Off the Couch: It's time to kick off festival season

LISA DENTON: Happy Labor Day, Barry. Having the day off reminds me of the sign my niece gave me for Christmas. It reads: "I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early."

Funny, but doesn't really apply.

And then there's this one I saw recently: "I'm not really a social drinker. Most of my drinking is work-related."

photo Lisa Denton and Barry Courter

Also funny, and probably closer to the truth.

I guess it's OK to make jokes about work as long as I'm not in the office today. Right?

BARRY COURTER: I always appreciate the irony of not working on "Labor Day." I also love what local singer/songwriter Roger Alan Wade has to say on the topic: "I'm too lazy to work and too nervous to steal."

For me, Labor Day also signals the real start of fall. Which reminds me to remind people who might have missed it in yesterday's newspaper, but the exhaustive list of upcoming festivals that our colleague Susan Pierce puts together can be found online. It's amazing how many such events there are around here.

LISA: Yes, 125 events around the region happening from now through mid-December. In that length of time, we'll change seasons (summer to fall), adjust our clocks (from daylight saving to standard time) and celebrate several holidays (Labor Day to almost Christmas). I'm exhausted just thinking about her exhaustive list. Good thing I'm off today. I may need a nap.

BARRY: I think there will be a couple of very important birthdays between now and then, too. Less than 11 shopping days, by the way.

LISA: Thanks for that not so subtle hint. I'm hoping you can keep the wish list to no more than five pages this year.

In the meantime, there's plenty of music going on later this week. Thursday, the Levitt Amp series will have Big Freedia, who is known as the Queen of Bounce. On Friday, you can choose between the Marshall Tucker Band at The Caverns or the Little River Band at the Tivoli.

BARRY: And the Moon River Music Festival is this weekend. It sold out in eight hours, of course, but even folks who didn't get a ticket can head downtown and soak up the vibe. Just don't think you will be able to go down and hang out on the bridges like folks do for Pops on the River. Security folks will be there to move you along.

But only the grassy area of Coolidge Park will be fenced in. While River Street will be closed to automobile traffic, folks on foot and bikes will have access to all of the shops there. In fact, several of them are working together to create kind of a mini-market or village in the parking lot. And several shops on both sides of the river will offer Moon River-related specials.

LISA: The lineup includes The Avett Brothers, The Secret Sisters, The Dirty Guv'nahs, Mavis Staples and Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors. But like you said, if you didn't buy a ticket when they went on sale, you're out of luck seeing anybody up close. This is one of those times when locals are kicking themselves for waiting for walk-up tickets.

Get event details every Thursday in ChattanoogaNow or online anytime at www.Chattanooga Now.com.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.

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