Welcome to The South, where the summer lingers for a loooong time. It’s still over 90 degrees here in Nashville, but sweater weather is on the horizon. One of the many things I love about Nashville are all of the community-focused events, and October is chockful of options. Here are some of my favorites:

The Avenue of the Arts comes alive every first Saturday of the month. The First Saturday Art Crawl allows Nashvillians and visitors alike to explore the many art galleries on 5th Avenue and surrounding streets downtown. In addition, enjoy live musical performances and a live art demonstration hosted by the National Museum of African American Music.

Nashville Oktoberfest brings you into one of Nashville’s oldest residential neighborhoods. This Nashville tradition is celebrating 40 years and bringing out all the stops. Spanning 10 city blocks, you get a full immersive Germantown experience. From the 5K Bier Run to the Dachshund Derby, there’s something for everyone. Kid- and pup-friendly event!

Nashville has and always will be Music City – which means there is always a performance to be heard! In between Nashville Predators hockey games, Bridgestone Arena will host Thomas Rhett, Kacey Musgraves and Elton John this month.

An event that is near and dear to me is the fall fundraiser for East Nashville Hope Exchange. “Booked for Dinner” is a celebration of the successes in the summer literacy program for at-risk children in grades K-4th. Learn more about this organization and the great works they are doing to stop summer slide and increase literacy rates in East Nashville.

Whatever you do this month, enjoy the change of season and explore something new in Nashville!