For three weekends in April, large outdoor events will be celebrating spring in Chattanooga, and beer will be available at each, after all three were approved for temporary beer permits.
Water Ways, the steward of the local watershed, will host Save Water, Drink Wine, the organization’s signature fundraising event for the year, Caroline Clark told the beer board. It will be on Saturday, April 6, from 4:30-8:30 p.m. With the temporary permit, beer will be available in addition to wine. No alcohol will be sold, but will be included in the price of the tickets that are sold in advance. It will be held at the Philip Grymes Center/Outdoor Chattanooga, in Coolidge Park, outside under large tents on the lawn. There will also be a band and food served. The event will have security guards and licensed bartenders.
The Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 E.M.L .King Blvd., will hold Bessie Smith Big 9 Music Fest, another outdoor event, on April 14. It will be on the lawn outside of the building and in the parking lot across the street from 3-11 p.m. Georgia Avenue will be closed during that time. Food and beer will be sold. On Saturday, live music will be featured and Gospel on Sunday.
Springtime in Chattanooga, a large scale arts, crafts and farmers market, will be taking place at Coolidge Park. The event is being organized by Ringgold's Rabbit Valley Farmers Market. It will be held in Coolidge Park on Saturday, April 20, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. It is too early in the season for produce to be available, said Samantha Kern Leslie with Rabbit Valley Farmers. During the nine hours it will be taking place, between 5,000-10,000 people are expected to come. The space will be adorned with flowers and there will be music, beer and champagne.
The newly renovated gardens at the Chattanooga Choo Choo will become shared spaces with two restaurants in the complex. The Beer Board approved expanding the beer licenses for both the Frothy Monkey and Lost in Transit, so customers will be able to take drinks out of the establishments and into the gardens.