Happy Monday, Silly Steward!
I hope this one finds ya with a fan aimed square at your face, 'cause mercy Chattanooga's gone and turned into one big skillet. We got about a month left 'til we head back to school, and it seems Summer aims to make every last day of it count.
Don't fret though, we've got plenty to keep ya cozy in the shade this week! We’re throwin’ one last holler to nominate your Mental Health Hero before the window latches shut Wednesday, a little porch-thinkin' from yours truly, and Clementine declarin' all-out war on Summer bugs (with butterflies kindly excused).
So grab the coldest thing in the icebox, and let's sit a spell while we catch up.
Today's Issue Includes:
As always, we’ve added a fresh track to this week’s issue purely for vibes as you read. Click the link below before ya start reading if you wanna listen!
This week’s Front Porch Partner is Angelino’s Coffee!
Sponsored by
This week's Front Porch Partner is Angelino's Coffee! Lemme tell ya right now, Meemaw could smell a stale cup from three counties over, so this one'd earn her nod of approval. While most K-Cups sit in some warehouse gatherin' dust for months, Angelino's roasts, grinds, and seals every pod fresh in their own shop, then ships it to your door before it's had a chance to get lonely.
They ain't right down the road from us, but every lil' click sends $1.12 jingle janglin' straight into the Chattynooga coin purse and keeps our porch rockin' and our stories comin'. Appreciate ya, neighbor!
Alright Angelino's, pour us somethin' fresh!
15% Off Your First Order of Fresh-Roasted Pods
Most K-Cups sit in a warehouse for months before they reach your brewer — and you can taste it. Angelino's, a third-generation roaster in Los Angeles, does it differently: every pod is roasted, ground, and sealed fresh in-house, then shipped to your door within days of roasting.
Choose from 50+ specialty coffees — single origins, dark roasts, flavored favorites like Jamaican Me Crazy, plus decafs and teas — all compatible with your Keurig® brewer. Mix and match any coffees you like, and watch the savings climb: bulk discounts start at 5+ boxes and reach up to 34% off at 12+.
And here's the best part: new customers get an extra 15% off their first order, on top of bulk savings. It's applied automatically at checkout — no code, no subscription required. Free shipping on orders over $49 or 4+ boxes.
Fresh coffee shouldn't require a coffee shop.
What’s Goin’ On in the Scenic City?
Community
River City Company Ice Cream Crawl
Friday, July 17-Sunday, July 19 @ Participating Downtown Locations
If you love a sweet little treat, this one’s for you because River City Company is celebrating National Ice Cream Day all weekend long! Choose from 9 ice cream shops around town or hit them all for a cool treat. Don’t forget to check in at each location you visit for a chance to win a $100 Chattanooga Express Card and ice cream packages!
AI for Business Owners
Wednesday, July 15 @ Community Gains | 6:30 PM
Join our pal Jay Clark for an evening designed specifically for local business owners who want to use AI to maximize their influence! You’ll leave this 90 minute hands-on session with a greater understanding of AI for businesses and strategies to leverage AI use in impactful ways. There are only a few seats left, so grab your spot today!
Nighttime Market
Thursday, July 16 @ The Boneyard | 6:00 - 10:00 PM
The Boneyard and Studio Ours are bringing the collaboration you didn’t know you needed with their Nighttime Market! From vinyl to vintage, hot food to frozen espresso martinis, an arcade to a craft bar, this market has something for everyone. No cover, 21+. It’s sure to be a night to remember!
Music and Entertainment
Storytime with the Wombats!
Wednesday, July 15 @ Chattanooga Public Library Downtown | 10:00 - 10:45 AM
Get ready to work it out Wombats style! Join WTCI PBS at the downtown library for a special preschool story and hands-on playtime inspired by the PBS KIDS show Work it out Wombats! Kiddos will even get their very own Work it Out Wombats! drawstring bag with versions of the activities to take home! Clementine is SUPER excited about this one (*wink wink*).
Volunteer: True Stories from TN
Tuesday, July 14 @ Plant Bar | 6:30 PM
Cast Iron Storytelling is back at Plant Bar for a very special night of civic storytelling! Join three first-time storytellers and three experienced storytellers as they share tales of patriotism and American traditions that may often be overlooked. As part of ArtsBuild Celebrates America 250, admission is free, so don’t miss out on the amazing Tales that Cast Iron Storytelling has to tell.
Disney’s Frozen: The Broadway Musical
Opens Friday, July 17 @ Chattanooga Theatre Centre | 7:30 PM
The kingdom of Arendelle has arrived in Chattanooga! The Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s production of Disney’s Frozen brings all the magic of Frozen to the stage, with shows running July 17-August 2. Join Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf for the wintery tale you love in a whole new magical way!
Outdoors ‘n’ Stuff
Project Tour: Erlanger Park
Thursday, July 16 @ Erlanger Park | 5:30 - 6:30 PM
Whether you’ve checked out the brand new Erlanger yet or not, this is your chance for a peek behind the curtain! This guided tour highlights the architecture, interior design, and amenities that make the sports and entertainment venue so incredible. You’ll get to hear about the design vision as well as the challenges and collaboration that occurred in constructing the park in this exclusive behind-the-scenes tour. Sounds like a home run to me!
Truck the Vote
Friday, July 17 @ Brainerd High School | 5:00 - 9:00 PM
The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga knows that your voice and your vote are important. That’s why they put together a block party with food trucks, vendors, live music, and tons of valuable voter resources! Meet with candidates and find out how you can make your voice heard when the next election rolls around.
Twilight Bat Walk
Saturday, July 18 @ Frick’s Cave | 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Join Outdoor Chattanooga and SCCi on a night time adventure through Frick’s Cave, home to 5,000 endangered gray bats! Come out for a special naturalist walk through the cave and a chance to hear about the ecology and preservation of the cave. Stick around for the big finale - an up close look at the daily bat flight from the cave!
Got somethin’ cookin’ that the Scenic City oughta know about?
Tell us all about it with our new and improved events form, or just reply to this email with your event details and we’ll go from there!
Don’t forget to nominate your Mental Health Hero!
Remember a few weeks back when I sat down with Lauren Mann of the AIM Center and yapped my ear off about meetin' folks right where they're standin'? Well, this here's your friendly nudge from the porch, 'cause one of the sweetest parts of that whole conversation has a clock tick-tockin’ on it.
The AIM Center's very first Mental Health Hero Awards is still on the hunt for heroes, and this Wednesday, July 15th, is the very last day to send in a name. After that, the nominatin' window latches shut!
We all got somebody who quietly holds a corner of this community together: the friend who answers the phone at 2 a.m., the neighbor who never lets ya carry the heavy stuff alone, or the random helper who shows up before ya even think to ask. We tell ourselves we'll thank 'em properly someday, but Meemaw says that someday ain't a day of the week, so how 'bout we make it Wednesday instead?
There's ten categories, with room for advocates, helpers, storytellers, and the everyday folks whose own grit lights the path for somebody else. It takes about two minutes to fill out, and it just might make somebody's day as we look forward to a week of rainy days ahead!
Go on and give a hero their flowers while there's still time (heck, even nominate yourself if you deserve it!).
Deep Thoughts from Bubby: Everybody Tends Somethin'
Meemaw's got a rule about her garden that don't bend for nobody: when the heat climbs up past her own mama’s age (may she rest in peace 🙏), she waters again at dusk so her plants have a bit of hydration before goin’ night night. Is it the best practice for gardening? I dunno honestly, but I tend to not question Meemaw’s antics wisdom.
So there I was the other evenin', squishin’ barefoot in the grass with the hose, sweatin' more moisture than our hose prolly can produce and mutterin' about how these ‘maters were more high-maintenance than I signed up for.
Meemaw, rockin' on the porch behind me with a glass of her extra sweet tea, heard my grumblin’ and shouts, "They ain't askin' for much, Bubby. Just for somebody to show 'em a little extra love when it's hard." I ‘bout dropped my hose and mustered an “Amen Meemaw,” in response.
A garden in a heatwave don't need somethin' grand, a miracle, or a fella who knows what he's doin' (which, for the record, I do not). It really just needs consistency from outside forces to support it’s growin’. I chuckled quietly while spraying the petals and thinking to myself: people ain't so different in a hard season I suppose.
We all know somebody who's lookin' a little wilty right now. Could be the neighbor who's gone quiet, or the friend who keeps sayin' "I'm fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" in the voice that means they ain't. Some mornings it's the fella starin' back at us in the mirror.
We get it in our heads that helpin' somebody's gotta be a big, cape-and-trumpets kinda thing so we hold out for the perfect words or the exact thing we know will cheer a fella up, and by then the moment's up and gone.
But tendin' ain't a heroic deed. It's small and steady, mostly just rememberin' somebody when the days get heavy. A text that says "I’m thinkin' of ya pal," can hold more value to someone than ya might think. Nobody tends the whole dang world except the Avengers. We each keep our own little patch alive, and somehow, when enough of us do, the whole neighborhood stays green.
So this week, if ya take one thing off my porch, let it be this: go water somethin' that's wiltin' in your life. Whether it be plant, person, or even your own tired self. Ya don't need the right words or a lick of a plan, just show up.
Meemaw's been right about that garden for forty years, so I reckon she's right about the rest of it too.
Clementine’s Corner: Bugs and Butterflies
BUGS. SUMMER BUGS. I. AM. SICK. OF. THEM.
There, now that I’ve gotten that out, I wanted to tell you something. I’M SICK OF BUGS! They’re everywhere this summer and it’s bugging the heck out of me.
The only exception is butterflies. I AM NOT SICK OF BUTTERFLIES! They flit around all happy and free, and they’re so beautiful. And they’re so important for our ecosystem; they’re POLLINATORS! I don’t love all pollinators (looking at you, bees) but I do love nature so the pollinators can stay. And the Tennessee Department of Transportation agrees with me!
Just look at that winged mosaic!
For the third year in a row, TDOT is continuing Project Milkweed. This effort allows Tennessee residents to order pollinator seeds to plant in their own gardens as a way to restore pollinator habitats. Native milkweed is the only host plant for monarch caterpillars, and growing them in your garden along with native flowers makes your backyard a perfect habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. This year, you can also order a special pollinator seed blend along with your Milkweed seeds! Best of all, all this garden goodness is totally FREE!
That’s all there is to it! Plant your milkweed in the fall so they get all germinated in the winter, and then plant the pollinator seed blend in the spring once everything thaws out. And just like that, your garden becomes an oasis for beautiful monarch butterflies, terrifying bees, and other pollinators. Your yard gets a facelift, and the insects get the food and habitat they need to survive… and to thrive! Sounds like a win-win to me!
Check out TDOT’s Project Milkweed page for more info and to order your free seeds!
Happy planting!
Stay cool and tend somethin' real good, neighbor!
That's a wrap on this sweltery lil' issue! Whether you're nominatin' a hero, plantin' a little somethin'-somethin’ for the butterflies, or just survivin' the walk from the car to the front door, we're mighty glad ya rocked on the porch with us awhile.
Go on and drink you some water if ya haven’t already, and don't forget to pour a little care on whatever's lookin' wilty this week!
We'll keep your seat cool 'til next time, bud!
— Bubby & Clementine
