All Posts from 2010

  1. St. Elmo’s 125th Anniversary Celebration Friday, December 10, 2010

    On Saturday and Sunday, December 11th and 12th, the community of St. Elmo celebrates its 125th anniversary with several markets, open shops & galleries, and a Trolley Tour of Homes and Lights. Don’t miss the following exciting activities happening in St. Elmo this weekend.

    The St. Elmo Holiday Market at the old Firehall (4501 St. Elmo Ave.)

    The Fair Trade Market at St. Elmo Presbyterian from 2-6 p.m.

    In the “downtown” part of St. Elmo, the OH-HO Art Mart hosts a small open air market across from Mojo Burrito all day featuring hair wear and vintage fashion.

    From 6-8 p.m. St. Elmo Merchant Holiday Open House will feature coffee and wine tastings.

    Pasha Coffee & Tea will be offering a free coffee tasting of three different coffees: Uganda Peaberry, Moka Java, and Peru. Visit Chattanooga’s only organic coffee house and get 10% off when you purchase two bags of coffee or more.

    Making Arrangements Florists will be featuring examples of fresh Christmas flowers and gifts for you and your home. While browsing enjoy a taste of European Christmas markets with authentic mulled wine imported from Nuremburg, Germany.

    Shagedelic Salon will be hosting a Holiday Open House and wine tasting with hors d’oeuvres. They will be featuring wines from regions in South America. There will be a drawing for a Grand Gift Basket in the salon.

    BodyWisdom Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork will be offering free five minute massages, appetizers and the much anticipated festive wine, Beaujolais Nouveau, from the region of Burgundy, France.

    Umbra Essence Candles & Gifts will be celebrating their third year anniversary with a wine tasting of Italian reds, hors d’oeuvres, and tours of the candle making studio by their own Christmas elf. In honor of the 125th anniversary of St. Elmo, they will be giving away 125 holiday votive candles to the first 125 attendants to the store, and will offer specials in the gallery this evening.

    Thankful Episcopal Church will host Caroling in the Gardens at 6:15 p.m.

    Additionally, from 6-8 p.m., the Trolley leaves the Incline parking lot for the price of $1 to see the homes in the St. Elmo Christmas Light Contest. Proceeds will benefit the St. Elmo Public Art Project.

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  2. MAINx24 2010 Tuesday, December 07, 2010

    Aaanndddd, its done!  Whew!

    Give yourselves a pat on the back. The fourth annual MAINx24, held this past weekend along Main St. in Chattanoga’s historic Southside, was a huge success!

    MAINx24 embodies everything we love about Chattanooga: Diverse, respectful crowds, quality talent and entertainment, and a unique sense of place and community that provides for an all around feel-good atmosphere.

    I think everyone can agree: the best thing about MAINx24 is the people. This year, that was evident first thing in the morning. Even though the weather was less than ideal, bright smiles and enthusiastic faces were on full display, especially at the parade. The Howard High school band got everyone bouncing with their contagious beats. People couldn’t help but smile when the Scenic City Lawnmower Racing Association brought in their loud vehicles, followed by big trucks, bright floats, and the Champy’s Chicken El-Camino.  But this was just the beginning.  Maybe its just me, but one of the coolest parts about MAINx24 is the ability to cruise the streets and pop into different establishments for incredibly diverse entertainment. 

    At CreateHere, the lovely ladies of Gerle Haggard and energetic stomping of Moonslew filled the air with bluegrass music that perfectly captured the essence of a neighborhood experience in the Southeast. After that, we opened the doors and cranked up the volume with Blues Hammer, and people couldn’t help but be drawn in to the scathing slide guitar on full display by Jeremy Montgomery. One of my favorite acts of the afternoon was poet Christian Collier with his hypnotic spoken word. I can’t wait to attend his upcoming arts showcase, Manifest. After some chillwave music from DJ Cletus and classic covers from Free Range Mystics, we got our dance on with a NIA clinic from Hollee Brock and bellydancing from the Zanzibar crew. Next up was Rick Bowers and the Majors, the perfect blend of classic folk rock with a more modern, and more dangerous sound. It was the perfect opener for the closing act, outlaw punk rockabilly act Racing Death.

    After nearly 8 hours of quality entertainment, I walked down the street to the lot behind Discoteca, where the sculpture burning took place. The atmosphere was electric as the beautiful wooden sculpture ignited and burned away, leaving a massive bonfire for enthusiastic onlookers to dance around and jump through. The crowd made their way to Loose Cannon, where The Main Event took place. 

    The Main Event was everything I had hoped for.  Opening act The Patrick Smith Band brought the southern funk heat, playing a great mix of danceable covers and original material. The decor of the event space mixed with the ritzy party attire of the crowd made it feel like you were in the coolest place in the city. Next was DJ Wizz Kid out of Chicago, IL, who had the whole building rocking with his live mixing of music AND video. I left that party to head to the Camp House after party with my clothes already soaked and feet already hurting. The Main Event after party was slated to take place from 1-6 AM, and I can attest to the party raging every bit till then. Poirier and DJ K7 took us on a world wide adventure with urban electro beats and tropical rhythms. 

    After treating my body to a full night’s rest and robust breakfast, I realized that MAINx24 is the best day and night of the year. This festival is an incredible example of a citizen-led effort to turn our city into what we want it to be. There’s no institutional hand holding, or government-led effort to do something cool, this is Chattanoogans sitting down at a table, and coming up with a bad ass idea. We did it again.

    If you missed the event, don’t worry: there was plenty of documentation. Here are some links to a few photo galleries, news articles, videos, and the Times Free Press photo contest and video contest. Below are a few more Times Free Press articles. We’ll see you next year!

    Nonstop action highlights MAINx24

    MainX24 ‘big deal’ for Southside shops

    Lights, camera, LEED

    (Photo credit to Doug Strickland.)

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  3. MAINx24 - Ladder Golf Wednesday, November 24, 2010

    CreateHere wrestled long and hard with the critical decision of what our presence at the 2010 MAINx24 would be. Days of impassioned debate ensued. Weeks drug on and suddenly, across the team, a collective epiphany occurred.

    We instantly knew what activity we would create that would fulfill our desire to develop a vision for our community, shine a light on positive efforts in our city, and boost the creative and entrepreneurial spirit simultaneously. Ladder golf was the answer for which we’d been searching.

    Ladder. Golf.

    CreateHere is pleased to host Chattanooga’s first Ladder Golf tournament during the MainX24 festival.  A yard game of epic proportions, Ladder Golf has its roots deeply planted in the football tailgate scene, where uninhibited fans have been tossing around bolas for years.

    Although many Ohio State fans would love to claim origins of Ladder Golf, the wild American west can be attributed as the first arena in which the game was played.  With cowboys throwing live snakes at branches or fences for points, the concept was born.  Surviving a wave of bastardization by frat boys nationwide throughout the 90’s, Ladder Golf has thrived throughout the 2000’s, and looks forward to toppling Corn Hole as the standard yard game of the 21st century.

    Ladder Golf isn’t invincible, however, from street players corrupting the game’s lofty values and tradition. Similarly to street basketball, Street Ladder Golf has garnered some attention, but fortunately for the millions of Chattanoogans who are Ladder Golf traditionalists, none of these hooligans will be allowed near the grounds.  Official rules can be found here.

    The MainX24 Ladder Golf tournament will be taking place December 4th, from
    Noon until 2pm at the OCI Chili Cook-off.  Entry for teams of two will be $20, with the proceeds benefiting our local Habitat for Humanity chapter.  The winner will receive a Ladder Golf Set, as well as a prestigious trophy. Or a live snake.  Or something cool like that.

    Since this description in no way described what the game looks like, you can check that out here.

    **This event is NOT taking place at CreateHere, however there will be a live showcase of music and dance from noon until 7:30pm at our offices at 55 E Main St. that should not be missed. The following acts will be performing:

    • 12:00-1:00 Gerle Haggard
    • 1:00 - 1:15 Hayley Graham and Caroling Company
    • 1:15 - 2:15 Blues Hammer
    • 2:15-2:30 Poet Christian Collier
    • 2:30-3:30 Free Range Mystics
    • 3:30-3:45 DJ Cletus
    • 3:45-4:45 Moon Slew
    • 4:45-5:00 NIA with Hollee Brock
    • 5:00-6:00 Rick Bowers & the Majors
    • 6:00-6:15 Zanzibar Bellydance Studio ~ Dandasha & Tribe Zanzibar directed by Lacy Dickerson.**

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  4. Mayor Cory Booker Visits Chattanooga Monday, November 15, 2010

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    “We’re tough, we’re resilient, we’re strong, we’re enduring and, most importantly, when we come together there’s nothing we can’t create.”

    Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be visiting Chattanooga on November 18th as the second speaker in the 2010-11 George T. Hunter Lecture Series. Known across the nation as an inspiring local leader, Cory Booker has made a career out of delivering on bold promises to his community.

    In 2002, Cory Booker – a city councilman and mayoral candidate in Newark, NJ – challenged what many perceived as corrupt, entrenched local leadership. Booker’s election team knew that the only road to victory was on the streets, and together they ran the Booker campaign in a way that agitated and confused the current leadership: with an honest fight.

    Accompanied by brave, loyal support from his team and fearless local citizens, Booker successfully revealed the rotting underbelly of Newark’s government. Booker barely lost the 2002 election and this near-victory was enough to help Newarkers begin to understand how the city’s lack of benevolent leadership was directly connected to everyday problems. In 2006 Cory Booker won the mayoral office decisively.

    Mayor Cory Booker has since been committed to nothing less than completely altering how Newark is perceived by the entire nation and by its own citizens. He walks the way he talks, living intentionally and enthusiastically whether it’s by residing in a housing project, patrolling problematic neighborhoods at night, encouraging the homeless/jobless to “stay strong,” or picking up trash when he sees it. His administration has achieved a 41% decrease in shootings through strategies involving newly installed security cameras and organized citizen patrols. They recently accepted a $100 million grant from Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zukerberg to put toward improving public education.

    Mayor Booker’s keynote lecture will take place in the Roland-Hayes Concert Hall at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga on November 18. Doors open at 6:00 pm with the lecture beginning at 7:00pm. Admission is free but seating in the main auditorium is first come, first served (overflow seating will be available with a live video feed).

    The 2002 Booker campaign was intricately documented, and is presented in the film Street Fight, which will be showing on November 17th at 7:00pm in the office of CreateHere. Light refreshments will be provided.

    For more information about these events, visit the Facebook event pages provided by The Benwood Foundation.

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  5. Battle Banzai sponsorship opportunities Thursday, November 11, 2010

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    The staff, students, and parents of Battle Academy are making plans for their second annual fall festival, Battle Banzai – A Journey Through the Jungle on Main, Saturday, November 20, 2010, from 10am-3pm. A performance of the children’s play, Jungal Book, by Battle’s 3rd-5th graders will close out the festival from 3-4pm.

    The success of this event will be credited largely to sponsors who lend their names and financial support to the event, underwriting the cost of equipment and activity rentals. By participating as a sponsor, sponsors receive extended exposure through Battle’s media campaigns and promotional efforts. For a small monetary donation, or the donation of merchandise or services for the event’s silent auction, sponsors will enjoy excellent exposure to this important target audience.

    Battle Academy’s demographic reflects a population of 75% receiving free/reduced meals. The moneys raised as a result of this year’s fall festival serve to minimize the cost of educational field experiences, many times covering the complete cost for students who would otherwise be unable to participate.
    In addition, instructional materials/resources that are necessary for creating hands-on, active, and engaging learning experiences are often at the expense of Battle’s classroom teachers who only receive $100 each year to cover such expenses. Battle wants to maximize student achievement by removing the costs of materials from the equation through funding generated by the Battle Banzai.

    As a magnet school embracing the theme of multiple intelligences, the folks at Battle have witnessed the power of the arts to nurture the intelligences of their students as they learn alongside artists and explore the artistic processes through rigorous integrated instruction. Battle Banzai sponsorships can assist the school in achieving their goals for student achievement and the creation of life-long learners. This year, Battle’s goal is to raise $10,000.

    For more information about how to become a sponsor for Battle Academy events, contact Scott Rosenow (Special Event Coordinator at Battle) by email at rosenow_s [at] hcde [dot] org or by phone at (423) 209-5747, ext. 269.

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