Scenic Roots

The Rev. Naomi Tutu (WTCI PBS) The Reverend Naomi Tutu is an Episcopal priest, an activist and an educator who speaks out on human rights, race and gender - and reconciliation. Among many honors and titles, she is also the daughter of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Her experiences growing up Black and female in a remarkable family in South Africa under apartheid set...

(ArtsBuild) An intermission is a short break - for a play, in a movie, at a concert. For the nonprofit ArtsBuild, “Intermission” is the annual event that celebrates the impact of the arts here in the Chattanooga area. It takes place Wednesday, September 25th - starting at 5:30 PM - at Chattanooga Theatre Centre. James McKissic is president of ArtsBuild. Monica Kinsey is one of the co-chairs for “I...

A pair of Totem Compasses. (Totem) Imagine you’re at a music festival with huge crowds. Your friends are there, too. But somewhere along the way, you can’t find them, they can’t find you - and for whatever reason, your phones won’t reconnect you. Totem is a startup here in Chattanooga that is launching a friend-finding compass that needs no cell service, wi-fi or Bluetooth. Carter Fowler is Totem’...

A map of Chattanooga’s Civic Center District. (Chattanooga Design Studio) Look at a map of downtown Chattanooga - and you can trace the boundaries of the Civic Center District between 4th and 13th Streets, and between Highway 27 to Houston Street. Just a few destinations within those boundaries: TVA, the Dome Building, Miller Park, EPB, the Tivoli Theatre and the West Village. The nonprofit Chatta...

Guiding a future vision for Chattanooga’s Civic Center District. From a Chattanooga startup, a friend-finding compass for festivals. Come one, come all at this year’s “Intermission” for ArtsBuild. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Brooke Schlisner plays Mary Poppins. (Jeri Dunn via Artistic Civic Theatre) A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down for the finale of this season at Artistic Civic Theatre in Dalton. “Mary Poppins” runs from Thursday, August 1st through Sunday, August 4th at the Hammond Creek Middle School Auditorium. Aaron Coker plays Bert, the chimney sweep. (Jeri Dunn via Artistic Civic Theatre) Kate Sou...

Inside Overlooked Materials in Chattanooga. (NOOGAtoday) Here in Chattanooga, a local business - Overlooked Materials - recently launched the first curbside glass recycling service in this city since 2018, and the first local processing of that glass since the 1980’s. Haley Bartlett and Kristen Templeton are with NOOGAtoday.

Former Senator Bill Frist (WTCI PBS) As a surgeon and a public servant, Bill Frist’s long and varied career has shown a lifelong commitment to humanity and healing. He has performed more than 150 heart and lung transplants, served as a U.S. Senator from Tennessee and as Senate Majority Leader, led medical mission trips and emergency response teams - and shared his knowledge and experiences in the...

(Cortina Jenelle Branding Agency) What can Chattanooga be ten years from now? Maker Day - which celebrates ten years of the Makerspace at the downtown Chattanooga Public Library this Saturday - features a community art project, “2034: Chattanooga in the Making.” Cortina Jenelle Caldwell - a cohort in River City Company’s Emerging Producers Program - is steering the project and facilitating activit...

The Chattanooga Public Library. (Chattanooga Public Library.) Ten years ago, the Makerspace - a place for local artists and makers to learn, create and share - opened on the fourth floor of the downtown Chattanooga Public Library. This Saturday, to celebrate that milestone, Maker Day returns to the Library from 10 AM to 5 PM. Will O’Hearn is the Library’s executive director. (Chattanooga Public Li...

Maker Day for a milestone at the Chattanooga Public Library. NOOGAtoday: Sifting through the business of glass recycling. “Mary Poppins” - the season finale at Artistic Civic Theatre. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(ArtsBuild) Periscope is a business development program that connects artists with entrepreneurs in the Chattanooga area. The nonprofit ArtsBuild offered the training for the first cohort of Periscope artists last year - and applications for a new cohort of artists are due by this Friday, August 2nd. Brianna Jones manages the Periscope program at ArtsBuild. Sarah Mixson was one of the artists in t...

(Kamran Adyinov) “Feel it. Feel what they are doing. Feel the wind. Food is opening up this door for me. It’s an avenue, a travel ticket, a passport, a means to the end. There are ghosts and memories in his kitchen. You could lay all your burdens down and dine together.” Those words are part of Food for Thought: an invitational group exhibit that tells stories about food through words and images -...

James Baldwin (Mark Gerson / National Portrait Gallery) James Baldwin was born in New York City a hundred years ago this Friday. The African-American author and activist - who died in 1987 - stirred public consciousness through his words, written and spoken, across the latter half of the last century. On Friday, the Chattanooga Festivals of Black Arts and Ideas will host a James Baldwin 100th Birt...

A birthday bash to celebrate a century of James Baldwin. Food for Thought: Stories through words and images. Artists + Entrepreneurs = Opportunities at Periscope CHA. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Preserve Chattanooga) This year’s Wine Over Water returns to a familiar spot earlier than in years past. The evening of wine, food and music for Preserve Chattanooga is Saturday, August 17th - from 6 PM to 8 PM - on the Walnut Street Bridge. Todd Morgan is executive director of Preserve Chattanooga, the historic preservation nonprofit in this city.

The Sequoyah Nuclear Plant. (TVA) As residents of Hamilton County blast their ACs this summer, they’re using a lot more power than is typical. The Sequoyah Nuclear Plant near Soddy-Daisy is essential to meet that demand. Perhaps you’ve seen it looming in the distance - or maybe up close and personal on Chickamauga Lake. William Newlin of Chattamatters takes us inside. _____ Chattamatters is a civi...

The South Walk of Tennessee Riverpark, stocked with native plants and a pollinator garden added two years ago. (Chattanooga National Park City) How is Chattanooga’s quest to become a National Park City taking shape? Scott Martin is administrator - and Brian Smith is marketing director - for the City of Chattanooga’s Department of Parks and Outdoors.

A rendering from “A Vision for Hawk Hill.” (River City Company) Since 2000, Hawk Hill in downtown Chattanooga has been the site of AT&T Field, home of the Chattanooga Lookouts. Now that the ground has been broken for the construction of a new Lookouts stadium in the South Broad District, what is the future of Hawk Hill after that stadium opens and AT&T Field is demolished? River City Compa...

A vision for future redevelopment of Chattanooga’s Hawk Hill. How stories shape Chattanooga’s National Park City quest. Sipping summer on the bridge at this year’s Wine Over Water. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Stove Works) Once upon a time, cast iron stoves were assembled in the building at the corner of Holtzclaw and 14th St. here in Chattanooga. Since 2017, it has been home to Stove Works - a venue for contemporary art, from education to production to exhibition. Chelsea Couch is programs director at Stove Works, hosting a workshop by a visiting artist this Saturday starting at 1 PM.

Traffic lights in downtown Chattanooga - with a sign for UTC. (UTC) Thanks to a Federal grant, a connected mobility project here in Chattanooga is planning and prototyping the use of smart technologies in two downtown corridors as a way to enhance safety and efficiency. Earlier this year, the City of Chattanooga - and our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga- received word of the two...

A view from Washington on the SMART grant in Chattanooga. At Stove Works, a chance for artists to deepen their portfolios. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Ella Livingston (WTCI PBS) In 2018, Ella Livingston - a first-time entrepreneur - founded Cocoa Asante, a luxury chocolate brand with a home base here in Chattanooga. Though Cocoa Asante might be a local startup success story, the company’s roots - like its founder’s - are firmly planted across the world in Ghana, West Africa. Born from the Asante tribe - and with family members operating cacao fa...

(Be The Change Youth Initiative) Known for its “Concerts for a Cause” series, the nonprofit Be the Change Youth Initiative is tackling food insecurity in the Chattanooga area. On Wednesday, it hosts a show at The Meeting House in Red Bank to kick off a new effort for the upcoming school year here in Hamilton County. I spoke with Sydney Guerrette, founder of Be the Change; her mom, Deirdre Catlett,...