Why Greenbrier's Fall Calendar Keeps Circling Back To The Lake

Greenbrier's September and October calendar includes a cook-off, a car show, and a fish fry at a Baptist church. The Fish Fry is designated to support upgrades at Greenbrier Lake. The events offer different ways to take part in the fall calendar.

If you live in Greenbrier, the fall calendar offers a few dates to mark and several ways to take part in local life.

Three weekends on the calendar

Here's what's actually on the books this September and October, based on the city's own event listings:

• BBQ and Bags Cook-Off, the 4th annual, is set for Old Greenbrier Pike at Louise Martin Memorial Park. The city's newsflash page lists it for September 20, while the regional events aggregator AllEvents has it a day earlier on September 19 starting at 11 a.m. If you're planning to go, it's worth a quick check of the city's calendar before you circle the date, since this is the kind of discrepancy that happens when a volunteer-run event outgrows its original flyer.
• Community Fish Fry for Greenbrier Lake runs Saturday, September 26, at 5:30 p.m., hosted at Solid Rock Baptist Church. This one is organized jointly by the Brier Park Partners, Greenbrier Parks and Recreation, and the church, and the city has been explicit about where the money goes: straight into upgrades at Greenbrier Lake.
• Rumble in the Brier, the car show that's become the town's signature fall gathering, returns to Louise Martin Memorial Park with its Trunk or Treat pairing. The exact October date for 2026 hadn't posted as of this writing, but the pattern holds steady: it landed on October 25 in 2025 and October 26 in 2024, so late October is a safe bet if you're penciling it in.

Three organizers and three formats make for a varied fall calendar. The Fish Fry also connects the season’s events to Greenbrier Lake’s improvement plans.

Greenbrier Lake's improvement wishlist

Greenbrier's own planning notes, published by Smokey Barn News in a rundown of the city's recent projects and priorities, spell out exactly what's still needed at the lake: a floating pier, a pavilion, a concrete boat ramp, a volleyball court, and benches along the walking trails. Together, the proposed additions would expand the lake’s recreational options.

The Community Fish Fry on September 26 is specifically described as a fundraiser for Greenbrier Lake upgrades. It gives attendees a way to support that project while taking part in a community event.

The math behind the growth

Here's how fast Greenbrier has actually grown. Mayor Lanny Adcock, a lifelong resident who served as a county commissioner before taking the mayor's office, put it plainly in an interview with Nashville's WKRN:

"When I was a kid there were 900 people and now there is about 7,000 people. I've always heard that if you're not growing you're dying, and we've grown quite a bit."

Adcock's comparison puts the town's growth in perspective. The fall calendar also offers residents ways to take part in local projects and community life.

Longtime resident Maryann Partain, who volunteers at the Greenbrier Historical Society Museum and Library and has called the town home for 40 years, told WKRN that newcomers find their footing through the town's churches, noting there's one on nearly every corner where people can meet each other. Her observation adds a social perspective to the picture of a growing town.

If you're making plans this fall

For residents who want to actually show up rather than just read about it, here's how the fall calendar lays out:

1. Confirm the BBQ and Bags date on the city's own calendar before committing, since the listed dates diverge by a day between sources. Louise Martin Memorial Park is the location either way.
2. Block off the evening of September 26 for the Fish Fry at Solid Rock Baptist Church. It starts at 5:30 p.m., and proceeds are designated for Greenbrier Lake upgrades.
3. Watch for the Rumble in the Brier and Trunk or Treat announcement in the coming weeks. Based on the last two years, expect a late October date at Louise Martin Memorial Park, with the car show running from roughly 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the trunk-or-treat portion folded into the same day.

None of these events require you to buy or sell a house to matter to you. They're the kind of thing you show up to because your kid's Little League team plays on the same fields the parks department is trying to fund, or because you've walked the trails at Greenbrier Lake enough times to notice which benches are missing.

Community events and Greenbrier Lake

The fall calendar brings together events with different draws, from the cook-off and car show to the Fish Fry supporting lake improvements. Together, they give residents several ways to take part in community life.

If you've lived here a while, you may have noticed the lake could use some work. Whether you plan to enter a car, attend the fish fry, or spend a Saturday morning at Louise Martin Memorial Park with your family, there are plenty of reasons to get out and enjoy the season.

If you're keeping an eye on how neighborhoods like Greenbrier are changing and want a local read on what that means for your own next move, The McGiboney Team can help you find your Middle Tennessee home when the time is right.