Tennessee’s upcoming tourism events are celebrating spring in big ways from nature hikes, barbecue festivals, concerts featuring a variety of music genres and more. For a complete list of Tennessee events, visit tnvacation.com/calendar.
Ongoing
Baxter – Spend your Saturday at the Gear Heads Car Club Cruise-In featuring live music, exhibits, food and cars of every make and model the second Saturday in April through October in downtown Baxter, weather permitting.
March 31-April 2
Savannah – Blues Hog BBQ & Music Festival features live music, public food samplings and a barbecue competition which is an American Royal Invitational Qualifier and a Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Qualifier where the winner will win $15,000 in prizes.
March 31-April 30
Knoxville – Dogwood Arts celebrates Knoxville’s great outdoors with 16 miles of trails, 3,200 blooming dogwoods, Rhythm ‘N’ Blooms music festival, and more through April 30 in downtown Knoxville.
April 1
Jackson – The 45th Andrew Jackson Marathon & Half Marathon is known as Tennessee’s oldest marathon and takes runners along the renovated downtown area, neighborhoods and landscapes 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT in downtown Jackson.
Knoxville – The family-friendly festival, Chalk Walk has more than 150 artists who work on site 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET creating exquisite artworks on downtown Knoxville’s sidewalks at Market Square and Krutch Park.
Knoxville – The East Tennessee PBS Antique Appraisal Fair invites the public to bring their antique items and Civil War memorabilia to be appraised 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET at the Historic Cherokee Mills Building.
Knoxville – Park Day is a day to volunteer to domulching, general spring cleaning, and removal of invasive plants 9 a.m. ET at Mabry-Hazen House. Park Day is celebrated at more than 130 sites in 30 states nationwide.
Knoxville – The Tennessean Hotel, Knoxville’s first personal luxury hotel with 82 rooms overlooking World’s Fair Park and Knoxville Convention Center opens.
Memphis – Dwayne Butcher talks about his latest work, “Memphis” 11 a.m. CT at David Lusk Gallery Memphis.
Memphis – Tiempo Libre, three-time Grammy-nominated, Afro-Cuban music group, brings their mix of jazz harmonies, contemporary sonorities and Latin rhythms 7:30 p.m. CT to the Halloran Centre at the Orpheum.
Nashville – Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum with $1.50 admission for the day, live music, a songwriter session with Sonny Curtis and more.
Nashville – Hear musicians Shawn Camp, Rocky Block, Ray Stephenson and Lauren Mascitti during Backstage Nashville 12:30 p.m. CT at 3rd & Lindsley.
April 1-2
Jackson – Coppélia, performed by Ballet Arts, is a classical ballet about love and mistaken identity 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. CT matinee Sunday at the Carl Perkins Civic Center.
April 2
Nashville – Brahms v. Radiohead is a symphonic mash-up experience led by conductor Steve Hackman as Nashville Symphony bridges rock and classical in a new way 7:30 p.m. CT at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
April 3, 10, 17, 24
Vonore – Learn the Cherokee language at the beginner and advance beginner classes hosted 6:30-9 p.m. ET at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum.
April 4
Athens – The Tennessee Wesleyan University Choir performs as part of the monthly lunchtime series, Arts on the Side, noon ET at The Arts Center in Athens.
Memphis – Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration offers a special program to commemorate the late civil rights leader at the National Civil Rights Museum.
April 5-8
Jackson – Neil Simon’s Rumors is a play of miscommunication, classic farce and hilarity 7:30 p.m. CT Thursday, Friday and Saturday with 2 p.m. CT matinees Saturday and Sunday at the Jackson Theatre Guild.
April 6
Franklin – Guests can take part in a five-course pairing dinner featuring high-quality ingredients and wines perfectly paired with each dish 6:30-9 p.m. CT at Frothy Monkey Franklin.
Nashville – The five members of Bassoonery – Patricia Gunter, Kate Affainie, Wilson Sharpe, Harold Skelton and Andrew Witherington – play their repertoire spanning Bach to Gershwin 6-8 p.m. CT in the Frist Center Cafe at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.
Nashville – A Declaration Day ceremony honors all Tennesseans who served in WWI and the more than 3,400 Tennessee soldiers who died during the war with the Presentation of Colors and Pledge of Allegiance, the laying of the Memorial Wreath and remarks by dignitaries noon CT at the Courtyard of the War Memorial Building.
April 6-8
Nashville – Matthew Morrison, star of Glee and numerous hit Broadway shows, brings his electrifying energy as part of the FirstBank Pops Classical Series 7 p.m. CT Thursday and 8 p.m. CT Friday and Saturday at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
Pigeon Forge – The Pigeon Forge Rod Run welcomes automotive enthusiasts for one of the area’s largest automotive events at the LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge.
April 7
Murfreesboro – Disco Night: Sherlock Holmes invites attendees to use their deduction and forensic science skills to solve a mystery at each hands-on station 6:30-10 p.m. CT at the Discovery Center.
April 7-8
Gatlinburg – Smoky Mountain Winefest hosts more than a dozen wineries from around the state with local restaurants sharing their best 1-6 p.m. ET.
Goodlettsville – Goodlettsville Heritage Days features farm animals, pottery, and an authentic experience of life on the frontier with more than 20 demonstrators 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT at Historic Mansker’s Station.
April 7-9
Knoxville – Rhythm N’ Blooms Music Festival highlights Knoxville’s musical soundtrack, showcasing popular national acts alongside the finest musicians in East Tennessee.
Millington – The Original Super Chevy Show is the largest Chevy enthusiast show featuring drag racing, car and truck show, swap meet and more at Memphis International Raceway.
Monteagle – Trails & Trilliums features guided hikes, Art for the Park, a native plant sale, live music, workshops, a Wine & Wildflowers event, vendors, and food at South Cumberland State Park.
April 8
Baxter – Outdoor enthusiasts can experience Tennessee’s newest natural attraction with the grand opening of Window Cliffs State Natural Area, a 100-acre park adjacent to Burgess Falls State Park. A strenuous four-mile roundtrip hike rewards guests with spectacular views of the geologic “windows” formed in the limestone cliffs, a Cane Creek oxbow, and the picturesque Window Cliffs Falls.
Granville – The Upper Cumberland Wine Festival hosts wineries of the Upper Cumberland Wine Trail offering tastings, food, live jazz and blues concerts noon to 5 p.m. CT in downtown Granville.
Knoxville – Bruce Molsky, one of the most influential fiddlers of the old-time music revival, performs with Molsky’s Mountain Drifters 8 p.m. ET at the Laurel Theater.
Selmer – Kids Fest features movie character favorites, rides, party jumpers, face painting, children’s train, games, music, food and the Huge Easter Egg Hunt beginning 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CT at Selmer City Park.
April 8-9
Wartburg – The 50th annual Wildflower Pilgrimage has botanists, park rangers and photography teachers who lead hikes in one of Tennessee’s best wildflower viewing sites, Frozen Head State Park.
April 10
Knoxville – The Writers in the Library reading series continues with novelist Manuel Gonzales as he reads his works 7 p.m. ET in the Lindsay Young Auditorium of the John C. Hodges Library at the University of Tennessee.
