St. Elmo residents create art to hang from a blue ribbon which will be cut to mark the newest Riverwalk section’s opening.If you go
What: Grand opening for newest section of the RiverwalkWhere: Blue Good Hollow trailhead, at the end of M.L. King Boulevard on the riverfrontWhen: Aug. 12Schedule10 a.m. Entertainment10:30 a.m. Program and ribbon-cutting11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Entertainment and refreshmentsThe ribbon-cutting will mark the beginning of a two-day celebration.
Chattanooga is celebrating the opening of the newest three-mile section of the Tennessee Riverwalk Aug. 12-13, from Blue Goose Hollow – the west end of Martin Luther King at Riverside Drive – to the Wheland Foundry entrance behind Crust Pizza on St. Elmo Avenue.
Eventually, the Riverwalk will go all the way to St. Elmo.
These three miles of pedestrian and bicycle paths run through an area rich in the history of Native Americans, the Civil War, the manufacturing industry and blues music with the birthplace of Bessie Smith.
St. Elmo Presbyterian Church Youth hosted a “history-making” event Aug. 3 in the church fellowship hall. Community members in attendance created a special ribbon that will display art, photographs, poems, stories and other representations of the community’s rich past. People dropped by to create a piece to hang on the blue ribbon. People were asked to bring ideas, photos, poems and stories.
Creative arts therapist Chyela Rowe assisted in the process and brought along art supplies like markers, stamps, collage materials, pencils, chalk and oil pastels, scissors and glue sticks.
The art is a way to show a visual presentation connecting the community to the Riverwalk, said Rowe, a registered “drama therapist” and mental health counselor.
The history that has been made along the Riverwalk’s new path is really interesting, she added.
“Blue Goose Hollow is where Bessie Smith was born,” said Rowe. “The Riverwalk area of Blue Goose Hollow is where Blue Goose Hollow actually was. There was a community of workers; it was predominately African-Americans that lived at the foot of Cameron Hill. Most were workers in manufacturing in that area. All of Chattanooga was famous for manufacturing.”
The art Rowe helped local residents make will hang from a ribbon which will be ceremoniously cut to officially open the new Riverwalk section Aug. 12.
“People can see stories, poems, art and ideas people have for the Riverwalk hanging from the ribbon,” she said. “Then, we take that and hang it nearby. We want to make space to honor each unique person and their story. And to highlight how history is a woven tapestry of the past stories and present ideas and future hopes of our community.
“I’m really interested in writing the stories down,” Rowe continued. “The bits of history are important to connecting us and our humanity. When we realize the connection, when we know their stories, it gives us empathy and kindness for others and makes a connection to those stories.”
Contact Katie Ward at kward@timesfreepress.com or 757-6425.