(Credit: Friends of the Festival)

Collegedale will celebrate Independence Day on the eve of July 4th.

The Freedom Festival is Monday, starting at 4 PM and ending with a fireworks display at 9:30 PM, at The Commons at 4950 Swinyar Drive.

Mickey McCamish is executive director of Friends of the Festival.

(Chattanooga Presents)

Fun on the Fourth is Chattanooga’s official celebration for this Independence Day.

It takes place Tuesday in Miller Park, starting at 2 PM and ending at 9:30 PM with a laser light show.

Carla Pritchard is the owner of Chattanooga Presents.

For more information, visit the Fun on the 4th page on Facebook.

Students on the UTC campus in April 2023.(UTC)

Moc Up is one of the onramps for incoming students to our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

In the past few weeks, students in the program were hosted on campus for free.

Among the activities for Moc Up: play-based team building sessions, thanks to the Arts-Based Collaborative at UTC - or abc@utc.

Dr. Crystal Edenfield is director of student success programs here at UTC.

Chris Kmetz - who will be a junior at UTC this fall - is student coordinator for Moc Up.

Alex Paul Loza, at right, sculpting the Little Debbie statue with a photo of the real Little Debbie, at left.(Alex Paul Loza)

Think of a playground - and you might expect swing sets, structures to climb, balance beams, hills, trees, shrubs, ponds.

How about a Cosmic Brownie that you can climb?

Or maybe a statue of Little Debbie?

You’ll find it all in Collegedale - at Little Debbie Park, opening Friday at 9 AM behind The Commons on Swinyar Drive.

Chris McKee is president and chief operating officer of McKee Foods.

Artist Alex Paul Loza sculpted the Little Debbie statue.

Sculptures of Little Debbie snacks - including Christmas Tree Cakes - decorate the Little Debbie Park in Collegedale, TN.(Matt Hamilton / Chattanooga Times Free Press)

Some of the photos taken by Horace Brazelton on display in the “Through the Lens” exhibit at Ruby Falls.(Ruby Falls)

Horace Brazelton was the first African-American to open a professional photography studio here in Chattanooga.

His specialty: portraits.

Brazelton documented middle-class families and individuals - as well as church, civic and professional groups - from Black communities during the first half of the 20th Century, the era of Jim Crow segregation across the South.

As a photographer, a business owner and a community leader, he empowered those he served.

An exhibit of his work - “Through the Lens: The Life and Legacy of Horace Brazelton” - is now on display at Ruby Falls, through September 15th.

Stefaine Haire - a historic preservation planner - curated the exhibit.

Lara Caughman is with Ruby Falls.

One photo taken by Horace Brazelton in the “Through the Lens” exhibit at Ruby Falls.(Ruby Falls)Horace Brazelton.(Ruby Falls)

(Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga)

Woodson Carpenter speaks with Ella Livingston, Bob Bosworth, DeJuan Jordan, Sarah Mattson and Jermaine Freeman about the entrepreneurship ecosystem and wealth in the latest episode of “One for All” - a storytelling partnership between the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga and “Scenic Roots.”

(CAM FLAISCH)Ella Livingston, founder & owner of Cocoa Asante. (Cocoa Asante)Bob Bosworth(Leadership Ministries Worldwide)Sarah Mattson, Director of Entrepreneurship for the City of Chattanooga.(Sarah Mattson)DeJuan Jordan, CO-CEO of LAUNCH.(DeJuan Jordan)Jermaine Freeman, Interim Chief of Staff for Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly.(City of Chattanooga)

“Syria: Ruins by the Sea” - oil on canvas, 1873 - 1874, by Frederic Church - part of the exhibition “In Nature’s Studio” at the Hunter Museum.(Hunter Museum of American Art)

As this country has evolved over nearly 250 years, so has the painting of its vast and varied landscapes.

That artistic journey is at the heart of “In Nature’s Studio: Two Centuries of American Landscape Painting” - now on display at the Hunter Museum of American Art here in Chattanooga.

Lauren Nye is associate curator at the Hunter.

Cover of Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors Plan.(Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors)

How should we improve the parks and outdoors we now enjoy here in Chattanooga?

How should we add more acres for parks and outdoors across the city’s neighborhoods - with access for all - as Chattanooga grows over the next generation?

The Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors Plan - now before the City Council for consideration - is a road map of commitments, from the short term to the long term, that would reinvent Chattanooga as a “city in a park.”

Scott Martin is administrator for the City of Chattanooga’s Parks and Outdoors.
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Read the plan here:  chattanoogaparksandoutdoorsplan.com