Lisa Denton and Barry CourterBARRY COURTER: Whoa, Lisa, there is a lot of good stuff on the calendar this week. Everything from gardening tips, advice and plant sales to live music to tips on getting outdoors and taking a hike without messing up the ecosystem. Rock/Creek Outfitters and Outdoor Chattanooga are hosting a training course Friday and Saturday at Lula Lake Land Trust.
Did you know a few of the "Leave No Trace" principles of enjoying things like hiking and camping is to leave what you find and to "pack it in, pack it out"?
LISA DENTON: I'm in full support of keeping the woods clean, so I try not to be gone so long that I have to do as the bears do.
BARRY: Become the Pope?
LISA: There really are a lot of events this week, a bunch of them outdoors. The Spring Native Plant Sale is Thursday through Saturday at Reflection Riding. Crabtree Farms plans its Spring Plant Sale on Friday through Sunday. The Master Your Garden Expo, put on by the Master Gardeners of Hamilton County, will be Saturday and Sunday at Camp Jordan.
Plus, on Thursday and Saturday, Ooltewah Nursery will have a class on straw bale gardening. Saturday, The Barn Nursery will have a class on container gardening, and Daisy United Methodist Church is having a plant giveaway. Do you think it's a coincidence that all this gardening stuff is happening around the same time, or is it just spring fever run amok?
BARRY: It's like they timed it or something.
Corky Coker has again invited several thousand of his closest friends to the annual Chattanooga Cruise-in at Coker Tire on Saturday. Downtown will again be filled with cool rides. The shops in Riverview are hosting the Whoop Dee Doo event this weekend. They'll have special sales and stuff going on inside and outside their storefronts.
Because last Sunday was Easter, Hunter Museum has moved their monthly Free Sunday to this week, so there is that as well.
LISA: Plus, the 4 Bridges Arts Festival is this weekend at First Tennessee Pavilion. This is the big event the Association for Visual Arts puts on every spring that draws visual artists from near and far.
And even though it's too soon to talk about the Chattanooga Lookouts' home opener, there's still news on the team.
No. 1, they'll play their annual exhibition game against the Chattanooga State Tigers on Tuesday.
No. 2, starting Wednesday, Blood Assurance will give away free baseball tickets to anyone who donates blood through next Tuesday, April 14, that can be used for any of the games opening week, April 15-19. I'm due for a bloodletting anyway, so that's good incentive to get that taken care of.
BARRY: And don't forget, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale Pan American Gliding Championships continue at Chilhowee Gliderport in Benton, Tenn., through April 17. The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera will perform Schumann's 2nd on Thursday at the Tivoli, and Celtic Woman is at Memorial Auditorium the same night.
Get event details every Thursday in Chattanooga Now or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com. Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6354. Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.