Scenic Roots

(Creative Commons) The city of Whitwell in Marion County is about 25 miles northwest of Chattanooga - a little more than a half- hour drive away. At Whitwell Middle School, a state-of-the-art piano lab for the students opened earlier this year - thanks to donations from the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, the Lyndhurst Foundation and the Songbirds Foundation. Roger Payne is the school...

The Ed Johnson Memorial at the Walnut Street Bridge in downtown Chattanooga. (Public Art Chattanooga) This month three years ago - in September 2021 - the Ed Johnson Memorial was dedicated at Chattanooga’s Walnut Street Bridge. In 1906, Johnson - a young Black man - had been falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of a crime that he did not commit. His case reached the United States Supreme Court...

Jamie Quatro (Jamie Quatro) Jamie Quatro’s latest novel - “Two-Step Devil” - wrestles with good and evil, what’s real and what’s supernatural, on the edges of life here in Chattanooga and this corner of the Southeast. On Tuesday, the literary nonprofit SoLit hosts the launch for Jamie’s book tour with a reading and a conversation, at The Granfalloon starting at 7 PM. I spoke with Jamie - and Chels...

Chattanooga’s Jamie Quatro on her novel “Two-Step Devil.” A play on the case of Ed Johnson and a Supreme Court justice. Take a break at NoonTunes in Chattanooga’s Miller Park. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(The SEED Theatre) Piece by piece, a puzzle reveals more than an image. It also tells a story. An elderly woman fond of puzzles is at the heart of the story in “Cows on the Rings of Saturn,” the latest play by Brianna Jean Haley - and the latest production of The SEED Theatre here in Chattanooga. It premieres this Friday at Barking Legs Theater, starting at 7 PM - with performances on Saturday at...

A performance at a Campfire Concert Series at Reflection Riding. (Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center) The music sets the mood for another season at Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center here in Chattanooga. That’s where this fall’s Campfire Concert Series returns - starting this Saturday at 5:30 PM - presented by Black Creek Chattanooga. Mark McKnight is president and CEO of Ref...

(UTC) If you speak Spanish - if you sing in Spanish - the place to be this week is here on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. This Friday, UTC hosts its first-ever Spanish song festival - “Canta: Festival de la Canción en Español” - in the University Center from 5 PM to 8 PM. Residents of Chattanooga and Hamilton County are invited to sing an original song or cover in Spanish...

Dr. Mina Sartipi - next to a banner for UTC’s Smart Corridor on Chattanooga’s MLK Boulevard. (UTC) The future of urban transportation runs through Chattanooga. Next month, a conference hosted by our campus - the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - will convene industry leaders, policymakers and researchers to explore that future - including A.I., connected mobility and digital infrastructure...

UTC’s Dr. Mina Sartipi on Chattanooga Connect 2024. Aquí en UTC ... “Canta: Festival de la canción en español.” This fall’s Campfire Concert Series at Reflection Riding. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Quiet City) A new pop-up concert series brings the “listening room” experience to a few unexpected places in and around Chattanooga. The first show - hosted by Quiet City - is this Thursday, starting at 8 PM, at Vagabond Barber Co. at 2602 East Main Street next to Sleepyhead Coffee. Musicians Alex Volz and Cody Ray tell us all about it. Alex Volz (Alex Volz) Cody Ray (Cody Ray)

(The Tennessee Aquarium) From turtles to pet lemurs to bugs, the recently launched podcast at The Tennessee Aquarium covers it all. The host of "The Podcast Aquatic": Casey Phillips, communications specialist at the Aquarium. Casey Phillips interviews Kyle McPheeters, senior aquarist, for “The Podcast Aquatic.” (Doug Strickland / The Tennessee Aquarium)

Keith Sanford (The Tennessee Aquarium) When the Tennessee Aquarium first opened its doors in downtown Chattanooga in 1992, Keith Sanford and his family were there. In 2016, he became the Aquarium’s fourth president and CEO. This summer, Keith announced his upcoming retirement - and a national search is on for his successor. Last month, he stopped by our studio. The Tennessee Aquarium in downtown C...

Looking back: Keith Sanford of The Tennessee Aquarium. Also at the Aquarium: Diving into “The Podcast Aquatic.” A listening room sound at the Quiet City pop-up shows. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

A zoning map for single-family homes in Chattanooga. (Chattamatters) For the first time since 1961 - when John F. Kennedy was sworn in as President - the City of Chattanooga now has an entirely new zoning ordinance. City officials have overhauled the rules for new construction to try to keep up with Chattanooga’s constant growth and make housing more affordable. William Newlin of Chattamatters exp...

Dr. Howard Wall (UTC) What drives the economy here in the Chattanooga region? How has that economy changed, from generation to generation? What insights and lessons can help shape that economy’s future? Dr. Howard Wall is director of the Center for Regional Economic Research - formed this year on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, connecting the Gary W. Rollins College of Busi...

A rendering of The Adele, one style of homes for the Heritage Walk development in East Brainerd. (GreenTech Homes via NOOGAtoday) In East Brainerd, a neighborhood development known as Heritage Walk - right off of East Brainerd and Jenkins Roads - is on the rise as the project’s local builder readies for the next phase. Haley Bartlett and Kristen Templeton are with NOOGAtoday.

(CBL Properties) In this series, we explore the impact that workplace policies have on our local families and children - and how United Way of Greater Chattanooga is looking to close the gaps. For this episode, we talk about social connectedness with Jessica Pilcher, director of United for Working Families at United Way of Greater Chattanooga; Ben Staples, vice president of people and culture at C...

(Hub City Press) As a writer, Minrose Gwin started her career as a print reporter here in the Southeast - and she’s no stranger to East Tennessee. A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, she has taught at universities across the country - and she turned her talent for writing from journalism to writing novels. The author of “The Accidentals” and “Promise,” her fourth novel - just released - is “Beautiful...

Starting this weekend - and on each Sunday this September - a free, family-friendly outdoor concert series will bring the music to neighborhoods across Chattanooga. The Levitt BLOC Chattanooga Music Series - BLOC stands for “Building Layers of Community” - is presented by RISE Chattanooga, the Black cultural arts nonprofit, with the City of Chattanooga - supported by the Levitt Foundation and comm...

Waterfront yurts at Chester Frost Park on the banks of Chickamauga Lake. (Hamilton County Mayor's Office) We’ve been feeling the heat - and then some - this summer here in the Chattanooga area. Many of us have flocked to our parks, outdoors and recreation to make the most of it. During this season of intense temperatures, we’ve also seen a season of intense activity from the City and Hamilton Coun...

Activation summer for Hamilton County Parks and Recreation. This September: The Levitt BLOC Chattanooga Music Series. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

The mural “We will not be satisfied until” on MLK Boulevard in downtown Chattanooga. (Public Art Chattanooga) One of the largest murals in this country is in downtown Chattanooga. Artist Meg Saligman painted the piece “We Will Not Be Satisfied Until” on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in 2015. The subjects of the painting are all Chattanoogans - including civil rights leader Moses Freeman, who d...

Nicholas Edward Williams - at TEDxChattanooga’s “Sessions” in April 2024 at Barking Legs Theater. (TEDxChattanooga) If you’ve listened to WUTC, chances are you’ve heard Nicholas Edward Williams. He’s a multi-instrumentalist and storyteller who plays songs and styles from ragtime and Piedmont blues to traditional folk, old time and early country. For this episode of “Scenic Roots,” we bring you his...

TEDxChattanooga “Sessions”: Nicholas Edward Williams, Part II. Chattamatters: “We Will Not Be Satisfied Until” on MLK Boulevard. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

A scene from “The Light We Share." (The Pop-up Project) “The Light We Share” is a film about creating the connections of vulnerable art in Chattanooga during the pandemic. It was directed by Mattie Waters and Jules Downum, co-founders of The Pop-up Project - and curated by more than 50 local artists in 2020. The following year, the film - and a making of documentary, “Essential: The Making of ‘The...