Bedford County's restaurants run the gamut from upscale dining to casual‚ down-home cafés. Combined with a variety of homegrown products, the food scene here adds up to rich local flavor.
The classic play To Kill a Mockingbird will be staged in October 2007, and a dinner theater presentation of Smoke on the Mountain will debut in late November.
In addition to being one of Tennessee’s top producers of traditional farm products such as wheat‚ corn‚ beef and poultry‚ Bedford County is producing a valuable new crop – agri-tourism.
Just outside of Shelbyville is Bedford County's only winery: Tri-Star Vineyards & Winery on Scales Road‚ seven miles north off U.S. 41A.
About 2‚000 guests – some from as far as Australia and South Africa – tour the five-acre winery each year and watch as grapes from 2‚200 vines are made into Tennessee wine ranging from dry to sweet and from white to deep reds.
The winery also makes fruit and berry wines‚ including blackberry‚ apple‚ strawberry‚ plum and cherry.
Tri-Star sells its products...
On the Saturday night before Labor Day in Shelbyville‚ the moment comes when 30‚000 spectators stand silently in the dark‚ barely moving‚ barely breathing.
Shelbyville, Tennessee is known as the Walking Horse Capital of the World. The Tennessee Center for Policy Research named it as one of the state's top 25 most business-friendly communities and the area is a major draw for manufacturing and distribution. The city also is known for its strong youth sports programs and a state-of-the-art recreation center.