Clarksville’s Riverfest Festival begins this week
Clarksville, TN – Clarksville’s Riverfest Festival, brought to you by the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department, takes place this week, Thursday, September 9th through Saturday, September 11th, 2021.
The 33rd annual Riverfest is expected to bring over 30,000 people to the RiverWalk at McGregor Park and the banks of the Cumberland River. Riverfest is a celebration of ars and recreation. There will be music, art, inflatables, family events, and a whole lot more.
Clarksville Riverfest Festival
The weather for the 2021 Riverfest will be absolutely perfect. The highs are expected to be in the upper 80’s with a slight cooling breeze. At night, the temperature will be in the upper 50’s and lower 60’s with a calm wind. A light jacket or something to cover the arms would be highly recommended.
Riverfest starts Thursday, September 9th with the Juried Art Show which starts at 5:00pm and goes until 7:00pm.
The art show showcases the work of local professionals, amateurs, and aspiring artists in three divisions: professional, amateur, and youth.
Categories for all divisions are: Photography, Painting (includes acrylic, oil, and watercolor), Drawing, Digital Art, Graphics and Printmaking, 2D and 3D Mixed Media (non-sculptural), Fiber Arts, Animation, 3D Categories: Sculpture, Wood, Ceramic, Glass, Jewelry, and Metalworks.
The Riverfest Juried Art Show is held at the Wilma Rudolph Event Center located in Liberty Park at 8 Champions Way.
Music and events at Riverfest kick off Friday night, September 10th on the RiverWalk at McGregor Park. Everything gets started at 5:00pm and goes until 10:00pm.
Riverfest starts Saturday, September 11th at 11:00am and runs until 11:00pm.
The annual Riverfest Cardboard Boat Regatta sponsored by Water Dogs Scuba & Safety LLC will take place at 1:00pm on Saturday at the McGregor Park Boat Ramp.
Teams build their vessels out of cardboard and race 100 yards down the Cumberland River. Awards will be presented based on boat design, boat aesthetics, team unity, costumes, and the infamous Titanic Award.
The featured performer for the 33rd annual Riverfest celebration is Generation Radio. Generation Radio is a supergroup featuring legendary musicians from Rascal Flatts, Journey, and Chicago.
Generation Radio includes these legends of Classic country and rock music:
- Jay DeMarcus is a two-time Grammy Award Winner with Rascal Flatts.
- Deen Castronovo is the former lead singer and drummer for Journey.
- Jason Scheff was the lead vocalist and bass player for the multi-platinum band Chicago for more than 30 years.
- Renowned session players and sidemen Chris Rodriguez and Tom Yankton round out the lineup.
There will be a number of performers, groups, and entertainers on the Riverfest stages Friday and Saturday.
With beautiful weather and a great lineup of music and events. this year’s Riverfest Celebration is shaping up to be the best one yet.
McGregor Park is located at 640 North Riverside Drive in Clarksville Tennessee.
About Clarksville’s Riverfest Festival
Riverfest brings more than 30,000 people to the banks of the Cumberland River in an arts and recreation celebration. The 33rd annual festival will be September 9th-11th 2021. Music, art, family events, and more will fill McGregor Park.
Admission and entertainment at the Festival are free and open to the public.
About the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department
Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department provides a variety of indoor/outdoor programs, facilities, nature activities, and entertainment events for people living in Clarksville, Montgomery County, and Fort Campbell. These free or reasonably priced, year-round experiences help residents enhance their health, wellness, and social engagement — resulting in a stronger, better community.
The Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department offers a wide variety of recreational facilities and activities for all ages, maintains more than 700 acres of parks and facilities, provides 22 park facilities that offer a variety of amenities, including playgrounds, picnic areas, walking trails, and pavilions or picnic shelters and maintains three community centers with year-round programming for youth, adults, and seniors, as well as four public swimming pools
The Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department is located at 102 Public Square, Clarksville.
To learn more call 931.645.7476.
Captain Fantastic and Boogie Fever at Downtown @ Sundown Concert
Montgomery County, TN – Downtown @ Sundown will feature Captain Fantastic and Boogie Fever during this week’s concert at 7:00pm Friday, September 3rd, 2021 at Downtown Commons.
This Billy Joel, Elton John, and Ultimate 70`s Disco tribute band will play old-time favorites like “Still Rock-n-Roll,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “You May Be Right,” “Piano Man,” “Little Jeannie,” “Let’s Groove Tonight,” “I Want to Thank You,” and “Ladies Night” and many more. Along with the band, the lead singer will play from a baby grand piano and deliver an impressive laser show.
Captain Fantastic and Boogie Fever to play at Downtown @ Sundown this Friday at the Downtown Commons.
Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk to be held September 2nd, 2021
Clarksville, TN – It’s almost Fall and it’s a great time to get out and experience the First Thursday Art Walk in Downtown Clarksville.
Produced by The Downtown Clarksville Association, First Thursday Art Walk is a free, self-guided tour spanning a 5-block radius that combines visual art, live music, engaging events, and more in the heart of Downtown Clarksville.
Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk.
Downtown Commons Movie Night features Moana, Saturday
Montgomery County, TN – Downtown Commons will host the final Movie Night this Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at 7:30pm. This movie is free and open to the public. This month’s feature is Moana, a movie about a girl who answers the Ocean’s call to reverse the curse incurred by the Demigod Maui.
Tater Headz will be open in the Downtown Commons eatery and Driving You Donuts will be available on-site. Tennessee Kettle Corn will also be there with popcorn available for everyone!
“Moana” showing this Saturday during Movie Night at the Downtown Commons.
Customs House Museum & Cultural Center opens exhibit “Start Your Engines! A Celebration of Racing in Montgomery County”
Clarksville, TN – After over a year-and-a-half of planning, the long-anticipated, heart-thumping, high-octane exhibit Start Your Engines! A Celebration of Racing in Montgomery County is open at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center.
The exhibit is sponsored by Tri-Star Beverage and MPG Transport and spans across several galleries within the Museum.
“Start Your Engines! A Celebration of Racing in Montgomery County” exhibit at the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center.
Roxy Regional Theatre begins Season 39 with “All Shook Up”, September 10th-24th
Clarksville, TN – Dust off your blue suede shoes! Following an 18-month hiatus, Clarksville’s oldest professional theatre is ushering in the return of live performances at the Roxy Regional Theatre at the corner of Franklin and First in Historic Downtown Clarksville with an Elvis Presley-inspired hit musical.
“All Shook Up” kicks off Season 39 at the Roxy Regional Theatre on Friday, September 10th, 2021 at 8:00pm.
“All Shook Up” at the Roxy Regional Theatre stars Stephen Shore and Yarissa Tiara Millan, September 10th-24th.
Clarksville’s Customs House Museum September 2021 Exhibits, Activities
Clarksville, TN – The Customs House Museum and Cultural Center is located in Historic Downtown Clarksville, Tennessee. Come explore an entire city block featuring large gallery spaces filled with fine art, science, and history.
Some of the events in September at the Museum are Familiars: Still: Ceramics by Anne Beyer, Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, Familiars: The Art of Beverly Parker, Family Art Day: Create a Greeting Card, Museum Discovery Quest.
Customs House Museum and Cultural Center
Clarksville-Montgomery County Arts and Heritage Development presents Lifetime Achievement Awards to Dan Hanley, Mark Holleman
Clarksville, TN – The Clarksville-Montgomery County Arts and Heritage Development Council (AHDC) presented lifetime achievement awards to two Clarksvillians who have made outstanding contributions to the community’s artistic and historic heritage.
During Saturday’s Flying High celebration for Customs House Museum and Cultural Center, AHDC presented the lifetime achievement in art award posthumously to Dan Hanley and the lifetime achievement in heritage award to Mark Holleman. Jodi Hanley received the award for her husband, who had been notified earlier of the honor.
(L to R) Dan Hanley and Mark Holleman receive Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Clarksville-Montgomery County Arts and Heritage Development Council.
Dan Hanley’s Artistic Achievements
Dan Hanley
Dan Hanley steadily applied his creative abilities over many years as a designer and builder of homes and residential communities. In recent years, he turned his full attention to his life-long interest in painting—an interest he had kept alive and active for some 40 years since he graduated college with a degree in art & business administration.
Hanley’s work is represented in many private and corporate collections. His paintings and home designs have received a number of professional awards. His original artworks have brought prices in excess of $20,000.
Hanley served on Clarksville’s Public Arts Commission and worked regularly in support of the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center. Following the devastating 1999 tornado that struck Clarksville, he served on the Mayor’s Recovery Task Force, chairing the Design Review Board and the Design Standards Development Committee.
His community contributions continued his family heritage, going back to his great grandfather’s emigration from Ireland to Clarksville in the late 1860s. His great grandfather, grandfather, father, and Dan Hanley himself have all left their mark on many of Clarksville’s architectural treasures.
Hanley lived what he called a “Tom Sawyer” boyhood in his parent’s home near the Cumberland River. He often drew from this background for his subjects, describing his paintings as representations of “… a neighborhood of ordinary folks, unaware that they were living extraordinary lives, in extraordinary times—unwittingly heroic in their struggles to provide for families and build a community, making themselves matter.”
Mark Holleman’s Heritage Contributions
Mark Hollema
While Hanley’s family was influential in shaping Clarksville’s architectural landscape, Mark Holleman has been busy preserving and enhancing it. It is evident that Holleman loves Clarksville’s heritage. And he has used this love to keep the city’s history alive in a number of creative ways.
He has used public art to bring our history into the present. Holleman worked with Main Street Clarksville to spearhead the creation and installation of a statue of “John Montgomery,” who, in 1784, purchased land at the confluence of the Cumberland and Red rivers and is credited with founding Clarksville. That group, along with the Leaf-Chronicle, commissioned the “Morning After” sculpture to remember the devastating tornado that swept through downtown in 1999.
Holleman has made sure we will remember the streetcar days of Clarksville when he purchased a trolley car to take folks around town. He even preserved some of the streetcar track that was being removed from Franklin Street and installed it in his Riverside office.
Holleman and his wife Ricki have preserved one of the lovely homes that date from the 1920s and ’30s and line Madison Street. He takes photos to mark Clarksville’s current history and shares them with many folks around town. Visitors to the St. Bethlehem Coldwell Bankers office can see many of his photos along with artifacts from the Courthouse, Arlington Hotel, the Roxy, and Baker and Dowdy Barbershop.
Austin Peay State University’s The New Gallery opens ‘Recent Acquisitions’ exhibition to kick off new season
Clarksville, TN – The New Gallery, with support from the Austin Peay State University Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts and the APSU Department of Art + Design, is pleased to present Recent Acquisitions: Selection from the Past Five Years of New Acquisitions into APSU’s Permanent Art Collection, to kick off the 2021-22 exhibition season.
The New Gallery at Austin Peay State University opened a new exhibition “Recent Acquisitions” on August 18th. (APSU)
Downtown Commons to host Nashville Symphony Concert, September 23rd
Montgomery County, TN – The Montgomery County Downtown Commons will host the prestigious Nashville Symphony on the evening of September 23rd.
Beginning at 7:00pm, the community will have the option to enjoy a variety of music on the lawn by some of the country’s most talented musicians.
The Nashville Symphony
