We're so glad you came!

They're here! They're here! The tourists are here. Yes, it is tourist season in Nashville and the city is crawling with Country Music fans. We welcomed them in true Nashville fashion -- two thunderstorms in one day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Already worried about Nashville being under water, they were wishing they had packed their life jackets and water wings.

Not to worry, the storms went away and the hot weather set in, the hot humid summer weather, that is. Tourists out in the sun for daytime concerts were sizzling in the sun and being treated for heat exhaustion. Still, they are happy to be here and Nashville is glad to see them.

The CMA Music festival is Nashville's first big event since the floods of May. If the tourists don't come, the economy suffers, and when the economy is bad, everyone hurts. One of the biggest economic booms around here is tourism. Business people were worried about a lost tourist season.

But they came -- they came in spite of the floods, in spite of the rain, in spite of the heat, in spite of the crunch on hotel rooms.  They walk the streets in their straw cowboy hats, with their blue CMA tote bags, trying hard to look like their favorite country singer. They hang out during the day on Broadway and Second Street where the honky-tonks are or at Riverfront Park where the concerts are, but are special events take place all over the city.
 
At night they go to outdoor concerts at the Titan's stadium where they get a chance to see their favorite country stars perform. And the stars do come out at the CMA Music Festival. For those fans wanting to see a lot of big performers in a short period of time, there is no better place than the four day CMA Music Festival where big names in the music business can be seen every night.
 
This year fifty percent of the earnings from the music festival will go for Nashville flood relief. The country music people have been invaluable in helping to raise funds, even through many of them have been flooded or lost property themselves. The biggest storage place used for musical instruments and equipment was, guess where, near the bank of the Cumberland River.

You probably heard about the floods or saw it on TV, though not much attention was paid to us by national media. No one seemed to care much that we were drowning. Fortunately, southerners come from hardy stock. Good old boys got out their fishing boats to rescue the stranded and 12,000 people jammed phone lines calling to volunteer their help in cleaning up afterward. They don't call this the Volunteer State for nothing.

And now we are flooded again. But, this time we are flooded with Country Music Fans who have come to show their support. The 20,000 that were expected turned into a 32,000 people avalanche. With the Opryland Hotel closed due to flood damage, they have had to find other places to stay and are spread out all over the city.

Traffic is unbearable, a solid traffic jam. But it is only for one week and we are used to traffic jams here. At least the streets are not under water any more. Even with the Opryland area closed, there is plenty to see and do. Most big attractions have reopened and the Grand Ole Opry moved back to the Ryman Auditorium temporarily. It was actually pretty amazing how quickly the city recovered from the worst disaster Tennessee has ever had.

So, we go on about our business, working, going to doctor appointments, buying groceries, shopping, the things that ordinary people do in ordinary life, except for those displaced by the flood that are still in limbo about what to do.
 
This year we are putting on our happiest grins and looking forward to our next flood, the flood of money that the visitors will spend. They didn't give up on us, and we love them for it -- all 32,000 of them.

Welcome to Nashville. We're so glad you came!