Old Hickory Village's Fall Hinges on Two Saturdays, and the Shops Between Them Echo the Plant's Old Names

On October 17, the neighborhood association's Haunted Harvest Festival ends at 7 p.m., and half an hour later the curtain goes up at Lakewood Theatre Company. On December 5, the village tree lighting wraps up at 6:30 p.m., and A Sherlock Carol opens its Saturday run an hour later, a short drive up Old Hickory Boulevard. Over the past year, a cluster of small businesses has filled in the hours around those two dates, and two of them carry names that point back to the DuPont plant that built the village in the first place.

The names on the new signs echo a century-old plant

The history explains why those names land. According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia, the town dates to January 29, 1918. That was the day DuPont and the federal government agreed to build a huge gunpowder plant and worker village on Hadley's Bend of the Cumberland River. The village was first called Jacksonville. The plant closed two months after the November 1918 armistice. Later, DuPont officials reacquired the complex and turned it into a rayon factory, and the DuPont Rayon Plant was running by 1925. DuPont ran Old Hickory as a company town for about twenty years and didn't begin selling homes to its employees until 1946.

So there were two industries and two eras: gunpowder first, then rayon. Both words now appear on storefronts. One shop on Donelson Avenue is called Powder City. A café on Bridgeway Avenue is called Rayon City, and the neighborhood association uses "Rayon City" for the neighborhood itself. Its March spotlight on the café opens with "Rayon City's newest addition has Old Hickory buzzing." The village's 1934 post office and 1937 library date from that same company-town era.

What opened, and where it sits

Most of the new businesses are on two short stretches, the 1200 block of Donelson Avenue and Bridgeway Avenue. Here's the rundown:

• Rayon City Cafe, 224 Bridgeway Avenue. The neighborhood association reported it open in January 2026. It's open Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., in a renovated former auto shop. Pastries come from Sip Cafe in Inglewood and are 20% off from 1 to 2 p.m. every day. Bagels come from Mr. Aaron's Goods. As of the association's March spotlight, house-made biscuits were $4, and the café planned to switch its coffee to Summit Sisters Coffee, another Old Hickory small business. Check the café's site for current hours.
• Powder City Candy & Gifts, 1202 Donelson Avenue. The shop's site lists candy and stationery. Hours are Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Duckbill Bookshop, same block. It joined the 1202–1206 Donelson Avenue cluster in late 2025. Its events page lists in-store programs through December.
• James' Tea Room and With Blossoms. The association's December 2025 update placed both in that same Donelson Avenue cluster. It described With Blossoms as an event space, creative studio, and speakeasy. A cyanotype workshop was scheduled at James' Tea Room for August 23, 2026. Neither business has posted a dated fall schedule that we could find, so check before you go.

All of these sit within a few minutes of each other on foot. With Powder City open Thursday through Sunday and Rayon City open Tuesday through Saturday, Thursday through Saturday is when both doors are open.

Saturday, October 17: festival, then theater

The first of the two Saturdays is this weekend. The Haunted Harvest Festival runs from 4 to 7 p.m. at the athletic fields on the corner of Old Hickory Boulevard and Hadley Avenue, 1700 Golf Club Road. The association calls it the village's biggest event. It promises food, shopping, and children's activities, and costumes are encouraged. An earlier preview listed 1400 Golf Club Road, so go by the live event page.

The festival has grown quickly. The association says it has become a neighborhood staple over the past five years. It also reports about 1,000 attendees in each of the last several years. Vendor spaces cost $50, and nonprofits get them free. That keeps the festival open to the same small makers and businesses that line Donelson Avenue.

Here's how the day lines up:

1. Morning to 2 p.m.: Rayon City Cafe is open from 7 a.m., and Powder City opens at 11 a.m. and stays open until 5.
2. 4 to 7 p.m.: Harvest Festival at 1700 Golf Club Road.
3. 7:30 p.m.: The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon at Lakewood Theatre Company, 2211 Old Hickory Boulevard.

The show runs six performances, October 16–18 and 23–25. Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday shows at 2:30 p.m. According to TicketsNashville, adult tickets are $20, and senior, student, and military tickets are $15. The theater was the association's May 2026 small-business spotlight.

The weeks between: the bookshop calendar

From late October to early December, there are no big village events, and Duckbill Bookshop's schedule fills the gap. Every event below is in-store, per the shop's events page.

Friday storytimes also run through October and November. November 21 is the busiest day of the stretch. The Old Hickory Community Tree Decorating runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park the same day as Duckbill's fiction club.

The neighborhood association meets every second Monday at 7 p.m. at the Old Hickory Community Center, 1050 Donelson Avenue. The live calendar lists the next meeting after tonight's on November 9. Those meetings are where new businesses get introduced. The owner of Rayon City Cafe came to the March meeting to talk about the space.

Saturday, December 5: lights, then Sherlock

The second double Saturday follows the same pattern as October 17. The Historic Old Hickory Village Tree Lighting runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park, and the lights are expected to come on around 6. At 7:30 p.m., Lakewood Theatre Company plays the second night of A Sherlock Carol.

That show runs longer than the October one, with nine performances: December 4–6, 11–13, and 18–20. Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday shows at 2:30 p.m. Ticket prices match the fall show, $20 for adults and $15 for seniors, students, and military, according to TicketsNashville. Duckbill holds Friday storytime the day before, December 4, and Powder City is open until 5 p.m. on the 5th.

Both double Saturdays follow the same order. A free, volunteer-run gathering ends just before a local theater's evening show, and both happen within a short drive of the old DuPont village. If you plan each day around those two anchors, the Donelson Avenue and Bridgeway Avenue shops fill the hours before them.

Robert Werkheiser follows Old Hickory Village the way its neighbors do, meeting by meeting and opening by opening. If you're thinking about a move in or around the village and want someone who already knows its calendar, Robert Werkheiser would be glad to help. Let's talk about your next move.