Aug. 4
Prayer Vigil for Keoshia Ford
Join The Future Is Ours, Olivet Baptist Church and others for a community-wide prayer vigil for shooting victim Keoshia Ford. The 13-year-old girl has been comatose since being shot in the head March 17 in a gang shooting. The vigil will take place from noon to 12:45 p.m. at 2012 Bennett Avenue, between South Beech and South Willow Streets. The outpouring of support for Ford since the public was first asked to donate items to improve her quality of life has been amazing, said a The Future is Ours representative. By July 26, Olivet Baptist Church had received three vanloads of donations, and people are still bringing more to the church. The prayer vigil will take place where Keoshia was unintentionally shot.
Aug. 4
Family Nickajack Cave Canoe Trip
Adults and kids ages 5 and older are invited to join Outdoor Chattanooga for a family canoe trip to Nickajack Cave. They will launch at the Maple View Recreation Area and canoe to the mouth of the cave to watch thousands of endangered gray bats come out to forage at dusk. Time: 7:30 p.m. Reservations required. Call 423-643-6888 to learn more.
Aug. 4-5
30th annual Cherokee Days of Recognition
The Friends of Red Clay and Red Clay State Historic Park will host the 30th annual Cherokee Days of Recognition at Red Clay Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Activities will include traditional dance, stick ball games, storytelling, living history, Cherokee crafts, Cherokee food and a blowgun tournament. Lawn chairs and blankets recommended. The only cost to attend is a nominal parking fee. Call 423-478-0339 for more information.
Through Aug. 5
World’s Longest Yardsale Cutting Through Chattanooga
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the World’s Longest Yardsale. The US 127 Corridor Sale runs from five miles north of Addison, Mich., to Chattanooga, then switches to Lookout Mountain Parkway and then continues to Gadsden, Ala., for a total of 690 miles. Visitors from several foreign countries have attended the popular sale. The original intent of the sale was to prove the back roads have something to offer, and that the interstate system was not the only mode for travel. The Lookout Mountain Parkway Association asked to be included in the sale route a few years after the sale began. Lookout Mountain Parkway leaves Chattanooga as Highway 58 and becomes several different highway numbers before reaching Gadsden. Each year, thousands of people participate in the sale as vendors.
Aug. 5
All American Summer Sunday
Hunter Museum of American Art’s second All American Summer Free Sunday features bluesman Ed Huey on the terrace from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free to all.
Aug. 7
Preview Another Gallery in the New History Center
The Chattanooga History Center will present the second lecture in a special preview series, Gallery Talks, at 7 p.m. The series is examining each gallery visitors will encounter in the Center’s new exhibit, scheduled to open next year. Each preview stands as an independent program, and the August 7 presentation is “The Funnel of the World.”
The History Center’s executive director and historian, Dr. Daryl Black, will present the program. Space is limited and pre-registration by August 6 is required. Call 423-265-3247 to register. “The Funnel of the World” tells the story of the establishment of Chattanooga, which developed at the site of Ross’s Landing because of its geographical placement. It is where the Tennessee River cut through the Appalachian Mountains on one side and the Cumberland Plateau on the other, creating a travel route from the coast to the interior of the continent, and from north to south. This story addresses the early development of a thriving commercial town, and the diversity of its businesses and its people. It also looks at the evolving roles of women, education, the difference between town and rural life, and the community’s church life.