National Park Service seeks public input on future Natchez Trace Parkway rehabilitation projects

Staff Reports

The Southern Festival of Books will return Oct. 21-22 with more than 150 authors and dozens of free events from panel sessions and book signings to live music and more.

The 35th annual public event is presented by Humanities Tennessee and will take place at Nashville’s Bicentennial Mall, the Tennessee State Museum and the Tennessee State Library from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 21 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 22, with panel sessions, book signings, discussions, and readings from a variety of genres including fiction and nonfiction, young adult literature, poetry, science fiction and mystery.

This year’s event will also see the first Student Day on Friday, Oct. 20, where 1,000 Davidson County students will be invited to author meet-and-greets, including with marquee novelist Carl Hiaasen, in addition to book giveaways and educational programming.

Green Hills-based Parnassus Books serves as the festival’s bookseller, and a series of precursor community events will take place Oct. 15-19 including a National

“The 2023 festival is a milestone year for us, as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Southern Festival of Books and move to an incredible new location at Bicentennial Mall,” Humanities Tennessee Executive Director Tim Henderson said. “We are once again honored to welcome so many talented and respected authors as we gather thousands of book lovers for the ultimate celebration of the written word.”

Several local authors will also be in attendance including longtime journalists Bill Carey and Tim Ghianni, architect Kem Hinton, restaurateur Randy Rayburn, novelist and writing coach Rea Frey, historian Rachel Louise Martin, poet Mark Jarman, musician Kevin Griffin, and novelist Lauren Thoman.

In addition to the 75 sessions, the festival will also feature 60 vendors and food trucks, as well as three live musical, theatrical, spoken word and poetry performances and a children’s stage and activity center.

On Oct. 20, the Authors in the Round Dinner will take place at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The festival’s signature fundraiser will be co-chaired by Laura Smith and LoLita Toney, and ensures that the festival remains free to the public.

A complete list of festival authors and other information and announcements can be found at sofestofbooks.org.

The National Park Service is seeking public feedback on future road and bridge paving and other rehabilitation projects on the Natchez Trace Parkway through August 9.

According to NPS, those rehabilitation efforts include the parkway’s motor road, access roads, interpretive pull-outs, parking areas, bridges, culverts, and associated audible pavement marking and striping.

“The proposed project would establish a management framework for more efficiently reviewing and implementing these types of site-specific projects in the future,” a news release reads.

NPS began accepting feedback on July 10, and they encourage the public to comment on the proposed projects online here.

“Your feedback is critical in understanding the issues and topics that the NPS should examine for this project,” NPS Chief of Resource Management Christina Smith said, “Civic engagement helps the project team identify design and resource considerations.”

MBA to host annual Nashville Food Project fundraiser on July 27

Staff Reports

The 2023 edition of NOURISH, the annual fundraiser for The Nashville Food Project, will take place on Thursday, July 27 at Montgomery Bell Academy. The event will be located in the dining hall at MBA. Patrons arrival is at 5:30 p.m., while general admission is at 6 p.m.

NOURISH will feature some of Nashville’s most innovative chefs serving a four-course menu inspired by “Classic Nashville” as well as a live auction comprising of meals, outings, travel experiences, and more.

The Nashville Food Project’s Chief Culinary Officer Bianca Morton is heading year’s Nourish with a menu inspired by “Nashville’s most beloved chefs and restauranteurs.”

This year’s event aims to “celebrate the past, present and future of culinary excellence in our city while celebrating the work that continues to make great food more accessible across Nashville.”