Scenic Roots

A view of Moccasin Bend from Point Park in 2023. (Steve Rogers / via National Park Partners) (Aired Tues 10/08/24) Twenty years ago, the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District was created as part of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. The Bend is home to thousands of years of human history, including a chapter in the Trail of Tears: the forced removal of Cherokee from the So...

Celebrating the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District. Nature’s wonders on display at the Tennessee River Gorge Trust. Made in Tennessee: Chattanooga Whiskey and Catesa Farms. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Todd Mayo (CaveFest (via Instagram)) An hour away from Chattanooga in Grundy County, you’ll find The Caverns - known as “The Greatest Show (Under) Earth” in Tennessee’s Cumberland Mountains. It is home to cave concerts and tours, outdoor shows and festivals, camping, yurts and adventures in nature. Todd Mayo, the founder of The Caverns, tells his story in his book “Caveman Chronicles” - recently p...

(Chattanooga Ballet) (Aired Thu 10/03/24) The only professional ballet company in this city is celebrating fifty years of dance. Chattanooga Ballet opens its anniversary season with “Art / Legacy” - Saturday, October 5th at 6 PM and Sunday, October 6th at 3 PM - in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center here on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Brian McSween is...

(UTC Theatre Co.) (Aired Thu 10/03/24) Federico García Lorca is considered one of the most important Spanish poets and playwrights of the last century. This week, in time for Hispanic Heritage Month, students on our campus - the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - are performing his play “Blood Wedding,” as the first production of the new season at UTC Theatre Co, directed by Steve Ray. The r...

The Hoodoo Men (The Hoodoo Men) (Aired Thu 10/03/24) The Hoodoo Men cast their spell of the blues on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. They play this Friday - starting at 7:30 PM - in the Roland Hayes Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center. Their performance is this season’s premiere of UTC Live! - a series of storytelling, songwriting and music that rolls into 2025. Bob Boyer...

(Scenic City Shakespeare) (Aired Thu 10/03/24) “Fair is foul and foul is fair” in William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth.” Starting this Friday - and on every Friday and Saturday this month - Scenic City Shakespeare brings the play to Greenway Farm Park. Emma Collins is co-founder of Scenic City Shakespeare. Amanda Medlin plays Lady Macbeth. Will Snyder of BattleKat Combat is fight coordinator - a...

(CFC) (Aired Thu 10/03/24) This weekend, Chattanooga Football Club celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month. CFC hosts the New York Red Bulls II for the Fiesta CFC Game - Sunday, starting at 1 PM, at Finley Stadium. Pedro Espitia is Hispanic Community Outreach Coordinator at CFC.

(Fiestaval) (Aired Thu 10/03/24) This weekend, una Gran Fiesta en el corazon de Chattanooga. “Fiestaval: A Taste of Latin America” - a community celebration for this Hispanic Heritage Month - is this Saturday from 11 AM to 9 PM in Miller Park. Pedro Abriles - singer, songwriter, producer - is the producer of Fiestaval, as a participant in the Emerging Producers Program at River City Company. I spo...

A volunteer on a project at the Food Forest Coalition of Chattanooga. (Food Forest Coalition of Chattanooga) They are known as “food forests,” “forest gardens” and “edible forests.” They mimic the ecosystem of the forest - aligned with growing patterns in nature - as a way to produce food for us. In this city, the Food Forest Coalition of Chattanooga is committed to this type of cultivation. Over...

A glimpse of Grady’s Garden at Siskin Hospital in Chattanooga. (Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation) Over the summer, the first of five healing gardens opened at the Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation here in Chattanooga. Patients who visit Grady’s Garden are able to embrace nature during their physical therapy sessions. The garden is named for Grady Pascal Williams - businessman,...

A construction helmet with the AIM Center’s logo at groundbreaking for Espero Chattanooga. (The AIM Center) In Spanish, the word “espero” means “hope.” A few weeks ago, ground was broken on E. Main St. for Espero Chattanooga. Years in the making, the supportive housing project when completed will provide units for adults with severe mental illness - run by the nonprofit AIM Center. Anna Protano-Bi...

Dr. Art Laffer (Laffer Associates) Once upon a time - we’re talking the 1980’s - there was a Hollywood movie about a teenager who took the day off from school. While Ferris Bueller, his girlfriend and his best friend jumped from one adventure to another, his econ teacher - played by Ben Stein - tried to explain a contemporary concept to his classmates: The Laffer Curve. The chalkboard may be a thr...

Briana Garza and Dr. Chris Collins (Love Local Chattanooga) As Chattanooga grows and evolves, so does the passion to preserve its small town spirit. That passion is at the heart of Love Local Chattanooga - which describes itself as, quote, “a grassroots collective of local business owners, entrepreneurs and local citizens.” The project features a podcast - and its hosts are Dr. Chris Collins and B...

Troy Wayne Poteete (Troy Wayne Poteete / troywayne.net) Last week, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that a replacement facility for the state mental health hospital on Moccasin Bend will be built someplace else. The decision to opt for an alternative site away from the Bend follows findings of an archeological study, ordered by the state, on the Bend. The Moccasin Bend National Archeological...

(Chattamatters) Who’s on the ballot for local elections in the Chattanooga area this fall? Mary Helen Montgomery is director of Chattamatters. _____ Chattamatters is the civic storytelling project of The Enterprise Center, created in partnership with the City of Chattanooga. Visit chattamatters.com - and Chattamatters on social media.

A Ferris wheel at the 2023 Little Debbie Hamilton County Fair. (Little Debbie Hamilton County Fair) Last fall, the Little Debbie Hamilton County Fair debuted at McDonald Farm in Sale Creek. This year, the Fair returns to the farm - once again on Veterans Day weekend: Friday, November 8th through Sunday, November 10th. Karen Shostak is deputy director of Hamilton County Parks and Recreation. Logo f...

Sunset on Chattanooga’s downtown Riverfront. (Chattanooga Tourism Co.) Does Chattanooga need to kickstart its festival scene with a new outdoor music venue? A recent study released by Chattanooga Tourism Co. - conducted by the consulting firm CSL International - recommends a new outdoor amphitheater with 3,000 seats and standing room for another 3,000. Earlier this month, I spoke with Barry White,...

One of the images from the “Food for Thought” exhibit. (Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga) Here’s a recipe for you: take stories about food, blend them with images inspired by those stories - and you get “Food for Thought.” The invitational group exhibit - a collaboration between the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga and Food as a Verb, the local media startup on food - opens this We...

Alan Mallach (Island Press) Growth is key to revitalizing cities and neighborhoods - but what kind of growth? Alan Mallach has grappled with that question as a city planner, advocate and writer with decades of experience in housing, economic development and urban revitalization. Now a senior fellow at the Center for Community Progress in Washington, Alan is the next guest for CIVIQ, the speaker se...

"Growth For Whom?" Alan Mallach’s talk at the next CIVIQ. “Food for Thought” - on display at the Jewish Cultural Center. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga) (Aired Thu 9/19/24) Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga is one of many community groups with a footprint on our campus, the University of Tina Franklin is with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Elizabeth Umbarger is a UTC Big - a student on our campus who is a Big Sister.

Wreaths at Chattanooga National Cemetery. (Wreaths Across Chattanooga) (Aired Thu 9/19/24) A few months down the road, fallen veterans will be honored once again with wreaths at their grave markers in cemeteries around the country. The planning and preparation, especially getting the word out, begins months in advance of the wreath laying in December. Mickey McCamish - a retired U.S. Navy Captain...

(Creative Arts Guild) (Aired Thu 9/19/24) This weekend in Dalton, Creative Arts Guild hosts this year’s Festival of Fine Arts and Crafts. The celebration begins Friday and runs through Sunday at the Guild, a community hub for the arts in Northwest Georgia. Amanda Brown is the Guild’s executive director. Ellen Anthony is an artist in Dalton who will be at the festival. _____ For more on this weeken...

Tomás Q. Morín, one of the authors participating in the Fall 2024 Meacham Writers’ Workshop. (Jeff Fitlow) (Aired Thu 9/19/24) UTC hosts its annual Meacham Writers’ Workshop - Thursday, September 26th through Saturday, September 28th - on campus and at Stove Works. Sybil Baker - UC Foundation Professor and Associate Head of the Department of English - is Director of the Meacham Writers’ Workshop....