The Fun Zone at the CMA Festival

The Fun Zone at the CMA Festival looked a little different this year. It was a little more open and some new faces could be found. You could sit down and have a cup of coffee, compliments of Mr. Coffee. Have a makeover, courtesy of Venus Vibrance or have your photo made with a talking lizard at the Geico booth! Sharpie revitalized their game for those single festival-attendees and if you matched up the Sharpies in a little wheel game, you could take home your own Sharpie highlighter.

One of the coolest features of the Zone was the fans were able to meet race car and vineyard owner, Richard Childress, receive a signed postcard, as well as have free photos taken with Childress along side the Prilosec OTC race car. Fans were given cards with numbers corresponding to their photos, which they could later obtain via internet download. Prilosec also provided fans with a microphone so they could try their karaoke skills and go home with bragging rights that they sang on Broadway!

NASCAR Nextel Cup driver, Travis Kvapil, arrived just days following a taping of an appearance on the soap opera, the Guiding Light. The Tide/Downy Super 8 driver posed with fans and granted autographs for over two hours in the Fun Zone.

Hawaiian Tropic, Advil, and WellPatch representatives were a welcome sight when they were handing out 30spf sunblock and pain remedies! And there were very few places you could go over the weekend and not see a Super 8 handheld cardboard fan. Venus Vibrance by Gillette also handed out Venus razors and conducted a dance contest where the winner went home with a free iPod! Geico Insurance even held a drawing for $200 in free gas, just enough to get a few fans a return trip home. Camping World RV was very visible with a display for those who like to take home with them on the road, an option that a lot of attendees select.

The area wasn't short on music, thanks to the sounds drifting through the air from the Riverfront Park stages. Though not officially a CMA Festival event, later in the evening, beginning at 6pm from Thursday through Saturday night, local radio station 95.5 The Wolf, and MaxxForce, sponsored free performances at the Hard Rock Café with Shane & Blane, Brian Davis, Raisin Cain, Matt Ramsey, John Corbett, James Otto, Bobby Pinson and more on an outdoor parking lot stage. Then from 11pm-1am they moved the music inside with artists such as Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Bobby Pinson, Chris Wallin, Jason Howard, Lee Miller, Rivers Rutherford, Brett James and members of the ever-popular Musik Mafia.

Article Written & Submitted by Michelle Durham