September 22, 2026 · events · guides · East Nashville
Four Things at Once: October 24 and 25
Dated event guide. This guide covers dates through October 25, 2026. Details are retained for reference; consult the official organizer for current schedules and tickets. No future edition is implied.
Most weekends here, one thing is happening. On the last full weekend of October, four are, and all of them are on the east bank. If you are staying in Five Points that weekend, this is the post to read before you make a plan.
Saturday and Sunday: hot sauce takes East Park
The TN Hot Sauce Expo runs its fourth year on Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25, 10 AM to 6 PM both days, at East Park, 700 Woodland Street. That is a ten-minute walk from The Eighteen — straight down Woodland, just under half a mile, no river crossing and no parking problem to solve.
General admission is $10 in advance, $15 at the gate on the day. Kids 10 and under are free with an adult. There is a $35 craft beer package and a $75 VIP package, both 21 and up, both capped per day and sold in advance only. Samples from the sauce makers are included with admission; food and most drinks are not.
The programming is the reason to go rather than the sauce. The Stage of DOOM runs eating challenges roughly on the hour from noon through late afternoon — doughnuts, tacos, burritos, wings on Saturday; reaper peppers and pizza on Sunday. Live wrestling three times each day. Sunday at 3 PM there is a doggie Halloween costume contest with a hundred dollars on the line, which is either the best or worst thing on this list depending on your dog. Check the organizer’s schedule page close to the date; times shift.
Two practical notes. It is outdoors and advertised rain or shine, no refunds. And if you are sampling seriously, the walk home being ten minutes is not a small detail.
Saturday: TSU at the stadium
Charleston Southern plays Tennessee State at Nissan Stadium on Saturday, October 24. Kickoff is not posted on the stadium’s events calendar as of this writing, so confirm it there before you build a day around it.
What matters for you is not the game. It is that a stadium event and a park festival are running on the same side of the river on the same day, about a mile apart, sharing the same bridges and the same street grid.
Saturday night: 90s Halloween at The Beast
My So-Called Band plays a 90s Halloween show at The Basement East on Saturday, October 24. Doors at 7, show at 8, 21 and up. Half a mile from the building, and the natural end to a day that started with hot sauce.
That is a hot sauce festival, a football game, and a costume party inside one square mile, on one Saturday. The rest of October at that venue is in the monthly calendar.
Sunday: the Titans are home
The Browns play the Titans at Nissan Stadium on Sunday, October 25 — day two of the expo. Again, confirm kickoff with the stadium rather than assuming an early afternoon start.
How to actually do this weekend
Do not drive anywhere you can walk. This is the standing advice in this neighborhood and this is the weekend it earns its keep. An NFL home game and a two-day park festival within a mile of each other will do what you expect to every street around Woodland. Parking here is folklore on a normal Saturday.
Pick a lane per day. Expo plus the Beast on Saturday is a full and walkable day. Expo plus the Titans on Sunday is a full day. Trying to do the stadium and the park on the same afternoon means crossing a crowd twice.
Go to the park early. Doors at 10. The eating challenges start at noon and the crowd arrives with them.
Book ahead. A Titans home game alone fills east-side lodging. This particular weekend has a festival stacked on top of it.
Being able to walk to three of these four and skip the parking entirely is the whole case for staying on this side. Check availability →