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White's Wayne-O-Rama: Emmy winner and local boy Wayne White is part of year-long event
Events You Shouldn't Miss:TODAY: A tour of historic houses of worship will be held throughout downtown Chattanooga from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.MONDAY: Relive the opening night of the Tivoli Theatre by watching the same silent film, "Forbidden Fruit," that was played on the theater's opening night in 1921. The event begins 7 p.m. and the movie will be followed with a behind-the-scenes tour of the theater.WEDNESDAY: The historic Incline Railway is offering tickets for a discounted price of $1.75 between 1:30 and 6 p.m.THURSDAY: The Chattanooga Oral History Project will take place outside of the Chattanooga Public Library between 3 and 6 p.m. WUTC-Music 88 invites people to come and make an audio recording of a memory they have of Chattanooga. All the recordings will be archived and buried in a time capsule somewhere in the city.See a complete schedule of events at www.cha175.org.
Chattanoogans commenced the city's weeklong birthday party on Saturday with a diverse array of crowd-sourced events.
City officials invited anyone to host an event as a way of showcasing the diversity and history of Chattanooga, which is celebrating its 175th anniversary as an incorporated city. The celebration is named CHA175, and more than 75 events are scheduled to take place throughout the week.
"The city wanted to have more than one big event," said Lacie Stone, the city's communications director. "We wanted for the diverse organizations, people, communities and neighborhoods that make up Chattanooga to each tell their story."
Ross Binder rides a gyroscope ride during the NormalPalooza Arts and Music Festival.On Saturday afternoon, one of CHA175's kickoff events was Normal Palooza, hosted by Normal Park School. This was the 12th annual music and craft fair hosted by the school, and event director Heather Cockerham said she was excited to have the festival coincide with the citywide celebration.
"The community support this year has been outstanding," Cockerham said. "The crowd seems larger than ever."
Colored flags blew in the wind, stung between lampposts over the asphalt of Mississippi Avenue outside of Normal Park Upper School, as more than 60 vendors lined the blocked-off street in front of the school.
Kids scaled a climbing wall, ate candy and made art projects while parents wandered among vendors, buying anything from fresh burritos and doughnuts to candles and restored school desks.
Annabelle Distasio is in the fourth grade at Normal Park and attended the festival with her sister Scarlett, a second-grader. The two had just finished sharing a funnel cake and said they enjoyed the bungee jump trampoline, but they really hoped that their parents would let them adopt one of the dogs brought by a local animal shelter.
Fourth-grader Erin Ensign said she was there "to see a lot of my friends who are here, and to support my school."
Anniversary events will be held all over the city this week, ranging from sporting events to historical tours. CHA175's finale celebration will be held at Coolidge Park on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
James McKissic, the city's director of multicultural affairs, said, "I think things are going to grow over the week and more people will start to come out to celebrate the city."
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.