Well if it ain’t our dear pal! Welcome back!

This week’s feelin’ a little softer, like a summer night with the crickets hummin’. We’ve got Clementine spillin’ her Swiftie heart about Taylor’s new album, Hot Dog Harv servin’ up a coney-club cover you didn’t know you needed, and a whole heap of community milestones worth celebratin’! From book launches to retirement scoops. Pull up a chair, pour some sweet tea, and let’s color our days with the good stuff happenin’ right here in good ole Chattanoogy.

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Today's Issue Includes:

• This week’s Front Porch Partner

• Chattanooga's Upcoming Events

• This Week’s Community Spotlight: A Round of Porch Cheers

• Stuff I Saw on the Internet: The Cheese Coney Club

• Deep Thoughts with Bubby: Everyday Legends

• Clementine’s Corner: It’s Almost Swiftie Season!

• Wrap Up

Make sure ya turn on this week’s Jam while ya read, it only makes the vibes better!

Together with

This week’s Front Porch Partner: Masters in Marketing

Ya wanna help keep Chattynooga’s porch swing squeakin’ without droppin’ a nickel? All it takes is clickin’ this ad from our pals at Masters in Marketing — and just like that, $1.20 moseys our way, no strings attached. No signups, no hassle, just a lil’ clickety-click that helps us keep yappin’ about all the good folks in Chattanooga. Big thanks for keepin’ the lantern lit, bud!

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What’s Goin’ On in the Scenic City?

Community

• Paint & Play: Kids Art in the Park
  August 21 @ Tennessee Riverpark
  Chalk, rocks, paint, and tiny hands makin’ big ol’ masterpieces. If your fridge needs more art, this is the place to get it stocked up.
  🖌️ Fridge Fillin’ Fun

• Girls Inc. 65th Anniversary Kickoff Celebration
  August 21 @ Mac Avenue Event Space
  65 years of Strong, Smart & Bold deserves more than a dang cake, so they’re throwin’ a whole party. Expect live music, community pride, and a big ol’ reminder that girls run the world.
  💃 Strong, Smart, and Still Partyin’

• Dine & Give Back at White Duck Taco
  August 22 @ White Duck Taco Shop
  Margs and tacos taste better when they’re for a good cause, promise. The Chattery’s raising funds while DJMCPRO keeps the vibe spicy.
  🌮 Holy Guaca-Moley!

• James Baldwin Festival of Words
  August 23 @ Chattanooga Public Library – Downtown
  Part of the Chattanooga Festivals of Black Arts and Ideas, it’s a whole day of writers, talks, and word magic that digs into the tough stuff with hope and honesty. Come sit a spell and soak up some literary thunder.
  📚 Words Hit Different

• 2nd Annual Watermelon Festival
  August 23–24 @ McDonald Farm
  Two days of melons: sliced, diced, juiced, and maybe even turned into art. It’s the juiciest excuse to wear your stretchiest shorts.
  🍉 Spit Some Seeds

Music & Entertainment

• Kasvot Chätt & Obelisk Farewell Jam
  August 19 @ Pax Breu Ruim
  Southside’s hangout spot is closing, but not before one last free music bash. These bands are playin’ like it’s the last day of summer camp.
  🎸 Jam ‘Til the Lights Go Out

• Aquarium After-Hours: Nightlife – Something’s Fishy
  August 22 @ Tennessee Aquarium
  The fish are clockin’ out but you’re clockin’ in for a whodunit under the waves. Solve puzzles, sip drinks, and try not to get outsmarted by an otter.
  🐠 Sherlock Gills

• Water for Cupping Workshop
  August 20 @ New Wave Coffee
  Turns out your cup of joe depends a whole lot on H₂O. Learn the secrets of fancy water and snag beans at half-price.
  💧 Mo’ Water, Mo’ Flavor

Outdoors ‘n’ Stuff

• Beach Movie Night: Sharknado
  August 23 @ Chester Frost Park Beach
  It’s cornhole, food trucks, and a whole tornado full of sharks on the big screen. Floaties optional, popcorn mandatory.
  🦈 Chomp Chomp Cinema

• Dog Days of Summer
  August 23 @ Mountain Creek Harley-Davidson (Dalton, GA)
  Pups, bikes, blood drives, and free beer: name a wilder combo, I’ll wait. Bring Fido, bring yer friends, and bring some kibble donations too.
  🐾 Hot Dogs, Cool Pups

• Coolidge Park Cool Down
  August 23 @ Coolidge Park
  Foam slides, yoga, hammocks, and yard games? That’s a recipe for a sweaty-good Saturday. Come cool off and laze by the river.
  ☀️ Slip, Slide & Snooze

• Cam Run 5K + Magnum Mile
  August 23 @ Downtown to Coolidge Park
  Morning runs for the kids and grown-ups, then the Magnum Mile showdown to cap it off. This is Chattanooga’s version of the Olympics, minus the commercials.
  🏃 Run Like the Winded

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]!

This Week’s Community Spotlight: A Round of Porch Cheers

This week, we’re hootin’ and hollerin’ for some of our own who’ve been makin’ Chattanooga shine a little brighter! Whether it’s movin’ on to greener pastures, servin’ up a new read for the community to dive into, or puttin’ out the campfire one last time, we’re so proud of yer accomplishments!

• Mr. Bill, the heart behind Bill’s Shaved Ice, is hangin’ up his scoop after keepin’ us cool for over two decades. Enjoy that well-earned retirement, bud!

• Local author Jay Olsen-Thrift just dropped The Frozen Steppe, the second book in their epic fantasy trilogy.

• And last but not least, our friends at Good Soil Theatre Co. wrapped up a beautiful, intimate run of The Grown-Ups out on The Gentry Homestead in McDonald, remindin’ us how special community-grown art can be.

Wanna shout out someone in your community’s accomplishments? Shoot us a message by replyin’ to this email, emailin’ us separately at [email protected], or just send us a DM on Instygram!

Stuff I Saw on the Internet: The Cheese Coney Club

Our bud Hot Dog Harv is back at it again, servin’ up another piping-hot parody masterpiece: this time with a Skyline twist.

After wowing us with his debut Hot Dogs 2 Go, Harv has officially entered his main character era with “Cheese Coney Club”, another spot-on spoof of Chappell Roan’s iconic discography. Picture it: Harv belting about chili and cheese while dressed like a hot dog on top of a Skyline counter. It’s goofy, it’s catchy, and it’s everything we never knew we needed.

Long live the Cheese Coney Club, y’all.

Deep Thoughts with Bubby: Everyday Legends

I reckon most of us grow up thinkin’ heroes gotta wear capes or stand on stages. While it is still a great example of a great hero (I mean, have y’all seen that new Superman movie? Made me wanna teach myself how to fly as soon as them credits started rollin’.) But the older I get, the more I notice it’s the ordinary folks who end up shapin’ us the most. Not ‘cause they’re flashy, but ‘cause they just… show up.

If ya think about it, just bein’ there really can be the difference in someone’s day:

• The ice cream man who rings his bell every summer.

• The librarian who saves you a copy of the book you’ve been hankerin’ for.

• The neighbor who never forgets to wave when ya pedal past on your bike.

They ain’t tryin’ to be famous. They’re just bein’ themselves. But years later, you realize those small, steady moments stitched themselves into the quilt of your memory.

We don’t always see it in the moment. Heck, sometimes you don’t realize how much somebody mattered ‘til they’re not there every day anymore. But it’s worth rememberin’ that every “ordinary” person has the power to become a legend in somebody else’s story. Not because of where they come from or how loud they holler, but because they cared enough to make a difference in the quiet ways.

So if you’ve got an everyday hero in your life — the teacher who believed in you, the silly Chick-Fil-A cashier who cracks a joke while yer waitin’ on ya food to be ready, the friend who checks in just ‘cause — tell ‘em how much ya appreciate ‘em next time ya see them. Remind ‘em they matter. ‘Cause truth is, we’re all capable of inspirin’ somebody, even if we don’t know it.

And when you put all those ordinary legends together, you get somethin’ mighty special: a community that hums with kindness, like a song ya didn’t know you needed ‘til it got stuck in your head.

Sometimes that may be lackin’ in your neck of the woods though, whether you’re just arrivin’ to a new place or in a season of change where ya just needed a change of posse because life just be lifein’, so how do you go out and cultivate it yourself?

I was readin’ an article from one’a my heroes, Kat Vellos (true story y’all, she worked with the creators of Siri to make the first version of that lil’ feller over at Samsung, Bixby!) and she explains that the people ya do life with in close proxemitty proxshimmidy proximity with are the best folks to start plantin’ seeds:

So with that, I leave ya with somethin’ to chew on: Who can ya do a favor by just wavin’ at and sayin’, “Good mornin’, bud! Hope ya have a good day!” after ya wrap up readin’ this little newsletter of ours?

If yer feelin’ up for it, hit that reply button and share who ya first thought of when ya read the question, we love hearin’ about how our folks are cultivatin’ kindness!

Clementine’s Corner: It’s Almost Swiftie Season!

As it turns out, when Bubby fills in, you get a rebrand, a mess, and more gnomes than anyone asked for. This week I’m back in my corner, and I come bearing news that’s even bigger than lawn ornaments. Taylor Swift is back, The Life of a Showgirl era has begun, and y’all… she’s about to make the whole place shimmer.

Last Thursday night, Taylor joined her boyfriend Travis and his brother Jason as a special guest on their New Heights podcast. She and the Kelce brothers talked about a little bit of everything, from tour memories and her sourdough obsession to Travis’s football world and family stories. The big reveal at the end was music to every Swiftie’s ears… TS12, coming October 3. THE WAY I SCREAMED, Y’ALL.
 Throughout the podcast, Taylor dropped all kinds of Easter eggs, joked around with Jason, got all sweet with Travis, and gave us a glimpse into her life at home, on the road, and what’s coming next. She had plenty to say - silly, sarcastic, sentimental - but I was not prepared for this little nugget of wisdom she slipped in while talking about not letting other people’s opinions shake her:

“You should think of your energy as if it’s expensive, as if it’s like a luxury item. Not everyone can afford it.”

YES QUEEN! I love that mindset, and you better believe I’m taking it to heart. For a sports podcast, our girl had plenty of exciting and wonderful things to say. Bubby (being the real pal that he is) watched the whole thing live on YouTube with me (yes, he’s a secret Swiftie, don’t let him fool you). By the end, we were both ready to make friendship bracelets and embrace our Showgirl era. Like Taylor said: “If you can’t get joy from silly little things… you’re doing it wrong.”

By the way, I knew Chattanooga was part of Taylor Nation all along. Like 89% of America, local businesses took to Instagram declaring their own showgirl eras with glittery orange posts galore. And get this, The Signal is even hosting THE TAYLOR PARTY, on October 4 (the day after the album release!). It’s gonna be whole night of singing (or scream-singing) through every era, swapping friendship bracelets and talking Easter eggs and theories, and shaking it off on a glitter covered dance floor all night long. You do not want to miss this!!

So, if you need me, I’ll be blasting Taylor’s Version on repeat until Life of a Showgirl drops. Long live the queen who never left. 🫶🏻🧡💃✨

That’s all we got for ya this week, bud!

Don’t forget to wave at the ordinary legends in your life this week, ‘cause they’re the ones makin’ our city hum. We’ll be back on the porch next Monday with more tales, more tunes, and probably more nonsense than even we bargained for.

Til then, keep smilin’, keep sharin’, and keep colorin’ your corner of Chattanooga bright. Love ya, pal!

— Bubby & Clementine