31 Things to Do in Middle Tennessee This Weekend, Oct 2-4, 2026
Looking for things to do in Middle Tennessee this weekend? From October 2 to 4, 2026, the season's last Movie in the Park screens Hook at Charlie Daniels Park in Mt. Juliet Friday night, the Franklin Theatre runs its Fear Fest film series all three days, and Murfreesboro hosts the Boro Art Crawl. Thirty-one events span Wilson, Davidson, Rutherford, and Williamson counties.
October finally shows up this weekend. Mt. Juliet closes out its Movie in the Park season with Hook at the Charlie Daniels amphitheater Friday, the American Legion is doing spaghetti and a silent auction over at Fiddlers Grove the same night, and Saturday morning the pickleball courts at Charlie Daniels turn into a tournament. Wilson County is lighter than usual this week, so I pushed further south and west than normal to fill this out.
Wilson County: Lebanon, Mt. Juliet & Watertown
Everything worth driving to in Wilson this weekend is happening Friday night and Saturday morning, and two of the three are at the same park.
Movie in the Park: Hook
Friday, October 2 · 6:45 PM · Charlie Daniels Park Amphitheater, Mt. Juliet · Check listing for pricing
This is the last one of the 2026 series, and the film itself rolls at 6:55. Get there closer to 6:30 than 6:45 if you want a decent patch of grass on the amphitheater lawn. Bring chairs or a blanket, and don't pack a full cooler because concessions are on site.
The American Legion Post-15 Spaghetti Dinner & Silent Auction
Friday, October 2 · 5:00 PM · Veterans' Bldg., Fiddlers Grove, Lebanon · Check listing for pricing
Runs until 8:00, so you could eat here and still make the movie in Mt. Juliet if you leave by 6:15. The Legion doesn't post a price online, so assume cash and bring it.
Pickles for Pups Pickleball Tournament
Saturday, October 3 · Charlie Daniels Park, Mt. Juliet · Check listing for pricing
First Financial Bank is the presenting sponsor. The city hasn't posted a start time or an entry fee yet, so if you want to play rather than watch, call Parks and Rec at 615-758-6522 before Saturday.
A lot of people find Wilson County exactly this way. They come out for a weekend, walk the square, and start wondering what it'd cost to live here. If that's you, I'm happy to walk you through it with no pressure. Reach out anytime.
Davidson County: Nashville
Nashville's weekend is museum-heavy right now, and one big exhibit is closing.
Dolly Parton: Journey of a Seeker
Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4 · Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville · Check listing for pricing
Last weekend for this one. If you've been putting it off since spring, this is the deadline.
Cheekwood Harvest
Friday, October 2 to Sunday, November 1 · Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, Nashville · $23 adults, $16 youth 3-17, free ages 2 and under
Fifty-five acres of gardens done up for fall. Weekend tickets cost two dollars more than weekdays, there's a $2 service fee per ticket, and non-members pay $5 to park. Go early. By early afternoon the lot backs up onto Forrest Park Drive.
Shimmer: Dreaming the Posthuman
Friday, October 2 to Sunday, January 3, 2027 · Frist Art Museum, Nashville · Check listing for pricing
Long run, so no rush, but the Frist is the easiest downtown stop to pair with dinner.
First Person Fantasies: Video Game Cars
Friday, October 2 to Monday, November 16 · Lane Motor Museum, Nashville · Check listing for pricing
Cars pulled out of video games, parked in a real museum. If you have a kid who has never once wanted to go look at art, try this instead.
Spirit of Two Rivers Historic Tours
Friday, October 2 to Wednesday, October 28 · The Friends of Two Rivers, Nashville · Check listing for pricing
Out in Donelson, which is the half of Davidson County most Wilson folks actually drive through.
Songwriter Session: Jimmy Robbins
Saturday, October 3 · 12:00 PM · Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville · Check listing for pricing
Midday and short. Easy to stack with the Dolly exhibit while you're already in the building.
Musician Spotlight: Chris Tuttle
Sunday, October 4 · 1:00 PM · Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville · Check listing for pricing
Sunday afternoon programming in the same room. If a Nashville weekend has you thinking about living closer in, I wrote up the new condo loan rules that hit in August, and they changed what a lot of downtown buyers can qualify for.
Rutherford County: Murfreesboro & Smyrna
Murfreesboro is carrying this weekend. First Friday, a home expo, a mud run, and the Discovery Center going full Halloween.
Southeastern Nashville Home Expo
Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4 · 12:00 PM · Miller Coliseum, MTSU, Murfreesboro · Free
Free admission, all three days. Worth an hour if you're planning work on your own house this winter.
Turtle Talk
Friday, October 2 · 3:00 PM · Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, Murfreesboro · Free
Short, free, and aimed at kids who are still in after-school mode.
Boro Art Crawl
Friday, October 2 · 5:00 PM · 225 W College St, Murfreesboro · Check listing for pricing
Starts on College and spreads across downtown. Park once on the square and walk it. Circling for a closer spot costs you more time than the walk does.
First Friday Star Parties
Friday, October 2 · 5:00 PM · WPS 102 and MTSU Observatory, Murfreesboro · Check listing for pricing
Check the forecast before you commit. Cloud cover ends this one fast.
The Great Pumpkin Festival featuring Monsters in the Museum
Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3 · 5:30 PM · Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, Murfreesboro · Free
My pick of the Rutherford weekend. It's free, it's two nights, and the Discovery Center does Halloween better than anybody between here and Nashville.
Jack's Tale (MTSU Theatre)
Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4 · 7:30 PM · Tucker Theatre, Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building, Murfreesboro · Check listing for pricing
Three nights, same curtain time. Campus parking is the hard part, not the ticket.
Muddy-Vator 7 at PPCC
Saturday, October 3 · 7:00 AM · Patterson Park Community Center, Murfreesboro · $35
Seven in the morning and you will get filthy. Pack a trash bag for the drive home.
Murfreesboro Saturday Market 2026 Season
Saturday, October 3 · 8:00 AM · Murfreesboro Historic Square, Murfreesboro · Free
Produce season is winding down but the square is still the best Saturday morning in the county. Bring small bills.
Hike with Jane: A Last Look at Hummingbirds
Saturday, October 3 · 10:00 AM · Wilderness Station at Barfield Crescent Park, Murfreesboro · Check listing for pricing
The hummingbirds are about to leave for the year, which is the entire point of the title.
Saturdays in the Garden with Master Gardeners of Rutherford County
Saturday, October 3 · 10:00 AM · Linebaugh Public Library, Murfreesboro · Free
Free, indoors, and genuinely useful if you're trying to figure out what to put in the ground before frost.
Terrarium Tinker: BYOC
Saturday, October 3 · 1:00 PM · Wilderness Station at Barfield Crescent Park, Murfreesboro · $5
BYOC means bring your own container. Five dollars and you walk out with something living.
MTSU Women's Soccer vs. Sam Houston
Sunday, October 4 · 1:00 PM · MTSU Hayes Soccer Complex, Murfreesboro · Check listing for pricing
A good excuse to be outside on a Sunday afternoon in October.
Williamson County: Franklin & Brentwood
Franklin has turned the Theatre over to horror movies for the month, and Brentwood has two nights out at Owl's Hill.
Fear Fest at the Franklin Theatre
Franklin Theatre, 419 Main Street, Franklin · Check listing for pricing
Friday, October 2 · 7:00 PM · The Shining (1980)
Saturday, October 3 · 10:00 AM · Coraline (2009)
Saturday, October 3 · 5:00 PM · Hocus Pocus (1993)
Saturday, October 3 · 8:30 PM · Scream (1996)
Sunday, October 4 · 10:00 AM · ParaNorman (2012)
The morning screenings are the ones to take kids to. The Shining and Scream are not, and the Theatre sells out faster than people expect for October programming, so buy ahead rather than showing up at the box office. Main Street parking is free but the closest spaces are gone by six on a Friday.
The Many Hats of Minnie Pearl: A Museum Without Walls Exhibit
Friday, October 2 · 9:00 AM · The Harpeth Hotel, 130 2nd Ave. North, Franklin · Check listing for pricing
Runs through October 9, so this weekend isn't your only shot. Museum Without Walls means it's installed inside the hotel rather than a gallery, which is a nice excuse to walk through the Harpeth.
Fall Lantern Hikes
Friday, October 2 · 7:00 PM · Owl's Hill Nature Sanctuary, 545 Beech Creek Road, Brentwood · $18
A mile and a half of unlit natural-surface trail with real elevation change, ages 12 and up. Closed-toe hiking shoes, and they will not let you use your phone light. That rule is the whole experience, so don't fight it.
Celebree Birthday Fall Festival
Saturday, October 3 · 10:00 AM · 701 Cool Springs Blvd, Franklin · Free
Free, in Cool Springs, and easy to fold into a morning you were already spending over there.
Music in the Meadow
Saturday, October 3 · 5:00 PM · Owl's Hill Nature Sanctuary, 545 Beech Creek Road, Brentwood · Check listing for pricing
Annie Sellick and Pat Bergeson playing jazz standards and originals in an open meadow. Gates at five, music at six, which means the hour in between is the point. That's my favorite thing on this entire list.
Details can change. Dates get moved and events get cancelled. I link every event to its source so you can confirm before you drive out.
I post one of these every week because I think the best argument for living in Middle Tennessee is just showing people what a normal weekend looks like. If you want to make it your normal weekend, I can help.
If this weekend has you running the numbers, I broke down rent versus buy in Lebanon with 2026 figures and it's the honest version, not the sales pitch.
Khristian Schlemmer is a REALTOR® and the founder of First Class Real Estate in Lebanon, Tennessee. He lives and works in Wilson County and helps buyers, sellers, and folks relocating to Middle Tennessee find their footing here. Reach him at 615.427.5672 or khristian@nearnashvillehomes.com. Brokerage: First Class Real Estate | Keller Williams.
Event details are compiled from public listings and were accurate at the time of publication. Confirm with the organizer before making plans. First Class Real Estate is not affiliated with and does not endorse the events listed.
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