Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival

While Chattanooga is not Nashville, we have been impressed by the city's free family-friendly music offerings.

During the summer,  Nightfall is a free concert series held every Friday night in Miller Plaza, rain or shine; Riverfront Nights is another free concert series offered on Saturday nights at Ross's Landing; and every fourth of July, the Chattanooga symphony orchestra has Pops on the River at Coolidge Park to celebrate our country's independence. And on top of that, Signal Mountain has the Mountain Opry where local bluegrass bands play for free on the weekends.

In addition to those great family (and dog) friendly options, every October for the last ten years, the Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival has taken place at Ross's Landing. We haven't been able to go every year, but this was our fourth year to attend and we had a great time.

This year we went on a Saturday afternoon (so we didn't see some of our favorite's like Chatham County Line), but we had fun none-the-less.

There is a huge field at Ross's Landing where everyone sets up their camp chairs and the kids can run and play. Jack learned how to hula hoop and Isaac was determined to sneak off to the "cake by the slice" tent.

We met up with friends and had a lovely afternoon. Who knows, maybe next year we might be able to last into the evening. The laid back, family-friendly, music scene is just another reason we love where we live.

Jack shows off his dance moves at the Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival. #threesistersbluegrassfestival #3sisters #chattanooga #jackjack #mohaus2016

A video posted by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Oct 1, 2016 at 11:59am PDT

July 4th, My Favorite Holiday

Some time in the last three years, July 4th and all of the festivities surrounding it has become one of my favorite holidays.

I don't know if this has to do with having children or moving to a smaller town, but I truly love this holiday in the middle of summer.

There is always delicious goodness on the grill and tasty desserts. There are local parades, and where we live we celebrate with fireworks on two different nights. What is not to love?

This was our first year to take Isaac to watch the fireworks and he did great. He was mesmerized by the lights in the sky and didn't seem to be bothered by the big booms.

Jack on the other hand had some trepidation. He feared the fireworks were going to shoot us. This was my fault because the week before I had shown him a YouTube video of a dog who picked up a Roman Candle and shot it sideways at bystanders. Jack assumed that the fireworks in the sky would somehow shoot at us like the video. After we explained that we were safe, he felt much calmer at our second fireworks outing.

Our holiday experience included spending Sunday evening (July 3rd) at Pops on the River where we heard the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra with a guest appearance by the bluegrass band, the Dismembered Tennesseans.

The event featured patriotic songs and honored veterans. Then at 9:45pm we watched as the city of Chattanooga shot fireworks over the Tennessee River.

Monday morning (July 4th), we made our way to the local Signal Mountain bike parade. I love how events like this bring our community together. After collecting candy and visiting with friends, we went home throw lunch on the grill and visit with Daniel's dad and his wife.

That night we headed out to the local high school to watch the town of Signal Mountain shoot fireworks. While we waited for it to get dark, Jack had a blast playing with preschool friends. 

He was a bit bummed when we left right after the fireworks were over. He really wanted to play in the sand with his buddies, never mind that it was after 10pm! 

We kept our kids up until 11pm two nights in a row. Sure, there was crankiness during the following days, but it was worth it. We visited with friends and family, were reminded about the good things in our country, and restocked our candy bowl until Halloween. It was a good Fourth of July.

Independence Day Weekend: Chattanooga

To kick off our Independence Day experience in Chattanooga, we headed down to the riverfront on July 3rd. Our original plan had been to attend Pops on the River in Coolidge Park. This would have involved listening to a symphony for two hours in the park, followed by watching the fireworks over the river.

Unfortunately Daniel got off work late, so we altered our plans slightly. We picked up dinner to go from Shufords BBQ at the base of Signal Mountain then headed downtown. Since we were late, we had to park close to the courthouse and walk back to the river. 

About halfway across the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge, we decided to claim a spot and wait for the fireworks to start. As a bonus we could still hear the symphony from the bridge.

The weather was amazing and Jack was in good spirits since I had him take an extra long nap. While we waited, we people watched and enjoyed our very late dinner (it was 9:30pm). As usual, our food from Shufords didn't disappoint. We especially loved the banana pudding.

The fireworks were big and beautiful. In addition to the symphony, patriotic music also played – including lots of songs that remind me of Independence Day when I was a kid. This made me tear up a little and I was glad to be sharing these types of experiences with my little family.

Initially Jack really seemed to be in awe of the display, but by the end I think it got to be too loud for him because he buried his head in Daniel's arms.

After the great fireworks display, we made the long walk back to our car with the rest of Chattanooga. I'm glad we had our BOB stroller, it helped carry all of our stuff and Jack had a comfy ride back to the car.

This was a great way to kick off our Independence Day celebration. I'm so grateful for those who have served to give us the freedoms we experience today.