Schedule of select events
Today, Sept. 8› 6:30-10 p.m. International Towing Museum Hall of Fame reunion, meet-and-greet and museum fundraising auction at The Chattanoogan, 1201 Broad St. Tickets available at the door.Friday, Sept. 9› 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tow Show exhibits open at Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St. Free admission.Saturday, Sept. 10› Noon-4 p.m. Tow Show exhibits open at Chattanooga Convention Center, with Beauty Contest judging at 12:30 p.m. and awards at 3 p.m. Free admission.› 6 p.m. 100th Anniversary Celebration Parade through downtown.› 7 p.m. 100th Anniversary Celebration at Ross’s Landing.
The Tennessee Tow Show is an annual event in Chattanooga, five years running. But this year's is different.
The towing industry is marking its centennial in 2016, and bigger events are in order. So along with the standard training sessions and Hall of Fame and Wall of the Fallen induction ceremonies, organizers with Miller Industries are planning a parade through downtown and a fireworks finale at Ross's Landing.
The towing and recovery industry owes its 100-year celebration to Ernest Holmes, who in 1916 in Chattanooga built the first tow truck by attaching a rigging system to a 1913 Cadillac. Holmes filed for a patent - the first of about a dozen - for his idea in 1917 and subsequently built the Ernest Holmes Co. to market his tow truck.
The Holmes brand is now part of the Miller Industries family, the world's largest manufacturer of towing and recovery equipment.
The Tennessee Tow Show will have distributor exhibits and displays open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9, and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at the Chattanooga Convention Center. The parade will cruise through downtown from the Convention Center to Ross's Landing starting at 6 p.m.
At the riverfront, attendees can enjoy live music, free refreshments, food truck fare and games for kids. A fireworks show will end the celebration at dark.
The Tennessee Tow Show is also a good time to visit the International Towing & Recovery Museum, which opened in September 1995 and moved to its current location, 3315 Broad St., in 2003. Summer hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays. Call 423-267-3132 for more information.
For event information, visit tennesseetowshow.com.