OPINION: Yes, there is plenty to do in Jackson

There’s one narrative that is told frequently a lot on social media that needs to go away because it’s not true.

(There’s actually a lot of untrue narratives that are shared frequently on social media, but we’ll just focus on one for the purposes of this column.)

That narrative is this: “There’s nothing to do in Jackson.”

That’s one of the most inaccurate statements one could make about this place.

Just take a look at what all happened in Jackson in recent days:

• Cornhole tournament for CASA on Sept. 21
• Monthly Business After Hours gathering on Sept. 21
• Weekly Wine Down concert at Crown Winery on Sept. 22
• Jackson International Food and Arts Festival on Saturday
• Inaugural Hot Wing Festival at the West Tennessee Farmers’ Market Saturday evening

Here’s a few things coming up in the next few days:

• Canstruction with The Cleverlys performing on Thursday
• “The Play That Goes Wrong” at The Ned by The Jackson Theater Guild this weekend
• “Make It Shake It” martini party on Friday for Redemption Road Rescue
• Another Wine Down concert on Friday
• A big party Saturday in the middle of the day in Downtown Jackson celebrating new business at theLOCAL
• The annual tradition of Starlight Symphony Saturday night
• Voices in the Vineyard weekly concert series at Century Farm Winery similar to Wine Down

And that’s not counting other regular entries in the local events calendar like the Farmers’ Market being open every Saturday morning, high school football games on Friday nights, upcoming Lane College football games on Saturday afternoon, Food Truck Fridays in Downtown Jackson and concerts happening all the time at local venues and bars.

That’s also not counting other fun things happening near Jackson this time of year like the BBQ Festival in Henderson last week or the Heritage Days in Huntingdon that included a free concert by the legendary Oak Ridge Boys.

If I hear someone tell me there’s nothing to do, then I’m hearing someone admit two of three things: 1) I don’t pay attention to what’s going on locally or to local media or 2) If something isn’t involving Taylor Swift or someone on that level of fame, then it’s not an event worthy of my attention.

If you’re a person that falls in the second category, then so be it. You should probably move to Nashville or Memphis if you need that kind of celebrity to make or break a good time for you.

But if you’re a part of that first category, then that’s unfortunate. Because there’s a variety of things happening over the next few months in Jackson that are worthy of your attention – corn mazes, The Jackson Symphony concert season, The Jackson Theater Guild performance season, ghost walks, Veterans’ Day events, holiday events, fundraiser events with big-name entertainers for different non-profits in the area and the list can go on and on if I wanted to extend it.

There are a lot of people who work hard to see that the quality of life in Jackson and Madison County is as good as possible and always getting better.

Having something different to do besides wait in line for a table at a restaurant on the weekends is a big part of that, and there are plenty of opportunities to be taken advantage of in the Hub City and around rural West Tennessee.

Brandon Shields is the managing editor of The Jackson Post. Contact him at brandon@jacksonpost.news. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or Instagram @Editorbrandon.