Things to Do in Shelbyville

Boasting five all stars in the 2011 Prospect League, the Nashville Outlaws look to continue their ascent toward the top spot in the West Division. With the season coming down to the wire, contests against the first-place Quincy Gems (August 1–August 3) and league rivals the Dubois County Bombers (August 5–August 6) take on playoff implications, their stakes raised like a flag made of filet mignon. The slugging showdowns throw down at the recently renovated Dugan Field, where muscles flex under brilliant stadium lights on turf handsomely outfitted in team colors. Munch on two included hot dogs as the athletic action picks up speed, or use the meaty cylinders to get in some batting practice of your own, swinging at the nearest pair of disco-ball earrings.

Under the baton of maestro Giancarlo Guerrero, the Grammy Award–winning Nashville Symphony sets air particles to vibrating with a program that features both classical masterworks and world-premiere performances. Music-making commences with Anton Webern's “Passacaglia,” op. 1, before his lush textures and angular melodies melt into the world-premiere performance of Richard Danielpour's Darkness in the Ancient Valley, which draws on the composer's Iranian heritage. Joining the orchestra for Danielpour's visceral tone romp is Grammy Award–winning soprano Hila Plitmann, who will lend her dulcet tones to the composer's musical text and glare at audience members who clap between movements. The program rounds out with master symphonist Gustav Mahler's Symphony no. 4, a highly accessible piece that signifies lost childhood innocence through high flutes, sleigh bells, and the mournful squeak of broken Matchbox cars.

At each bowling center, balls hurtle down smooth, polished lanes as LCD screens keep track of scores and shimmering party lights illuminate the faces of determined bowlers. After lacing up some slide-enabling shoes and clearing the gutters of deciduous pins, bowlers set their sights on toppling 10-pin clusters. Carpets bedecked with psychedelic swirls lead to shelves stocked with neon-colored balls, which proffer their pin-busting talents to bowlers of various sizes. Fingers can warm up by mashing buttons in an arcade full of entrancing video games or bench-pressing french fries at the onsite grill and pub.

In 1997, the UTC Moccasins faced an identity crisis. For most of the century, the school had relied on Native American imagery for its teams, but with the 21st century came a renewed commitment to Tennessee's all-inclusive heritage. Thus, the Mocs re-appropriated their nickname to represent the state bird, the mockingbird, and incorporated Chattanooga's proud history of railroads into their logos. Known for its feisty spirit and ability to twirl a baton in its beak, the mockingbird also embodied qualities found in the greatest student athletes, making it a fitting inspiration for the men and women in sports such as golf, track and field, and women's volleyball. 1997 was a big year for UTC basketball in general, as the men's squad went on to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament, continuing the school's proud legacy of hoops since the team's inception in 1977.

Located in the former main post office of Nashville, the Frist Center is an architectural feast of classicism and Art Deco style containing more than 24,000 square feet of gallery space. The non-profit museum hosts an ever-changing array of exhibits that pop in and out of its halls each 10-12 weeks, so commitmentphobes and the easily bored will always have something new and fresh to run their eyeballs across. Fashionistas frustrated by their failure to institute Really Formal Fridays at the office will want to flee to the Frist Center's current Golden Age of Couture exhibition (June 18–September 12, 2010), with its collection high-glamour vintage wares, while fans of ornate glass sculptures can check out the Chihuly at the Frist exhibition (May 9–January 2, 2011).

Cheekwood's assemblage of botanical gardens stretches across more than 55 acres of verdant land, inviting members to explore its natural nexus of wooded streams, gentle pools, and stone grottoes. Visitors can appreciate Mother Nature's leafy hairline by weaving through Japanese, wildflower, and perennial gardens and cruising down avenues of crepe myrtles in lilac-powered lowriders. Green-thumbed guests can also admire each display's unique gardening style and exchange salutations with bursting seasonal flora. Guests can venture inside the 30,000-square-foot Georgian mansion to find Cheekwood's collection of decorative arts and Visions of the American West, a Wild West exhibition on display until May 4. The video-installation galleries explore Buffalo Bill's life and his legacy as Wild West icon and fearsome ventriloquist.