LookoutChatt
Your Weekly Guide to Chattanooga
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| Chattanooga Oktoberfest turns 25 this weekend. First Horizon Pavilion fills with oompah music, brat tosses, and stein hoisting contests on Saturday and Sunday, and it's free to walk in. A quarter century in, it's a true Chattanooga fall tradition, and this is your weekend to see why. |
| But that's just the centerpiece. Friday brings the Lookout Comedy Festival with Ryan Goodcase at the Comedy Catch, The Banshees at Songbirds, The Shining at the Walker Theatre, and Boo in the Zoo. Saturday has Bookanooga at Renaissance Park, the Chattanooga Pride Festival at Ross's Landing, Alex Kumin closing out the comedy festival, and the Cleveland Apple Festival up the road. Sunday winds down with the Scenic City Sense Circus at Miller Park and Joshua Ray Walker at Songbirds. |
| Plenty of this weekend is free or pay what you can. It's a lot. Pick your spots. Here's everything worth doing this weekend. 👇 |
| Be sure to check each event's link before you head out, as venues and times can change. |
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| 🗓️ Running More Than One Day |
| Two Things You Can Fit In Around Everything Else |
| 🦁 Boo in the Zoo. Trick-or-treating across the Chattanooga Zoo, a bounce house, photos with characters, and plenty of candy. Tickets are online only with timed entry, so book ahead. The zoo closes to regular visitors at 3:30 PM on event days. |
| Fri 10/16, 4:00–8:00 PM & Sat 10/17, 4:00–8:00 PM |
| 📍 Chattanooga Zoo, 301 N Holtzclaw Ave |
| 💰 $11.95 members, $17.95 non-member ages 3–12, $20.95 non-member adults, ages 2 and under free (reserve a ticket) |
| → Details & Tickets |
| 🍎 Cleveland Apple Festival (Day Trip). The 25th annual festival fills historic downtown Cleveland with music, food, arts and crafts, a kids' zone, and a petting zoo. Bring cash, because tickets are cash only at the gate. Parking is free downtown, and only service animals are allowed. |
| Sat 10/17, 10:00 AM–6:00 PM & Sun 10/18, 1:00–6:00 PM |
| 📍 Bradley County Courthouse Square, 155 N Ocoee St, Cleveland, TN |
| 💰 $8 adults, $5 seniors and ages 3–12, $25 family pass, under 3 free (cash only) |
| → Festival Info |
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| 🎃 The Big One 🎃 |
| Chattanooga Oktoberfest |
| The 25th annual celebration takes over First Horizon Pavilion with oompah music under the main tent all weekend. Saturday brings a Brat Toss at noon, Stein Hoisting at 2:00 and 6:00 PM, and the Mr. and Ms. Chattanooga Oktoberfest Contest at 3:45 PM. Sunday has Brat Tosses at noon and 3:00 PM and Stein Hoisting at 1:30 PM. Beer and merchandise sales are card only, no cash, and festive German attire is encouraged. |
| 🕐 Saturday, Oct 17 · 10:00 AM–8:00 PM |
| 🕐 Sunday, Oct 18 · 11:00 AM–5:00 PM |
| 📍 Chattanooga Market at First Horizon Pavilion, 1801 Reggie White Blvd, Southside |
| 💰 Free entry |
| → Schedule & Details |
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| 🎸 The Banshees |
| Indie rock at Songbirds, with Cheyenne Medders. |
| 🕐 7:00 PM show |
| 📍 Songbirds, 206 W Main St, Southside |
| 💰 $19–$22 |
| → Details & Tickets |
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| 🎤 Lookout Comedy Festival: Ryan Goodcase |
| Ryan Goodcase headlines the Comedy Catch inside the Choo Choo, with two shows on one of the festival's last two nights. All shows are 18 and up and rated R. |
| 🕐 7:00 PM & 9:15 PM |
| 📍 The Comedy Catch at the Choo Choo, 29 Station St, Southside |
| 💰 $28–$38.75 |
| → Details & Tickets |
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| 🎬 The Shining |
| The Walker Theatre's Halloween film series, the Bobby Stone Film Series, puts Stanley Kubrick's The Shining back on the big screen. |
| 🕐 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM |
| 📍 Walker Theatre, 399 McCallie Ave, Downtown |
| 💰 See Tivoli for pricing |
| → Details & Tickets |
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| 📚 Bookanooga: Books and Booze Fair |
| A grown-up book fair at Renaissance Park with 70-plus authors and vendors, a community book swap, and the Great Bookish Bake-Off. The Literary Grave Rave costume dance party follows at 5:30 PM and is ticketed separately. |
| 🕐 10:00 AM–5:00 PM |
| 📍 Renaissance Park, 133 River St, Northshore |
| 💰 Free entry (VIP tickets available) |
| → Details & Tickets |
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| 🏳️🌈 Chattanooga Pride Parade & Festival |
| A River of Color: a parade, live music, vendors, and food stalls at Ross's Landing. This is the festival's final year at Ross's Landing because of construction. The parade start time hasn't been posted yet, so check the link. |
| 🕐 12:00–8:00 PM |
| 📍 Ross's Landing, 201 Riverfront Pkwy, Downtown |
| 💰 Sliding scale, pay what you can |
| → Details & Tickets |
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| 🎤 Lookout Comedy Festival: Alex Kumin |
| Alex Kumin closes out the Comedy Catch lineup on the festival's final night, with two shows. All shows are 18 and up and rated R. |
| 🕐 7:00 PM & 9:15 PM |
| 📍 The Comedy Catch at the Choo Choo, 29 Station St, Southside |
| 💰 See Comedy Catch for pricing |
| → Details & Tickets |
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| 🍺 Chattanooga Oktoberfest |
| The 25th annual celebration takes over First Horizon Pavilion with oompah music under the main tent all weekend. Saturday brings a Brat Toss at noon, Stein Hoisting at 2:00 and 6:00 PM, and the Mr. and Ms. Chattanooga Oktoberfest Contest at 3:45 PM. Sunday has Brat Tosses at noon and 3:00 PM and Stein Hoisting at 1:30 PM. Beer and merchandise sales are card only, no cash, and festive German attire is encouraged. |
| 🕐 Saturday, Oct 17 · 10:00 AM–8:00 PM |
| 🕐 Sunday, Oct 18 · 11:00 AM–5:00 PM |
| 📍 Chattanooga Market at First Horizon Pavilion, 1801 Reggie White Blvd, Southside |
| 💰 FREE entry |
| → Schedule & Details |
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| 🎪 Scenic City Sense Circus |
| A free community event at Miller Park that explores the five senses, with interactive booths, local makers and artists, food trucks, live performers, community art projects, and a photo booth. Fun for kids and adults. |
| 🕐 3:00–8:00 PM |
| 📍 Miller Park, 928 Market St, Downtown |
| 💰 FREE |
| → More Info |
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| 🤠 Joshua Ray Walker w/ Cecilia Castleman |
| Singer-songwriter Joshua Ray Walker plays Songbirds, with Cecilia Castleman opening the night. |
| 🕐 7:00 PM show |
| 📍 Songbirds, 206 W Main St, Southside |
| 💰 See Songbirds for pricing |
| → Details & Tickets |
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| 🎭 The Tivoli Theatre reopens Tuesday, Oct 20. After closing in 2022 for a $73 million renovation, the Tivoli welcomes back audiences with Billy Strings on Oct 20 and 21. → Chattanoogan |
| 👻 Haunted season is open. Dread Hollow runs Thursday through Sunday nights all October, with three haunted houses and three horror escape rooms. Check the site for nightly hours. → Dread Hollow |
| 🏈 Quiet Saturday at Finley. The Mocs are on a bye week Oct 17, so there's no home football game this weekend. → GoMocs |
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Family in town for fall? 🧳
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| 🚂 Here's your afternoon. |
Chattanooga Derailed: Trolley Tour + Train Ride
A vintage trolley ride through downtown plus a trip on the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's Missionary Ridge Local. Turntable demo, restoration shop, the whole thing. Perfect for when the in-laws visit. |
| Check it out → |
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| 🍴 Want to eat your way through the Southside? |
Southside Food Tour with Lunch
Three hours, six stops, one very full stomach. A guided walking tour through Chattanooga's Southside with tastings at local restaurants, plus a sit-down lunch to finish. |
| Check it out → |
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| ⚓ Have you seen Chattanooga from the water? |
Private Electric Boat Rental on the Tennessee River
Skipper your own quiet electric boat down the Tennessee River. No license needed, no gas fumes, no engine noise. Cruise past Ross's Landing, under the Walnut Street Bridge, and along the Riverwalk at your own pace. |
| Check it out → |
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Booking through these links may support LookoutChatt at no cost to you.
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Enjoy your weekend, Chattanooga. If you make it to Oktoberfest, hit reply and tell us how it was. We genuinely want to know.
See you next Thursday,
The Lookout team
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