The Creative Journey

by Carol Noon

My first experience with South Pittsburg came while attending a funeral. My son was seven and as we waited outside for the funeral procession to start, he watched elementary school children riding their bikes home from school. Their laughter, their joy at being free from the classroom bounced around the late-afternoon air. Groups of them headed toward the Dixie Freeze and the Pirate Drive-in, South Pittsburg’s two dairy bars. Later, eating a soft-serve cone, my son declared that we should move to this town where children ride bikes from school and dig deep into pockets for enough change to buy an ice-cream before peddling home. I knew what he meant. South Pittsburg was quaint, full of many closed, small town store-fronts and an old shuttered theatre, but there was community and as I would soon discover, people with a vision.

Not long after, on a sunny April Saturday, I gathered with thousands of visitors in this town along the Tennessee River at the lower edge of the state line, celebrating all things cornbread at the National Cornbread Festival. I listened to music and purchased art from vendors while eating sample after sample of cornbread followed by Mayfield buttermilk chasers. Revenue flooded into the town and civic engagement rose higher as hundreds of volunteers participated in efforts to support their community. Restoration began on old buildings including the Princess Theatre that had been condemned because of a partial roof collapse.

Now years later in March of 2021, I am on a Monday evening Zoom facilitated by local resident and artist, Dale Woodfin. For months Dale has been working with SPARQ, the South Pittsburg Area Revitalization Quest, on launching his brainchild, Arts in the Burg, an art incubator supporting artists with space and community. Dale’s vision is to provide regional artists with affordable, collaborative studio space. With more creators in one spot and open studio tours and galleries, tourists will visit, helping support both the artists and surrounding businesses.

Since conceiving his 2018 vision for his hometown, Woodfin has put in years of planning, garnered the support of generous donors, the town of South Pittsburg and a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission. The Art’s In the Burg launch party is scheduled for June 26th.

Tonight’s meeting is a brainstorming session with Miami muralist, Ivan Roque who will be designing and painting a huge mural along the alleyway behind the refurbished Princess Theater. His design will come from this meeting as local residents are asked what South Pittsburg means to them. Several chime, cornbread!  Then volunteerism, community spirit, football, mountains, fishing, Lodge Manufacturing, hiking, and kindness. Ivan takes notes as he listens to the voices of this town. In a few weeks he will present two different designs to the community, who will vote for the mural he will paint in early June.

June’s unseasonably less-humid cooler weather has ended in time for Arts in the Burg. This is hot festival weather in Tennessee. As I travel off the freeway onto N. Cedar Avenue, I turn off the AC and let the warm air rush over my body. Sweat begins to bead on my forehead, and though I am wearing a sundress, I will be hot today. Ahead the streets are closed, I can see tents, and there is a stage with music. Music! Because of Covid, it’s been a year and a half since I have seen a band on stage. Excitement builds and a police officer directs me where to turn for parking.

Walking up to the venue, I immediately see Dale Woodfin verifying that the band on stage has everything they need. Woodfin’s energy is unlimited and throughout the day, no matter where I look, he is everywhere; talking fast, walking faster. His goal for the launch party is to build excitement and momentum. “We’re going for local and regional appeal,” he says gesturing to the street lined with vendors. “The artists are very excited about the potential to bring attention to the Arts in our community and surrounding areas,” he continues. As he turns to talk to a vendor, I decide to walk the festival before my volunteer assignment selling tickets for Ben Sollee and the Pop-Up Project dance group scheduled to perform at the Princess Theater later in the afternoon. My introduction to Sollee was from a NPR Tiny Desk concert a decade earlier. He’s an amazing, eclectic cellist and song writer from Kentucky who blends folk, bluegrass, and social activism into his own very captivating style. His performance later today will be with the Pop-Up Project Dance Group from Chattanooga. This innovative and popular non-profit brings artists together to work on large scale projects that create new, collaborative connections within the creative community.

Artist tents line the street. Brightly colored paintings, that look like mosaics from the distance, catch my eye and I stop to look at the art of Mentone, Alabama resident Lydia Adele Randolph. Vivid paint swirls across the canvas portraying mountains, water and canyons.  At the tent of artist Colleen Williams, I admire the whimsical, bright ceramics on display, especially her tile work which I can envision lining a wall in my home.

Turning the corner from N. Cedar to 3rd St, I see another stage where the Stringer’s Ridge Band is playing. People are gathered around and as I walk by I overhear local resident’s projecting the growth of this event over the next few years. Ahead I see a food truck, beer garden and the new mural. It is stunning. Another space allows residents to paint with chalk and behind the beer garden, Woodfin has painted a mural in homage to the cornbread festival. I am thirsty and decide to take a break from the heat and go to Stevarinos restaurant and pub, planning on having a cold beer while I sit at the bar and talk about the community impact of promoting South Pittsburg as an art destination, but the restaurant and bar are packed. There is definitely economic impact here. Back to the beer garden, where Chattanooga’s Naked River Brewery is serving up cold drafts as groups of friends gather to enjoy the afternoon. Refreshed, I head to the Princess Theater to sell tickets, but the young man volunteering before me wants to keep working. I can’t blame him. His assignment is in air conditioning! He tells me that tickets for the performance are almost sold out.

A quick check-in back at volunteer headquarters relieves me of my duties and I am free to explore. First stop is the main stage where the Rick Rushing Trio from Chattanooga is playing music that makes you want to swivel your hips. Grabbing my friend Amanda, we dance and laugh in the hot summer sun. Afterwards we take another tour around the venue, this time stopping to watch Reiko Rymer demonstrate her pottery techniques. Next  we pop into Alessandro’s Italian Artisan Bakery. All the tables at this small cafe are occupied and that’s okay because we are heading right for the bakery case filled with cookies, cakes, biscotti, quiche, and bread. Moments later, several slices of cake tucked in a bag we continue walking the festival munching on orange rosemary cookies.

On the main stage, Woodfin is introducing artist Issac Duncan III, New York native and now Chattanooga resident, whose large-scale sculptures are in public and private collections across the country. Isaac is a trustee representing Chattanooga’s Sculpture Fields at Montague Park. “Artists create something beautiful,” he tells the audience. “Something that you want or would like to buy.” He understands that art transcends boundaries;  geographical, cultural, economical and that the creation and enjoyment of art in South Pittsburg is good for Chattanooga and vice versa. Collaboration helps everyone. Before leaving the stage, he invites the audience to Sculpture Fields to experience this outdoor, walkable museum that features 40 huge sculptures rising out of the landscape.

It’s time for me to leave South Pittsburg, but I know I will be back. This little town is perfectly placed for an afternoon trip–there are restaurants to try and over the next few months there will be thriving, working artist studios to visit.

A few days later, I reach out to Woodfin for his take on the launch party and to see what comes next. “Planning a first year festival is full of questions that can only be answered on the day of the event,” he tells me. “ With the exception of a few small issues our first year was a wonderful success. We estimate the attendance was a little less than 2,500. Perfect! We were concerned the crowd might be in excess of 5,000. This year was about supporting artists and our community by creating momentum that will pay dividends for both in the future. Creative placemaking is about making connections in the community through art that brings people together to revitalize the town. The Arts in the Burg Launch Party Festival did just that. Our first year questions were answered with smiling faces from booth artists (sold lots of art), festival-goers, entertainers, vendors and community stakeholders. Our next step is to start programming that will include studio artists, exhibitions, classes, monthly and weekly events and more. We are excited to give our community and artists an opportunity to be a part of the art.”

Arts in the Burg is a program of SPARQ

Tennessee Placemaking Partnership

The Tennessee Placemaking Project is a collaborative pilot project between Thrive Regional Partnership, Tennessee Arts Commission, Southeast Tennessee Development, and the Lyndhurst Foundation. The project is designed to support local communities as they scale up strategies that leverage local arts and cultural assets for economic vibrancy and growth throughout the greater Chattanooga region. To learn more, visit www.thriveregionalpartnership.org/projects/tn-placemaking-partnership. 

Thriving Communities

Thriving Communities is a creative placemaking program of Thrive Regional Partnership designed to leverage local arts and culture assets for economic vibrancy and growth throughout the greater Chattanooga region. To learn more, visit www.ThriveRegionalPartnership.org/Thriving-Communities.

Thrive Regional Partnership

Thrive Regional Partnership inspires responsible growth through conversation, connection, and collaboration across the tri-state greater Chattanooga region. To learn more visit www.thriveregionalpartnership.org.

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Arts in the Burg is a program of SPARQ

Tennessee Placemaking Partnership

The Tennessee Placemaking Project is a collaborative pilot project between Thrive Regional Partnership, Tennessee Arts Commission, Southeast Tennessee Development, and the Lyndhurst Foundation. The project is designed to support local communities as they scale up strategies that leverage local arts and cultural assets for economic vibrancy and growth throughout the greater Chattanooga region. To learn more, visit www.thriveregionalpartnership.org/projects/tn-placemaking-partnership. 

Thriving Communities

Thriving Communities is a creative placemaking program of Thrive Regional Partnership designed to leverage local arts and culture assets for economic vibrancy and growth throughout the greater Chattanooga region. To learn more, visit www.ThriveRegionalPartnership.org/Thriving-Communities.

Thrive Regional Partnership

Thrive Regional Partnership inspires responsible growth through conversation, connection, and collaboration across the tri-state greater Chattanooga region. To learn more visit www.thriveregionalpartnership.org.