A Weather Postponement Reshaped Hermitage and Old Hickory's October Saturdays

On Saturday evening, October 24, the grounds at 4580 Rachel's Lane will host three things at once. Haunted hayrides leave on timed departures. A lantern-lit walking tour starts out at 6:30. In another spot, an actor begins a one-man telling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at 6:00 and does it again at 8:15.

Hauntings at The Hermitage was originally scheduled for October 10. Incoming inclement weather moved it two weeks later, onto a Saturday that already had a full evening program. The two Saturdays now work differently. October 17 runs from one event to the next across Hermitage and Old Hickory. On October 24, the programs overlap, so the evening takes planning around start times.

Inclement Weather Moved a Whole Evening

Andrew Jackson's Hermitage announced its fall lineup on August 6. In that release, Hauntings was set for Saturday, October 10, starting at 5 p.m. The Hermitage's event page now carries a banner: "POSTPONED to Saturday, October 24th," because of incoming bad weather. The new listing runs from 5 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.

The Hermitage describes Hauntings as a one-night event. The program includes:

• Timed haunted hayrides and trick-or-treating
• Mystic Row, potion-making and Victorian spiritualism
• Fireside ghost stories and lantern walks
• Debra Miller portraying Mary Shelley
• Magic, live entertainment and food trucks
• Member lounge access

The ticket page lists adults at $25 and children 13 and under at $5. The event page says Hauntings happens rain or shine and that tickets are nonrefundable because of weather. That policy matters more now that the date has already moved once. Anyone who bought tickets for October 10 should check how those tickets apply to the new date before planning the rest of the evening.

The new date lands on a night the calendar had already given to The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: A One-Man Show, listed for October 24. The Ghost Tours also run that night, as they do every Thursday through Sunday this fall. So October 24 went from a Saturday with two evening programs to one with three.

October 17 Runs in Order

The Saturday before is easier to plan, because its two big events take turns. One fills the morning in Hermitage and the other fills the late afternoon in Old Hickory, so they never compete for the same hours.

1. 8:00 a.m., the 7th President 7K at The Hermitage. This is the race's fifth year. The course is mostly cross-country. It covers fields and grass, with a short trail section and some paved road, and passes Tulip Grove Mansion, Hermitage Church and the Hermitage Mansion. A two-mile walk runs alongside the 7K for people who don't want to race. The Hermitage's page lists registration at $40. The RunSignup registration page currently shows $34.92 including fees for either the 7K or the walk, so check the price at checkout. Runners enter from Old Hickory Boulevard, where volunteers and signs point them to parking.

2. 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., the Harvest Festival in Old Hickory Village. The Old Hickory Village Neighborhood Association's event page calls it the Village's biggest event. It is back at the athletic fields at the corner of Old Hickory Boulevard and Hadley Avenue, and the page asks everyone to come in costume. The listing on Duckbill Bookshop's calendar adds hayrides, sweet treats, local vendors, music, story times and games.

The association has given two street numbers for the festival. Its July announcement said 1400 Golf Club Road, and its current event page says 1700 Golf Club Road. Both describe the same ballfields, so the corner of Old Hickory Boulevard and Hadley Avenue is the more reliable way to find it.

Expect a crowd. In July the association estimated about 1,000 attendees based on past years. It also offered vendor spaces at $50, free for nonprofits, with vendors keeping their own sales. The event page says the festival has become a neighborhood staple over the past five years.

Both events use Old Hickory Boulevard. The 7K sends its traffic in from that road in the morning, and the festival fields sit right on it in the afternoon. The race listing runs until 1 p.m. and the festival starts at 4, which leaves a three-hour gap between them. A family can do the two-mile walk in the morning and be in costume at the ballfields that afternoon without any overlap.

October 24 Runs All at Once

Here is the October 24 lineup at The Hermitage:

A Ghost Tour lasts about 90 minutes. A 6:30 tour ends around 8:00, before the 8:15 Sleepy Hollow show starts, so pairing those two start times when you buy tickets fits both into one evening.

Hauntings fits around both because it runs until almost midnight. The Hermitage describes Neill Hartley's show as a mix of audience participation, humor and suspense. It costs nothing for children 13 and under, while the Hauntings children's ticket is $5. For a child 13 and under, Hauntings and the show together come to $5.

There is also an earlier option that week. On Thursday, October 15, at 7 p.m., interpreter Charles Wissinger presents Edgar Allan Poe: The Man Behind the Macabre, a living history program as Poe. If you would rather avoid the Saturday crowds, that weeknight is the calmer choice.

The Routes Around Both Saturdays

The Stones River Greenway, a regular walking and riding route in this area, has two separate disruptions this month. Metro Parks' closures page, last updated October 8, lists construction from October 7 through October 30. The work runs from the US 70/Lebanon Pike and Stones River Road intersection to the straightaway between the Lytle Bend property and the existing paved paths. Flaggers may run rolling one-lane closures as needed. Separately, the section where the greenway enters the river is closed. Metro Parks asks people not to cross the fencing and to follow the posted detour. The construction overlaps both festival Saturdays, so a morning ride on that stretch will be slower than usual.

Old Hickory Boulevard has its own construction. In-N-Out bought land at 4000 Andrew Jackson Parkway, just off Old Hickory Boulevard, where a golf driving range used to be. The Tennessean reported in September that clearing and prep work there were well underway. It also reported that the In-N-Out and a Wawa are expected to open next year. In the same story, Councilmember Jordan Huffman said the intersection's congestion "keeps me up at night." WhatNow reported that a permit was issued September 21 for a 5,919-square-foot Wawa at 5360 Old Hickory Boulevard. In May, WKRN reported that Metro's transportation department planned signal changes at Andrew Jackson Parkway and Old Hickory Boulevard to lengthen the green light and improve traffic flow. Neither store has a confirmed opening date, so this fall you'll see work sites at that corner, not open stores.

That puts the In-N-Out and Wawa sites on the same road as the 7K parking entrance and the Harvest Festival fields on October 17. It also puts the greenway work in the same weeks as the busiest stretch of The Hermitage's evening calendar. The Ghost Tours continue through November 7, but after October 24 they are the only one of the three evening programs still running.

If these two Saturdays get you thinking about how much daily life along Old Hickory Boulevard has changed, I'm glad to talk through it, from the In-N-Out and Wawa sites to the ballfields at Hadley Avenue. I've worked in Hermitage and Old Hickory for more than two decades, and I like comparing notes with neighbors. Reach out to Stacey Long any time. Let's Connect.