Ellington

Welcome to Chatter!

Too much fun! If there’s a better place to be than Chattanooga this summer, we haven’t heard about it! Actually, the fun began just before June with the summer-long Nightfall series at Miller Park. And it revs up with what promises to be the best-ever Riverbend ten days before summer’s official start on June 21. With 100 acclaimed shows during the nine-day festival, you will surely enjoy checking out our five “do not miss” performances in our Riverbend piece inside.

Popular Excursions We Don’t Know About

Unfortunately many of Chattanooga’s most stunning diversions remain a secret in other parts of the country, and even at home! Last September, we reported the region’s rock climbing population has burgeoned from roughly a dozen in the 70s to thousands today. This past month, we reported some 200,000 persons will enjoy the ever-popular whitewater rafting excursions on the Ocoee this summer. Attractions are everywhere but we still meet longtime residents who have yet to visit our excellent zoo and our world-class Tennessee Aquarium. For this issue, we asked writer Amber Nagle to tell us exactly why three million outsiders will flock to Chattanooga this year, and to review a few of the excursions popular with visitors and residents alike.

What to do with yourself indoors

If you are among the few who are averse to sunshine, Chattanooga may not be the best place to be during the next several months, though another story inside suggests there are 185,000 things we can do indoors—that is, if we are wired. Amid the evolving cyberscape where interconnectivity and online communities continue to influence our lifestyles, the way we use our smart phones is constantly changing. We asked a few Chattanooga residents for their take on the incredible proliferation of new software—or applications—for the mobile devices most of us carry.

The French are coming, too!

While the opening of Volkswagen’s manufacturing plant next year is still a hot topic—its training center, featured in our April issue, becomes fully operational this month—the French are also coming! For this issue, writer Kathy Gilbert sat down with representatives of the highly regarded, $24 billion Alstom firm to learn more about its exciting investment in Chattanooga. The global leader in the power generation market, Alstom’s presence is expected to create up to 350 new jobs for local residents in the next year or two.

We received many, many comments about Chatter’s Women of Distinction issue last month, and we appreciate your calls and emails! Please keep your thoughts and suggestions coming, and we hope you enjoy this issue, too!

Karen Berry

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

editor@Chatterchattanooga.com