Chattanooga Is Home

I really appreciate all the folks who work to get the Chattanooga Market together every Sunday. It fills two needs for me: nostalgia and a sense of home.

The need for nostalgia comes from the two years that I spent in Germany/ The Netherlans as a teenager. Our family would usually carve out time on the weekends to go to the open air markets in one or two of the neighboring towns. We would stock up on our vegetables, cheeses, and whatnots… items that were fresh and unique to the region. And not usually found on the base commissary. The open air markets really gave us a sense of the culture of Germany and The Netherlands and at the same time helped us feel like we lived there and were not just tourists for two years.

The sense of home that the market provides comes from seeing all the local and nearby merchants come together to give Chattanoogans a part of their lives. There are farmers who provide herbs, vegetables, and honey. And there are crafters who have unique knit items or wooden toys and furniture. The photographers who share their art always get a wistful look from me- I want all their Chattanooga pictures to hang in my home! And of course, the local musicians who provide the atmosphere are such fun to hear and watch. I forget who was playing last time we were there, but my son loves dancing and singing, so it was added fun for him and a delight for me to watch.

I received an email earlier today reminding me that this weekend is the last weekend of the market for 2006. The email states that instead of it just being held on Sunday this year, there will be three days of the open air market this weekend (Friday, 4 pm- 9 pm; Saturday, 12-5 pm; Sunday, 12-5 pm).

However, according to the calendar on the market’s site, it is open on Friday, December 8th and Sunday, December 10th with Sunday being my favorite one- The Coffee Festival!

Since the email sender is one of the vendors, I would think she knows when to be there, so I am pretty confident that it is a three day market, opening on Friday afternoon.

Hope to see you there!

[tags]Chattanooga, market, local artists, Chattanooga market, coffee festival[/tags]