1 of 6
FirstBank First Saturday Art Crawl
2 of 6
Nashville Shakespeare Festival | Rick Malkin
3 of 6
Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville | Alan Poizner
4 of 6
Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville | Alan Poizner
5 of 6
Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville | Alan Poizner
6 of 6
Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville | Alan Poizner
FirstBank First Saturday Art Crawl
Established in 2006, a beloved Music City tradition continues to grow.
A new year may call for a clean slate, but leave room for this Nashville tradition: the monthly FirstBank First Saturday Art Crawl. Although Nashville is known for its music scene, a growing art scene offers a space for even more creative outlets. On the first Saturday night of each month, various studios, galleries, museums, and other venues around Fifth Avenue of the Arts open their doors to thousands of guests. Admission is free, and many of the participating venues offer wine and refreshments. The crawl is a chance for the public to get to know more artists and their work, whether it’s Nashville natives or international artists, in a variety of art forms. The next art crawl is Saturday, February 2.
Nashville Shakespeare Festival
The Nashville Shakespeare Festival kicks off its 2019 season with a 400-year-old story that’s still relevant today.
For its 2019 winter production, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival retells a political thriller in a neo-noir fashion. The festival is re-imagining Julius Caesar, which follows the story of the Roman emperor’s assassination. The story unfolds in a world where media and a constant flood of information reign, and, as director Santiago Sosa explains, conspiracy is found in dark street corners and also in people’s hearts and minds.
“Being less time- and location-specific allows the audience to focus on allowing themselves to be immersed in this world to see the universal themes of ambition, greed, power, demagoguery, the cycle of violence, and the importance of loyalty and transparency,” Sosa says.
The festival offers student matinees, giving students an opportunity to learn about Shakespeare outside of the classroom. Julius Caesar runs from January 10 to 27 at Belmont’s Troutt Theater, and January 31 through February 2 at Middle Tennessee State University’s Tucker Theater.
Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville
The three-day event brings some of the best names in design, style, entertainment, and more to Nashville.
This year’s theme, “A Passion for Home,” is what the Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville is truly about, according to chairs Martha Chapman and Shea Ghertner. With a history of speakers, such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, the show welcomes Faith Hill to the main stage on Friday, February 1 to share stories of her Nashville home and her home in the Bahamas. Architect Bobby McAlpine and interior designer Ray Booth will join Hill as keynote speakers. Katie Ridder and Peter Pennoyer, who are described as one of the design world’s power couples, will also take the stage to discuss building their dream country home.
On Saturday, February 2, style icon Carolyne Roehm, world-class chef Elizabeth Heiskell, and the owners of Memphis-based floral shop Garden District share their creative journeys. The schedule also includes events such as book signings, a bourbon party, and “shopping in the garden.”
Since its start 29 years ago, the Antiques and Garden Show has benefitted Cheekwood as well as the Economic Club of Nashville (ECON), an organization that provides, among many other things, creative art experiences to children in Metro Davidson County.
“Our home here in Nashville is so important to us, and we want to continue to make it a better and more creative place for those who live and visit here,” the chairs said in a joint statement.