Chattanooga, TN

The excitement is building for the First Annual Chattanooga's Renaissance Oktoberfest, this weekend, October 24, from 11am to 7pm.

The Renaissance Oktoberfest is being directed by the City of Chattanooga's Department of Education,Arts & Culture and will benefit the EAC afterschool initiative. 

Activites include:

Chattanooga Market: "Market on the Bridge". The Market will continue its celebration of Chattanooga's Renaissance on Sunday, back at the First Tennessee Pavilion. With Big River Grille and Brewing Works, the Chattanooga Market will host the Oktoberfest Beer Gardens on Walnut Street Bridge and in Coolidge Park.

The Choo Choo Musical Parade will end the day, featuring performances by students from the Center for Creative Arts singing Chattanooga Choo Choo. Other local artists include Emily Grace, Tim Jester, B Wordstar, Dennis Massengale and No Big Deal band, Neshaw Callaway, Frank Taylor and Dalton Roberts as the Choo Choo's engineer.

Across the River at the Bluff View Art District, celebrations will include glass blowing, local farmer ware, face painting, food and drink from all of the Bluff View restaurants.

The Hunter Museum will have discounted Oktoberfest admission to the last weekend of its New York Cool exhibit, including work by American artist Adolph Gottlieb. Enjoy German music on the outside plaza.

On the Coolidge Park Stage there will be local performers, including No Big Deal as the feature band, along with Elijah James, Jerry Rogers, John Latham, and T-Ran Gilbert& 22Visions.

Chattanooga Parent Magazine will present the Renaissance Oktoberfest Children's Village in Coolidge, with arts and activies for children and families.

This is a business and government partnership event taking place on both side's of the River. Just another example of how great Chattanooga works and celebrates together.

It is going to be a fun time. Can't wait til Saturday.

Fiber optics has been coming to Chattanooga for a long while. There have been law suits and regulatory attempts to stop it, but fiber is now available in many locations in Chattanooga.

The promise is "virtually unlimited bandwidth," along with consistency and increased reliability.

Check availability for your area here.

This technology is a must to maintain Chattanooga's momentum as a growing and forward looking community.

I expect there will be direct benefit even for those who do not switch to fiber, as Comcast and the other Internet access options compete for customers.

The film, Main Street: More than a Home, documents the story about the first LEED certified Habitat home in Tennessee.

Several months ago Habitat for Humanity in Chattanooga announced the first LEED certified home in Tennessee. The home was completed in April.

Today Habitat announced the film documenting the effort and the client's story - a remarkable story - will be featured at the Brownfields Film Festival on Tuesday, November 17th.

The LEED certified project was a joint effort with local entrepreneur - architect, Thomas Palmer; green builder Ethan Collier; and local nonprofit, green|spaces - and Habitat. The client is Baja Dalla, a Sudanese refugee, who Sudan's civil war in which his parents and siblings were killed to come to Chattanooga.

The Chattanoogan has a story about Baja and his family. This is the 4^th refugee family helped by Chattanooga Habitat.

The story was so inspiring that David Porfiri and Linda Duvoison, with Mindflow Media, decided to produce a documentary film: Main Street: More than a Home.

Collier Construction has provided a resource sheet to describe some of the design features that makes the new home a green home. It includes planned features such as advanced framing, insulated crawl space and attic

You can donate to the green Habitat construction projects here.

Last month another successful Race for the Cure was held in Chattanooga.

As a follow up to the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure two more events are scheduled in October.

Tomorrow at 4pm, organizers with the Chattanooga Affiliate of Susam G Komen for the Cure® are going for the Guinness Book of Records for the largest human awareness ribbon.

Anyone over the age of 15 can participate. Participants will meet at Chamberlain Field, UTC.

The next event is October 29 at the Chattanooga Spa, from 6 to 9pm. $15 admission for hors d'oevres and mini spa treatments, with proceeds going to the Chattanooga Affiliate of Susam G Komen for the Cure®.

The Chattanooga economy has received some very positive signs in the last several days.

Reviewing the recent story lines in the Times Free Press reveals postive stories that bear out a trend of economic recovery in the Chattanooga area.

Chattam, a local consumer products manufacturer, has seen its stock price jump as investors take note of its rising sales and profits. The article reports that the company's top 4 brands, Gold Bond, ACT, Icy Hot, and Cortizone-10, are having strong sales. The article reports that the company is planning an $18 million expansion that will employ over 60 additional people.

The Volkswagen plant of course is big news in Chattanooga.Plant construction is moving along well. This week VW representatives held a gathering for potential suppliers. Plans now are to have a high percentage of supplier plants on site and locally in Chattanooga. About 100 VW suppliers gathered to hear VW expectations for its new plant in Chattanooga.

Southern Fabrication Contractors, another local company, announced it received the contract for installing equipment support steel for the VW plant. Contract terms were not announced but it is very good for the Chattanooga employer and community.

Another local company, CBL, a locally based commercial property developer and management company, announced the grand opening of The Promenade, a 700,000 square foot shopping center in D'Iberville, Mississippi. The first phase is opening with 96% of the commercial space leased or committed. The shopping center is the largest project in the Mississippi Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina.

Another local company, eSpin, a leader in nanofiber technology, announced it has received the license to provide dry wipes for use at Department of Energy nuclear energy facilities. These wipes replace wet wipes and are more effective and require no other chemicals to clean. The company hopes to offer similar products for general consumer use.

These headlines are strong, tangible evidence of new economic growth in Chattanooga.