It’s Monday, Y’all! We’ve sure missed ya.

We started this month with a big ol’ idea: what if we filled September with stories of staying — hope, heart, and hanging on through the hard stuff?

What we didn’t expect was just how many of y’all would show up for it.

Over the last four weeks, we’ve danced in ornate studios, shared stories that cracked our hearts open (in the best way), and raised real dollars for suicide prevention —one click, one conversation, one kind moment atta time. We even built our first-ever in-person event (and yes, we’re still cryin’ about it).

This week, as the sun sets on our Hope on the Porch series, we’re lookin’ back at what we built — and forward to what comes next. Pull up a chair, friend. Let’s close this chapter together.

Today's Issue Includes:

• This Week’s Front Porch Partner: Mood Gummies

• Chattanooga's Upcoming Events

• Hand-Picked Community Spotlight: The Art That Gets us Through Opening Reception

• Deep Thoughts with Bubby: Keep on Hopin’

• Clementine’s Corner: Ending the Braves Season with a Bang!

• Wrap Up

Don’t forget to crank up the tunes before you get started, it adds to the atmosphere!

This Week’s Front Porch Partner: Mood Gummies

Y’all have already helped raise $141 this month — just by clickin’ a button. Seriously. No strings, no spendin’. Just one click = $1.50 toward our suicide prevention fundraiser. With a little help from our awesome readers Madison and Cole, we’re sittin’ right at the finish line this Monday:

We’re tryin’ to hit $500 by the end of the week, and this is the home stretch. Here’s how you can help out, and ya won’t believe how easy it is:

• Click the ad below. That’s it. No signin’ up (unless ya want some adult gummies, then by all means have at ‘er)

Thanks for helpin’ us keep the porch light on for someone who needs it. Let’s finish strong, friends. 💛

Buying Cannabis Online Is Now Legal, And Incredibly Convenient

For years, buying cannabis meant taking a trip to a dispensary, dealing with long lines, limited selection, and inconsistent pricing. But thanks to changing laws and innovative online retailers, buying high-quality THC products is now 100% federally legal—and more convenient than ever.

And when it comes to quality and reliability, Mood is leading the way…

Because they’ve completely flipped the script on cannabis shopping. Instead of memorizing hundreds of confusing strain names – like “Gorilla Glue” and "Purple Monkey Breath" – you simply choose how you want to feel: Creative, Social, Focused, Relaxed, Happy, Aroused, and more.

Each gummy is formulated with the perfect blend of Delta-9 THC and botanicals to deliver the perfect mood.

Want a great night’s sleep? Try the Sleepytime gummies. Need laser focus Mind Magic gummies have you covered. Hotter sex? Try the Sexual Euphoria gummies.

It's cannabis shopping that actually makes sense for “normal” people.

20% OFF your first order!

What’s Goin’ On in the Scenic City?

Community

• Networking & Neurodiversity 2025 Celebration
  Wednesday, 10/1 @ The Edney | 4:30-6:30PM
  Celebrate neurodiversity with an evening of connection, board games, and community. Enjoy snacks and drinks, join an open mic prompt-sharing session, and meet local employers and partners.

  🧠 Celebrate every brain

• Grand Opening Feast at Mad Priest
  Saturday, 10/4 @ 1200 McCallie Ave | 6:00-11:00PM
  Celebrate Mad Priest’s brand-new home on McCallie Ave with a night of duality and mysticism before the café officially opens for service on October 6. Enjoy live music, vintage finds, tarot, D&D, art, food, and a coffee triangulation contest, with costumes highly encouraged.
  🌙 Duality meets deliciousness

• Croctoberfest at Electric Crocodile
  Saturday, 10/4 @ The Electric Crocodile | 10:00AM-8:00PM
  Electric Crocodile’s first annual Croctoberfest is taking over the Northshore with vintage finds, local vendors, food trucks, and live music. Shop the wildest treasures, snack on pretzels, and celebrate Oktoberfest croc-style.
  🐊 Croc your socks off

• Chattanooga Pride Festival 2025
  Sunday, 10/5 @ Ross’s Landing | 2:00-8:00PM
  Celebrate love, identity, and community along the riverfront with music, food, drinks, and vendors. The festivities kick off with the Pride Parade at 1:00 PM before the main event at Ross’s Landing.
  🌈 Love out loud

Music & Entertainment

• Manhattan Short Film Festival
  Friday, 10/3 @ Don Eaves Heritage House | 8:00-10:30PM
  The world’s greatest short film festival is coming to Chattanooga for one night only. Watch ten finalists from seven countries and cast your vote for the best short film. Bring a chair or picnic blanket for this outdoor screening. Ages 15+.

  🎬 Big stories, short films

• The Taylor Party: TS Dance Party
  Saturday, 10/4 @ The Signal | 9:00 PM (18+)
  Swifties, this one’s for you! celebrate the release of The Life of a Showgirl with a night of singing, dancing, and sparkling through every Era. Pick your best outfit, bring your crew, and dance it out to all things Taylor.
  ✨ Long live the magic

• Racket on the Rails + Racket at the Boneyard
  Saturday, 10/4 | 11:00AM-5:00PM + 5:00PM-1:00AM
  Yellow Racket Records brings a full day of music and makers—shop vinyl, vintage, and art at the Choo Choo from 11–5, then head to The Boneyard for a stacked lineup of live music from 5–1. One big day, two stages of community and sound.
  🎶 Tracks on tracks

• Mid-South Symphonic Band 35th Anniversary Concert
  Saturday, 10/4 @ Abba’s House | 3:00 PM
  Celebrate 35 years of music with the Mid-South Symphonic Band, a community ensemble made up of musicians of all ages and backgrounds. From concert classics to movie soundtracks and nostalgic favorites, this free performance promises something for everyone.
  🎺 Celebrating 35 years in harmony

Outdoors ‘n’ Stuff

• Hutton & Smith 10th Anniversary Block Party
  Saturday, 10/4 @ Hutton & Smith Taproom | 12:00-11:00 PM
  Hutton & Smith is celebrating 10 years on MLK with an all-day block party featuring special beer releases, live music, food, and games. Raise a glass, snag some raffle prizes, and join the fun with friends and neighbors.

  🍻 Ten years on tap

• The Vibe Stage: Youth Talent Show
  Sunday, 10/5 @ Miller Park Stage | 4:00-7:00 PM
  Young performers (ages 16 and under) take the spotlight for an evening of music, dance, and open mic fun. This free event is all about confidence, creativity, and sharing talent with the community.

  🎤 Shine on the stage

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]!

Hand-Picked Community Spotlight: The Art That Gets us Through Opening Reception

Y’all ever heard someone say “I’m in the pit”? Ain’t no glamorous way to put it: it’s that deep-down spot where light’s hard to find. But sometimes, if you sit still long enough or scribble on a napkin or glue some scraps together… hope hollers back.

This week, our porch light’s shining on a powerful art exhibit called The Art That Gets Us Through. It ain’t pretty pictures on a wall, but the kinda work that grew outta grief, outta spirals, and silence. The kind of art that held someone’s hand when no one else could. Made in the mess. Born from the bottom.

It honors that sacred truth: you don’t have to be “better” to make something beautiful. You just gotta be present.

ClearStory Arts and the Chattanooga Depression Collective teamed up to give these stories space to breathe. And buddy, they sure do. We reckon you’ll walk away feelin’ a little more seen — and a little more hopeful at the end, too.

Deep Thoughts with Bubby: Keep on Hopin’

Yer tellin’ me that September is almost over already? Where in the world has the time gone.

Anway, this Monday mornin’, I been sittin’ out here swingin’ slow and thinkin’ 'bout all we did this month — and it’s kinda blowin’ my tiny small town mind. We hosted our first-ever event in the real world (!!!), and some’a y’all actually came out to it! We danced, we learned how to help one another, and it felt like we’d known each other a whole lot longer than we had. We got to yap with the kind-hearted crew over at Hope on the Horizon Chattanooga, and we raised funds for the Out of the Darkness Walk like our lives depended on it ('cause in some ways, they kinda do.)

But here’s the part that’s really sittin’ heavy on my chest in the best way — it wasn’t just the big stuff. It was the little moments that made it real. The quiet check-ins. The brave shares. The inside jokes and kind words passed like notes in class. That’s where the good lives. That’s what this porch was built for.

Truth is, we started Chattynooga 'cause we were two lonely kiddos that saw this place as somethin’ more than just livin’ out our days passin’ by. We just wanted to find a few folks who got us. Who maybe felt a little outta place but still had a lotta love to give. We weren’t tryin’ to start a whole thing. But somehow — thanks to y’all — we’ve now got over seven hundred porch-sitters joinin’ us this week. Seven hundred hearts leanin’ in, readin’ along, and sharin’ in this weird, hopeful, slightly unhinged lil dream we had.

And I gotta tell ya... that’s somethin’ special.

We talk a lot about hope around here. And I used to think hope looked like some big sparkly banner wavin’ at the finish line. But now? I think hope looks like showin’ up with a bag of chips when you don’t know what else to bring. Like sayin’, “I’m here,” even if you don’t got the right words. Like postin’ the silly thing. Like stayin’ soft when it’d be easier not to be, ‘specially with all the big feelins’ happenin’ outside of our city.

This month reminded me that we don’t gotta do everything to make a difference. We just gotta do something. And we don’t gotta do it alone.

So thank you. For holdin’ space. For buildin’ this porch with us. For bringin’ your weird, your wonder, your wounds, and your heart. We’re real glad you’re here.

And we ain’t done yet. Matter’a fact — we’re just gettin’ this thang started.

Clementine’s Corner: Ending the Braves Season with a Bang!

My corner this week is gonna be kinda short and sweet. I wanna tell you about my weekend. Aaaand you know how people say “I’ve got good news and bad news?” Well, this was that kinda weekend. Good news, Bubby and I went to a Braves game with my family! We did the wave. We did the tomahawk chop. Bubby did a little breakdance when Drake Baldwin hit a triple and Ozuna from the Braves sent him home. Even though we didn’t get the W, it was a great night at the ball field.

And then we headed home, which is where the bad news comes up. We got in a little fender bender headed back, which was really scary. You know how Carrie Underwood said, “Jesus take the wheel?” Well, I may have screamed that a time or two. No one got hurt, and everyone made it home safe and sound, so I guess there’s good news in the bad news, too.

So anyway, that’s my short and sweet lil corner this week. I’m a little shaken up today (you know how they say, “I feel like I got hit by a semi truck?”), so I’m just resting and reflecting on how glad I am to be here today, back home in good ol’ Chattanooga. Oh! And since this sorta train wreck of a season is now officially over, let me say just one last time… let’s go Bravos!

Well y’all, Hope on the Porch is one fer the books.

It’s funny, ain’t it? This whole thing started 'cause we just wanted to find our people. A little less lonely in a beautiful city that sometimes moves too fast. A porch for stories that don’t always get told. A home for folks who care a whole lot, even when they don’t say it out loud.

And now look at us — over 700 strong, clickin', readin', showin’ up, and buildin’ something bigger than we ever expected.

So while this campaign may be comin’ to a close, the porch light ain’t turnin’ off. Not even close. We’ll keep tellin’ stories. Keep holdin’ space. Keep makin’ Chattanooga feel a little smaller and a whole lot softer.

Thanks for sittin’ with us. Thanks for stayin’. We’re real glad you’re here.

— Bubby & Clementine