Editorial
Front Page - Friday, October 16, 2009
Inaugural Renaissance Oktoberfest to benefit arts and literacy programming
David Laprad
Celebrating Chattanooga as the “Renaissance City of the South,” Chattanooga’s Renaissance Oktoberfest will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with activities at Renaissance Park, Coolidge Park, Walnut Street Bridge, Bluff View Arts District and the North Shore area.
Envisioned and coordinated by the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture, Chattanooga’s Renaissance Oktoberfest is an inaugural celebration that will engage partners from across the city.
“This event was designed to bring together all the folks who had done fall festivals or Oktoberfests but for one reason or another no longer could,” says Missy Crutchfield, administrator of the DEAC. “We wanted to bring them all back so we could showcase the wonderful things they do.”
Among the highlights of Chattanooga’s Renaissance Oktoberfest, Blue View Arts District will come to life with glass blowing and arts on the Piazza, wine and beer flights, German specials for dinner at Back Inn Café, strudels and pretzels at Bluff View Bakery, local farmers selling fall flowers and pumpkins, and activities for children.
Hunter Museum of American Art will be offering beer and bratwurst on the Plaza as well as discounted tickets.
Market on the Bridge will bring the Chattanooga Market to the Walnut Street Bridge (with the regularly scheduled Chattanooga Market resuming at First Tennessee Pavilion on Sunday, October 25). Chattanooga Market is working with Gordon Biersch Restaurants to host Oktoberfest Beer Gardens on the bridge and in Coolidge Park.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Parks Foundation is partnering with Chattanooga Choo Choo and Center for Creative Arts to wrap up the day’s events with a musical parade across the bridge, emceed by local entertainer Dalton Roberts and debuting the new Parks Foundation Tram.
Chattanooga Parent Magazine and Activity Rentals will host a children’s village in Coolidge Park, offering Renaissance-inspired games and activities for kids.
The Friends of the Festival will be spotlighting local entertainment throughout the day on the BMW Stage.
Finally, visitors making their way to Renaissance Park will find a gathering of community organizations that work to make Chattanooga the “Renaissance City of the South.” Mellow Mushroom will be there offering pizza slices baked fresh in their new mobile oven.
Sponsorship proceeds from Chattanooga’s Renaissance Oktoberfest will benefit arts and literacy programming in city recreation centers, community events and educational programming through the DEAC’s Unbroken Youth Initiative. The department’s budget does not support these programs.
“This department wakes up every day thinking about education and social issues,” Crutchfield says. “We’re building prisons based on third grade literacy rates, which is pretty scary. What they’re telling us is that if we can’t get our kids reading by third grade, then their chances of ending up in prison are pretty high. So we build programs that are so compelling, our kids won’t be pulled away.”
The goal of the DEAC’s Unbroken Youth Initiative is to create a coalition of community partners to reach at-risk youth through mentoring, tutoring and community events. The primary focus of the effort is improving literacy and reading skills while meeting mentoring and tutoring needs and addressing social issues through the arts.
“We’re also about the bigger
picture, though, so we want to spotlight the great organizations and people who are fighting the good fight to make a difference in Chattanooga,” sys Crutchfield. “We believe all ships are lifted with the rising tide.”
Oktoberfest will cast a spotlight on a number of these organizations, including the Center for Creative Arts, the City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Parks Foundation, Chattanooga Teen Scene, Choose Chattanooga, Friends of the Festival, the United Way of Greater Chattanooga and more.
Sponsors who are making Oktobertfest possible include Be Communications, Bluff View Art District, BMW of Chattanooga, Brewer Media Group, Citadel Broadcasting Company, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Chattanooga Market, Chattanooga Parent Magazine, Gordon Biersch Restaraunts, Greenlife Grocery, Hudson Companies, Mellow Mushroom, NorthShore Merchants Association, Sunny 92.3, The Mountain 96.5, Two North Shore, WUUQ FM 97.3 and 99.3, and more.
For more information about Chattanooga’s Renaissance Oktoberfest or the DEAC, contact Melissa Turner at 423-
425-7826.
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