Fun for all Happening in Nashville at the Annual CMA Country Music Festival

It's been several years since the CMA Country Music Festival (aka Fan Fair) moved from the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. That move initially brought on grumbles from many country music fans and many local Nashvillian's, as well, but the move has turned out been a good one for Nashville and it's visiting country fans as you can se by it's continual growing numbers.

Not only is the attendance growing but also the CMAfest itself is expanding year after year, bringing more and more events. This year there were more stages, which meant more music and performances. Some of the stages were:

- Chevy Stage located at the Sommet Entertainment Center
- Greased Lightning Stage located at Riverfront Park
- Nightly Concert Stage located at LP Field (the football coliseum)
- Acoustic Stage located in the Nashville Convention Center (Wrangler Exhibit hall)
- CMT Sport Zone Stage located next door to the new Schemerhorn Symphony Hall
- Performance Stage located at the Hall of Fame Park.

That's six stages of ongoing music! Some might not think that's a lot of stages, but once you add in the other 40-50 stages located in the downtown clubs and surrounding businesses- that's a lot of music!

Along with the increase in musical performances, the CMAfest has also included more ticket options for attendees, including single nightly coliseum tickets ($30) and single daytime riverfront stages passes ($14) at an affordable price. These additional ticket options have been in place for a few years now but it seems that lately they are gaining in popularity, especially with many local Nashvillian's who have typically avoided the CMAfest in years past.

The old interstate traffic jams and wayward visitors associated with the CMAfest have all but disappeared with the CMAfest move to downtown, with the exception of one year when Bonnaroo was held the same week as the CMAfest. The optional 4-day coliseum parking pass, for under $30, along with their free shuttles has been a tremendous relief to CMAfest ticket holders and no doubt to the local Nashville Community.

If you don't need a 4-day parking pass, single day parking at the coliseum is also made available on a first come first serve basis to CMAfest visitors at a nominal cost. Additionally, for a small cost, there are shuttles available if you need to get back in forth from downtown Nashville to the Music Valley Area. Visitors needing to get to other areas can also use the local bus Transit system (MTA), take one of the many cab services available, or if money is no option you can cruise the town in style, by limousine. Whatever form of transportation you opt to take- the transportation is readily available.

The CMAfest has always attracted the die-hard country music fans but in recent years, especially this year, it has also been attracting a newer and younger crowd. One might first attribute that to the newer hipper county music genre that has emerged with groups like Big & Rich and Cowboy Troy or even younger acts such as Carrie Underwood, but the CMAfest has been striving for several years now to ensure that everyone young and old feel welcome and have a great time at CMAfest.

This is very evident in many of the newer CMAfest area's including the Family Zone, the Fun Zone, and the Sprots Zone(all of which are free and open to the general public). These area's have enough entertainment, not just musical, to keep a family entertained and busy for days.

Some of the events at the Sports Zone include: Archery Tournament, Tractor Race, and Sports Challenges featuring local sporting celebrities. Some of the activities include MLB batting cages, video games, taking wild simulator boat and fighter jet rides as well as having the opportunity to even meet some Nascar drivers.

The Fun Zone features games and other activities as well as getting free samples from vendors like Mr. Coffee, Sharpie, Advil and most importantly Hawaiian Tropic Sunscreen. The Gillette booth seemed to be one of the most popular among the younger crowd with it's hula hoop and dance contest although the Chevy "All Access Music tour" was a great hit with the diehard country fans, offering them everything from music, trivia contests, opportunities to view some country memorabilia and even have their photo taken.

Nearby the Family Zone was the favorite for those with the smaller children. It included enough arts and crafts to keep the little ones busy enough so Mom could enjoy free Crisco cooking demonstrations. The big hit for the children at the Family zone were the inflatable games, the bungee jump, trout fishing and, of course, the free ice cream samples. Other activities included a Martha White Skillet toss and a pie-eating contest. Parents really appreciated the performance stage that offered plenty of shade and ongoing entertainment throughout the day.