06.22.2023

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Today’s Forecast

54º | Rain | 99% chance of rain
Sunrise 7:49 a.m. | Sunset 5:46 p.m.

🌳 The parks department is POPpin off

New Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors Plan for 2023

The plan will focus on key areas to create a better experience when interacting with outdoor spaces around the community. | Photo by @drewbeach_

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly + the Parks and Outdoors Department have released the 2023 Parks and Outdoors Plan (POP) — the first one in 25 years.

The plan will be guided by the vision of turning Chattanooga into a “city in a park,” where residents and tourists have access to green spaces + recreational facilities that are built and maintained with this intention.

POP was built on the five principles of access, equity, nature, place, and quality. Design Workshop consultants + the park’s team gave the city a grade of C+, with less than 20% of parks being up to date.

Note: The department will address key issues in a scale of short, medium + long-term plans.

Short term

Fix | Address maintenance across the parks system including water fountains, 19 park upgrades or redevelopment + identify workforce needs
Build | Seven neighborhood parks to close critical gaps, four facilities for recreational needs + build on existing redesign plans for parks like Montague
Connect | 16 miles of new greenway trails, fill trail gaps through citizen-led commission, lay the groundwork for new Missionary Ridge system + create access for 28 miles of blueways for a paddling trail
Preserve | Permanently protect 560+ acres of existing city land for wildlife, create an urban ecology system while restoring environments + becoming the first National Park City in the Americas

NOOGAtoday | Nolan Park plan — These plans, showing the general features of a park system in Chattanooga, were drawn by landscape architect John Nolen.
|
Illustration courtesy Cornell University Library

The blueprints used inspirations from past plans — Nolen Park Plan for Chattanooga (1911), the Riverfront Plan (1985), and the ReCreate 2008 Plan (1998). See the full plan + executive summary for more details on the medium and long-term initiatives.

The POP also came to fruition through public input where the department asked residents for their vision during surveys, interviews, focus groups + more.

Note: The time frame of the plan + its goals will be dependent on annual budgets determined by the city council and administration.

Events

Today, June 22

13th Annual Dining Out For Life Chattanooga | Thursday, June 22 | 8 a.m.-11 p.m. | Locations vary | Price of purchase | Dine at 20+ local spots to help benefit Cempa Community Care + the Chattanooga CARES Foundation.
Learn to Play Disc Golf | Thursday, June 22 | 9-11 a.m. | Carver Community Center, 600 N. Orchard Knob Ave., Chattanooga | Free, RSVP | Learn about + play the sport of disc golf in this beginner-friendly instructed course — all equipment provided.
Beginner Embroidery: Collage | Thursday, June 22 | 6-8 p.m. | The Chattery, 1800 Rossville Ave., Chattanooga | $35 | Learn how to embroider in four basic threading styles — running stitch, back stitch, satin stitch + chain stitch.

Friday, June 23

Nightfall | Friday, June 23 | 7 p.m. | Miller Plaza, 850 Market St., Chattanooga | Free+ | Bring your blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy food trucks, artist vendors, and live music by Red Pawn + Ping Rose.
The Breakfast Club | Friday, June 23 | 9-11:55 p.m. | Barrel House Ballroom, 1501 Long St., Chattanooga | $15-$20 | Rock out with an 80s tribute band who has performed alongside numerous music legends like Whitesnake.

Saturday, June 24

36th Annual Garden Tour | Saturday, June 24-Sunday, June 25 | Times vary | Locations vary | $0-$20 | Tour five private gardens and one public garden — proceeds benefit the Chattanooga Area Food Bank + the Master Gardeners of Hamilton County.
Summer Breakin’ | Saturday, June 24 | 5-10 p.m. | Miller Park, 850 Market St., Chattanooga | Free+ | Celebrate 50 years of hip hop with break dancing, an old-school DJ, and food vendors + a showing of “Breakin 2.”
Summerween | Saturday, June 24 | 6-10 p.m. | Patten Square, 818 Georgia Ave., Chattanooga | Free+ | Celebrate Halloween in the summertime with live music, street performances, food vendors, and watermelon carving + costume contests.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Civic

The Chattanooga City Council has unanimously voted to approve Mayor Tim Kelly’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget. The newly-approved budget will go into effect Saturday, July 1. Read our budget breakdown. (Local 3)

Open

Squirrel Rabbit Coffee Bar and Creamery has officially opened its doors in NorthShore at 514 Tremont St. The café offers specialty coffee drinks + artisanal gelatos, sorbets, and Italian ice. Keep up with the spot on Facebook. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Coming Soon

Paleta Pops, a handmade popsicle business, will soon join Vibrant Meals in its Southside space located at 203 E. Main St. During the transition period, Vibrant Meals’ hours will vary over the upcoming weeks + will serve a limited menu.

Cause

The auction portion of Crabtree Farms’ Annual 100 Dinner & Auction has officially gone live. Folks can bid on items through Saturday, June 24 — even if you aren’t attending the sold-out dinner. Proceeds benefit the farm’s education + outreach initiatives. View auction items.

Outdoors

Registration for the CAM RUN 5k, Kids Fun Run + 5k for high school age or younger is now open. The event will take place on Saturday, Aug. 26 to honor the legacy of the late Cameron Bean.

Feel Good

Seven local automotive groups teamed up to provide ChattState TCAT students with fully-stocked toolkits. In two weeks, the group of automotive industry experts raised + donated $81,000 to supply 15 kits for student use, along with a plan to provide mentorship and job search support.

Edu

Registration is now open to serve as a tnAchieves mentor in 2024. The program is in need of 9,000 volunteers to help support students who received a TN Promise scholarship. Learn more + register.

Festival

Did you attend Riverbend this year? The festival team is asking attendees to share feedback to help make next year’s Riverbend even better. Take the survey.

Asked

Recently, we asked you to get creative + make Chattanooga into a unique flavor of ice cream using one to three locally procured ingredients. What flavor are you crafting up? Share it with us and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter.

Featured Deal

Looking to upgrade or revamp your living space? Renewal by Andersen is celebrating 28 years in the business with a big sale — 25% off windows + doors. Here’s how to snag the deal before Friday, June 30.*

Arts

🎨 Paint me like a 10th Street mural

10 new murals come to 10th Street

Each mural characterizes family traditions + the history and culture of the East MLK Boulevard neighborhood. | Photo by NOOGAtoday

EPB has dedicated a third side of the 10th Street Substation, between Foster Street + East MLK Boulevard, to its four-year murals project.

10 local artists created work based on the theme “Traditions on MLK,” honoring the history, heritage + significance of the downtown neighborhood.

Meet the artists

Jonathan Bidwell | “Write Traditions”
Lexi D’Ambrosio | “The Foundation of a King-dom”
Laura Swift Dahlke | “Faith”
Mason Elmore | “The Nine Through Time”
Karen Estes | “Love and Resilience”
Jerome Foster | “Time to Shine on the Big Nine”
Jody Harris | “Seismic Traditions”
Ann Jackson | “Children are the Future”
Caitlin Maupin | “Only Light Can Do That”
Olivia Reckert | “Garden on Light”

Submissions for public murals for the fourth + final side of the substation will open in late 2023.

“More than a dozen local organizations shared their time and expertise to ensure work authentically represents the MLK neighborhood.” — EPB President + CEO David Wade

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Haley Bartlett

From the editor

Fun fact, local nonprofit Camp Wildernest Wildlife Center, Inc. works to rehabilitate sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife in order to safely send them back to their natural habitats.

You can keep up with the organization’s efforts via Facebook — this week, two eastern chipmunks + one mockingbird were among the released animals.

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