Nashville International Airport

Airports celebrate mittens, Peeps, new terminals, and the Super Bowl match-up

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We spent the weekend gathering up as many social media postings we could find that featured airport-themed images of Bernie Sanders and his mittens.

If you missed that, or want to see what we can up with, find the Stuck at the Airport #BernieMittens meme archive here.

You may have also missed our Airport Amenity of the Week. Some weeks we have a lot of airport amenities in the running. Last week, this table full of free Peeps at Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) in Allentown, PA was hands down the winner.

If you have a cool new airport amenity to nominate during this week, let us know.

We were also heartened to see some airports posting previews of future terminals. Thank-you Portland International Airport (PDX) and Nashville International Airport (BNA) for giving us some new spaces to look forward to.

And Tampa International Airport (TPA) and Kansas City International Airport (KCI) are very excited about the teams that will be playing in the Super Bowl this year.

Travel Tidbits from an airport near you

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Wouldn’t it be nice right now to be making your way to an airport and getting ready to visit a new city or an old favorite?

That time will come. For now, here are some tidbits from airports around the country.

Pay respects to civil rights icon John Lewis at ATL Airport

In April 2019, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) unveiled an exhibit in the domestic atrium titled “John Lewis – Good Trouble” to honor the longtime U.S. Congressman and civil rights icon.

Lewis died late last week, on July 17, and the exhibit has turned into a memorial tribute where travelers can stop and pay respects.

New Concourse E extension at PDX Airport

Courtesy Port of Portland

We shared the news last week about the opening of the new Concourse E extension at Portland International Airport (PDX).

Here’s a bit more about the project.

The extension brings the first new gates to PDX in more nearly 20 years and offers views of Mt. Hood and the Columbia Rivier.

The new concourse extension also features two aerial sculptures by Jacob Hashimoto featuring 11,000 paper kits and 450 different graphics representing Portland’s river, bridges, and neighborhoods.

Hashimoto’s PDX artwork may be familiar to travelers. He also has his work displayed at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), in the lobby of SFO Grand Hyatt.

A new concourse at Nashville International Airport too

Portland isn’t the airport that cut the ribbon on a new concourse last week.

On Friday, July 17, the first Southwest Airlines flight took off from Nashville International Airport’s (BNA) new $292 million Concourse D.

More things to buy at airports. Plus an avgeek ornament

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If you’re spending a lot of time at airports over the next few weeks or shopping for ‘avgeek’ gifts, here are a couple of things I’ve found – so far – for a list I’m putting together.

This ornament ($10) made of tiny little airplanes is for sale on the Boeing Store site, part of the Jet Snowflake collection.

This adorable little box of raspberry gummies is for sale at the Frivolous shop at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, DTW.

And at Nashville International Airport, several brew pubs sell single bottle and six- packs of local beer to go.

More to come…

Want free tickets to Bonnaroo 2015? Make airport art

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Bonnaroo 2014 Wednesday-photo by David Barnum

Want two free tickets to the 2015 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival? It will help if you’re an artist.

The annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival takes place each June on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee and many event attendees make their way to and from the festival through Nashville International Airport.

To welcome everyone (and help promote the event), each year the airport features artist-made, Bonnaroo-themed artwork in five skylights on the secure side of the terminal.

Here’s a sample of the artwork from this past season on display through January 2015:

Bonnaroo

By AK Lamas

 

Proposals for next year’s Bonnaroo-themed skylight art will be taken through November 9, 2014.

Each selected artist will get an honorarium of $2,000 to create skylight art that incorporates or reflects iconic Bonnaroo festival elements (but not the full Bonnaroo brand logo), the festival location and the Bonnaroovian Code: Prepare Thy Self, Play as a Team, Radiate Positivity, Respect The Farm, Don’t be that Guy/Gal, and Stay True Roo.

Each selected artist also gets two free tickets to Bonnaroo 2015.

Good luck!

Nashville Airport unveils new large scale art work

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On Wednesday, November 16th, 2011, Nashville International Airport officially dedicates a new large-scale piece of public art titled: ‘Wind Reeds.’

The piece was created for the airport’s new rental car facility by Ned Kahn and features hundreds of hinged aluminum elements that sway in the wind, mimicking a grass-like effect.

Here’s a bit of Kahn’s artist statement about the work:
“…Even from a great distance, the proposed sculpture functions as a dynamic beacon for the airport. Similar to watching the wind blow through a field of tall grass or the wind playing on the surface of water, the artwork fosters a welcoming mood of contemplation and wonder. My hope is that the artwork will function as a register for the ever-changing wind and create a unique kinetic portal for Nashville that will remind people of the magic and mystery of the world that we live in.”

Nashville International Airport has lots of other permanent and temporary art work, art exhibits and live music year-round. If you’re heading that way, be sure to check the schedule so you don’t miss something really great.