Good morning, Cookeville.

I stepped outside this morning and September was still doing its best August impression. Ninety-three today, ninety-four tomorrow. I am not complaining. I am just keeping the AC on.

In today's Cookeville Scoop:

Let's get into it.

Patriots! opens tonight at CPAC. The Homeschool Dramatic Society performs Patriots! at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center Thursday and Friday at 10 AM and 7 PM, and Saturday at 1 PM and 7 PM. Six shows, three days. Tickets are available online through the CPAC Ludus ticketing system. Note that CPAC is transitioning away from Etix after September 28, so Ludus is the right door. Get tickets or call the box office at 931-528-1313.

The Putnam County Fall Home Show opens Friday. Home improvement vendors, builders, and landscapers fill the Putnam County Convention Center at 2121 Event Center Drive for a free two-day expo. Friday hours are 4 to 8 PM. Saturday is 10 AM to 6 PM. No tickets, no registration, just walk in. Good if you have a project brewing or you just want to see what builders are doing in 2026. See the event.

The Ink Room opens Thursday at 11 AM. Tara Knight and her team celebrate the ribbon cutting of their new body art studio at 44 N. Walnut Ave at 11 AM Thursday. The Ink Room is a private tattoo space carved out of the adjacent Finery Salon after more than a year of remodeling. The full grand opening celebration is Saturday. The whole community is invited to both. See the announcement or follow @theinkroomtattooofficial.

Country Roads Harley-Davidson is throwing a party Thursday at 4:30 PM. The dealership at 1424 Interstate Drive celebrates its new chapter under Crown-Smoky Mountain Motor Company with a ribbon cutting at 4:30 PM, then a Bike Night with free food, live music, and raffles. Owner Scott Maddux is a Baxter native and TTU alum. Free and open to the community. See the announcement or call 931-526-3139.

The Putnam Room added a late-night Saturday happy hour. The upscale dinner spot at 319 E Spring Street now runs a second happy hour window on Saturdays from 8 to 10 PM, on top of the existing 3 to 5 PM daily window. Owned by Taylor Douglas and Chef Thomas Hobson, the Putnam Room is open Tuesday through Friday 11 AM to 9 PM and Saturday 4 to 10 PM. Reservations are recommended but not required. See the menu or call 931-644-3722.

Crawdaddy's is running its weekly drink board. Thursday is Tito's Handmade Vodka at $4.99 at 53 W Broad Street. The kitchen runs 11 AM to 10 PM Monday through Saturday. Check the current specials.

Twenty-seven years ago, Mary Evelyn McCurdy was a homeschooled high school student in the Upper Cumberland who decided she wanted to put on a play. This week, Patriots! opens at the Cookeville Performing Arts Center, and 111 of her cast members are homeschooled students from across the region, six of whom share her last name.

The production is McCurdy's 27th with the Homeschool Dramatic Society, the troupe she founded in 1999. The script is original, pieced together from true accounts of the American Revolution. Every song the cast sings is from the Revolutionary era. Her husband built the set. Her mother is the assistant director. Five of her six children are in the cast.

"I pieced together many true accounts of events that happened during the American Revolution to create the script," McCurdy told the Herald-Citizen. "There are stories of events that happened on and off the battlefield."

The timing is not accidental. America turns 250 next year, and the Upper Cumberland is offering its own version of the celebration: 111 kids rehearsing all summer to bring a piece of 1776 to the stage at 10 E Broad Street.

The show runs six times across three days. Thursday and Friday offer a 10 AM matinee and a 7 PM evening show. Saturday has a 1 PM and a 7 PM. The evening shows are the ones to catch if you are coming after work.

Tickets are available online through the CPAC Ludus system (note: CPAC is moving away from Etix after September 28, so Ludus is the right place to buy). You can also call the box office at 931-528-1313 or stop in at 10 E Broad Street during box office hours.

Get tickets at CPAC

Cookeville Regional Medical Center and Encompass Health broke ground Tuesday on a new 50-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital on the CRMC campus. The facility, a partnership between the two organizations, is expected to open in early 2028 and will expand access to specialized care for stroke and injury recovery across the 14-county Upper Cumberland region. Private rooms, advanced rehab services, closer to home.

Building for the long haul. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Patriots! at CPAC – Original Revolutionary War play by 111 local homeschooled students, 10 AM and 7 PM

The Ink Room Ribbon Cutting – New body art studio opens at 44 N. Walnut Ave with a community ribbon cutting, 11 AM

Country Roads HD Ribbon Cutting + Bike Night – Free food, live music, and raffles follow the 4:30 PM ribbon cutting at 1424 Interstate Drive

Dabgo Music Bingo at Roasted – Free music bingo with Brook Jolley at Roasted Hemp Co, 7 to 9 PM (21+)

Patriots! at CPAC – Revolutionary War play continues, 10 AM and 7 PM

Putnam County Fall Home Show – Free home improvement expo at the Convention Center, 4 to 8 PM

Friday Fright Escape Rooms at Roasted – Tennessee Party Company brings mobile escape rooms with two themes, 6 to 10 PM (21+, tickets required)

Cookeville Green Market – Local produce, crafts, and live music at Jig Head Brewing, 8 AM to noon

Ride to the Sky – Cycling event through Upper Cumberland roads with 9- to 100-mile routes; post-ride party with live music and local brew, starts as early as 6:30 AM

STEM Super Saturday: Game On! – Free sports and STEM morning for PreK through 8th graders at the Oakley STEM Center on the TTU campus, 9 AM to noon

Putnam County Fall Home Show – Free home improvement expo continues at the Convention Center, 10 AM to 6 PM

Cookeville Coin Show – 55+ vendor tables of coins, currency, and bullion at the Community Center with hourly raffle prizes, 9 AM to 4 PM

Dogapalooza – Free dog festival at Cane Creek Dog Park with vendors, agility, and a Kids' Dog Show, 10 AM to 2 PM

Plant Bingo at the Library – Win donated plants at Plant Bingo at the Cookeville branch, noon to 1:30 PM

Patriots! at CPAC – Final weekend shows, 1 PM and 7 PM

TTU Alumni Awards – Dinner and awards ceremony at the Ashraf Islam Engineering Building on campus, 5:30 PM ($50/ticket)

Dabgo Music Bingo at Roasted – Afternoon music bingo with Brook Jolley at Roasted Hemp Co, 3 to 5 PM

Dogapalooza returns to Cane Creek Dog Park Saturday. The City of Cookeville Leisure Services is hosting its annual dog celebration from 10 AM to 2 PM at Cane Creek Dog Park. Vendors, nonprofits, an agility course, off-leash play, educational areas, a Kids' Dog Show, and room to just wander around with your dog. All free, no registration needed. See the listing.

STEM Super Saturday: Game On! is free and on the TTU campus Saturday morning. The Millard Oakley STEM Center at 155 W 7th Street runs its sports-themed STEM event from 9 AM to noon. Kids in PreK through 8th grade will explore how science, engineering, and math power sports, with hands-on stations and challenges they can work through at their own pace. A parent or guardian needs to stay. Registration is free and encouraged at the link below, but you can also just show up. Register here or see event details.

The Putnam Room and 1854 is the downtown Cookeville date night. Start at The Putnam Room at 319 E Spring Street, open Thursday and Friday 11 AM to 9 PM and Saturday 4 to 10 PM. Chef Thomas Hobson's kitchen runs an upscale menu that feels worth dressing up for, with happy hour 3 to 5 PM during the week and the new late-night window Saturdays from 8 to 10. Then walk a few blocks to 1854 Cocktail Bar and Lounge at 18 N. Madison Ave. It is a speakeasy. You will find the door. Reservations are required and the seating is limited, which is most of the point. Order the deviled eggs.

The Tennessee Central Trail runs 4.2 miles of paved path alongside an active rail line between Cookeville and Algood. It is the area's first multi-modal trail, open from dawn to dusk, free to walk or ride. The Friends of the Tennessee Central Trail envision 46 miles eventually, a long corridor through the upper plateau.

Saturday's Ride to the Sky cycling event raises money for that expansion. But the trail itself requires nothing but shoes. If you have not been out there lately, it is a quiet, flat, honestly pleasant stretch to know about.

Tennessee Central Trail

Thursday 93 / 71 | 0% rain

Friday 94 / 74 | 0% rain

Saturday 82 / 70 | 21% rain

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Thanks for being here, Cookeville. September is taking its time leaving. Go see some kids change the world from the CPAC stage tonight. 🧡

-- Travis