You’re never too old to learn. You really can learn something new every day.
Because there’s a class out there for everything — classes with names like “Tree Doctor: Best practices for healthy trees.” And “Deepen Your Self-Care Using Tarot” and “Build your own local forest moss terrarium.”
You can take an actual, in-person class on slime mods. Or how to decorate a cake. How to sew a reusable snack bag. You can learn ways to optimize your doctor visits or get tips on taking a better Caribbean cruise.
And you can learn to make your own everything: your own aromatherapy bracelet. Your own papier-mâché mushrooms. Your own ricotta cheese.
Everything but underwater basket weaving seems to be offered as a class for adults, at venues all around Chattanooga.
Chattanooga’s classes for adults promote learning at any age
Live and Learn
“Learning doesn’t have to stop once you leave college. You have the right to keep learning,” says Shawanda Mason, co-founder of The Chattery, which offers 50+ classes for adults monthly, in an array of domains.
Learning as an adult has its perks, after all. There’s no pressure, no grades, no degrees. It’s just all about learning something for the sake of learning — and maybe making a friend or two while you’re at it.
“I think once people realize that, the light bulb goes off, and they’re like, ‘Wait, I can just learn for fun and also for social reasons,'” Mason says.
Mason and her business partner and friend, Chattery co-founder Jennifer Holder, mention a martini-tasting class and a pipe-smoking class as among some of the more memorable The Chattery has hosted.
We bet you never got to learn those things in college — at least, not in a classroom setting.
Head of the Class
According to Holder, she and Mason recognized that there was a gap in opportunities for adults to learn in an inexpensive way. So they started The Chattery to try to fill that void. Through the connection of learning, they hope to bring people together and “build a creative community,” Holder says.
Now, 11 years and more than 2,500 classes in, that creative community is made up of over 27,000 lifelong learners and some 300 teachers, with students ranging in age — up to at least 85 years old.
“I think it’s awesome to see a 21-year-old learning alongside a 75-year-old and then striking up a conversation,” Mason says.
She and Holder even managed to initiate an official Lifelong Learning Day here in Chattanooga, which occurs on March 5 every year — the anniversary of the day The Chattery was founded.
Classes there lean heavily toward the artsy, with at least 50% considered art classes, Holder says, but they also offer lessons in food and beverage, health and wellness, personal or professional development and home and garden. Most courses are one to two hours long, and there’s an option for every budget — some classes are even free. The Chattery even offers a Teacher’s Assistant program, where students can volunteer in exchange for free classes, and an Art for Older Adults program, where anyone 60 or older can learn at no cost.
“We’re trying to make sure that money isn’t a barrier to learning,” Mason says.
Don’t see a class in that one thing that’s on your must-learn bucket list? They’re always open to adding new classes, based on what’s trending, what’s fun or what a potential student really wants to learn.
Maybe there’s hope for that underwater basket weaving class yet.
Say Cheese!
Beyond the adult classroom that is The Chattery, classes in Chattanooga can also be found in some unexpected places.
Take the newly opened Pedestrian Wine & Cheese store on the North Shore, for example. Owner Bill Reed calls his shop “a liquor store that’s not quite a liquor store.” That’s because they sell liquor and wine, sure. But they also do wine tastings and pairings and are allowed to sell a limited amount of freshly cut cheese and charcuterie — the only liquor store in all of Tennessee that does so. Plus, they teach classes.
Reed thinks that learning outside of your typical classroom setting with chairs and chalkboards — say, by taking a class in an unconventional liquor store — is a better way to learn. “I find it really awesome to take a classroom environment and put it in a different space, where it’s not so sit-down; it’s not so bring-out-your-notebook,” he says. “It’s really just an experience more than anything else.”
Pedestrian will be offering a range of such experiences within the food-, wine- and liquor-based curriculum — what he calls “food and beverage culture education.” They kicked off their class program this past June with a “Ricotta and Rosé” class, during which class participants learned all about rosé, tasted three different styles of that wine and made their own fresh ricotta onsite.
Reed has a background as a cheese monger and cheese buyer, so he knows his mozzarella from his Manchego and wants to help you to become just as dairy-savvy.
He’s assisted by Liz Burn, the store’s sommelier; along with Toby Darling, a trained CSS (Certified Specialist of Spirits); and Cate, a cicerone, or beer expert. Each one of them brings something different to the educational table and will be helping Reed teach various classes — including pairing wine and beer with cheese, how to build a charcuterie board, cocktail-making and oyster- and champagne-tasting.
Classes at Pedestrian will be kept in the affordable $25-$50 range, and you’ll leave not only with valuable knowledge, but also with some swag — such as a fresh cheese you just made yourself or a bottle of bubbles.
Well, What Do You Know?
There are many reasons to take a class as an adult. You can learn things like how to paint a portrait of your pet or how to support your dog’s nervous system.
Even old dog-owners can learn new tricks.
Besides, learning allows you to bond with your fellow learners. And you’ll end up doing much better at your weekly trivia night. But upping your knowledge also leads to understanding — understanding of unfamiliar things. Understanding of each other. Holder and Mason say that taking a class with others helps fight loneliness and boosts empathy.
“We’re not going to solve the world’s problems with a calligraphy class,” Mason says. “However, it is the start of a conversation. You sit beside someone, who maybe you would have never met before, because you’re both interested in a martini class or whatever it is.”
“That’s just how community starts,” adds Holder.
It’s never too late to learn something new.
“I just love watching somebody’s spark come alive in any class. When people are like, ‘Oh I like this. I’m going to do this again,'” Holder says. “There’s still so much life left to continue learning.”
Find The Chattery at thechattery.org. Find Pedestrian Wine & Cheese at pedestrianwineandcheese.com.
They’ve Got Class!
There are no shortage of places in Chattanooga that can teach you a thing or two. Although this is by no means an exhaustive list, these are good places to start when you’re yearning for knowledge.
The Sweet & Savory Classroom
45 E Main St. Ste. 112, sweetandsavoryclassroom.com
Cooking classes for all ages.
Scenic City Clay Arts
301 E. 11th St., sceniccityclayarts.org
A variety of pottery classes for any level.
Townsend Atelier
301 E. 11th St., townsendatelier.com
Classes in the visual arts, such as drawing, painting and sculpture.
YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga
Multiple locations, ymcachattanooga.org
Hundreds of fitness classes, as well as some cooking classes.
Chattanooga School of Language
3800 St. Elmo Ave, Suite 329, chattanoogalanguage.com
Language classes in everything from American Sign Language to Korean.
Crabtree Farms
1000 E 30th St., crabtreefarms.org
Many workshops related to nature and wellness.
This article was updated on August 12, 2025, to correct the name of Pedestrian Wine & Cheese’s cicerone, Cate Huffman.