Southern Exposure Magazine

08/28/2026

There's nothing like pretending it's fall while sweating through your iced coffee. ☀️🍂 But hey, we'll take the vibes! A false fall patio lunch is our kinda perfect. 🥗🥪

https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com

08/26/2026

After more than four decades of public service, Williamson County Chief of Staff Diane Giddens is retiring! 🎉 Since 1982, she's been County Mayor Rogers Anderson's closest confidante, so in sync they'd finish each other's sentences. Her proudest moment? Watching Williamson County earn its AAA bond rating. Her favorite memory? Holding Anderson's family Bible during his last oath of office. 📖

Read her story: https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com/current_issue/salute-to-excellence-diane-giddens/article_52a1811e-90cc-46e9-8cb0-5213292bc702.html

08/26/2026

20 years ago, people told this guy he was crazy for opening an upscale restaurant in Franklin. Nobody would even drive from Nashville for dinner. 👀 Fast forward: Red Pony Restaurant just turned 20, and the real story is wild. Employees who met their spouses there. Second-gen staff (their kids work there now too). A chef who came back after losing everything in a fire.

Read the full story: https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com/current_issue/the-profile-red-pony-20th-anniversary/article_c59bc530-0916-42f1-99fb-bd780a225b2a.html

📸: Pliny Crane Photos

08/25/2026

Boots on, black tie off, because it's Hog Ball season! 🐷🤠 Hog Ball hits Franklin's Eastern Flank on October 3, with this year's theme "Friends in Low Places," including live music, barbecue, and Southern hospitality under the October sky. 🎶🍖 Every ticket supports 5 local nonprofits, so grab your boots and call your buddies, because it's a whole hog for a whole lot of good. 🐖

https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com/current_issue/cause-effect-hog-ball-2026/article_994a8623-ba67-4ba8-aff3-12dbac013d54.html

08/21/2026

This year's Juneteenth Breakfast theme was Freedom, Resilience, and the Pursuit of Equality, and the room showed up to match it. Williamson, Inc.'s Black Business Coalition hosted their second annual event, growing from 120 to nearly 180 guests, with breakfast by Menu Maker Catering and a keynote from Derek Young. 🖤 See more photos: https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com/in_the_loop/in-the-loop-williamson-inc-s-black-business-coalition-annual-juneteenth-breakfast/article_5da56ffa-6a5a-4861-8a85-79128e710fbd.html

08/20/2026

Tucked inside a cozy little house on the Southall Farm & Inn property, Dottie’s is an intimate speakeasy perfect for slowing down, sipping, and mingling. There’s something going on nearly every night, from tiny martinis on Tuesdays, wine and spirits tastings on Wednesdays, caviar service on Thursdays, and live music every Friday and Saturday.

Admission is complimentary for hotel and restaurant guests, or outside guests can book their way in for a fee. Cheers! 🥃

https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com

08/19/2026

Taste. Shop. Explore. Williamson to showcase local businesses today until 7 pm Factory at Franklin

https://www.williamsonherald.com/features/business/taste-shop-explore-williamson-to-showcase-local-businesses-aug-19/article_42610938-54b3-4795-80dd-461f6b59fcc8.html

Williamson, Inc.

FRANKLIN – Williamson, Inc. will host Taste. Shop. Explore. Williamson, a free community event, from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, in Liberty Hall at The Factory at Franklin.

08/19/2026

Your Franklin event calendar for August & September just got stacked... mark your calendars! 📅 From park fundraisers under the stars to a Labor Day road race and a polo match celebrating 30 years, this town knows how to celebrate with purpose! Save this post to plan out your month and get the full list: https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com/current_issue/the-events-august-september/article_5b0942f3-c720-45de-9d19-08e5859050fc.html

08/19/2026

Before he was SkyDog, Duane Allman was a session guitarist in Muscle Shoals, cutting tracks behind Aretha Franklin. This August, the name comes home! 🎸 SkyDog: The Shoals Experience is a weekend of music, food, and storytelling celebrating the birthplace of Southern rock. See Jackson Dean, Wet Willie ft. Jimmy Hall, Maggie Rose, and more. 🎶 Get the scoop:

https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com/current_issue/the-event-skydog-music-festival/article_b5338cc7-e288-491e-95d8-996036f26457.html

08/18/2026

The South has an official Whiskey Society, and honestly? It checks out. 🥃 Based in Franklin, Southern Whiskey Society's annual event brings together 40+ distillers (owners, founders, master blenders—the real deal), chefs pairing bites with pours, and a cigar lounge. And it's not just about the whiskey, because the Society partners with a local food-relief nonprofit, raising thousands each year through a charity barrel. Good whiskey, good people, good cause. 💛

https://www.southernexposuremagazine.com