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The Cumberland County Playhouse is now the only major non-profit professional performing arts resource in rural Tennessee, and one of the 10 largest professional theaters in rural America. It serves more than 145,000 visitors annually with two indoor and two outdoor states, young audience productions, a comprehensive dance program, a concert series and touring shows. The Cumberland County Playhouse is the only non-profit professional performing arts organization in Tennessee that wholly owns and operates its own major performance facility.

A paradise of more than 20,000 acres sprawled across the eastern top of the rugged Cumberland Plateau, Fall Creek Falls State Park is one of the most scenic and spectacular outdoor recreation areas in America. Laced with cascades, gorges, waterfalls, streams, and lush stands of virgin hardwood timber, the park beckons those who enjoy nature at her finest. While Fall Creek Falls, at 256 feet, is the highest waterfall in the eastern United States, other waterfalls in the park are Piney and Cane Creek Falls and Cane Creek Cascades.

Just minutes south of Nashville, Franklin is often cited as one of the most beautiful downtowns in the South. Southern Living Reader's Choice Awards named Franklin #5 Best Small Town in the South for 2009. The National Trust for Historic Preservation honored Franklin as one of a Dozen Distinctive Destinations in 2009. For years visitors have come for the charm, often unaware of the rich past that lies just beneath the town's quaint Victorian surface.

More recently, however, visitors have been attracted by Franklin's important and sometimes gruesome history, a history that is spotlighted in the Civil War novel The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. The book, a 2005 New York Times bestseller, centers on Carrie McGavock, the mistress of Carnton Plantation before, during and after the November 30, 1864 Battle of Franklin.

Sallie Carter, pictured here, is one of the socialites rumored to haunt downtown Franklin. Described by a Union soldier as "one of the famous beauties of Middle Tennessee," Sallie surprised everyone with her daring and bravery during the Civil War.

This museum contains Loretta Lynn's country-western memorabilia and costumes housed in a restored gristmill. The 45 to 60 minute tours include her plantation home, a museum, a simulated coal mine and a replica Butcher Holler House. Concerts are offered in the summer.

Loretta and Mooney established "THE DUDE RANCH" in 1972 consisting of a small Campground, Loretta's original Museum which was located in the Old Grist Mill, Western Store and Gift Shop.

Known as the "Athens of the South" Greek-influenced architecture is evident in this area in The Parthenon as well as antebellum plantations. Among the sites to visit are Belmont Mansion, Grand Ole Opry, Peyton Hope Adventure Science Center, The Hermitage. Another good idea is to visit the town of Goodlettsville.

Leipers Fork Trail, Tennessee

The Leipers Fork Trail is 24 miles and located about 40 miles south of Nashville and about ten miles south of Franklin, Tennessee. The northern trailhead is located at the scenic Garrison Creek parking area (Milepost 427). This trail takes you through some of the most scenic areas of the Parkway. The southern trailhead is located at Tennessee Highway 50 (Milepost 408).

If you are looking for something to do on a weekend night, and you live near Sparta, Tennessee, you might consider checking out the Sparta Drive-In. I am 40 years old and remember the drive-in from my high school days. The Sparta Drive-In closed for a long time, but was purchases and reopened by Bluemoon Theaters. The drive-in experience has changed a little since my youth. No longer do you need to attach a speaker to your car window, as the theater has a short range FM transmitter. You just tune your car stereo, boom box, or Walkman to the appropriate station and listen to the movie.

A 33-acre facility in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Free live events year round. Please call for updated information or reservations. Free movies and tours. State of the art recording studio, restaurant and gift shop. They cater to all guests. Visit them today

Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.