Good morning, Cookeville. ☀️

Spring is showing off this week. 67 today, mid-70s by midweek, pushing 77 by Thursday. If you’ve been sitting on outdoor plans, this is your window.

Saturday isn’t just busy—it’s stacked:

• 100+ local makers take over Cedar Ave for Made Here Market
• 25+ restaurants serve at Taste of the Town that night
• Spring Awakening runs all weekend at Waterloo
• Two new businesses just opened (Spring St. + Algood)
• 55 dogs are waiting for homes at the shelter
• Earth Day lands Wednesday 🌎

Let’s get into it.

The Wild Grove opens on Spring Street 🌿
A new wellness space just opened downtown at 145 E Spring St., bringing nutrition coaching, lymphatic therapy, massage, myofunctional therapy, movement, and prenatal support into one place.

Let’s Face It expands in Algood 💫
After three straight years as the #1 med spa in the Upper Cumberland, Let’s Face It Aesthetics opened a new space on Main Street.

Earth Day is Wednesday 🌎

April 22 is Earth Day—a good excuse to do something small and local.

Cane Creek Park has 400+ acres and miles of trails you probably haven’t explored yet. It’s a great week to get outside, take a walk, or just spend some time in a place you don’t usually go.

Small acts, local ground. 🌱

55 good dogs just waiting to meet you 🐾

The Cookeville/Putnam County Animal Shelter is highlighting their older dogs this week—and they might be the easiest, best companions you could ask for.

There are 55 of them ready to go home.

Adoption is $170. Most are house-trained, calm, and already know how to just be with you.

No chaos. Just a dog who’s ready to be part of your life.

Could be worth a visit.

👉Animal Shelter | Cookeville, TN

Two headline events. Same day. Fifteen minutes apart.

9 AM – 3 PM | Cedar Ave (WestSide)

Cookeville’s best shopping day of the year.

Every vendor has to prove they make what they sell. No reselling. No imports. Just real, local work.

• Jewelry, ceramics, prints, textiles, leather, woodwork
• Live music + food trucks
• Walkable WestSide morning
• Free to attend

Park once. Grab coffee. Wander.

👉 thebizfoundry.org/mhm

Historic Fairgrounds | Saturday night

25+ local restaurants serving their best dishes in one place.

It’s CityScape’s biggest annual event and a major fundraiser for downtown.

If you’ve been meaning to support Cookeville—and eat very well—this is the move.🎉 THE SATURDAY PLAYBOOK Two headline events. Same day. Fifteen minutes apart.

👉 cookevillecityscape.com

Spring Awakening 2026 | April 24–26 | Waterloo Venue and Events, 145 Virgil Murphy Cir, Cookeville. Three days of music, camping included with the ticket, rain or shine, 21+. If you've been curious about Waterloo but haven't made it out yet, this is the weekend. 🎸 👉 Spring Awakening

Made Here Market + Taste of the Town | Saturday, April 25 | (see Saturday Playbook above 👆)

Handguns w/ FieldHockey & Sweater | Saturday, April 25 | 8 PM | Mean Mel's, Cookeville. Pop-punk night for anyone who didn't get their fill of guitars at Waterloo. 🎤 👉 Shows — Mean Mel's

Fitzgerald Motorsports Park Test N Tune | Saturday, April 25 | 1650 Creston Rd, Crossville. Quarter-mile drag racing at FMP. Spectator-friendly. Test runs April 25, May 1, May 8, and bracket racing May 22. 🏁 👉 fpevent.net

Spring Bizapalooza | Tuesday, April 28 | 4:30 PM | 1 W 1st St, Cookeville. After-work networking and local business showcase downtown. 👉 cookevillechamber.com

Art Round Tennessee First Fridays | Friday, May 2 | Spring Street & Walnut Ave Arts District. Free pop-up art show with regional artists and live music. 🎨 👉 artroundtennessee.org

2026 TN Pickle Festival | May 2–3 | 10 AM–4 PM | Putnam Co. Fairgrounds, Cookeville. $3 adult entry, kids under 12 FREE, parking free. Pickle eating contests all day. Live music all day. Spicy pickle margs. Pickle mocktails. A petting zoo, a bounce house, a train ride, a carousel, axe throwing, henna tattoos, a flower bar, a charm bar, a hat bar, and Summer Pickle Minis by BettyJean Co. Yes, really. 🥒 👉southernmarketevents.com

Beers for Brahms | Wednesday, May 6 | 5 PM | Father Tom's Pub. A fundraiser for the Bryan Symphony Orchestra with classical music and cold beer. 🍺 👉 (Beers for Brahms: A Fundraising Event

40th Annual Tennessee Renaissance Festival | Weekends in May + Memorial Day | 10 AM–6 PM | 2135 New Castle Road, Arrington. About 90 minutes west in Williamson County, and genuinely worth the trip. Forty years running on the grounds of Castle Gwynn, a real replica 12th-century Welsh border castle built by a local photographer over several decades. Full-armored jousting (they actually try to unhorse each other), Queen Elizabeth's court, artisans and food vendors in the village of Covington Glen, and castle grounds tours on every festival day. Turkey legs sold separately. 🏰 👉 tnrenfest.com

Sonic Sock Hop & Cruise-In | Saturday, May 16 | 5–9 PM | Liberty Square, Downtown Sparta. One of the largest classic car shows of the year in the Upper Cumberland, FREE to attend, with Four on the Floor spinning 50s and 60s rock under the Oldham Theater lights. Dress the part, bring a chair. 🚗 👉 spartatn.gov

HWY 55 Cruise-In | Saturday, May 16 | 12–5 PM | 2193 N. Main St, Crossville. Monthly classic car gathering through November. Classics, customs, and the usual cruise-in crowd. 🏎️ 👉 Hwy 55 Cruise In – Crossville, TN

Pickleball Clinics at Cane Creek | Starts May | Cane Creek Gymnasium. Registration open now for all skill levels. 🏓 👉 cookeville-tn.gov

Registration is opening across the Upper Cumberland right now. If you want first pick of weeks, this is the window.

🏀 City of Cookeville Leisure Services Sports Camps | Cane Creek Gymnasium Basketball Camp (June 3–7, 24–28, July 15–19 with 1Shot Athletics), Lacrosse Camp (June 10–14), All Sports Camp (June 17–21, July 8–12, July 22–26). Ages 7–12 (lacrosse up to 15). $80 per week. Lunch and afternoon snack provided free by Putnam County School Nutrition. Registration is open now. 👉 cookeville-tn.gov | 931-526-9767

📚 Putnam County Schools Summer Learning Camp | Free A four-week day camp in June for students entering grades 1–5 (Bridge Camp covers grades 6–8). 8 AM – 3 PM. Reading, math, STEAM, physical activity, and real fun. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks included. Applications are available at all Putnam County elementary and middle schools. 👉 pcsstn.com

🏊 Putnam County YMCA Day Camp Ages 5–12, Monday–Friday, 9 AM – 4 PM with extended care available (6 AM – 9 AM and 4 PM – 6 PM). Weekly themes, community visitors, swim time. In-person registration opens May 2026 (no online signups). 👉 putnamymca.org

If a camp fills up, it fills up. If you've been meaning to lock down the summer, this is the two-week window. 🎒

The secret nobody writes down is that late April is peak waterfall season in the Upper Cumberland. Winter rains have kept the flow strong, the canopy is fresh green, and the black flies haven't shown up yet. If you can take even half a day this week, point the car at one of these three:

💧 Burgess Falls State Park (8 miles south of Cookeville) Four waterfalls along a mile of river, culminating in a 136-foot plunge. The bottom of the main falls is closed off (has been since 2019), but the overlook is still one of the most jaw-dropping views in the state. Park it, hike 45 minutes, done. Bring water shoes and decent sneakers.

💧 Cummins Falls State Park (13 miles north of Cookeville) The iconic swimming hole falls. If you want to hike to the base and get in the water, you need a free permit through the state park website. Book ahead. Weather's warming fast and spots fill.

💧 Fall Creek Falls State Park (1 hour southeast) The big one. 256 feet, highest waterfall east of the Mississippi. Cascades, overlooks, suspension bridges, a full day if you want it. Best for anyone who's never been or is hosting out-of-town family.

Pro tip from the Plateau: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week are sunny, upper 70s, and near-empty at the parks. If you can flex your schedule, mid-week waterfall hikes beat weekend waterfall hikes every single time. 🥾

👉 tnstateparks.com

Cookeville, 1912 — Looking East Down the Tracks

The Depot sits on the right. Broad Street on the left.

But look closer at the white building on the corner.

In 1912, it was a saloon.
Then a bank.
Then a grocery store.
Then a furniture store.
Then an antique shop.

Today, it’s Poppie’s Boutique.

Six different versions of downtown. Same four walls.

Got a photo worth sharing with the Upper Cumberland? Hit reply and send it our way.

The Jewel on the West Side 🚂

If you've stood on Broad Street and looked west past Red Silo, you've seen it: a low brick building with a roof that doesn't quite look like any other roof in town. That's not an accident.

The Cookeville Depot was built in 1909 by the Tennessee Central Railroad, and it was one of only three brick depots the TC ever built. The pagoda-style roof was unusual enough that the railroad itself called it "the Jewel" in their crown.

Before the Depot, Cookeville had a small wooden railroad station (1890, built by the Nashville & Knoxville), and before that, it was a plateau town connected to the world mostly by wagon. The moment the tracks arrived in 1890, everything changed. Shops sprang up between the depot and the courthouse square. A shopping arcade opened downtown. A housing boom followed, and a shanty town called "Boxtown" grew up near the tracks in roughly the area where Cookeville Regional Medical Center sits today.

Here's the part most people don't know: the railroad is also why Tennessee Tech exists. The same infrastructure that brought coal, cattle, and passengers through Cookeville also made it possible to found Dixie College and Tennessee Polytechnic Institute. Both are the direct ancestors of the university sitting on the east side of town. No railroad, no TTU.

Passenger service ended in 1955. The Tennessee Central went out of business in 1968. The city bought the building in 1975 and started the long restoration. In 1985, the Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

It's still open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 4, free to walk in. Outside on the grounds you'll find a 1913 Baldwin steam engine, a 1920s caboose, and a few small track cars.

One century old, still the heart of the WestSide. 🚂

👉 cookevilledepot.com

Still standing. Still open. Still the center of WestSide.

Thanks for reading this far!

Got a tip? Know something happening? Want to partner?
Hit reply. I’d love to chat.

Have a great week.

-Noah @ the Cookville Cardinal