All about Dad at Chattanooga Market

Rick Rushing & The Blues Strangers are, from left, Steve Muse (drums), Rick Rushing (vocals, guitar) and Aaron Nash (bass, rhythm).

Lon Eldridge

Take dad downtown Sunday, June 15, for everything needed for a great Father's Day celebration right in one convenient location, Chattanooga Market in First Tennessee Pavilion. The market will honor dads with "Father's Day Bacon, Blues & Brews."

"We've made it an easy day for families to bring dad out," says market spokeswoman Melissa Siragusa. "You can eat at the market, or buy fresh foods to make dad dinner that night. You can buy a gift while you're there from a market vendor. We'll have an assorted selection of beers, and blues music by Lon Eldridge at 11:30 a.m. and Rick Rushing and the Blues Strangers at 1 p.m."

If dad loves to grill, pick up all the fixings in one market visit.

"You can get meat to grill, produce is definitely coming in, especially potatoes, and you can get bread from Bluff View Bakery. Add a salad, and you're good to go," says Siragusa. "For dessert, Robin's Cakes has more than two dozen varieties to choose from, and she usually sells out each week. You can buy a whole cake or buy a slice."

Three market vendors bring fresh cuts of meat to the market. Barton Creek Farms in Warren County is an Angus beef producer whose cattle is grass- and grain-fed for an all-natural product with no added hormones. Dazi Acres in Pikeville, Tenn., is another market vendor with grass-fed Angus that also raises food without use of chemicals and hormones.

New to the market this season is Tennessee Grass-Fed, selling beef, pork and chicken. It's run by the Baggett family who have farmed their land in Clarksville, Tenn., since 1837.

The market will have plenty of handmade gift options dad will love, ranging from bow ties by Fitted Stitches to Melinda Cantrell's gourmet chocolate pretzels to a portrait of dad drawn by Daniel Swanger.

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.