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The Nashville Zoo announced Wednesday it had been forced to cancel the popular "Zoolumination Festival of Lights" after the Chinese artisans who power the glowing spectacle were denied visas to travel to the U.S.

Why it matters: Zoolumination was celebrated as the nation's largest lantern festival, with more than 1,000 custom-made silk lanterns. It has drawn crowds to the zoo during the winter holiday season since 2019.

State of play: The InLight Festival Group, which has organized festivals in more than a dozen countries, brought crews in from China for previous lantern displays.

When the artisans were denied visas this year, the zoo "was unable to find a solution that would allow Zoolumination to continue this year."

The big picture: The denials come as the Trump administration has been working to crack down on visas for skilled workers.

A similar lantern festival in Des Moines, Iowa was canceled earlier this year after Chinese workers were refused visas.

What's next: Instead, the zoo will host a new holiday light show featuring glowing wildlife, holiday displays and an 85-foot synchronized Christmas tree. 

The new Glow Wild event will run Nov. 13-Jan. 3. Tickets are available online.

Visa denials lead Nashville Zoo to cancel annual festival

Zoolumination was celebrated as the nation's largest lantern festival.

Night view of a brightly lit arch at Nashville Zoo's festival of lights, decorated with oversized flowers and animal figures (giraffe, zebra, tiger, parrot) against a dark sky.

The entry to the Zoolumination festival in 2025. Photo: courtesy of the Nashville Zoo

The Nashville Zoo announced Wednesday it had been forced to cancel the popular &quot;Zoolumination Festival of Lights&quot; after the Chinese artisans who power the glowing spectacle were denied visas to travel to the U.S.Why it matters: Zoolumination was celebrated as the nation&#x27;s largest lantern festival, with more than 1,000 custom-made silk lanterns. It has drawn crowds to the zoo <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="during the winter holiday season" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2022/12/03/holiday-nashville" data-vars-content-id="0f42f7b0-e635-4ff9-80d7-8daac1352f2a" data-vars-headline="Visa denials lead Nashville Zoo to cancel annual festival" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2022/12/03/holiday-nashville" target="_self">during the winter holiday season</a> since 2019.

News

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The Nashville airport is adding a new international flight to Mexico next month.

Why it matters: The new route to Guadalajara will offer travelers a significant gateway to more destinations in Mexico.

State of play: The Volaris Airlines flights begin Oct. 15.

The big picture: Guadalajara is the airlines' biggest hub in Mexico, offering folks coming in from Nashville an easier connection to dozens of new destinations.

Zoom out: Nashville is part of a broader Volaris expansion into major U.S. markets. Other destinations joining Volaris' roster include Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C.

🍋‍🟩 Fun fact: The area around Guadalajara is touted as the birthplaces of tequila and mariachi music.

What they're saying: Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority CEO Doug Kreulen said in a statement that the new route "marks an important milestone in the expansion of our international service for the Middle Tennessee region."

"This new nonstop route to Guadalajara gives our travelers direct access to one of Mexico's most important cultural and economic hubs, along with convenient connections to key destinations across the country and beyond," it said.

Nashville airport adds flight to Guadalajara, a major hub in Mexico

The Volaris Airlines flights begin Oct. 15.

This aerial drone photo taken on May 8, 2025 shows a city view of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.

An aerial view of Guadalajara, Mexico. Photo: Li Mengxin/Xinhua via Getty Images


The Nashville airport is adding a new international flight to Mexico next month.Why it matters: The new route to Guadalajara will offer travelers a significant gateway to more destinations in Mexico.

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Business

Data: BLS; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals

Jobs in health care and social assistance are projected to see the most growth over the next decade, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Why it matters: The explosive growth in these sectors gels with the urgent need for home health care workers in Tennessee as the population continues to age.

Zoom in: BLS projects there will be 847,300 new home health and personal care aide jobs created nationally from 2025 to 2035.

Registered nurses and health services managers are also among the occupations projected to add the most jobs. Nurse practitioners are expected to be the fastest-growing occupation.

Threat level: A 2022 report from the state comptroller found Tennessee already had "a critical shortage of paid caregivers who help elderly and vulnerable adults continue to live in their homes rather than in nursing facilities."

Between the lines: The nation's aging population is a reason job growth overall is projected to slow over the next decade.

urgent need for home health care workers in Tennessee

Home health care jobs expected to skyrocket amid "critical" need in Tennessee

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a surge of new home health and personal care aide jobs.

A bar chart showing the occupations projected to add the most jobs between 2025 and 2035. The top growing occupation is home health care aides, which is projected to add 847.3k jobs. It's followed by stockers and order fillers (+250.7k), fast food counter workers (+233.3k) and registered nurses (+19

Data: BLS; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals


Jobs in health care and social assistance are projected to see the most growth over the next decade, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Why it matters: The explosive growth in these sectors gels with the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="urgent need for home health care workers in Tennessee" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2023/01/24/tennessee-elder-care-home-care-workers" data-vars-content-id="5c6167a2-0daa-4195-8269-f66bc4ef8068" data-vars-headline="Home health care jobs expected to skyrocket amid &quot;critical&quot; need in Tennessee" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2023/01/24/tennessee-elder-care-home-care-workers" target="_self">urgent need for home health care workers in Tennessee</a> as the population continues to age.

Ella Langley's record-breaking run at the top of the charts has also pushed her to the top of this year's CMA Awards.

The latest: Langley bagged nine nominations on Thursday, the most of any artist, including one in the marquee Entertainer of the Year category.

Why it matters: A platform on the CMA ceremony can give established stars the rocket fuel to soar to new levels of fame. (Exhibit A: Chris Stapleton, whose electric 2015 performance made him a household name overnight.)

This year could be Langley's coronation as country's newest queen.

State of play: In addition to Entertainer of the Year, Langley is nominated in the categories for the top female vocalist, album, music video and collaboration.

She scored two noms each in the top single and song categories, with "Choosin' Texas" and "Be Her."

Zoom out: Her work also pulled in multiple nods for her co-writer and co-producer Miranda Lambert, who was the second-most-nominated artist, earning seven nods.

Other acts near the top include Kacey Musgraves and Ben West, each with five nominations. Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Stephen Wilson Jr. got four apiece.

Reigning Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson returned for three nominations this year.

What's next: The awards ceremony airs live on Nov. 18 on ABC and Disney+.

If you go: Tickets to the Bridgestone Arena event go on sale Sept. 18.

Ella Langley's dominant year continues with 9 CMA Awards nominations

This could be Langley's coronation as country's newest queen.

Ella Langley performs onstage during the 59th Annual Country Music Association Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 19, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ella Langley is the most-nominated artist for this year's CMA Awards. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for CMA


Ella Langley&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="record-breaking run" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/09/01/ella-langley-breaks-billboard-record-with-choosin-texas" data-vars-content-id="7fd3adb9-4bec-43a8-a118-a178a5a712f0" data-vars-headline="Ella Langley&#x27;s dominant year continues with 9 CMA Awards nominations" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/09/01/ella-langley-breaks-billboard-record-with-choosin-texas" target="_self">record-breaking run</a> at the top of the charts has also pushed her to the top of this year&#x27;s CMA Awards.The latest: Langley bagged nine nominations on Thursday, the most of any artist, including one in the marquee Entertainer of the Year category.

Music

In the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, Alan Jackson, like many Americans, was restless. He woke before dawn one day in October with lyrics and a melody that captured the heart-rending aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

The song, which he finished the same day, would become an enduring reminder of a period of grief and resilience that reshaped American life.

The latest: Twenty-five years later, on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Jackson is releasing a new version of "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)."

The big picture: Jackson's unassuming and emotive poetry recalled the black smoke rising against the blue sky, the weeks of sobering news coverage and the heroes who charged into danger to save lives and risk their own.

While other artists wrote music that channelled the nation's pugilistic rage, Jackson captured the sadness and vulnerability of the period, ending with a turn toward "faith, hope and love."  

The song became an instant classic after he debuted it during the CMA Awards in November 2001.

What he's saying: "Doing 'Where Were You' for the first time was so emotional for me," Jackson said in a new statement. "I was proud I did, though…and it's one I feel like a lot of people want to hear."

Jackson went on to sing it again during memorial ceremonies in New York and at The Pentagon.

Zoom out: Jackson didn't expect the song to resonate for this long.

"I thought we would perform it for a little while and then it would just go away," he said. "I didn't feel like people would want to keep thinking about that.

"But ever since, I see people waiting on that song in the crowd…and I know I have to do it for them."

State of play: The new version, to be released on Friday, was recorded live this summer during his farewell concert at Nissan Stadium.

Alan Jackson remembers 9/11 anthem "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"

Jackson captured the sadness and vulnerability of the period after 9/11.

Alan Jackson performs live at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Ca., Feb. 27, 2002. 


Alan Jackson performs "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)" at the 2002 Grammys. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images


In the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Alan Jackson" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/07/30/alan-jacksons-concert-was-the-summers-biggest-draw-for-downtown-hotels" data-vars-content-id="efc037a4-1dce-4e17-abf6-e1edbe9a4df0" data-vars-headline="Alan Jackson remembers 9/11 anthem &quot;Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)&quot;" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/nashville/2026/07/30/alan-jacksons-concert-was-the-summers-biggest-draw-for-downtown-hotels" target="_self">Alan Jackson</a>, like many Americans, was restless. He woke before dawn one day in October with lyrics and a melody that captured the heart-rending aftermath of the terrorist attacks.<ul><li>The song, which he finished the same day, would become an enduring reminder of a period of grief and resilience that reshaped American life.</li></ul>The latest: Twenty-five years later, on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Jackson is releasing a new version of &quot;Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning).&quot;

A bar chart showing the occupations projected to add the most jobs between 2025 and 2035. The top growing occupation is home health care aides, which is projected to add 847.3k jobs. It's followed by stockers and order fillers (+250.7k), fast food counter workers (+233.3k) and registered nurses (+194.7k)

Adam Tamburin

Featured stories

Nashville airport adds flight to Guadalajara, a major hub in Mexico

Alan Jackson remembers 9/11 anthem "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)"

Ella Langley's dominant year continues with 9 CMA Awards nominations

Home health care jobs expected to skyrocket amid "critical" need in Tennessee

Visa denials lead Nashville Zoo to cancel annual festival