A 10-foot tall statue of rock n’ roll queen Tina Turner has been unveiled in the rural Tennessee community where she grew up, before she became a singer and electrifying stage performer and one the world’s most recognizable and popular entertainers.

Even so, officials think this will be the largest in-person sporting event since the start of the pandemic. Hotel rooms usually sell out quickly during race week, giving a huge boost to local mom and pop resorts, like Perry’s Ocean Edge. She said the shop poured several thousand dollars into merchandise to stock up for this weekend, usually their busiest sales weekend of the year. She said customers have told her this week they’re making a point to visit the smaller shops this year, too. “A lot of the small local businesses in town, we’ve provided them some assets for them to put out in their restaurants and bars,” he said.