12+ Family Things Around Nashville This Week
It is a heavy week. Disney On Ice runs four days at Bridgestone, the Titans are home on Sunday, the Sounds close out a home stand, and the Opry keeps its centennial run going. If you would rather spend nothing, Musicians Corner and Radnor Lake have you covered on Friday and Saturday.
Here is the week, Thursday through Wednesday.
Thursday, September 17
Disney On Ice presents Spotlight Magic! — Bridgestone Arena, through Sunday. Evening shows Thursday and Friday, afternoons over the weekend. If there is a four-to-nine-year-old in your house, this is the week's obvious anchor. Book seats before you promise anything.
Radnor Lake Night Hike — 7:00 p.m., Walter Criley Visitor Center, free with registration. A ranger-led two-and-a-half-mile loop after dark, looking for the animals that only come out then. Be honest about the distance: this suits older kids far better than toddlers. Bring a light for everyone.
Opry Country Classics — 7:00 p.m., Grand Ole Opry House. The all-ages institution, on a night when tickets are usually easier to come by than the weekend shows.
Friday, September 18
Musicians Corner — 5:00 p.m., Centennial Park, free. The best free family evening in Nashville, full stop. Bring a blanket, let the kids roam the lawn, and the music takes care of itself.
Saturday, September 19
Cheekwood Harvest — from 9:00 a.m., $2 to $27. Scarecrows, pumpkins and the gardens at their best. The wide price range is worth noting — check which ticket type fits your group before you go.
Aviary Education Center Open House — 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Radnor Lake, free. Resident birds of prey a few feet away along a 550-foot boardwalk, self-guided so you set the pace. One caveat that matters: the aviary is about three-quarters of a mile uphill from parking, and strollers struggle on it.
Vanderbilt vs. NC State — 11:45 a.m., FirstBank Stadium. An early kickoff, which for families is a feature rather than a bug — you are home with the afternoon intact.
Nashville SC vs. Chicago Fire — Hispanic Heritage Night — 7:00 p.m., GEODIS Park. GEODIS is one of the easier big-league atmospheres to bring children into, and the Hispanic Heritage Night programming adds to it.
Nashville Sounds vs. Memphis Redbirds — 6:35 p.m., First Horizon Park, and running through Sunday. Minor league baseball remains the best value family outing in this city: cheap seats, room to move, and nobody minds if a four-year-old loses interest in the fourth inning.
Sunday, September 20
Titans vs. Philadelphia Eagles — noon, Nissan Stadium. A big one, and an early start.
Tuesday, September 22
Predators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning — 7:00 p.m., Bridgestone Arena. Hockey is back, and Smashville is a genuinely great room for a first live game.
Wednesday, September 23
Grand Ole Opry: OPRY 100 — 7:00 p.m., Grand Ole Opry House. The centennial run continues, and Wednesday nights tend to be the calmest way to take children to the Opry.
Looking ahead
Worth putting on the calendar now: Nashville Ballet's Día de los Muertos runs October 28 through November 1 at the Martin Center in Studio A. It is built around family and remembrance and sits on the theatre's own family programming slate — a good first ballet for children who are old enough to sit through one.
Times and prices come from the venues and move without warning. Confirm before you go, and register ahead where a program caps attendance.
