I’m currently in Alabama, doing the family thing, but I am watching the Macy’s Day Parade and thinking of Chattanooga. The Ooltewah High School Band will be marching in this year’s parade. I hope we don’t leave for our Thanksgiving meal before I see them, but if I don’t see them, I will see if can find it on YouTube. There has to be some proud parent out there somewhere with the technical knowhow to do that.
Congratulations to the kids from Ooltewah and Happy Thanksgiving Chattanooga!
[tags]Chattanooga, Ooltewah High School Band, Thanksgiving, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade[/tags]
What do you get when you put together a blank sidewalk and chalk?
In Chattanooga that would be the Chalk it Up! Festival, sponsored by the Hamilton County Rotary Club. The festival is a benefit to help fund art and education programs, including at-risk youth and children with disabilities, of Girl Scouts of Moccasin Bend Council.
The free festival is slated to begin at 8 am on June 23rd at the First Tennessee Pavilion. There will be a musical appearance by Flumpa, strolling entertainers, inflatable stations for the kids, artist demos and exhibits, food, craft vendors, balloon animals, face painting, and sand art. But the main attraction will be the developing chalk artwork around the pavilion.
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A few week’s ago, there was an SNL Digital Short called, “Andy popping into frame.” I found it funny, engaging, and worthy of a Chattanooga rip-off.
Yesterday I spent many hours with my friend Marylu and we filmed various Chattanooga locations, with me popping into the frame. Then during an hour of my husband’s precious time, he edited it together for me. (If I had done it, it would have been many days before you got to see this.)
See if you can tell me where the locations are in the video. I’ll give you one answer: 3HD’s conference room.
[tags]popping into frame, Chattanooga[/tags]
My routine the last four days included a quick walk down the block and to the site of St. Elmo’s Playground. For the first three days I was on the sidelines, wrangling my two year old and taking pictures. Yesterday my husband took over the role of toddler wrangler and photographer so I could get my hands dirty (literally). It gave me a chance to feel like I really did help with the neighborhood project.
It was a long day that included lots of sun (with Bullfrog donated by Chattanooga’s own Chattem), coating the wood with EPL, sanding corners, installing the perimeter fence, hanging the Van Gogh inspired mural, pouring concrete, and finally, testing the actual equipment. During the day Mayor Littlefield stopped by to see our progress, which was uplifting to see part of the city supporting our efforts. (Our own Councilman Rico was also there, shoveling mulch and digging dirt.)
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I was just watching the late nightly news on WRCB and apparently George Clooney was at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum all day yesterday, working on the film Leatherheads. It must have been kept very quiet because it is just being reported today. WRCB did interview an employee of the TVRA, so at least we have an eyewitness to the celebrity event.
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Tomorrow my family is heading to Atlanta for the SEC Men’s Basketball tournament. Our allegiance is with Auburn, and we are looking forward to cheering on the Tigers tomorrow evening. I have a feeling Auburn Elvis will be spotted several times.
Today’s Times Free Press had a commentary about SEC Tournaments of the past. Last week they ran a story about how the SEC Championship brackets are a bit muddled and who will get to go to the NCAA Tournament is really up in the air.
I don’t know anything about brackets or tournaments of the past. I just know that this is a family vacation I look forward to. The SEC Tournament isn’t always in Atlanta, but we look forward to going where ever it is. The excitement of following our team, routing for the other SEC West teams, and finally anyone but Alabama, it makes for great family memories.
But, I love coming home to Chattanooga. I love driving up GA Hwy 2, seeing Lookout Mountain and Covenant College’s Carter Hall (aka the Castle in the Clouds) on top. Pulling into our parking space under our tulip poplar and seeing our dogs ready to greet us… it is a very warm feeling.
I look forward to our vacation, but I know Chattanooga is my home and look forward to coming back.
[tags]Chattanooga, SEC tournament[/tags]
At the beginning of February, a 99 year old time capsule was opened. Video of the historic event can be seen here at the Times Free Press website.
The Chattanoogan posted the contents of the capsule, and Michael Locke is now collecting ideas for the new capsule which will be buried in April. Email him at timecapsule@bellsouth.net with your ideas
I’m not that impressed with the 99 year old contents and know that we can come up with something even better to encompass the spirit of Chattanooga today. Sure, a printed newspaper would have to go in there. That is like an unspoken rule for time capsules. But what else do we need to include?
1. A local musician’s CD. Infradig comes to my mind. Rumor has it they are breaking up, so it will be priceless in 100 years.
2. Greyfriar’s coffee. Whole bean, in a silver bag.
3. An autographed copy of Dean Arnold’s book, Old Money, New South.
4. The recipes for ribs from Sticky Fingers, beer from Big River, Niedlov’s sourdough bread, and Vanilla Bean CrÈme BrulÉe from St. John’s Restaurant.
And that is where I get stuck. Anyone else want to contribute their ideas?
There is a stomach bug going around our church and friends. I think it has been going around for about a month and somehow we escaped. Well, we escaped until today.
My two year old is ill and I have been playing nurse maid all day. I think that stuff went on here in Chattanooga, but it is hard to tell between the loads of laundry and the dirty diapers.
I hope everyone has a good Valentine’s Day. If you haven’t gotten anything for your sweetie for tomorrow, the list of gifts I recommended at Christmas still holds pretty strong.
Stay well, Chattanooga. I am going to pray that this bug doesn’t get me next.
I was looking at a past issue of The Pulse and found this great article on the filming of a local indie project by Ben Keith.
According to the article, the film 20 Questions is a mockumentary short film going straight to video (you can preoder the DVD on the official site). It stars Victoria Jackson (a distant classmate of my sister’s at Palm Beach Atlantic University) and local talent like fourth grader Felicion McMillon.
Here is what Victoria Jackson had to say about Chattanooga, from the Pulse article:
It’s amazing how many opportunities exist in a town this small. In Miami, there’s only one theater! And, of course, I only speak a little Spanish, which is pretty much a prerequisite to so many things there.
Here there’s talent, and something to do with it. I don’t know why more filmmakers aren’t shooting here; it’s amazingly cheap, compared to many cities, and there are people here who can do anything.
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I would want to come to Chattanooga!
Well, probably not because I live here. But in doing research for various Chattanooga based posts, I came across this Chattanoogan article about the old downtown Clarion hotel.
I know it is not uncommon for people to take some time away and spend the night in a hotel in their own city, and I might have to see if the hotel, which will be a Doubletree by Hilton hotel, is what the new owners are saying it will be.
There will be 182 rooms and according to the article:
Bill Mish, the hotel’s general manager, said the new look will include vessel sinks, unique three-pane glass bathroom doors and flat-screen TVs. He said they will be “wide” TVs. “We are going beyond what Hilton requires in a lot of areas.”
The specially-designed furniture will all be made in the U.S. Some has already arrived for display in three model rooms. Beds will feature the finest in linens, comforters and down pillows.
The article features pictures from the model rooms, and they look pretty nice. Maybe I need to plan a get away to downtown at the end of the year.
[tags]Chattanooga vacations, Chattanooga, Doubletree hotel, Chattanooga hotel, downtown Chattanooga[/tags]
