Why Meowdy, Pardners!

Okay, okay... so we meant to send this out Monday. But sometimes life moves on camp time: slow, zig-zaggy, and full of last-minute snack runs.

Truth is, this week’s issue didn’t need to be early. It just needed to be right on time, and that time is now. Because after weeks of prepping, packing, reflecting, and wondering what Camp Lookout might hold... We’re finally heading to camp.

This issue is our send-off: part bugle call, part porch letter, part deep breath before the leap. Whether you’ve been following along from the start or just popped by for the first time — we’re real glad you’re here.

Today's Issue Includes:

• Chattanooga's Upcoming Events

• Letters from Lookout: See Ya At Sunrise!

• Stuff I saw on the internet: The Museum of Endangered Sounds

• Deep Thoughts with Bubby: No One's Late

• Clementine's Corner: Movin' and Groovin'

• Wrap Up

Now put on yer heeadphones, hop into this week’s theme song, and get to readin’!

What’s Goin’ On in the Scenic City?

Community

• Pride Pop Up Market
  Friday, June 6 @ The Dragon Lounge | 12:00 - 8:00 PM
  Y’all better bring your rainbow socks and glitter crocs for this one. It’s a whole pride party poppin’ off at The Dragon Lounge with flash tattoos and local vendors.
  🌈 Get Loud, Get Proud

• M-Pact Chattanooga
  Saturday, June 7 @ Miller Park | 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
  This one’s for the fellas who need a real-talk kinda Saturday. M-PACT’s throwin’ down space to connect, swap stories, and maybe even admit we don’t always got it all figured out.
  🤝 Show Up & Belong

• Shephard Community Annual Picnic
  Saturday, June 7 @ Shephard Community Center | 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
  Games? Yep. Food? You know it. Parade? Absolutely. This here’s a picnic picnic, the kind with checkerboard tablecloths and aunties who sneak you an extra cookie.
  🧺 Roll Up for the Good Stuff

• Twilight Firefly Market
  Saturday, June 7 @ The Choo Choo | 12:00 - 8:00 PM
  Vendors, twinkly lights, live music, and that dreamy late-summer air? Sounds like the perfect time to hold hands, sip lemonade, and maybe buy a funky candle you don’t need.
  🌠 Float on Down There

Music & Entertainment

• Phineas & Ferb Returns
  Thursday, June 5 @ The Disney Channel | 8:00 PM
  Don’t act like you aren’t excited too.
  🚀 WE’RE GETTIN’ THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

• The Emo Nite Tour
  Friday, June 6 @ The Signal | 8:00 PM - 12:00 AM
  Wear black, cry a little, scream a lot. The Emo Nite Tour is rollin' into town like a MySpace message from 2007, and it’s bringin’ all the feels. Blink-182, Paramore, Pierce the Veil — if you ever wrote lyrics on yer Converse, ya already know.
  🖤 We’re ‘bout to get real Y’allternative

• Soul Roll Kick Off
  Sunday, June 8 @ Skate Station at The Choo Choo | 6:00 - 9:00 PM
  Black Music Month kicks off with DJ Shoey and several others spinnin’ feel-good tracks while ya coast under the evening sky. It’s a free, family-friendly skate party with rhythm, rollin’, and radical community vibes.
  🕺🏾 Lace Up & Get Down

• Chattanooga Jazz Fest Open Jam
  Sunday, June 8 @ Gate 11 Distillery | 7:00 - 10:00 PM
  A no-cover, all-skill jam sesh to raise funds and lift spirits. Whether you’re tootin’ a horn or tappin’ your foot, this open mic meets open heart kinda night is pure Chattanooga soul.
  🎺 Bring your Sound.

Outdoors ‘n’ Stuff

• Lavender Festival
  Thursday, June 5 @ Flat Top Mountain Farm
  Ain’t nothin’ more peaceful than wandering through rows of lavender, pickin’ your own bundle, nibblin’ on lavender cupcakes, and tappin’ your toes to live bluegrass. This family farm’s been around 200 years—and every June, it smells like heaven.
  🪻Sniff the Goodness (and take it home)

• National Day of Caves & Karst
  Friday, June 6 @ Ruby Falls | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
  Come learn about the wild, wonderful world underneath your feet. Ruby Falls is dishin’ out free activities and cave nerd knowledge all day. Karst is basically nature’s Swiss cheese, and Tennessee’s got more caves than any state in the country!
  🪨 Take it Underground

• National Trails Day Work Party
  Saturday, June 7 @ Enterprise South Nature Park and Raccoon Mountain | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
  Trade your screen time for trail time. Join SORBA and local volunteers to give the Hercules Trail a good ol’ spruce-up. You’ll leave with muddy boots, new friends, and maybe a tick check reminder from Bubby.
  🥾 Dig In & Do Good

Got somethin’ cookin’ that the Scenic City oughta know about? Wanna talk about how cool your weekend was? Tell us all about it! We’d love to yap it up and holler all about it from the porch! Just reply to this message, or send a separate one to [email protected]!

Letters from Lookout: See ya at Sunrise!

Welp buds, we did it. From sparkin’ the campfire to choosin’ our own adventure paths, this journey’s been full of scribbles, surprises, and more bug spray than we planned on. Before we officially set off for our first big week at Camp Lookout, we wanted to take a second to look back at everything this trail map taught us.

Here’s what we learned along the way:

• Curiosity is the best compass 

• When in doubt, go outside

• You don’t have to pack everything, just what matters

• There’s no wrong way to do camp 

• And finally, community doesn’t end when camp does.

Camp might have a last day on the calendar, but the connections we’ll make? They don’t pack up with the tents. Every game we play, letter we write, and deep belly laugh we shared becomes part of us, and part of the porch we’re building together.

Whether you're headed home with bug bites or bravery, campfire songs or just one new friend: you’re still part of this big, wiggly Chattynooga crew.

If you ever need a reminder, just close your eyes and think about sunrise on the mountain. That feeling? That’s us. Still here. Still with ya.

Stuff I Saw on the Internet: The Museum of Endangered Sounds

Y’all… I fell into a wormhole this week—and it was full of dial-up modems, dot matrix printers, and the sweet, crunchy sound of a VHS tape gettin’ gulped by a VCR like a midnight snack. A heads up, this website is finnicky on mobile view, so try lookin’ at it on your computer for this one. Imma just let y’all take a look at my experience first before ya go any further:

It’s called the Museum of Endangered Sounds, and it’s basically an online time capsule for the earholes. The whole site was created back in 2012 by a fella named Brendan Chilcutt, who - get this - was once a freshman at Chattanooga State. That’s right. A local legend out here savin’ the sonic ghosts of Windows 95 startups and AOL sign-on tones.

Buddy, I dunno, but I promise we’ll keep the batteries fresh in your honor.

If you’ve ever missed the soft clack of a keyboard with real guts or the haunting screech of an internet handshake, go poke around. It’s like a mixtape from a dream where Blockbuster never closed.

P.S. If you’re comin’ here from yer email, sorry about the wrong link in the button

Deep Thoughts with Bubby: No One’s Late

We haven’t even set foot on Camp Lookout soil yet, but my brain’s already buzzin’ like a porch light in July.

I’ve been so busy checkin’ the list (twice), pickin’ out my best bandana, and debating if 3 pudding cups is too many (it’s not), that I almost forgot the best part:

This ain’t a race.

Camp will be there when we get there. The sun will still rise. The s’mores will still stick to your fingers. The good stuff? It don’t disappear just ‘cause ya showed up slow.

And neither does community.

If there’s one thing I’ve started learning already, it’s this: You build belonging by being present, not by bein’ first.

So if your bag’s not packed yet, or your nerves are louder than your excitement—breathe. We’re headed somewhere good. And you don’t gotta be in a hurry to get there.

Rockin’ steady,

Bubs

Clementine’s Corner: Movin’ and Groovin’

YOU GUYS. This weekend was so completely cuckoo bananas. I’m talking late nights, manual labor, more Capri Sun breaks than I can count. That’s right. My family moved.

Don’t worry, we’re just a little further down the road… and good news! Bubby just lives a few houses over now! We were hanging out on my new back patio and I had one of those ✨moments✨ when everything just feels so darn happy that you could burst. 

It’s a good thing I always come prepared with my journal and a fancy pen. Sitting there with Bubby looking at the sun setting over the mountains I was overcome with the poetic spirit and put sparkly gel pen to paper.

Alright guys, Bubby’s throwing rocks at my window. I’m not in my bedroom, but I can see him out the living room window. We’re going to go explore my new neighborhood! 

Man, I sure am happy to be here. 🫶🤠

Well y’all, That’s it this week!

Camp hasn’t started just yet — but the porch is already feelin’ a little quieter.

Still, if we’ve learned anything these past few weeks, it’s this

Community doesn’t disappear when the calendar flips. It lingers. It travels. It grows legs and follows you into the woods.

So whether you’re off to summer adventures, stayin’ close to home, or just tryna remember where you put your bug spray,know this:

You’re part of something now. Something weird and warm and real.

So keep the stories goin’. Save someone a seat. And don’t forget to write. We’ll see ya at sunrise.

With love, snacks, and just a tiny bit of glitter,

Bubby & Clementine