Good morning, Cookeville.

June is here, school's out, and this particular stretch is a quiet one. Monday through Wednesday is a weeknight week, the calm before a loud weekend. The good news: there's still a free thing to do every single night. Roasted Hemp Co. runs games Monday, trivia Tuesday, and karaoke and pool Wednesday, all free. Plenty Bookshop opens its doors for a free Write-In on Tuesday. And if you'd rather skip ahead, festival season opens this Saturday with the Tennessee Peach Festival. Quick weather note: storms are possible each afternoon, so keep an eye on the radar if you've got outdoor plans.

In today's Cookeville Scoop:

Let's get into it.

Plenty Bookshop Monthly Write-In. Tuesday, June 2 from 6 to 8 PM at PLENTY Downtown Bookshop (41 W Broad Street). Bring whatever you've been meaning to work on, a novel, a journal, an essay, the emails you keep avoiding, and write alongside other people for a couple of hours. No class, no pressure, just dedicated time and good company in a bookstore. Free to attend, but they ask that you RSVP so they can set the room. RSVP at plentybookshop.org/events.

Crawdaddy's weeknight drink lineup, Monday through Wednesday. Crawdaddy's runs a different drink deal each weeknight downtown. Monday is $4.99 Tito's. Tuesday is half-price drafts. Wednesday is the Aperol Spritz, which is exactly the drink you want as the evenings warm up. Easy "I don't feel like deciding" answer on the Square, kitchen open until 10. 53 W Broad Street. crawdaddysgrill.com.

The Putnam Room weekday happy hour starts Tuesday. Happy hour at The Putnam Room runs Tuesday through Friday, 3 to 5 PM, right on the Historic Square. Tuesday is the first day it runs each week, so if you've got an afternoon to kill or a workday that ends early, this is your downtown landing spot. 319 E Spring Street. theputnamroom.com.

Chill Billy's Lounge is open. Cookeville has a new craft cocktail and bar-food lounge from owners Toni and Bryon Mowrey. The pitch is "classic and craft," meaning the standards you'd expect alongside cocktails worth lingering over, with bar food a step up from the usual. A solid new option for a weeknight drink when you want something a notch above the usual. Details via UCBJ.

Here's the thing about a quiet week: it's the best time to plan for a loud one. And this Saturday is going to be loud.

The Tennessee Peach Festival takes over the Putnam County Fairgrounds (365 Fairground Street) on Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and 7, and it's the first big festival weekend of the summer. Picture more than 100 vendors, a row of food trucks, carnival rides, live music, and peach everything, from the obvious peach treats to the drinks. For the kids there's a dedicated kids' zone, a free petting zoo, and a free bounce house. Parking is free, and kids get in free, which makes this an easy yes for families counting summer dollars.

It's run by Southern Market Events, the crew behind the fairgrounds festival calendar (they're also the ones bringing the Banana Festival back on June 27, but that's a story for later in the month).

Now the heads-up that makes this worth flagging early: Saturday, June 6 is stacked. Beyond the Peach Festival, Upper Cumberland Pride sets up at Dogwood Park from 11 AM to 5 PM with food trucks, a kids tent with karaoke, a balloon artist, face painting, crafts, and community booths, all free. And Cars and Coffee rolls into the Mid City District that same morning for its free monthly car gathering. You could genuinely make a day of all three.

Festival hours hadn't been posted as of this writing, so check the organizer's page before you head out Saturday. But you don't need the exact start time to put it on the calendar now. southernmarketevents.com.

One more bridge to the weekend: After Dark Movies in the Park kicks off this Friday, June 5, at the Dogwood Performance Pavilion. Free outdoor movie, bring chairs and blankets, every Friday in June.

Games Against Roasted, Monday night. Monday, June 1 from 7 to 9 PM at Roasted Hemp Co. (1068 E 10th Street, Suite F). Cards Against Humanity-style games, Jackbox, and party games hosted by Brook Jolley. Free to play and a low-key way to start the week with actual humans instead of a screen. 21 and up. Free. roastedhempcookeville.com.

Trivia Tuesday. Tuesday, June 2 from 7 to 9 PM at Roasted Hemp Co. Trivia with Brook Jolley, with rounds on corporate disasters, AI hallucinations, bizarre history, and the general bleakness of the news cycle. Bring a team or wing it solo. 21 and up. Free. roastedhempcookeville.com.

Tracks & Racks: karaoke and pool, Wednesday. Wednesday, June 3 from 7 to 10 PM at Roasted Hemp Co. The midweek karaoke-and-pool night, also hosted by Brook Jolley. Sing or shoot, no cover either way. 21 and up. Free. roastedhempcookeville.com.

Cookeville Farmers Market, any day this week. Open daily, 6 AM to 6 PM, at the covered market building on Mahler Avenue (201 Mahler Ave). Early June means strawberries at their peak rolling into the first peaches of the season, plus plant starts, herbs, baked goods, honey, and eggs. Weekday mornings are quieter than the Saturday rush if you'd rather take your time. Free to browse. cookeville-tn.gov/farmers-market.

Summer reading sign-ups at the Putnam County Library. The library's summer reading season is underway, so this is the week to get the kids signed up at the Cookeville branch (50 E Broad Street). One logistics note: the parking lot is closed for the branch's expansion project, but the library itself is open, so plan your parking. Free. pclibrary.org.

TennGreen Hike-a-Thon, all month. The TennGreen Land Conservancy's June challenge is simple: log as many hike, paddle, or bike miles as you can this month while raising money for land conservation. You've got perfect ground for it nearby, with Cummins Falls, Burgess Falls, and Window Cliffs all a short drive out. Start any weekday you've got an hour. visitcookevilletn.com/events.

Know someone who needs a weeknight plan, or a family that would love the Peach Festival this weekend? Forward this email their way. Have an event, opening, or story tip we missed? Reply directly or tag us on social. We read everything that comes in.

Thanks for being here, Cookeville. It's a quiet week, the kind that's good for trivia night and a slow market morning, with festival season waiting right at the end of it. We'll see you back here before the weekend. 🧡

-- The Cookeville Scoop Team