Your Daily Guide

🚗 How Safe Are Tourists in Nashville?

Does Nashville really care about our tourists? On today’s Tuesday News Roundup, we discuss pedestrian safety after a string of downtown accidents involving tourists, including a recent incident involving a pedal tavern. Plus, we discuss Oracle’s upcoming groundbreaking and Halloween events. [🎧 City Cast Nashville]

🗳️ 80% of Local Voters Still Need To Cast Their Ballot

While early voting turnout is 57% higher in Tennessee compared to the 2022 midterm election, it still lags behind 2018’s midterm. In Davidson County, 94,569 people had voted as of Saturday, 16.24% fewer than in 2018, but almost double the number of voters in the 2022 midterm. About 20% of registered voters in Nashville have cast their ballot. [Tennessee Lookout; Tennessee Secretary of State]

• Here’s where gubernatorial candidates stand on healthcare. [🔐 The Tennessean]
• Early voting ends Thursday! Here’s our guide. [📰 City Cast Nashville]

🎧 New Podcast Series Centers Nashville’s Marginalized Communities

The Nashville Banner’s new podcast series, Staking Our Claim, features interviews with marginalized families who are doubling down on their place in this city, even as our rapid growth tries to push them out. The first episode follows a Black family who have lived in 12 South since 1965, when the neighborhood was predominantly working class. The second episode centers a refugee from Venezuela still awaiting a decision on his asylum application after eight years. [Nashville Banner]

• Read the Banner’s interview with a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient who is unable to renew her driver’s license under a new state law. [Tennessee Lookout]

🕊️ Protecting Music City’s Birds

Tennessee has joined the Bird City Network, a program formed by multiple nationwide conservancy groups that aims to build educational programs. Any city or county in Tennessee can now apply to join the Bird City Network, and Nashville was among the first to sign up. [WPLN]

• Nashville is also part of the Urban Bird Treaty, and we participate in Audubon’s Lights Out program to help migrating birds. [📰 City Cast Nashville]
• Check out how many birds migrated over Nashville last night (it's a lot!). [BirdCast]

Halloween is this Saturday! Here are some of the best Nashville neighborhoods for trick-or-treating, plus spooktacular trunk-or-treats.

👻 Trick-or-Treating Tips

• Trick-or-treating typically begins at sunset, around 6 p.m., though feel free to start as early as 5 p.m. if you have littles.
• We have very few sidewalks, so I recommend that kids wear reflective gear or fluorescent necklaces. Drivers, please be extra wary.
• October weather can be erratic, so be prepared with extra layers or rain gear.
• Check out the teal pumpkin map for homes that provide allergy-friendly treats.

🎃 The Best Neighborhoods for Trick-or-Treating

While these neighborhoods tend to go all-out for Halloween, don’t discount the areas with fewer trick-or-treaters. People in quieter neighborhoods tend to be eager to offload their candy on the few kids who show up, and you can come home with quite the haul!

• Head to South Inglewood in East Nashville for a free SPOOKLEWOOD Halloween block party, with games, photo booths, and, of course, plenty of candy. All five streets in the area will be closed.
• Nearby Eastland Avenue has professional-caliber decorations.
• City Cast Nashville reader Diego recommends Old Hickory Village. Not only do some of the houses have full-size candy bars, but they also give the grown-ups a shot of BOOze. Park at the Old Hickory Library Branch.
• I frequently go to the Indian Ridge neighborhood in White House with friends. It’s packed, everyone decorates, and some houses have Halloween performances.
• The Richland neighborhood in Sylvan Park goes all out with Halloween decorations, and many homes have those coveted full-sized candy bars.
• In Bellevue, the Avondale Park and Riverwalk neighborhoods go all out.
• Lenox Village in South Nashville is rumored to be great.
• Stinson Road off McGavock has great decorations.
• Check out The Nations neighborhoods around Cockrill Elementary School.

🍬 The Best Trunk-or-Treats

• Many local community centers host trunk-or-treats, like the Cleveland Park Community Center on Thursday and the Hermitage Community Center on Friday. Check your nearest community center’s social media for events.
• On Thursday, visit the Bellevue Farmers Market at Red Caboose Park for a trunk-or-treat hosted by the Bellevue Performing Arts Center.
• Many local assisted living facilities, like The Lodge at Natchez Trace, are hosting indoor trick-or-treating with residents.
• On Halloween, Plaza Mariachi hosts its annual trunk-or-treat with a princess sing-along, a circus show, a costume contest, and its annual Michael Jackson “Thriller” show.