At 11 a.m. on Friday, October 9, the first 20 shoppers through the door at 1004 Gallatin Avenue will get Buffalo Exchange gift cards worth between $25 and $100. Six hours later, a caller and a live band will be running a community square dance beside the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center, and the dancers will then head over to the Riverview Pavilion for the second-to-last Fridays by the River of the year.
That Friday stands out because East Nashville's October calendar is front-loaded. The riverside beer garden ends on October 16. The farmers' market shortens its hours in early November. After mid-month, the neighborhood's outdoor calendar moves to smaller, slower programs in Shelby Bottoms. If you live here and want the busy version of fall, it happens in the first half of the month.
How Friday, October 9 Fills Up
The overlap on the 9th was planned. The Nature Center's fall program bills the square dance as a kickoff for MNPS Fall Break and says the group will go from the dance to Fridays by the River "to support our pals Friends of Shelby." The new store opening on Gallatin Avenue that morning gives the day a commercial start as well.
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10 to 11 a.m. | Writing in the Wild, a casual nature-prompt writing group for ages 18+ | Shelby Bottoms Nature Center, 1900 Davidson St. |
| 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Buffalo Exchange grand opening, with refreshments and giveaways | 1004 Gallatin Ave. |
| 3 to 8 p.m. | Fridays by the River with The Resonauts | Riverview Pavilion, Shelby Park |
| 5 to 6 p.m. | Community Square Dance, all ages, no registration | Next to the Nature Center |
The food trucks lined up for the 9th are Nicoletto's, Lady Dawgs, Ladybird Tacos, Mac Shack and Kiwi Scoops. Dogs are welcome on a leash of six feet or shorter, but Friends of Shelby says the event can get crowded and suggests leaving skittish dogs at home.
Buffalo Exchange is moving into the former King Baby Studio space. It's the Arizona-based resale chain's second Nashville store, after a decade on Elliston Place near Vanderbilt. Store manager Kaylee Jones said the company is "super excited to expand and bring secondhand shopping to the heart of East Nashville." The October 9 date comes from a September 24 announcement, so check the store's channels that morning before you go. After opening day, it will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Woodland Street Added Two Late-Night Options Before Fall Started
The new places on Woodland Street got going in August, ahead of the October rush, and they'll still be open once the beer garden closes. That makes them the part of this fall that lasts.
The biggest change is at Lakeside Lounge, 921 Woodland St. Lakeside opened on November 13, 2019, in the old Edgefield Sports Bar space, as a game-day bar with pool tables, darts and shuffleboard. Its owners are Michael McIlroy, Sam Ross and Brandon Bramhall. In August, Veselka opened its kitchen inside the bar. Veselka is the New York Ukrainian restaurant founded in 1954 by Ukrainian immigrants and still run by the same family three generations later. The Nashville menu includes pierogi, kielbasa and latkes, and it's served daily. Lakeside's website lists the kitchen as open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day and the bar until 3 a.m., which makes Veselka one of the latest hot meals on the east side.
Down the street, Girlcrush Social House at 1112 Woodland St. also opened in August. The Nashville Scene reports that Emily Dryburgh and Sumedha Sagar own and run the bar, working with Emily's sister Jamie Dryburgh. The sisters spent eight years hosting RNBW Queer Music Collective showcases before opening the bar, and RNBW now runs there twice a month. City Cast Nashville describes it as a new LGBTQ+ bar that books local queer musicians and community events and runs a happy hour Tuesday through Friday.
Woodland Street is also home to the East Nashville Farmers' Market at 511 Woodland St. The market's schedule shows the same early-fall pattern as everything else this month. It runs Tuesdays from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. through October 27, then closes half an hour earlier, at 6 p.m., from November 3 through December 22. October 27 is the last Tuesday you can shop the market until 6:30.
North of the river bend, Nashville Guru counts Thai Samurai River North, at 2315 Bowline Ave., among the city's August openings.
Not every change this season was an opening. Audrey, at 809 Meridian St., served its last dinner on August 16, which the Tennessean reported on August 24.
The Beer Garden Has Three Fridays Left
The fall Fridays by the River series started September 11 and ends October 16. Every date runs from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Riverview Pavilion. Friends of Shelby puts it on with East Nashville Beer Works, and the money goes to Shelby Park and Shelby Bottoms. Members get $1 off beer if they show their card.
Here are the last three dates:
- October 2. Runner of the Woods plays. Food from Nicoletto's, J&D Smokers, Bangkok Belly, Wyldeflower Pizza and Kiwi Scoops.
- October 9. The Resonauts, with the square dance crowd arriving after 6 p.m.
- October 16. Eastside Lowdown Band closes the season. Food from Nicoletto's, Lady Dawgs, Camburgers, Mac Shack, Bangkok Belly and Kiwi Scoops.
October 2 is the first Friday of the month, so the Nature Center's monthly Afternoon Tea, made with High Garden Tea's Shelby Bottoms Blend, runs from 2 to 3 p.m. that day, an hour before the beer garden opens. Also on the 2nd, an Autumn Seed Hike from 2 to 3 p.m. collects seeds for the park's seedbank. That one requires registration.
The next day, Saturday, October 3, is just as full. The Early Bird Coffee Social runs from 9 a.m. to noon. Ivan Chester of Habitat Landscapes gives a talk called "Stop Mowing! Convert Your Turf to Habitat" from 10 to 11:30 a.m. In the evening, members of the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society set up telescopes for a Star Party from 6 to 9 p.m. Anyone can come, and you don't need to be a member or own a telescope.
After the 16th, Shelby Bottoms Takes Over
When the beer garden closes, the outdoor calendar turns into Nature Center programming. These events are smaller, often need registration and mostly happen in daylight. Here's what's left:
- Saturday, October 10. Ask a Master Gardener from 10 a.m. to noon, then a biomimicry Makerspace for ages 6 and up from 1 to 3 p.m.
- Saturday, October 17. A guided Flatwater Paddle on Percy Priest Lake for ages 14 and up, $25 with gear included. That afternoon, Jr. Naturalist: Fall Fungi takes kids ages 6 to 13 on a mushroom hike.
- October 22 to 25. The Chestnut Group's art show, The Colors of Shelby, is at the Nature Center.
- Saturday, November 14. "Leave the Leaves" Day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Saturday, November 21. Autumn Colors Walk, 2 to 3 p.m.
The Nature Center keeps limited hours. It's open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays. The greenway and trails stay open from dawn to dusk every day of the year. To sign up for anything marked registration required, email [email protected] or call (615) 862-8539.
Park Access Is Limited This Month
Shelby Park won't be fully open while all this is going on. Metro Parks' closure list, last updated September 28, 2026, includes these:
- Bendelow Lane Bridge is being replaced and is listed as closed for four months. Guardrail work was scheduled for August 31 through September 4.
- Eastern Lake Road is closed for a construction project that started August 24, and Lakeview shelters 1 and 2 have limited access.
- The boardwalk near the observation deck on the Shelby Bottoms Greenway, about half a mile in near the wetland area, is closed for repairs.
The closure list doesn't give a firm reopening date for the bridge, so check the page before you plan a route. One more trail question is still open. In April, residents asked Metro Parks to leave the 0.2-mile Loop Connector, the dirt trail between the Fortland Drive Connector and Overlook Loop, unpaved. Metro Parks hadn't decided at that point, and no later decision showed up in our research.
I'm Andy, and a lot of my work happens in this part of town. If you're an East Nashville homeowner wondering how the new Woodland Street openings and the Shelby Park work might affect your home's value, Andy Lusk can give you a straight answer. Get your free home valuation, and if you're ever weighing an update before you sell, the East Nashville neighborhood page and my guide to renovating an older East Nashville home are good places to start.
