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The Nashville Mom

Exploring Nashville with kids in tow.

/ The Nash Chat

Music City Doulas Diaper Dash

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Arielle Fears, founder of Music City Doulas is sharing about the Nashville Diaper Dash that will take place on Saturday, May 18th in Nashville.

This event has raised over 328,000 diapers for local families in need over the past few years. The Nashville Diaper Connection is the recipient of these diapers and connects with Nashville families.

Tune in to hear the heart behind this event and how to get more involved! Also, check out the Diaper Dash website with information on participating in the 5K or volunteering!

/ Dawn's Latest

CMA Foundation Music Teachers of Excellence

The Country Music Association Foundation is committed to improving and sustaining music education programs around the United States, working to ensure every child has the opportunity to participate in music education.

CMA Foundation has been able to distribute over $25 million dollars across the national public school system, after school programs, summer camps and community outreach organizations. Funds from the CMA Fest are used to promote the Foundation’s mission.

Music Teachers of Excellence is an event where thirty music teachers from around the United States are honored. Dierks Bentley hosted the event and performed with students from a local elementary school. You can watch the event here.

Many CMA Artists were onsite to offer their support to these teachers! Kelsea Ballerini, Karen Fairchild, Kix Brooks, Chris Young, and many more.

/ Weekend Happenings

Nashville Weekend Guide: May 3-5

Cheekwood’s Storybook House exhibits opened on May 1st

Storybook Houses

  • May 1st through September 1st
  • Cheekwood Botanical Gardens
  • Experience the magic of five of your favorite childhood classics reimagined in Cheekwood’s gardens. Visitors of all ages will enjoy these whimsical playhouses inspired by beloved illustrators including “Oh, The Places You’ll Play” inspired by Dr. Suess, “Hill Top Garden” inspired by Beatrix Potter, “Charlotte’s Barn” inspired by Garth Williams, “We Are Wild” inspired by Maurice Sendak, and “TRAINS!” inspired by Loren Long.

Color Their World

  • Thursday, May 2nd at 7 p.m.
  • Thistle Farms, Nashville
  • Join Bloom Family Designs for a night of appetizers, desserts, live music, a silent auction and your chance to help sponsor and create a room for an adoptive family in Spring Hill, TN. Grab your tickets here.

The Harding Art Show

  • Thursday, May 2nd through Saturday, May 4th
  • Harding Academy
  • The 44th annual Harding Art Show hosts approximately 75 talented artists from across the country. This even is open to the public and showcases fine art for purchase. Proceeds benefit Harding Academy student programs, facilities and arts education.

Sevier Park Fest

  • Friday, May 3rd and Saturday, May 4th
  • Sevier Park, 12th South
  • This festival celebrates the artists, makers, musicians of the Belmont/Hillsboro and 12South neighborhood communities with two days of music, shopping and more! Friday night hosts a ticketed concert with the Gin Blossoms and Saturday’s festival is free!

5th Annual Strawberry Jubilee

  • Saturday, May 4th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Nashville Farmer’s Market
  • Enjoy strawberry sampling and purchasing strawberries grown by local farmers. More than 8,000 quarts will be on hand! Also, enjoy live music, cooking demonstrations and kid’s activities!

Nashville Sounds Baseball

  • Thursday, May 2nd through Sunday, May 5th
  • First Tennessee Park
  • Cheer on the Sounds this weekend! Kid-friendly atmosphere and special promotions all weekend!

Letterpress Art with Hatch Show Print

  • Sunday, May 5th (3 sessions-noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m.
  • Country Music Hall of Fame
  • Kids get hands-on with letterpress in this unique workshop at Hatch Show Print, one of the oldest working letterpress print shops in the U.S. Attendees must have a program pass (given out 30 minutes prior to each session). Ages 5 and up

Star Wars at the Zoo

  • Saturday, May 4th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Nashville Zoo
  • May the 4th be with the Nashville Zoo! Kids are invited to participate in the Zoo’s Jedi Training Camp, featuring games and activities built to test their knowledge of the Force. Character meet and greets will begin at 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. and resume from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Tru Bee Honey Open House

  • Saturday, May 4th from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
  • Tru Bee Honey Farm, 4818 Hwy 41-A North, Eagleville, TN 37060
  • Beekeeping demonstrations, free honey tasting and shop the little bee-themed farm store.

*Upcoming Events*

Yoga on the Field

  • Saturday, May 11th at 5 p.m.
  • Nissan Stadium
  • Enjoy twilight yoga on Nissan Stadium’s field, cocktails and shopping. Tickets are $20 each

42nd Annual Bellevue Picnic

  • Saturday, May 18th
  • Recreational Area behind Bellevue Middle School
  • Join in this annual celebration of the Bellevue Community with rides, inflatables, pony rides, food trucks, live music, local vendors, arts and crafts, a kid’s zone and fireworks!

Petals and Fields Pop-Up

  • Saturday, May 11th and Sunday, May 12th
  • Nordstrom, Green Hills Mall
  • Petals and Fields will have a floral pop-up at Green Hills Nordstrom. Pick up flowers for Mother’s Day! Call ahead to pre-order your bouquet 615-779-4823

Fitness on the ROW benefiting Survivor Fitness FoundationDate: May 18Time: Check-in at 8:40am, Workout begins at 9:00amLocation: Result’s Fitness on Music RowCost: $35 (This covers one session for a cancer survivor in our program)What: This group workout is designed for ALL fitness levels and open to everyone! Website: https://survivorfitness.org/special-events/

About Survivor Fitness: Survivor Fitness helps adult cancer survivors regain their health and wellness through personal training and nutritional support. If you or someone you know might be interested, you can find more information about becoming a participant here https://survivorfitness.org/become-a-participant/.

/ Parties

No Fuss Mother’s Day Luncheon

Moms are worth celebrating! This year, my friend Lele and I decided to host some girlfriends for a Mother’s Day lunch to celebrate! We wanted to give some of our favorite Moms a break from the kitchen and a time to just enjoy!


During our planning session, we knew we wanted a pretty table with flowers and delicious food! We enlisted The Honey Baked Ham Company for the main dishes! I reserved everything online and was able to conveniently pick it up at the local store.

Our meal turned out to be a feast, fit for Motherhood Royalty with a Honey Baked Ham, Double Cheddar Macaroni & Cheese, Maple Sweet Potato Souffle and of course, a Pecan Pie! It was so easy to grab the Honey Baked Ham, which was already prepared. The sides were readily available at the store, so all we had to do was heat them in the oven.

The ladies had fun catching up over lunch and not having to worry about cooking or cleaning up!

There’s nothing like gathering around a delicious meal with some of your best girlfriends. Tables are meant to be shared with your loved ones!

It never hurts when you share a pecan pie either! Our Honey Baked Ham lunch was the start of a new tradition with a No Fuss Mother’s Day Lunch!

See other HoneyBaked Celebrations from other Moms here.


*This post was sponsored but all opinions are my own.

/ Dawn's Latest

TruBee Honey: Laura Kimball

Meet Laura Kimball from TruBee Honey, a local beekeeping and honey producer.

TNM: Who are the bees behind the honey?


TB: My husband, Jeff and I, along with our 14-year-old daughter Lilly own and operate TruBee Honey. We live in Arrington, and recently moved most of our honeybee “operation” to Eagleville because we needed more space. Jeff and I have been keeping bees for about 13 years now, and TruBee has existed about six years. 

TNM: How did Trubee Honey begin? What’s your story?


TB: Jeff and I were both in print journalism for years. (It’s how we met!) He is a photographer, and I was a reporter, then editor. I did a feature story on an elderly beekeeper, told Jeff about it, then found out that he had always been interested in honeybees, ever since he was a little boy. I surprised him that Christmas with a hive and some equipment, then he got bees later that spring from the man in my story. We started with two hives, and now we have two or three hundred! 

We sold our honey and beeswax products at farmers markets for years, including the Franklin Farmer’s Market, but now we mostly sell to independent shops and grocery stores, as well as online. 

I think part of what led us to doing this as a business is our desire for a simple lifestyle. Now, as you know, there is nothing simple about running your own business, but we’ve chosen a vocation and a way of life that involves a deep involvement in nature and observation of natural rhythms. The way a hive operates, the order and discipline of it, is fascinating and never ceases to amaze us. 

TNM: What are the advantages of using local honey?

TB: I think there are so many! Of course, most folks that come to us looking for local honey are interested in ingesting local pollens because of allergies, hoping it will help their body develop a gradual immunity to what’s making them sneeze. We have customers that swear by this remedy, though it does take time, and most folks just figure it can’t hurt! I also think baking with honey is a good way to cut back on white sugar, and we do a lot of grilling with some honey-infused marinades

TNM: What types of honey and products do you carry?


TB: We have several varieties of raw honey, from our regular seasonal varieties to our Barrel-Aged Honey and our whipped Tennessee Snow honey. We have two organic beeswax products, which are my recipes, our beeswax lip balm and our Beeswax Rub, which is a dense salve for dry skin spots, cuticles, etc. (We even have folks using it for taking care of new tattoos!) 

TNM: Where can readers find your products?

TB: Our website is www.trubeehoney.com

TNM: Where’s your favorite place around Nashville to go when you’re not busy with your bees?

TB: We have two favorite places/events, Arrington Vineyards and Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman. 
The vineyard is only a mile and a half from our house, so it’s an easy spot for us to meet friends and take family when they’re visiting from out of town. I love that it’s a family atmosphere, there is live music (jazz and bluegrass), and that they encourage visitors to bring picnics. It makes it easy and affordable for families to have a relaxing evening outside. 
Also, we get season tickets each year to the six-week Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman series because we love bluegrass music, and it’s also a really affordable way to do something fun with family. If you get tickets for the whole season, which is usually six consecutive Thursdays during the summer, you sit in the same spot each week, so it’s just like church, and you get to know the folks sitting around you, like it or not! 

TNM: You’re hosting an open house this week, can you give us the details?

TB: If anyone wants to make a little day trip, from 10-2:30 on Saturday, May 4 we are hosting an open house at our new Eagleville location! We are located at 4818 Hwy 41-A North, Eagleville 37060. We will be doing a beekeeping demonstration at quarter after the hour each hour (so, four demos), and folks are welcome to do a free honey tasting and shop in our little bee-themed farm store. I’ll also do a blog post about things to do in Eagleville while you’re in that neck of the woods, including checking out a new home goods shop called All Things Home.