The dominance of country music tends to overshadow the fact that Nashville is also a hotbed of many other types of art and culture. There is the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, Nashville Symphony Orchestra and Nashville Chamber Orchestra, not to mention many theaters, music schools, art galleries and dance venues. Indeed, many musicians lead dual lives, switching from country to classical with ease.

The city's prime venue is the Tennessee Performing Arts Center , 505 Deaderick Street (tel: (615) 782 4000; website: www.tpac.org ). TPAC, as it is known, has three theaters, which usually have shows running simultaneously. The large Andrew Jackson Hall is home to the Nashville Symphony but also hosts rock concerts, musicals, opera and dance. The small James K Polk Theater is used for drama and more intimate musical evenings and the Andrew Johnson Theater is also for smaller-scale events, such as TV shows, conferences, trade shows and drama productions.

Nashville's daily newspaper, The Tennessean (website: www.tennessean.com ), features listings in its Thursday and Sunday editions. Key Magazine (website: www.nashvillekey.com ) is a weekly guide to events in the area, while Nashville Scene (website: www.nashvillescene.com ), published every Wednesday, is an in-depth guide to events in the city.

All tickets can be obtained from the various venues directly or from Ticketmaster (tel: (615) 255 9600; website: www.ticketmaster.com ), which is based at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center . There are additional Ticketmaster outlets in most major department stores.

Music : The Nashville Chamber Orchestra (tel: (615) 256 6546; website: www.nco.org ) performs in various venues throughout the city, including the Blair Recital Hall , Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University, 2400 Blakemore Avenue (tel: (615) 322 7651; website: www.vanderbilt.edu/blair ). The Nashville Opera (tel: (615) 832 5242; website: www.nashvilleopera.org ) performs at TPAC (Tennessee Performing Arts Center), 505 Deaderick Street (tel: (615) 782 4000; website: www.tpac.org ); and the Nashville Symphony (tel: (615) 783 1200; website: www.nashvillesymphony.org ) performs at Andrew Jackson Hall , Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Come September 2006, the Symphony's new home will be the Schermerhorn Symphony Center , named after the late world-renowned Nashville Symphony conductor Kenneth Schermerhorn. The new center, under feverish day and night construction, is a work of art, destined to become the shining jewel of Nashville and a world-class concert hall.

Theater : The theater scene flourishes with a range of companies and venues. Major touring productions are staged at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC), 505 Deaderick Street (tel: (615) 782 4000; website: www.tpac.org ), while the Tennessee Repertory Theater Company (tel: (615) 244 4878; website: www.tnrep.org ) performs at either the James K Polk Theater or the Andrew Johnson Theater, in the same venue (TPAC). The Nashville Children's Theater , 724 Second Avenue South (tel: (615) 254 9103; website: www.nct-dragonsite.org ), also stages good performances, and while holding the honor as the nation's oldest children's theater, it was voted one of America's top five children's theaters by Time magazine in 2004. Dinner Theaters provide a wonderful evening's entertainment. Some of the best-known ones include Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theater , 8204 Highway 100 (tel: (615) 646 9977 or (800) 282 2276; website: www.dinnertheater.com ); Miss Marple's Mystery Dinner Theater , 135 Second Avenue North (tel: (615) 242 8000; website: www.missmarples.com ); Nashville Nightlife Dinner Theater , 2620 Music Valley Drive (tel: (615) 885 4747; website: www.nashvillenightlife.com ) and Mystery . COMedy , 2739 Elm Hill Pike (tel: (877) 505 5999; website: www.mysterycomedy.com ).

Dance : The principal venue is again the Tennessee Performing Arts Center , 505 Deaderick Street (tel: (615) 782 4000; website: www.tpac.org ), which is home to the Nashville Ballet (tel: (615) 297 2966; website: www.nashvilleballet.com ).

Film : Nashville has numerous multiplex cinemas showing the latest major releases, such as Regal Hollywood 27 , 719 Thompson Lane-100 Oaks Mall (tel: (615) 463 7705); Regal Opry Mills 20 & IMAX, 570 Opry Mills Drive (tel: (615) 514 3462); and Wynnsong 10 , 721 Myatt Drive (tel: (615) 860 7686). Two other venues concentrate on art house films - the Sarratt Cinema , 2301 Vanderbilt Place (tel: (615) 322 2425) and the Belcourt Theater , 2102 Belcourt Avenue, Hillsboro Village (tel: (615) 383 9140).

The most famous film set here is Robert Altman's Nashville (1975), a sharp satire of the country music scene. A more recent film about the music business is The Thing Called Love (1993), starring River Phoenix and Sandra Bullock. Various country music bio-pics have been filmed here, including Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), in which Sissy Spacek portrays Loretta Lynn, and Sweet Dreams (1985), starring Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline. Other notables include Last Dance (1996) with Sharon Stone, The Green Mile (Tom Hanks, 1999), and The Last Castle (Robert Redford, 2001).

Literary Notes : Nashville has numerous literary connections, including the city's name, which comes from an ancestor of the humorous poet, Ogden Nash. The United States' first official Poet Laureate, Robert Penn Warren, studied English at Nashville's Vanderbilt University and his novel, At Heaven's Gate (1943), is set in the financial world of 1930s Nashville. Although not born in Nashville, novelist Alfred Leland Crabb lived there for much of his life and wrote several historical novels set in the city, including Breakfast at the Hermitage (1945), as well as the non-fiction Nashville : Personality of a City (1960). The distinguished Southern novelist Peter Taylor also attended Vanderbilt and set many of his short stories in Nashville, including some from his collection In the Miro District and Other Stories (1977).

Perhaps best known for penning the hit record Harper Valley PTA (1968), the musician and writer Tom T Hall wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Storyteller's Nashville (1979). Outsiders' views on Nashville include those of Trinidadian-born V S Naipaul, who visited the city for his book A Turn in the South (1989). New York Brat Pack author Jay McInerney is married to a Nashville jewelry designer and spends part of his time in her hometown, which increasingly features in his fiction, including The Last of the Savages (1996). An inside view of the contemporary music scene can be had in Walkin' After Midnight (2000), by Lauren St John, which includes interviews with such luminaries as Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris. Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto ; Robert Hicks, author of The Widow of the South ; and Steven Womack, mystery writer and winner of the Edgar Alan Poe award, are all Nashville natives or long-time residents. Famous screenwriters include Delbert Mann ( Marty , 1953); Tom Schulman ( Dead Poets Society , 1989; Honey , I Shrunk the Kids , 1989; Medicine Man , 1992) and Keith Walker ( Free Willy , 1993). Battle of New Orleans Anniversary Celebration , Jan, throughout the city
Nashville Auto Fest , Jan, Tennessee State Fairgrounds (website: www.nashvilleautofest.com )
Antiques & Garden Show of Nashville , Feb, Nashville Convention Center (website: www.antiquesandgardenshow.com )
Annual Nashville Lawn & Garden Show , Mar, Tennessee State Fairgrounds (website: www.nashvillelawnandgardenshow.com )
Andrew Jackson Birthday Celebration , 15 Mar, laying of wreaths, Hermitage
Tin Pan South ( Songwriters' Festival ) , Apr, various music venues (website: www.tinpansouth.com )
Gospel Music Association Awards & Gospel Music Week , Apr, Gaylord Entertainment Center (awards) and Nashville Convention Center (music week) (website: www.gospelmusic.org )
CMT Music Awards , Apr, Gaylord Entertainment Center (website: www.cmt.com )
Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon , Apr, Centennial Park to the Coliseum (website: www.cmmarathon.com )
Nashville Film Festival , Apr/May, Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 (website: www.nashvillefilmfestival.org )
Tennessee Crafts Fair , May, Centennial Park (website: www.tennesseecrafts.org )
18th - Century Colonial Fair , May, Moss Wright Park, Goodlettsville (website: www.goodlettsvillechamber.com/specialevents.htm )
American Artisan Crafts Fair , Jun, Centennial Park
Native American Dance Theater , Jun, Ryman Auditorium (website: www.ryman.com )
Grand Ole Opry Superstar Spectacular Benefit , Jun, Grand Ole Opry House (website: www.opry.com )
Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman , Jun/Jul, Ryman Auditorium (website: www.ryman.com )
CMA Music Festival / Fan Fair , Jun, Coliseum and other venues (website: www.cmafest.com )
Nashville Food Fair , mid-Jun-Oct, open-air farmers markets, various church locations
Independence Day Concert Spectacular , 4 Jul, public holiday, concert at Riverfront Park
Dancin' in the District , Jun–Sep, Riverfront Park
American Quilter's Society Expo , Aug, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center (website: www.americanquilter.com )
Nashville Shakespeare Festival , Aug, Centennial Park (website: www.nashvilleshakes.org )
Italian Street Fair , beginning of Sep, Centennial Park
Australian Festival , Sep, Centennial Park (website: www.australianfestival.org )
Franklin Jazz Festival , Sep, Downtown
African Street Festival , Sep, TSU State Campus
Tennessee Association of Craft Artists ( TACA ) Fall Fair , Sep, throughout the city (website: www.tennesseecrafts.org )
Music City Jazz , Blues & Heritage Festival , Sep, Riverfront Park (website: www.nbl4u.com/mcjhf.htm )
Tennessee State Fair , Sep, Tennessee State Fairgrounds (website: www.tennesseestatefair.org )
Americana Music Association Conference , Honors & Awards Show , Sep, Ryman Auditorium & various locations (website: www.americanamusic.org )
International Bluegrass Music Awards , Oct, Ryman Auditorium (website: www.ibma.org )
Oktoberfest , Oct, German cultural celebrations, Germantown
Grand Ole Opry Birthday Celebration , Oct, Grand Ole Opry House (website: www.opry.com )
Annual NAIA Pow Wow , Oct, Long Hunter State Park (website: www.naiatn.org )
Annual CMA Awards , Nov, Gaylord Entertainment Center (website: www.cmaawards.com )
Country Christmas , Nov-Dec, Opryland Hotel
Festival of the Holidays , Nov–Dec, Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art (website: www.cheekwood.org )
Christmas at Belmont , Nov/Dec, Belmont Mansion
Dickens of a Christmas , Dec, Franklin

Metro Parks has developed special programming for Nashville seniors based in centers located throughout Nashville.

Special occasions and holidays are marked with live music and other festivities. In addition, scheduled meetings, lectures, workshops and field trips occur on a regular basis. A variety of indoor activities and pageants compliment regular, free programming.

In addition occasional classes and trips are offered at a nominal cost. And for those 60 years old and older, many of our centers are able to offer a nutritional hot lunch through the Metro Social Services' Nutrition Program. All activities are programmed and supervised by staff from Metro Parks, Metro Social Services, and similar agencies.

Senior Center Locations

• East Community Center
  700 Woodland Street
  862-8448
• Elizabeth Senior Center
  1701 Arthur Ave.
  862-8449
• Hadley Regional Center
  1037 28th Ave. North
  862-8451