Happy Monday, Ghouls and Goblins!

It’s so nice to see ya again, hope yer weekend was filled with all that amazin’ fall weather (and a lil’ bit of rain to go with it.)

Before we get knee-deep in candy wrappers, I gotta share somethin’ wild: Chattynooga got featured in Harvard’s Nieman Lab of Innovative Journalism! Yep, that Harvard. The fancy one where folks say “autumn” instead of “fall.” Clementine’s been struttin’ like she just earned her degree in Trick-or-Treatology, and honestly, she deserves it.

Alright, done braggin’ here, onto the sweet stuff: This week’s Official Candy Distribution List! We’ve mapped out every trunk-or-treat, fall fest, and sugar stop from Red Bank to Soddy Daisy. Whether you’re out collectin’ candy or “supervisin’” for the Reese’s, this one’s for you.

Grab your flashlight, lace up them boots, and let’s make this Halloween one for the (goodie) bags.

Today's Issue Includes:

• This week’s Front Porch Partner: Guru Conference 2025!

• Chattanooga's Upcoming Events

• This week’s Community Spotlight: FRAZIER FEST!

• Bubby’s Backwoods Beasts Log #3: The Wampus Cat

• Clementine’s Official Trick-or-Treat List of Chattanooga!

• Wrap Up

Make sure ya pop in this week’s theme music into yer Spotify, it only adds to the vibes!

Together with

This week’s Front Porch Partner: Guru Conference 2025!

This one ain’t exactly local, but it’s what helps keep our porch lights on (and our newsletter free!). The Guru Conference is the world’s largest virtual email marketing shindig: two full days of tips, trends, and tales from folks like Nicole Kidman, Ann Handley, Lance Bass (???) and more.

Here’s the kicker: every time you click the ad below, Chattynooga earns $2.37, even if you don’t sign up! So if you’re feelin’ curious or just wanna toss a couple bucks in our digital tip jar, go on and give it a click.

You’re invited to the world’s largest email marketing conference.

Become an email marketing guru at the GURU conference. It’s two days full of all things email marketing. Learn more about newsletters, deliverability, design trends, AI, and what NOT to do with email.

What you can expect:

• Keynote Speakers: Nicole Kidman, Amy Porterfield & more!

• The latest digital trends in email marketing & how to increase performance.

• Networking opportunities - each day!

• Dj’s, dance contests (judged by Lance Bass, yes for real), breaking world records & MORE!

Spots are limited. It’s VIRTUAL. It’s FREE. It’s time to become an email marketing GURU. Join 25,000+ marketers on November 6th & 7th. Don’t miss out!

YES! I want to register! (US attendees only!)

What’s Goin’ On in the Scenic City?

Community

• AFSP Out of the Darkness Walk with Chattynooga
  Saturday, 10/25 @ Coolidge Park | 10AM
  Walk with our newsletter community as we shine a light on hope, healing, and community. Together, we’re raising awareness (and funds) for suicide prevention across Tennessee. We’ll be givin’ out buttons as well!
  💙 Walk for hope, walk with us

• Ghouls’ Night Out: Coffin Decorating Craft Night
  Wednesday, 10/22 @ Winder Binder Bookstore | 6:30–8:30PM
  A cozy-meets-creepy craft night where you’ll design your very own miniature coffin (yep, you read that right). Supplies included, spooky spirit required.
  ⚰️ Wednesday Addams Approved Crafts

• Book Reading: She Had Glass Eyes
  Wednesday, 10/22 @ Verre Noir | 5PM
  Local author and creative alchemist C.S. Schiavone shares her haunting new novella with cookies, coffee, and gothic ambiance to match.
  📖 Listen if you dare...

Music & Entertainment

• Paint & Sip with Brush Hour Parties
  Wednesday, 10/22 @ The Big Chill & Grill | 6–9PM
  A little paint, a little sip, and a whole lotta fall color! Create your own “Purple Hat Club” masterpiece while enjoyin’ happy hour bites and spooky vibes.
  🧙🏻‍♀️ We’re Gettin’ Witchy!

• Candy & Cheese Pairing
  Thursday, 10/24 @ Bleu Fox Cheese Shop | 6–7PM
  Sweet meets savory with Halloween candy and artisan cheese pairings! Costumes encouraged, puns inevitable.
  🍫 Say cheese, ya spooky lil’ snacker!

• Book Signing & Halloween Party with Jay Olsen-Thrift
  Saturday, 10/25 @ The Crazy Book Lady | 11AM–4PM
  Meet author Jay Olsen-Thrift and snag signed books, spooky merch, and a dash of literary magic.
  👻 Books, Boos, and Good Vibes

Outdoors ‘n’ Stuff

• Chattanooga’s Inaugural Jazz Fest!
  Sunday, 10/26 @ the Chattanooga Choo Choo | 11AM–6PM
  A free day-long jazz celebration featuring local talent and funky vibes in the heart of the city.
  🎷 Groove Through the Scenic City

• Fort O Fright
  Every Fri & Sat through 11/1 @ Stable 41, Fort Oglethorpe | 7–8PM
  Haunted stables, ghost tours, and glow skating — because nothin’ says fall like being lightly terrified in Georgia. Thanks to our reader Bobby for this one!
  🕯️ Face yer fears (and maybe some ghosts)

• Ghouls, Goblins & Witches: Haunted Grounds Market
  Oct 24–26 @ McDonald Farm, Sale Creek | Times vary
  A weekend of haunted magic, food, and local vendors. Bonus: Rooted in Love Tea will have spooky blends like Butter Brew & Pumpkin Spice.
  🤠 Sip Spooky, Shop Local

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

This week’s Community Spotlight: FRAZIER FEST! 🍂

If you’ve ever wandered down Frazier Avenue on a sunny day, you know it’s got a heartbeat all its own: the smell of chalk fillin’ the air as ya walk past Chalk Alley, folks fast-walkin’ over the bridge (while it’s open of course), and friends wavin’ atcha like they’ve known you forever. That’s the spirit of Frazier Fest, darlin’.

Every year, the Northshore Merchants Collective turns this street into a wonderland of local art, good eats, and live tunes. There’s folks sellin’ pottery, paintings, candles, and jewelry that shines brighter than the Tennessee River at sunset. You can’t walk ten steps without smellin’ somethin’ delicious or hearin’ someone playin’ a little diddy.

Clementine says she’s goin’ for “research purposes” (which usually means she’s buyin’ half the market), but I’m mainly there to scientifically determine who’s servin’ up the best desserts. Itsa tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.

If you’re lookin’ for a perfect fall Saturday, come stroll down Frazier with us! Pet some dogs, meet the makers, and maybe dance a little in the street. Community is what happens when a whole city shows up to have a good time together, and Frazier’s avenue’s the perfect spot to do it.

Bubby’s Backwoods Beasts Log #3: The Wampus Cat

I been doin’ some serious research (meanin’ I read two whole articles, got too scared an’ asked my Meemaw, then stayed up way past my bedtime ‘cause I spooked myself thinkin’ the Wampus Cat was in our garbage can), and lemme tell ya folks, this Wampus Cat ain’t no ordinary Meow-Meow.

Now, some folks say she’s a curse-given critter, half woman and half panther, stalkin’ the hills of Appalachia ‘cause she looked where she shouldn’t of. Others say she’s a six-legged forest monster with a face meaner than yer mama’s when ya tracked mud on her clean floor. Either way, if you see one out an’ about, maybe just wave politely and leave.

Anyway, the legend goes somethin’ like this: a long time ago, a curious Cherokee woman snuck into a sacred ceremony where only men were allowed. She wanted to see what all the hollerin’ and drummin’ was about, but the medicine men caught her and cursed her right on the spot — SHULLYGULLY — turned ‘er into a beast then and there, doomed to wander the woods forever. Now she’s got glowin’ yellow eyes, fur black as coal, and a scream that’ll make yer skeleton try to crawl outta ya body.

Some claim she still prowls these Tennessee mountains, especially around Lookout and Signal at night. Hunters say they hear her yowlin’ through the fog. One man swore he saw her sittin’ on top of his shed lickin’ her paw (but personally, I think it might’ve been his neighbor’s cat on too much Dirty Mountain Dew this time ‘round.)

I tried investigatin’ myself, but after a stick snapped behind me, I remembered I’m allergic to terror and ran home so fast my shoes untied themselves and flopped onto the ground like an unsuspectin’ individual on them Pickle Barrel Steps.

Anyway, if yer campin’ this weekend, keep your flashlight close and your snacks sealed tight. The Wampus Cat might just be out there, watchin’… waitin’… wonderin’ why humans keep callin’ her spooky when she’s just tryin’ to mind her own cursed business.

We got one more week left of Bubby’s Backwoods Beasts series, y’all got any specific critters ya want me to investigate? Reply to this email with yer suggestion and I’ll get right to it!

Clementine’s Official Trick-or-Treat List of Chattanooga!

Every year I say I’m gonna be ready for Halloween. Every year I forget to decide on a costume until the night before. But this year, there’s too much to miss out on before Halloween even gets here. I’ve gotta decide between going as Dolley Madison or a KPop Demon Hunter pretty quick because the candy opportunities are HERE, and I’m not missing any of it.

So without further ado, please enjoy my delightfully over-detailed roundup of local trunk-or-treats and fall festivals (because I take spooky season seriously, thank you very much):

Anyway, gotta run – I’ve gotta get my candy bucket ready before the sugar stampede starts. Did I miss a trunk or treat hiding in your neighborhood? Where do you think the best haul is hiding? Let me know if I happened to miss anything (chances are I probably didn’t though.) Just don’t eat all the KitKats before I get there!

🕯️Till next time, Y’all…

Whew, y’all! Whatta sugar rush. Between the porch lights, pumpkin patches, and Clementine’s candy list, we’re callin’ this one a wrap (a candy wrap, specifically).

Thank ya kindly for spendin’ the start of your week with us on the porch, it means more than a full-size candy bar on Halloween night. We’ll be back soon with more hometown happenings, cozy chaos, and stories from our favorite corners of Chattanooga.

— Bubby & Clementine