LISA DENTON: You know, Barry, if there are two things you can count on this time of year, it's that Rock City will have a gazillion lights glowing and James Rogers will do a Christmas show at the Colonnade.
James Rogers will present "Home for Christmas" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, at the Colonnade in Ringgold, Ga. Tickets range from $12 to $20 at http://colonnadecenter.org.There's still plenty of time to catch the Enchanted Garden of Lights on Lookout Mountain - it's open nightly through Dec. 31. But there's only one chance to catch James, and that's Thursday night.
BARRY COURTER: I got to talk to James last week about the show and his "retirement." He is still much in demand and still turning out new material. In fact, he will be doing some of his new songs, including one called "A Song for Momma" and another called "Once Upon a Time in America," which is the title of his latest CD.
He told me the former song came after he was asked to sing a tribute to moms for Mother's Day. He says he had to admit that he'd never written one, so he got to work and rectified that situation in about a week.
His holiday show has proven to be a big hit with folks. Last year, David Carroll and Garry Mac got onstage and did a James Rogers Trivia contest.
LISA: I bet that was eye-opening. James might have even learned a few things.
Lisa Denton and Barry Courter
I have to tell you that when you mentioned in last week's column that we were looking at the last weekend for Chattanooga Market's Holiday Market, I thought that couldn't possibly be right because that would mean we were just two weeks away from Christmas Eve. Yikes.
But then I took a longer look at the calendar and, lo and behold, today we're just one week from Christmas Eve. Where did December go?
But there are still plenty of things to do - like seeing "The King and I," which plays Tuesday through Thursday at the Tivoli Theatre. This version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is based on a 2015 Lincoln Center Theatre production.
BARRY: And don't forget, the Bobby Stone Film Series kicks off on Saturday with a free showing of "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." It will start at 6 p.m. with holiday music being played on the Wurlitzer organ, and then free popcorn and Coca-Cola products to go with the hilarious movie.
LISA: My favorite line is when Clark (Chevy Chase) tells the kids that he heard on the news that an airline pilot spotted Santa's sled coming in from New York. And Cousin Eddie, the adult Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid), looks up from his plate and says, "You serious, Clark?"
Get event information every Thursday in ChattanoogaNow or online anytime at www.ChattanoogaNow.com.
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281. Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.