Scenic Roots

Giving back to build a path to housing for those in need. ‘Tis the season for Home for the Holidays in Chattanooga. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Wendy Reynoso (La Paz Chattanooga) As the Latino community grows here in the Chattanooga area, a new program aims to help prepare first-generation Latino students to earn college degrees. La Paz Chattanooga has launched the program - Avanzando Through College - in partnership with the nonprofit UnidosUS and Volkswagen Chattanooga. Wendy Reynoso is student success and services coordinator at La Paz...

The forest path awaits at Reflection Riding. (Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center) A lot can happen in just a few weeks. Take a trip to Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center in Chattanooga - and you can see how all around you. Mark McKnight is president and CEO of Reflection Riding. Tish Gailmard is learning and engagement specialist there.

At Reflection Riding, a bustling season in the heart of nature. Avanzando Through College for students at La Paz Chattanooga. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

A page from the scrapbook of Freddy Few of Chattanooga, who enlisted as a helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War - inspired by Capt. Larry Taylor. (Rising Rock) For the past three years, we have brought you stories from the students of Rising Rock - a multimedia storytelling class here on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Next month, we’ll share the upcoming showcase of Risi...

An aerial view of Moccasin Bend with Point Park in the foreground. (National Park Partners) Moccasin Bend was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 - to date, the only one here in Hamilton County. In 2003, Federal legislation created the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District, adding the Bend to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. This fall, the Tennessee State Bui...

The “Save the Bend” campaign at National Park Partners. At UTC, here come the student storytellers of Rising Rock. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Chattanooga Ballet) Chattanooga Ballet is this city’s professional ballet company. For the holiday season, the Ballet presents “The Nutcracker” at Memorial Auditorium - on Friday, December 8th through Sunday, December 10th. This weekend, the Ballet debuts something new: “Land of Sweets” at the Read House, this Sunday starting at 2 PM. Brian McSween is CEO and artistic director of Chattanooga Ball...

(Steven Stiefel / Chattanooga Theatre Centre ) The centennial season at Chattanooga Theatre Centre offers two shows for the holiday season. “Strega Nona” - directed by Scott Dunlap - premieres this Friday, December 1st. “Scrooge! A Magical Holiday Musical” - directed by Mark Krawczyk - opens the following Friday, December 8th. (Chattanooga Theatre Centre) (Chattanooga Theatre Centre)

Glass pieces on display in a window of the Houston Museum. (Houston Museum of Decorative Arts) Step inside a Victorian home in downtown Chattanooga - and the art is all around you: glass, furniture, antiques. The Houston Museum of Decorative Arts in the Bluff View Art District showcases the collection acquired over decades in the last century by one woman: Anna Safley Houston. Next Sunday, Decembe...

The Houston Museum of Decorative Arts in Chattanooga. “Strega Nona” - and “Scrooge!” - for the holidays at CTC. Chattanooga Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” and “Land of Sweets.” These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Steven Miller / Creative Commons) The time is here for this year’s EPB Holiday Windows in downtown Chattanooga. At 5 PM on this day before Thanksgiving, the festive displays will be unveiled in the windows on the Broad and Market Street sides of the EPB headquarters building - along with something new. Lauren Obermark is with EPB. Michele Mason is president of the Better Business Bureau of Southe...

(Ian-Alijah Bey / Chattamatters) Chattanooga is one of four cities - along with Memphis, Nashville and Atlanta - which together applied for Federal funds to study the feasibility of bringing passenger rail back to this part of the Southeast. More from William Newlin of Chattamatters - produced by The Enterprise Center, in partnership with the City of Chattanooga. For more, visit chattamatters.com...

An ice flower at the orchard this fall. (Ken Chance) As dry as it has been here recently in Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley, native plants bearing fruits and nuts in this corner of Appalachia have managed to survive - and even thrive - for generations. Ken Chance collects and cultivates them, with help from volunteers. He's president of Appalachian Foothills Fruits and Nuts, which runs the Ap...

Ken Chance of Appalachian Foothills Fruits & Nuts in Etowah. Chattamatters on passenger rail; EPB’s Holiday Windows. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Jaguar and modern Jaguar humeri from Lookout Mountain Cave. (Jaguar and modern Jaguar humeri from Lookout Mountain Cave. / Ruby Falls) Decades ago, fossils believed to be from the Ice Age were discovered in Lookout Mountain Cave. Among the remains: an ancient jaguar, black bear, striped skunk, bat, woodchuck, muskrat, deer and weasel. Ruby Falls recently donated the private collection to the Gray...

Richard Lloyd at Songbirds last month. (Songbirds Guitar and Pop Culture Museum) Richard Lloyd is a founding member of the band Television, a fixture of the New York City rock scene of the 1970’s. The week after Thanksgiving, he returns to the Songbirds Guitar and Pop Culture Museum at 35 Station Street in downtown Chattanooga - performing on Friday, December 1st starting at 7 PM. Songbirds will h...

Inside ClearStory Arts. (ClearStory Arts) More than a century ago, the building at 1673 Holtzclaw Avenue here in Chattanooga was home to a yarn dyeing factory. At that address today is ClearStory Arts, home to affordable studios for local artists, a gallery and a community workspace. An aerial view of ClearStory Arts. (ClearStory Arts) On Saturday, ClearStory Arts hosts Cold Turkey, its Fall Art M...

At ClearStory Arts in Chattanooga, a community for artists. As Songbirds readies to move, a concert from Richard Lloyd. A new home for Ice Age fossils from Lookout Mountain Cave. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. Mural in downtown Chattanooga. (MLK Neighborhood Association of Chattanooga / Facebook) The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have turned 95 next year. Here in Chattanooga, one tribute to the legacy and work of the civil rights leader and his associates - featuring music and spoken word reflections - will be held on the evening of Thursday, January 25th at the Bess...

A food box at the Foxwood Food Center at the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. (Chattanooga Area Food Bank / Facebook) In this corner of the Southeast, the crisis of food insecurity has gotten worse. The Chattanooga Area Food Bank, which serves 20 counties in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, estimates 40,000 more residents - including 12,000 more children - have struggled with greater food ins...

Food insecurity deepens in the Chattanooga area and beyond. In January, a tribute to MLK’s legacy in downtown Chattanooga. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Outside Barking Legs Theater. (Barking Legs Theater) What better way to celebrate than incubate? This month, Barking Legs Theater here in Chattanooga is hosting nearly two dozen events to mark its 30th anniversary. Among them: new works by artists from an incubator residency project at the concert hall on Dodds Avenue. On Monday, starting at 7:30 PM, Moll King will perform “As You Did to the Lease...

(Pilgrim Congregational Church) As this Thanksgiving approaches, the world is again in turmoil. This weekend here in Chattanooga, a multifaith Thanksgiving service seeks to light a candle despite the darkness. Sunday’s service begins at 4 PM at Pilgrim Congregational Church - 400 Glenwood Drive. Craig Lewis is the Rabbi of Mizpah Congregation. Allison Bright is associate minister at First Christia...

Sydney and Brayden Guerette, standing with their mother Deirdre Catlett in 2022. (Seth Carpenter / Rising Rock) Take a look at the Instagram for Be The Change Youth Initiative here in Chattanooga - and you’ll read this description: “Youth Should Be SEEN, HEARD, & LOVED. Our Mission: Reduce Youth Suicides through Mental Health Advocacy and Building a Stronger Community.” The past few years, the...