LISA DENTON: Barry, after ending a week where the only option for entertainment occurred on just one date, New Year's Eve, January is looking pretty exciting. In just the first few days we have the Winter Jam concert, World of Wheels and a Sesame Street Live show starring Elmo. And not to look too far ahead, but "Disney's Beauty and the Beast" is coming as well (more on that next week).
BARRY COURTER: Let's see, that's contemporary Christian music, hot rods, John Schneider and Miss World of Wheels or Elmo. That's a tough call. I was disappointed to see that the Texas Bikini Team is not on the WOW lineup.
LISA: Yes, but judging from her photo, Miss World of Wheels Chattanooga has enough "WOW" to compensate for the bikini team's absence. I also saw on the website, www.worldofwheels.info, that John Schneider is charging for his autograph, as are wrestlers Virgil and The Million Dollar Man. I could get wrestler Mick Foley's autograph for free, but he looks like a guy I know off Daisy Mountain, so ... eh. I might just stick with Scooby-Doo for a souvenir picture.
BARRY: A Scooby paw print would be cool, wouldn't it? Winter Jam has been stopping in Chattanooga for years. For those who don't know, NewSong brings along a bunch of friends and they throw this big concert. Coming this year are the Newsboys, the David Crowder Band, Kutless, Francesca Battistelli, RED, KJ-52 and speaker Tony Nolan. The best thing is, it's $10. I know a lot of church groups load up the buses and fill up McKenzie Arena.
LISA: Basically, it's 10 musical acts for 10 bucks, because it starts with a Pre-Jam Party with Sidewalk Prophets, Chris August and Chris Sligh when the doors open at 6. It's a great deal for a great cause, as donations of canned goods are solicited for food banks at every stop.
And let's not forget Elmo. Our little ticklish friend learns about growing things in "Elmo's Green Thumb." which is coming to Memorial Auditorium for four performances Jan. 7-9. Of course that puts the Sesame Street gang in direct competition with World of Wheels, which is at the Chattanooga Convention Center the same dates. And Winter Jam is at McKenzie Arena on the 7th.
BARRY: I'm not going to lie: I like Sesame Street, but I can't stand Elmo. That voice grates on my last nerve. I hope that doesn't offend our 3-year-old readers.