Engines, festivals, fall flavors and a little Shire-inspired fun... September is showing off in the Tri-Cities! 🍂

🧭 Welcome Back, Trailblazers!

Last weekend, Bristol belonged to the music.

This weekend, it belongs to the ROAR. 🏁

Just days after Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion filled downtown with music fans, NASCAR takes over Northeast Tennessee for one of the region's biggest weekends of the year. The Bass Pro Shops Night Race returns to Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday night, but racing is only part of what's happening.

If NASCAR isn't your thing, don't worry. We've found plenty of other reasons to get out of the house.

From old-fashioned sorghum making and a fall festival in Gray to improv comedy in Bristol, classic cars in Kingsport and even a little taste of the Shire in Johnson City, this weekend offers something for almost everyone.

So, Trailblazers, grab the calendar. Here's what's happening around the Tri-Cities of Northeast Tennessee September 18–20, 2026.

🏁 TRAILBLAZER PICK OF THE WEEK

NASCAR Night Race Weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway

📍 Bristol Motor Speedway
151 Speedway Boulevard, Bristol, TN
📅 September 18–19
🎟️ Ticketed event

There are race weekends...and then there's Bristol.

Known as the "Last Great Colosseum," Bristol Motor Speedway becomes the center of the NASCAR world this weekend with two nights of racing under the lights.

🏎️ Friday: Food City 300

Friday's action begins well before the green flag.

Parking lots and the Fan Zone open at noon, spectator gates open at 2 p.m., practice and qualifying take place throughout the afternoon, driver introductions begin at 6:55 p.m., and the Food City 300 gets underway at 7:30 p.m.

Stick around afterward because Tim Dugger is scheduled to perform on the Food City Fan Zone Stage at 10 p.m.

🌐 Schedule, Information & Tickets:
https://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/events/food-city-300/

🏁 Saturday: Bass Pro Shops Night Race

Saturday night brings the main event.

📅 Saturday, September 19
⏰ 7:30 p.m.
🎟️ Tickets required

The NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops Night Race is one of Bristol's signature sporting events, and there's something about seeing the track illuminated at night while more than 30 race cars thunder around the high banks that simply doesn't translate through a television screen.

This year's event even has a Hollywood connection: Academy Award winner Brad Pitt is scheduled to serve as Grand Marshal.

Families should also take note. Bristol Motor Speedway currently advertises its Take Your Kid to Bristol program with $10 Cup Series tickets for children 12 and under with a paying adult.

🌐 Official Race Information & Tickets:
https://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/events/bass-pro-shops-night-race/

🏁 Trailblazer Tip: Give yourself plenty of travel time. Race weekend brings significant traffic into the Bristol area, particularly along the routes surrounding the Speedway. Arriving early lets you enjoy the Fan Zone instead of watching the clock from your car.

🎭 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

Prefer Laughs to Laps?

Not everyone wants to spend Friday night listening to engines.

How about laughing instead?

😂 Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood

The Whose Line Is It Anyway Tour

📍 Paramount Bristol
518 State Street, Bristol, TN
🚪 Doors: 6:30 p.m.
⏰ Show: 7:30 p.m.
🎟️ $51.04–$113.50, including applicable fees and taxes

Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, longtime favorites from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, bring their live improv show to the beautiful Paramount Bristol.

The fun part? There isn't really a script.

Audience suggestions and participation help shape the performance, meaning Friday night's show will be unique to Bristol.

This is also a great option if you're entertaining out-of-town guests for race weekend but someone in the group isn't particularly interested in NASCAR.

🌐 Information & Official Tickets:
https://paramountbristol.org/event/colin-brad/

⚠️ Paramount Bristol specifically warns guests to purchase tickets through Paramount's website or box office rather than third-party ticket sellers.

🍁 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

Fall Flavors, Festivals & Family Fun

Saturday may be race day in Bristol, but elsewhere around the Tri-Cities, fall festival season is getting started.

🥞 Sorghum Festival & Breakfast

📍 Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site
2620 South Roan Street, Johnson City
⏰ 8 a.m.–4 p.m.
🍳 Breakfast served 8–11 a.m.

Want to experience a little piece of Appalachian tradition?

At the Sorghum Festival, visitors can watch Maggie the mule power a cast-iron mill that squeezes juice from sorghum cane. The juice is then cooked down into that thick, sweet sorghum molasses generations of Appalachian families grew up eating.

Come early for breakfast and try it on a biscuit!

Breakfast includes biscuits with gravy or sorghum, sausage, bacon, eggs, oatmeal, grits and drinks.

The day also includes bluegrass and folk music in the historic barn, tours of the site's historic buildings, craft vendors, food trucks and even an opportunity to explore the historic cave.

Admission with breakfast:
Adults: $10
Children ages 4–12: $5
Ages 3 and under: Free

Admission without breakfast:
Adults: $8
Children ages 4–12: $4
Ages 3 and under: Free

Members are admitted free.

🌐 More Information:
https://www.tipton-haynes.org/events/sorghum-festival-091226

🧭 Trailblazer Tip: Go early. Not only will you get breakfast, but the sorghum crew will be crushing cane during the morning and into the early afternoon.

🎃 Gray Fall Festival 2026

📍 Appalachian Fairgrounds, Lot 5
100 Lakeview Street, Gray, TN
⏰ 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

If shopping local is your idea of a good Saturday, head toward Gray.

The Gray Fall Festival brings together local artisans, small businesses, food vendors and family-friendly activities at the Appalachian Fairgrounds.

Expect everything from handmade leather goods and jewelry to home décor, apparel, sewn and quilted items, kettle corn and plenty of festival food.

It's an easygoing way to welcome fall and support local businesses at the same time.

🌐 Event Information:
https://visitjohnsoncitytn.com/all-events/

🤼 BONUS: Pro Wrestling at Bristol Motor Speedway

Race fans get a little something extra this year.

📍 Bristol Motor Speedway Fan Zone – Guest Welcome Village
⏰ Saturday: 12:45–3:30 p.m.
💰 Free with Fan Zone access

Live professional wrestling comes to the Speedway's Guest Welcome Village with championship-style matches before Saturday night's race.

It's also happening Friday from 12:45–5:30 p.m.

🌐 More Information:
https://events.explorebristol.com/event/pro-wrestling-action-at-bristol-motor-speedway

🚗 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

Slow Down the Engines...and Bring Out the Classics

After Saturday night's NASCAR excitement, Sunday gives us a completely different kind of car show.

🚘 48th Annual Allandale Fall Meet Car Show

📍 Allandale Mansion
4444 West Stone Drive, Kingsport
⏰ 8 a.m.–3 p.m.
📅 Sunday, September 20
☀️ Held rain or shine

Beautiful grounds. A historic mansion. Rows of classic automobiles.

That's a pretty good Sunday combination.

The Daniel Boone Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America hosts its 48th Annual Allandale Fall Meet Car Show on the grounds of Allandale Mansion.

For anyone who loves vintage automobiles, automotive history or simply appreciates a beautifully restored classic, this makes an excellent Sunday outing.

🌐 Show Information & Vehicle Registration:
https://danlbooneregion.aaca.com/48th-annual-allandale-fall-meet-car-show-2026/

🧙 Shirefest

📍 Johnson City Public Library
100 West Millard Street, Johnson City
⏰ 2–4 p.m.
💰 Free
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 All ages

Hobbits in Appalachia?

Actually, it makes more sense than you might think.

Shirefest celebrates the similarities between the cozy, community-centered world of Tolkien's Shire and Appalachian culture.

The free festival features music from The Butternuts and the Science Hill Chamber Orchestra, traditional folk dancing, demonstrations by blacksmiths and fiber artists, festival games, locally brewed soda, vendors and plenty of "hobbity" activities.

This may be my Hidden Gem of the Week because it's unusual, free and something the whole family can enjoy.

🌐 Event Information:
https://www.jcpl.org/

⚽ ONE MORE SATURDAY OPTION

ETSU Football

📍 William B. Greene Jr. Stadium, Johnson City
📅 Saturday, September 19
⏰ Noon

If racing isn't your preferred sport, head to Johnson City, where the ETSU Buccaneers host West Georgia Saturday afternoon.

A noon kickoff also makes this one possible to combine with another Saturday activity.

🌐 ETSU Athletics & Tickets:
https://etsubucs.com/

🌤️ NEED A BREAK FROM THE CROWDS?

Head for the Mountains

With thousands of race fans descending on Bristol, this could also be the perfect weekend to head in the opposite direction.

Roan Mountain State Park offers hiking trails, the Doe River, picnic areas and that unmistakable feeling that fall is beginning to creep into the higher elevations. 🍂

September is one of those wonderful in-between times in Northeast Tennessee. Summer hasn't completely disappeared, but cooler mornings are beginning to hint at what's coming.

🌐 Park Information:
https://tnstateparks.com/parks/roan-mountain

☔ RAINY DAY BACKUP

Hands On! Discovery Center & Gray Fossil Site

If Mother Nature decides not to cooperate, make it a science day.

Hands On Discovery Center and the Gray Fossil Site share the complex at 1212 Suncrest Drive in Gray.

Families can explore hands-on science exhibits while the fossil site tells the fascinating story of animals and plants that lived in this part of Tennessee millions of years ago.

And here's what makes this attraction especially interesting: Gray isn't simply displaying fossils discovered somewhere else. It's home to an active fossil research site.

🌐 Visitor Information:
https://visithandson.org/

📅 COMING SOON

🏠 Appalachian Fair Home Show

Homeowners, DIYers and anyone collecting ideas for their next renovation will want to mark the calendar.

I double-checked this one because there has been some confusion over the dates.

The Fall 2026 Appalachian Fair Home Show/Tri-Cities Home Show is NEXT weekend, September 25–27, not this weekend.

📍 Appalachian Fairgrounds
100 Lakeview Street, Gray

Friday, September 25: Noon–6 p.m.
Saturday, September 26: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Sunday, September 27: 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
🎟️ FREE admission

Visitors can meet home improvement professionals and explore products and ideas involving remodeling, décor, outdoor living, home automation, security and more.

🌐 Official Information:
https://appalachianfairhomeshow.com/

Put this one on next weekend's calendar! 🏡

🧭 SUGGESTED TRAILBLAZER WEEKEND

Friday: If you're a NASCAR fan, head to Bristol early, explore the Fan Zone and stay for the Food City 300 at 7:30 p.m. If racing isn't your thing, make it dinner and a show in downtown Bristol with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood at Paramount Bristol.

Saturday: Start with breakfast at the Sorghum Festival at Tipton-Haynes. Browse the Gray Fall Festival afterward, or make your way to Bristol early for the Fan Zone and the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. 🏁

Sunday: Slow things down with classic cars at Allandale Mansion in the morning. Grab lunch in Kingsport or Johnson City, then finish the weekend at the free Shirefest at Johnson City Public Library. 🍂

That's a pretty good Tri-Cities weekend.

💛 FINAL THOUGHTS

One of the things I love most about living in Northeast Tennessee is how quickly the personality of a weekend can change.

Last weekend, Bristol's streets were filled with guitars, fiddles and music fans for Rhythm & Roots.

Seven days later?

The guitars have been replaced by race cars, and Bristol Motor Speedway is preparing for one of the biggest nights in NASCAR. 🏁

Meanwhile, just a short drive away, someone is making sorghum the old-fashioned way, artisans are setting up at a fall festival, classic cars are rolling onto the grounds of Allandale Mansion, and Johnson City is apparently turning a little bit into the Shire.

That's the Tri-Cities.

You don't have to travel hundreds of miles to find something interesting to do. Sometimes the best adventures are right here in Bristol, Kingsport, Johnson City, Gray and the communities throughout Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

So get out there, Trailblazers. Explore somewhere new, support a local business, attend a festival you've never visited before and enjoy these first hints of fall in the Appalachian Highlands. 🍂

🏡 Thinking About Calling Northeast Tennessee Home?

One of the best parts of my job isn't just helping people buy or sell a house. It's introducing people to the lifestyle that comes with living here.

Whether you're relocating to Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol, Gray, Jonesborough or another Northeast Tennessee community, I'd love to help you find the place that feels like home.

Becky Kemp
Affiliate Broker | Weichert Realtors Saxon Clark

555 E Main Street, Suite 101
Kingsport, TN 37660

Cell: 423-770-1796
Office: 423-765-9118

TN Real Estate by Becky

Helping you find not just a house, but a place to truly feel at home in Northeast Tennessee.

Until next time, Trailblazers! 🧭