relationship with the deceased. The women would always go on and on about how good or bad the body looked. Comments like: ‘They made him look so natural’, ‘Why did they pick that tie for him?’, ‘She looked too thin’ (I know some of you are saying, “Is that possible?”), ‘The makeup was too thick’ or ‘He just didn’t look happy, that forced smirk was too unrealistic.’

The eulogies were normally delivered by a pastor who didn’t know the deceased. The details of the deceased’s life were normally wrong. Some of the meanest family members who died were talked about as though they walked on water, while delivering food to the homeless and offering guidance with a kind hand to the young ones. I was young but I knew mean and I just assumed anyone that mean had to be going somewhere where air conditioning wasn’t an option. Yet, the eulogy would go on and on about the love between the immediate family members and the deceased. (Most of whom hated each other so much they couldn’t sit together at the funeral.)

I recall helping a family member once load up the flowers at the funeral home into their car. Later, my mother said someone stole the flowers and they didn’t make it to the graveside. I felt too guilty to admit that I had helped.

I recall being told that objects had been stolen from someone’s home while people were at the funeral. I was also told that jewelry disappeared from the deceased body moments before the casket was closed. Money does strange things to people. Somehow some feel justified that they are owed grandma’s gravy boat, Uncle Ben’s gold shoe horn or Cousin Debby’s gold lamé shoe collection. (Very retro.) Lucky for me being poor comes in handy. There will be no fighting over my collection of dust bunnies, old furniture, or my numerous bottles of shampoos from all of the hotels that I have stayed at over the years.

My most memorable funeral memory was watching as a mistress of an uncle pulled the body up from the casket and kissed him over and over. (Yes she left lipstick stains on his face) She cried out “Oh Lord, not him, not my Bobby.” (Name changed to protect the humiliated) The wife stood and pulled the girl by her hair. This shifted the body so that he was half in and half out of the casket. Seriously, I couldn’t make this stuff up. She told her to walk her whore ass out of the funeral home before she was thrown out. She then said , “You dare bring this drama in front of my kids while they are mourning the loss of their father?” A backhand across the face of the mistress and she hit floor with her skirt going up on her waist. She revealed her panties that were over her panty hose. I know you shouldn’t laugh but even then I laughed at things when I knew I shouldn’t. However, the body was half over the casket looking down at the mistress with her skirt still up and I was snorting. The adults scrambled to put everything back like it was as quickly as possible. This was a visitation! I remember thinking the funeral would have to be even better! However, the mistress didn’t come back and everyone kept quiet about the events from the previous night.

Personally I have never feared death. However, I am afraid of how and where I die. In my lifetime I have had a gun put to my head (see prior blog), I have been in car wrecks and several years ago I had a run in with cancer. However, death never entered my mind. It was always not here. Not sure why but I just didn’t want that to be the whispers among family and friends.

Several years ago a friend died. Prior to his long battle with cancer he planned his whole funeral. It had a PowerPoint presentation, music, his voice for spoken words and the body was absent. He had made the decision that he didn’t want the typical funeral. I laughed so hard. Ite left an incredible memory staill still makes me jealous. That is the way that all funerals should be: a true celebration of a life leaving your life on a high note.

So I wrote some brief notes and thought about what I would like to have happen at my funeral.

• I would like to donate my body to science. Undoubtedly, some of you will say weird science.
• I would like any usable organs to be given away. Hopefully, my ability to be snarky is something learned and not something that could be passed on via those organs. However, someone did remind me that the eybrow transplant and or head tilt transplant should be removed from my donations. (just in case)
• I would love to have a small wake where those foam sticks are given out and everyone is encouraged to beat other people. This will allow the violence that so many people have and want to get out.
• I would like everyone to stand and speak about me anyway they wish. Some will feel guilty and want to makeup something nice. But others will be real and tell stories about me that made them laugh or at least smile. That is the feeling that I want everyone to walk away with at the end.
• I will ask that donations be made to a few charities that mean a lot to me. (Guilt should work here.)
• I will ask my family to give certain gifts to one another. (Guilt might work here.)
• I would love my will to be read aloud, where I give tons of things away (that I clearly do not have). I would love to see the gleen in the eyes of some of them. Then to watch as the greed they just felt is ripped out from under them when it is revealed in the last sentence; “Unless I didn’t win the lottery.”

I would like my favorite rambling thought to be told at the end. “When I die and I am standing in front of gates of heaven, Saint Peter will look through his notes and say “Wow you were busy on Earth. We have several volumes about you. Thank goodness we switched to computers several years ago. Give me a moment. You covered the biggies as well. Mmm. I am not sure that you belong here. Wait, now I see why. You do have one redeeming quality. I see here that you never Vogued. Madonna has a lot to answer for that one. Lucky for you near the end you did ask for forgiveness. By the way when we let you in, please keep it down. There are some that will not understand how you made it past the gate. Give them awhile. They will get over it. After all, you may be surprised to see a few others who made it in as well.”

Guest blog my Dawson Ballard and Michael Butell, our Nashville Theatre Scene NABors.

Make sure to check out this wide variety of musicals and plays to satisfy all kind of theatre lovers. Enjoy your time out at the theatre!

Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre is performing “The Rainmaker” now through June 11 at 8204 Highway 100. Set in a drought ridden rural town in the West in Depression era America, the play tells the story of a pivotal hot summer day in the life of spinsterish Lizzie Curry. Lizzie keeps house for her father and two brothers on the family cattle ranch. She has just returned from a trip to visit cousins, which was taken with the failed expectation that she would find a husband. As their farm suffers under the devastating drought, Lizzie’s family is more worried about her marriage prospects than about their dying cattle. The arrival of a charming confident swindler named Starbuck who promises to bring rain in exchange for $100.00, sets off a series of events allowing Lizzie to see herself in a new light. Ticket prices are $50 adults for dinner and show (students age 13-18 $40, children 12 and under $30). Show only prices are $35 adults (students $30, children $25). For More information please call 615-646-9977 or visit www.dinnertheatre.com.

3Ps Productions are performing “Long Way Down” now through May 28 at 1933 Elm Hill Pike. Set just outside Nashville, tells the story of two Southern women who come up with a plan to kidnap babies from undeserving parents. Pretty soon, they run out of room for all the babies, until one of the women decides there is enough room for all of the babies in Heaven… This production is a cooperative effort of some of Nashville’s premier theatre companies. The play was originally developed at the Tennessee Reparatory Theatre Ingram New Works Lab and was presented as a staged reading in may 2010 as part of the Ingram New Works Festival. After that successful staged reading, 3Ps Productions decided to produce the play as a workshop which will be presented at the Street Theatre Company venue. Ticket prices are $15 and more information is available by calling 615-642-8327 or visit www.3psproductions.com.

Boiler Room Theatre is performing “I Do, I Do” opening May 13 and continuing through June 11 at 230 Franklin Rd, Building 6 in Franklin. From the authors of The Fantasticks, this nostalgic show begins with Michael and Agnes on their wedding day and traces their life together over a period of 50 years, until the day they leave their house to the next pair of newlyweds. In that time we watch them go through their wedding night jitters, raise a family, negotiate mid-life crises, quarrel, separate, reconcile, and grow old together, all lovingly to the strains of a tuneful, charming score. Tickets are $27 adults ($25 seniors/students, $21 children under $12). There are discounted tickets available for Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday matinee performances. For more information call 615-794-7744 or visit www.boilerroomtheatre.com.

Lamplighter’s Theatre is performing “Steel Magnolias” opening May 13 through May 22 at 14119 Old Nashville Highway in Smyrna. Laugh, cry, love and live with the classic Southern piece. Featuring an all-female cast, the Robert Harling play, predecessor to the 1989 star-studded movie, follows a group of Louisiana women who share their triumphs and tragedies around the local beauty parlor. Tickets are $10 ($8 seniors/students, $5 children under 12). No one under 4 will be admitted. For more information please call 615-852-8499 or visit www.lamplighterstheatre.com.
GroundWorks Theatre is performing “The Fall to Earth” now through May 14 at 4610 Charlotte Ave. “Comedy equals tragedy plus time.” Mom Fay and daughter Rachel are brought together for the first time in years to attend to tragic family business, and together with a well-meaning police officer, must work through their own circumstances as well. “The Fall to Earth” premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. Ticket prices are $15 ($12 seniors/students) and more information is available by calling 615-262-5485 or visit www.groundworkstheatre.com.

Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) is performing “Young Frankenstein”, May 10-15 at 505 Deaderick St in downtown Nashville. This Mel Brooks musical based on the 1974 movie masterpiece is a more recent musical version with oft-repeated classic lines, witty farce and more than a touch of bawdy humor. Tickets prices range from $27.50-$72.50 and more information is available by calling 615-782-4040 or visit www.tpac.org.

Mexican food, margaritas, fiestas.. I love all these things!  I could eat tacos and guacamole seven days a week, literally.  Yay Cinco de Mayo!  Here are just a few of the many celebrations planned in Nashville and beyond.

World’s Largest Tequila Toast in downtown Franklin
SOL Restaurant is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest tequila toast in the world! Main Street will be closed between 4th and 5th streets to help with the celebration, which takes place from 5 to 9pm. Musical guests Frank Ortega and Small Time Rock Stars will be performing, and toast will be at 7. Tickets are $5 and proceeds will be donated to Mercy Children’s Clinic of Franklin.

Free salsa lessons at Salsarita’s in Mt Juliet
Nashville Rueda is celebrating by dancing, teaching and eating from 6pm-8:30pm.

2011 Cinco in the Gulch
Free margaritas, beer, Mexican food, collector’s cups, and t-shirts will be handed out to participants in the Cinco in the Gulch 5K/10K. The run/walk begins at 5pm and participants can donate their registration to the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee.

Cinco de Mayo 5 Points Festival at various venues
Celebration takes place at Red Door East, 3 Crow Bar, Beyond the Edge, and Drifters from 4-10pm. Attendees will receive drink specials at each location and can enter to win a trip to Cancun. Ole!

Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena
Of course the Preds are playing the Vancouver Canucks tonight and they need our support and loud voices to help get them another playoff win. I imagine Bridgestone will have some kind of festive-ness (is that a word?) going on. Tickets are on sale here. Let’s go Predators!!!

Not able to make it out to any of these? I’m sure your favorite local Mexican restaurant will be festive and in celebration mode. Enjoy tonight, be safe, and Happy Cinco de Mayo!