Hey y’all, and welcome back to the porch!

This week, Chattanooga feels like it’s holding its breath in the best way; right on the edge of Summer, with the scent of honeysuckle, sunscreen, and just a pinch of pixie dust in the air. From fairy festivals and Shakespeare under the stars to mini-carnivals, creekside cool-downs, and camps that make you believe in firefly wishes, it’s a whole enchanted mood out there.

So lace up your hiking sandals, dust off those costume wings, and grab a snow cone; ‘cause we’ve rounded up the magic, the mischief, and the must-do’s of the week, just for you.

Let’s dive in, Dreamyheads.

Today's Issue Includes:

• Chattanooga's Upcoming Events

• Hand-Picked Community Spotlight: The Fairy and Folk Festival

• Stuff I saw on the internet: Tiny Doors ATL

• Letters from Lookout: Choose Your Own Campventure

• Clementine's Corner: Hot Hot Hot!

• Wrap Up

What’s Goin’ On in the Scenic City?

Community

• Harry Potter Trivia
  Monday, May 19 @ Clumpies Market St. | 6:30 PM
  Wands at the ready! Clumpies Ice Cream is kicking off their summer trivia series with a night straight outta Hogwarts. Bring your crew, test your wizarding knowledge, and win magical prizes — all while enjoying a scoop (or three).
  ⚡️Accio Team Names

• Business Before Business Networking
  Tuesday, May 20 @ Kubota of Chattanooga | 8:00 - 9:30 AM
  This one’s for the early birds and friendly networkers. Hosted by Nooga Networking, this free event includes local sponsors, door prizes, and adoptable puppies from Your Local Fur Mama. Yep, you read that right — puppies at a networking event.
  🛜Pet the Puppers and Practice Your Pitch

• 1890 Days
  Friday, May 23- Saturday, May 24 @ City of Ringgold | 5:30-10:00 PM and 9:00 AM-10:00 PM
  Take a trip back in time with this small-town street festival that draws thousands every Memorial Day weekend. Expect live music, arts and crafts, a classic car show, fireworks, and folks in full 1890s attire. Family-friendly and totally free!
  🎩 Time Travel Starts Here

Music & Entertainment

• World Building Wizards
  Saturday, May 24 @ Reve Coffee and Books | 11:00 AM
  Writers, dreamers, and dice-rollers unite! This free writing workshop hosted by Jay Olsen-Thrift explores how characters’ pasts shape their worlds. Whether you're building realms for novels or campaigns, you’ll get tips on crafting deep, believable settings (plus a wizard wand and scroll if you attend).
  🧙🏻Level Up your Lore

• The Pigeon Comes to Chattanooga! A Mo Willems Exhibit
  Opens Saturday, May 24 @ Creative Discovery Museum
  Get ready for giggles, goggles, and wearable bus rides: The Pigeon is pulling into the Creative Discovery Museum! This hands-on exhibit invites kids (and nostalgic grownups) to step into the world of Mo Willems, with interactive art stations, storytelling prompts, and familiar characters like Elephant & Piggie, Knuffle Bunny, and Naked Mole Rat.
  🐦Let the Pigeon drive this time

• A Midsummer’s Night Dream
  Opens Friday, May 30 @ First Street Square, Cleveland | 7:00 PM
  Fairy lights, moonlight, and Shakespearean mischief — Good Soil Theatre Co. is transforming downtown Cleveland into a woodland dreamscape with their outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Bring a lawn chair, wear your fairy wings, and prepare for a night of magic, love spells, and laughter beneath the stars.
  🎭Into the Woods We Go

Outdoors ‘n’ Stuff

• May Day Art Market
  Saturday, May 24 @ Mcdonald Farm | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
  Soak up spring at the May Day Art Market, set on the charming grounds of Old McDonald Farm. Enjoy local vendors, live music, delicious food, and the cozy kind of chaos that only a countryside market can bring. It’s the perfect place to find one-of-a-kind treasures, meet makers, and take a dreamy stroll through rural Tennessee.
  🎨Get Thee to the Farm

• Mini Carnival and Movie
  Saturday, May 24 @ Warner Park | 1:00 - 10:00 PM
  Celebrate the start of summer with a totally free day of fun at Warner Park! The mini carnival runs 1–4 PM with music, games, and good times under the trees near Frost Stadium. Then stick around as the sun sets for an outdoor screening of Despicable Me 4 from 7–10 PM. Bonus points if you bring a blanket and banana-themed snacks.
  🍿Carnival First, Minions Later

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 Fairy and Folk Festival

Hey y’all! It’s your gal Clementine, and I’ve just about twirled myself into a dizzy spell thinkin’ about this weekend, because Chattanooga is fixin’ to get real magical. The Fairy and Folk Festival is flutterin’ back into town, and let me tell you, this ain’t your average stroll through the woods.

Hosted by our nature-lovin’ pals at the Chattanooga Audubon Society, this enchanted celebration brings together art, music, dance, and storytelling under a canopy of spring sunshine and Southern charm. There’s fairy house contests, whimsical vendors, mermaids in the creek (yes, really!), and even live-action Dungeons & Dragons nestled in the forest. Whether you're into Shakespeare in the Park or just wanna prance around with wings and glitter, this shindig's got you covered.

But behind all that pixie dust is a local nonprofit doing real-deal work to protect our natural, cultural, and historical treasures. I got the chance to yap with the folks makin’ this festival happen — and lemme tell you, their passion is just as bright as a jar full of fireflies.

So grab your flower crowns and follow me into the woods: it’s time for Out Here Askin’ with Clementine! I tracked down the fairy folk and festival friends who are bringing this magical weekend to life. Here's what they had to say!

WHO ARE YOU: Good Soil Theatre Company

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING: Performing select scenes from their upcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and designing fairy costumes with kids! Stop by to purchase or enter to win free tickets!

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED FOR: Performing in such a beautiful space and bringing fairy magic to life for all of the attendees!

—

WHO ARE YOU: The Seed Theatre

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING: Producing a live game of Dungeons and Dragons complete with actors playing the characters and a dungeon master coming to guide them!

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED FOR: This is our first year at the festival so we don’t know what all to expect, but we do know it’ll be a great time!

—

WHO ARE YOU: Seth Jordan - Tattoo Artist

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING: I’ll be tattooing at the event! I’ll have pre-drawn designs ready to go.

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED FOR: I’m excited to see all the new and familiar faces. Last year was a blast and I’m excited to be a part of it again this year.

—

WHO ARE YOU: Nina Ricci

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING: Performing songs from the Roud Folk Songs Index, such as “Barbara Allen,” “Fennario (Pretty Peggy-O)” and more ballads of varied origins. I am a folk revivalist at heart and consider it an honor to sing traditional folk songs whenever I have the opportunity. I will be roaming troubadour-style, singing for festival-goers before headlining on the main stage at 3:15pm.

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED FOR: This is a “full circle” experience. In 2015, I performed at what was then called the “Little Owl Festival” at Audubon Acres. Since the theme of this festival is “Fairy & Folk,” there is an emphasis on whimsy and fantasy that brings a Ren Fest feel to the nature sanctuary.

—

WHO ARE YOU: Goddess Anomaly

WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING: Performing a 1-hour set of groovy and ethereal electronic songs

WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED FOR: We’re most excited to see the whimsy that everyone brings! This will be our first year so we’re excited for what’s in store.

Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got wings to fluff and a fairy frock to twirl into because the Fairy and Folk Festival is calling, and I plan to show up in full sparkle mode. I can already feel the magic in the air, and I can’t wait to soak up every bit of whimsy. See you in the woods, friends!

Stuff I Saw on the Internet: Tiny Doors ATL

Now this is what I call portal potential.

Y’all, down in Atlanta, there’s these itty-bitty doors poppin’ up all over town — built just the right size for fairies, gnomes, or tiny raccoon librarians (the cool kind with glasses). They’re part of a public art project called Tiny Doors ATL, and each one’s hand-painted to match the vibe of the neighborhood it’s in. Some look like magical cottages, others like space stations for bug astronauts.

It’s like a scavenger hunt, but with whimsy and no time limit. If I find one that opens, don’t worry: I will be entering the fairy realm immediately. Send snacks.

Letters from Lookout: Choose Your Own Campventure

Y’all ever tried to hike, zipline, paddle, and play GaGa ball all in the same day? Because over at Camp Lookout, that’s just called Tuesday. This place has got more options than a Cracker Barrel menu, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Whether you’re the type who loves a good thrill or just wants to splash around in a creek pretending you’re the star of a wilderness survival show (but with snacks and supervision), there’s a Campventure waitin’ for you.

You can lace up your boots for a hike or creek walk, test your aim with archery or slingshots, or challenge your pals to a serious round of four-square, corn hole, or frisbee golf (though I will warn you, ole Bubs has a habit of turnin’ any game into a full-blown championship.)

Now if you’re feelin’ brave (or just got somethin’ to prove), the climbing wall and ropes courses are callin’. Clem says even lookin’ at the Vertical Playpen made her palms sweat, but I’ve got a date with the high ropes and a dream of yellin’ “I REGRET NOTHING” from the zipline. And don’t even get me started on the lake and whitewater paddling; it's like bein’ an Appalachian mermaid, except with a life vest and a paddle.

So here’s your mission, if you choose to accept it: Pick your own Campventure. Try somethin’ new. Yell real loud. Laugh 'til your belly hurts. And if nothin’ else, GaGa ball’s always there for you.

Clementine’s Corner: Feelin’ Hot Hot Hot!

In my expert meteorological opinion, it is HOT. I don’t care that it will not be summer for another month, it’s too hot now and I’m going to complain about it. I mean, report about it.

You know, we should just embrace it. We live in the south and unfortunately that means we are cursed to enjoy the sweatiest of summers. But never fear, CLEMENTINE MCBRIDE IS HERE, y’all. Whenever it gets too hot, I’ve got the best spots to sneak away to if you want to beat the heat!

My favorite place is Warner Park Pool. The splash pad absolutely sneaks up on you, the water smells like summer and way too much chlorine, and I once saw a kid try to swim in goggles and a bike helmet. I go so much they should just give me a whistle and let me be in charge. The Carver Community Center pool opens in a few weeks, too, so keep an eye out for that!

If pools aren’t your thing, don’t worry, Chattanooga’s got splash pads galore. Coolidge Park’s animal fountains will blast you outta nowhere, Warner Park has jets that pop up like jump scares, and East Lake’s perfect for quiet splashing and dramatic solo dance moves. There’s even a brand new Dog Paddle Park section at Chester Frost so your pup can splash, shake, and zoom through the water like the rest of us.

If you're up for a little adventure (and don’t mind your shoes getting muddy), there are a few more super cool local spots that will make you forget how hot it is. North Chick Blue Hole is icy cold with big rocks you can jump from. Foster Falls has a waterfall you can swim under and trails that are extra fun after it rains. Big Soddy Creek Gulf is perfect for splashing, wading, and feeling like you’re off on a wild adventure. Just make sure to bring good shoes, a towel, and at least one responsible adult who knows how to read a trail map.

All I’m saying is yeah, it’s hot in Chattanooga, but we know what we’re doing. From splash pads to public pools to porches with a good breeze, this town’s got cooling off down to an art. Summer doesn’t stand a chance!

Whew! Y’all still with us?

We covered everything from medieval mischief to minions and Mo Willems: and that’s just what’s happening this week. Whether you’re planning a fairy-themed weekend or just wanna sit on your stoop with a popsicle and daydream, know that the porch light here is always on for you.

Got a local event, story, or winged creature sighting we should know about? Hit reply, we’re all ears (pointy or otherwise).

Until next time, stay curious, stay kind, and stay just a little bit weird.

Catch ya on the porch,

— Bubby & Clementine