A Walk Through Nashville’s Neon Canyon
SCA's 2024 Road Trip
Location
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Nashville-Opryland, an IHG Hotel (Host Hotel)
2461 McGavock Pike Nashville, TN 37214Refund Policy
About this event
- 1 day 22 hours
Join the SCA in Nashville!
September 20 - 22, 2024
For SCA’s 2024 Road Trip we head to Music City USA. Our host hotel is the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Nashville-Opryland, with a second hotel option at the Fiddler's Inn. Both are located next to the famous Grand Ole Opry! Bus pickups will be at the Holiday Inn at 8:30 a.m., and breakfast will be on your own.
Registration deadline is August 5th!
Friday, September 20, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Opening Reception
We’ll welcome everyone to Music City, USA, at the Willie Nelson and Friends Museum. Our singing tour guide will lead us through the life of this outlaw musician, followed by light food featuring original and famous Prince's Hot Chicken and southern style cooking from Monell’s Restaurant, along with local wine and beers. Our special guest will be local author and tourism professional, Tom Atkinson to talk about Nashville’s mid-century diner and music culture. The museum’s gift shop claims to be the largest in Nashville, and next door is the free Cooter’s Museum, dedicated to the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard. Dinner is on your own afterward if desired.
Saturday, September 21, 8:30 am – 8:30 pm
Saturday Bus Tour
There are remarkable neon signs throughout Nashville, and we’ll stop at liquor stores, motels, and 1950s-era eateries. Another stop is the world-famous Hatch Show Print showroom to see antique presses in action and purchase vintage posters. Our itinerary includes the city’s first shopping mall, the block-long Arcade, built in 1902 and inspired by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II arcade in Milan.
A Southern-style lunch, supplied by Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, is included in our visit to the Lane Motor Museum, located in an old Sunbeam Bakery complex. Then, it’s off to another example of adaptive reuse, Marathon Village, where workers manufactured Marathon cars from 1910-1914. Today, one of its many shops is Antique Archeology, home of the History Channel’s American Pickers and its cohost, Mike Wolfe.
Spend the evening and dinner on your own in Nashville’s Neon Canyon, an eight block area full of bright neon signs and lively honky tonks. We'll provide a printed self-guided tour map of the neon sign locations, unique things to see, and the best dinner choices. The tour concludes with a bus ride back to the host hotel, cruising through the Neon Canyon to see all the signs after dark from a new perspective.
Sunday, September 22, 8:30 am – 5:30 pm
Sunday Bus Tour
Our first stop will mark an SCA first: a bathroom tour at the Hermitage Hotel’s famous Art Deco men’s and women's restrooms. The men's room is in the Bathroom Hall of Fame. We’ll also explore the magnificent lobby of the historic hotel that was integral in getting the 19th Amendment passed, which gave women the right to vote. As we travel through the world-famous Music Row with its myriad recording studios and record label headquarters, we’ll pass the legendary RCA Studio B, where Elvis, Dolly and Waylon recorded. Then it’s off to visit the state’s largest guitar, more neon and a trip WAY back in time to visit the world's only to-scale replica of the Parthenon.
Lunch will be an iconic "meat & three" experience at the world-famous Loveless Café, noted for Southern specialties, including biscuits, ham, and fried chicken. Following lunch, we’ll have dessert (on your own) at a circa-1951 walk-up dairy bar and opportunities to photograph more iconic signs. On the way back to our hotel to conclude the weekend, we will get a glimpse of the state’s old penitentiary where films, including The Green Mile and Walk the Line were filmed.
The SCA is unable to offer refunds of registration fees after August 10, 2024. To ensure space at A Walk through Nashville’s Neon Canyon, be sure to register by August 5, 2024.
Lodging
The SCA has reserved a block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Nashville-Opryland. We also have a second hotel option at the Fiddler's Inn.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites (Host Hotel)
2461 McGavock Pike
Nashville, TN 37214
(IHG members will receive points for their stay)
Book online or call the hotel direct for reservations: (615) 829-7777
Standard Double or king-featured non-smoking rooms: $220.32 per night (tax included)
(Hot breakfast buffet included)
Fiddler's Inn
2410 Music Valley Drive
Nashville, TN 37214
Book online or call the hotel direct for reservations: (615) 885-1440
Deluxe 2 Double beds non-smoking rooms: $139.68 per night (tax included)
(Cold continental breakfast included with hot coffee)
Reservation links and booking code will be emailed upon road trip reservation
The cut-off date is August 5, 2024.
Gear up for the Neon Canyon!
You can purchase the 2024 Nashville Road Trip t-shirt today and wear during the tours.
Buy today to guarantee your event t-shirt for the road trip!
Frequently asked questions
The nearest airport is Nashville International Airport. Bus Station: Greyhound Station, 709 Rep John Lewis Way South
September average temp is 73º F, 82.7º max and 64.7º min.
If you have dietary, mobility, or other special needs, please let us know as soon as possible. We will make every effort to accommodate. All venues we will visit are accessible.
SCA reserves the right to alter the program as necessary in the event of unforeseen circumstances. Tour and bus seating are limited and offered on a first come-first served basis.
There will be little walking other than the 8 blocks during the Neon Canyon outing where all can walk at their own pace and/or take in only what interests them while being in that environment. The sidewalks are wide with little grade (but will be crowded).