Howdy Labor Day, Loafers!
Hope your Monday has involved at least one moment where somebody asked, “Whatcha doin’?” and you got to proudly answer, “Absolutely nothin’.”
Today, we’re practicing somethin’ that sounds suspiciously easy until ya actually try it: puttin’ stuff down for a little while. Clementine’s apparently taken this assignment so seriously she’s been staring at clouds instead of meetin’ deadlines.
There’s still plenty happenin’ around town, and we’ve got one mighty important walk on the horizon that we’d love to share with ya.
But first, loosen up those shoulders and find somewhere comfy to stay a spell. The world can wait a few minutes while we catch up!
Today's Issue Includes:
This week’s tune comes straight from our collaborative Hope on the Porch Spotify playlist. Click the link below before ya start reading if you wanna listen, and add a couple songs to the playlist for us to pick from next week 👀
Together with
This week’s Front Porch Partner is Pique (again!)
I knoww, I knoww. Last week’s partner was also Pique, but they’re doublin’ down with our Out of the Darkness Walk team fundraiser for AFSP’s Tennessee Chapter, where just clickin’ this in your email contributes $2.25 towards it! Y’ain’t gotta purchase a thing, if y’ain’t feelin’ it either, just click and take a gander for a few seconds.
Thanks for addin’ a little fuel to the lantern this month, bud!
Alrighty, Pique: hydrate ‘em.
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What’s Goin’ On in the Scenic City?
Community
Great Chattanooga Community Yard Sale
Saturday, September 12 @ Tennessee Riverpark | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM
You know what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! The Great Chattanooga Community Yard Sale is back with local sellers offering everything from clothes and antiques to toys, camping gear, and all the things for around the house. Bring a nonperishable food donation for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank and see what hidden treasure is waiting for you!
City of Chattanooga FunFair Festival
Saturday, September 12 @ Chattanooga Green | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
The City of Chattanooga’s Fun Fair Festival is back for its fourth year of family fun at Chattanooga Green! Learn about The Chattanooga Basics, child safety, and other resources for local families while kids enjoy games and activities with community partners. Bring the little ones and make a day of learning through play!
Burlaep Fall Market
Saturday, September 12 @ Burlaep Print & Press | 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
It’s (hypothetically) almost fall in Chattanooga, and Burlaep is getting the season started with a fabulous fall market! Shop local vendors, grab a snack from Wei To Go, and enjoy live music from local artist Abbi Ellis. And of course, grab a cup of coffee while you’re there because, well… it’s Burlaep!
Music and Entertainment
Inner Child Craft Club: Elevated Edition
Thursday, September 10 @ Plant Bar | 5:00 - 10:00 PM
Inner Child Craft Club is where grown-ups get to play like kids, and to kick off the club they’re taking things to a higher level! Join Mini Kitty at Plant Bar for a nostalgic night of crafting with several special gardening projects to choose from, no artistic skills required. Spots are going fast, so pick your project and save your seat!
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Friday, September 11 - Saturday, September 19 @ Barking Legs Theater
Things are heating up on stage as Seed Theatre takes on Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof! Seed continues its season of tackling difficult truths with a fresh look at the Pulitzer Prize-winning Southern classic and all the things its characters have been taught not to say. Catch Seed Theatre’s take on the family drama over two weekends at Barking Legs Theater!
Come From Away
Thursday, September 11 - Sunday, September 27 @ Chattanooga Theatre Centre
Chattanooga Theatre Centre is taking audiences all the way to Newfoundland with the Tony Award-winning musical Come From Away! Based on a remarkable true story, the show follows the small town of Gander as it welcomes thousands of stranded travelers after 38 planes are diverted there on September 11, 2001. Catch CTC’s production on the Main Stage through September 27!
Outdoors ‘n’ Stuff
Guided Sculpture Walk and Talk
Wednesday, September 9 @ Chattanooga State | 10:30 AM
Start your morning with a little art appreciation at Chattanooga State! Join the Sculpture Walk & Talk for a guided tour of the college’s Outdoor Museum of Art, including a closer look at the newest addition, Tony Stallard’s Helix 60. Take advantage of this special chance to explore the collection and get to know the stories behind the sculptures!
Harvesting Inclusive Play Playground Grand Opening
Saturday, September 12 @ Jack Benson Heritage Park | 10:00 AM
There’s a brand-new place to play at Jack Benson Heritage Park! Celebrate the grand opening of Harvesting Inclusive Play, a farm-themed playground designed so kids of all physical abilities can play together with accessible equipment, adaptive swings, and sensory features. Come celebrate a playground built to make sure nobody gets left out of the fun!
Zombie Fun Run, Fest & G(Rave)
Saturday, September 12 @ Red Bank | 2:00 - 11:00 PM
The zombies are back, and they’re taking over Red Bank for the second year in a row! Start the day at Zombie Fest before running for your life through an outbreak that stretches from Red Bank High School into the trails of Godsey Ridge. If you survive, celebrate accordingly at the G(Rave) afterparty with music, dancing, food, and all the post-apocalyptic chaos!
🧟 Run like your life depends on it
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This week’s Community Spotlight: Step off the Porch and Walk with Us November 1st!
We’re hoppin’ off the porch steps to gather elsewhere for a mighty good reason, and we’d love to have ya tag along!
On Sunday, November 1, we’re takin’ a field trip over to Coolidge Park for Chattanooga’s Out of the Darkness Walk, where a whole bunch of neighbors come together to walk, talk, remember folks we love, cheer each other on, and remind our city that nobody has to go through hard stuff alone. Registration is free, so you can bring friends, family, a favorite co-worker, and comfy walkin’ shoes to be part of a really joyful gathering of hope.
The walk helps support AFSP’s Tennessee Chapter, which works all across our state to teach people how to recognize when somebody might need help, start important conversations, support families affected by suicide, and bring prevention education into schools, workplaces, and communities.
Suicide touches way more families and neighborhoods than we sometimes realize, especially within Hamilton County alone. The more of us who learn how to look out for each other, the stronger our whole community gets.
Check-in starts at 10 AM, the program begins at 11, and we’d LOVE to see a big ol’ bunch of porch pals out there walkin’ with Chattanooga.
Bubby’s Deep Thoughts: Rest is Hard Work
I been thinkin’ about how funny it is that we celebrate a holiday called Labor Day by… not laborin’. Which, if yer anything like me, can be hard to just shut off.
I’m the kina feller who gets excited about an idea and immediately decides it has to be finished right now. I’ll keep pushing, typin’, and tinkerin’ until eventually I’ll stare at the same sentence for twenty minutes wondering why my brain feels like leftover mashed taters. When it gets to that point, I’d double down and buckle up outta frustration and try harder.
Over these past few heated and sweaty months however, I’ve learned that sometimes the better response has just been telling my brain, “Dudearino… I gotta go sit on the porch for a minute and ponder.”
Stephanie Harrison over at The New Happy talks about rest and recovery as part of actually being able to keep going, not a reward you earn once every chore on Earth has been completed. In fact, little “microbreaks,” as she calls ‘em — a few minutes to stretch, breathe, look away from the screen, or do somethin’ completely different that gives your brain a chance to reset — is much more powerful for getting the creative juices flowin’ or your physical energy back.
The problem is though, everything is never finished. There’s always another email, homework assignment, dirty dish, room to clean, dog to walk… ya get the picture. If ya wait until the world gives me permission to rest, you’re gonna end up Sisyphusin’ for a mighty long time.
Sometimes I decide if a problem can belong to Tuesday Bubby rather than Today Bubby, who is probably gonna be a little more useful if Today Bubby just puts their energy into makin’ a great issue. I’m not great at it yet and catch myself white-knuckling my way through things until Meemaw tells me I’m “gettin’ squirrelly.”
I think that’s where hope sneaks into all this. Hope is often perceived as this race that forces ya to KEEP GOING while you run yourself into the ground just gettin’ to a checkpoint. Ya ever wonder why they got those lil’ drink stops throughout a marathon? ‘Cause even the most toned, professional runners recognize they can’t do it in one go!
So I want to propose that Hope can also be acknowledging the great things that you did accomplish, and putting down what’s still pulling at you for another day.
Rest won’t fix every heavy thing we carry, and sure as heck don’t replace another helping hand when needed. It can give us a little more room to keep livin’, laughin’, and lovin’ (ain’t that a cute phrase? Stole it off one of Meemaw’s wall arts in the kitchen).
What are you puttin’ down for today to enjoy rest?
Clementine’s Corner: No Labor Zone
Happy Labor Day, folks. Guess what! Since it’s Labor Day, I’m not writing anything today. Can’t make me do homework on a day off!
I’m kidding… sort of. Actually, I was enjoying the long weekend and decided to go outside to think and be inspired for what to write about in my Corner. It was hot but it was the kind of hot that feels good, you know? And next thing I knew I was watching clouds roll by and finding all sorts of amazing things in them:
A dinosaur driving a pick up truck.
A chicken with VERY long legs.
A big ol’ foot.
You get it. Anyways, next thing I know Bubby was out there with me asking if I was done writing yet. I told him no, but that I did see a very lumpy Abraham Lincoln cloud. He looked at me all fish-with-his-mouth-open-like and said, “sooo you’ve been out here resting all this time?”
Now at first I was a lil worried he was mad. I’ve been known to lollygag. But then a big smile broke out under that teapot on his head. “THAT’S DANG PERFECT, BUD!”
Labor Day is all about rest, and that’s what I did all weekend. Deadlines and details are stressful, but it’s okay to slow down every once in a while.
I hope you enjoy doing nothing and find a special cloud today.
Alrighty, that’s a lot of talkin’ about doing nothing.
If there’s one thing I’m takin’ with me this week, it’s that slowing down ain’t the same thing as giving up.
Sometimes settin’ somethin’ down is exactly how ya make sure you’ve still got the energy to pick it back up tomorrow. Hope can live in that little pause.
Thanks for spendin’ part of the holiday with us, bud. We’re mighty glad you’re here!
— Bubby & Clementine
