LISA DENTON: Barry, I guess we should let everyone know that I was able to save the $5 I was going to give you to wear your Daisy Duke shorts to the Smith & Wesley and Friends concert this past Saturday.
BARRY COURTER: Yep, the counteroffer came quick and in-house.
LISA: I heard they were prepared to go even higher if you'd hesitated.
BARRY: And my wife offered to match any and all offers for me to NOT wear them, so you were safe all around.
LISA: I guess this week you should put on your dancing shoes. Thursday night, you can dance to soul with Stout and the Revolution at the Levitt Amp Series at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center or Southern rock when Drive By Truckers play the Walker Theatre.
Or maybe you'd rather buck-dance like Jed Clampett. Barefoot Nellie & Company is the musical guest for Noontunes Friday at Miller Park.
BARRY: Welllll, doggy, that sounds mighty nice. Which reminds me, how do you like your possum, fallin' off the bones tender or with a little fight left in it?
LISA: I love the Clampetts. My car sometimes looks like their old jalopy when I come home from the World's Longest Yard Sale.
BARRY: If stomping out a tune or two isn't your thing this week, you could also go a little more genteel with Amy Grant at the Tivoli on Saturday or even more highbrow with Tim Hinck's new opera, "Give Me Room," making its debut on Saturday at Second Presbyterian Church. He's kind of talented, if you didn't know that already.
LISA: I did indeed. He's also working on an opera for Opera Tennessee about the Chattanoogans who helped give women the right to vote 100 years ago next year. It's a wonder women didn't spontaneously combust back before they were allowed to publicly express their opinions. I know I have a few.
BARRY: Yes, sometimes my ears are wilted by the time I leave work.
LISA: Your ears are fine (she opined). Let's get back to your feet. If they'd rather roam than dance, there are more than a dozen festivals this weekend, including the Boom Days Heritage Festival in Fort Payne, Alabama; the Fall Heritage Festival in Cowan, Tennessee; and the Homesteads Apple Festival in Crossville, Tennessee.
A little closer to home, there's the Sunflower Stables Barn Sale in Cleveland; Bats, Beer & Bluegrass in Chickamauga, Georgia; and Autumn Rocks at the Marsh House in LaFayette, Georgia.
And if you don't want to leave town at all, there's GoFest at Chattanooga Zoo and a Fall Into Winter festival at Red Bank United Methodist Church.
BARRY: And I know this sounds like something designed just for a couple of yahoos like you and me, but it's actually written out differently. The YA-hoo Fest at Chattanooga State on Saturday is for young-adult readers.
LISA: There are 30 authors, and it's all free, unless you want to go to a live taping of Sarah Enni's podcast, First Draft, Friday night at Chattanooga State. For $5, you can hear her interview three fellow authors about their creative process.
BARRY: And the Skyhoundz Classic returns to Coolidge Park.
LISA: Yep, those dogs are amazing. They can catch a Frisbee way better than I can.
BARRY: Maybe you should try catching it with your teeth.
LISA: So that's what I'm doing wrong. There will be a few Skyhoundz events Monday through Wednesday at Camp Jordan, then the world championships Friday and Saturday at Coolidge.
Get event details every Thursday in ChattanoogaNow and 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.