Story Ideas

General Tennessee Release

What's New in 2009

Story Starters

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Chattanooga
Columbia
Giles County/City of Pulaski
Humboldt
Jackson
Memphis
Nashville
Pigeon Forge
Tellico Plains
Tennessee Overhill

Tennessee Quick Facts

What’s New in 2009

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
In 2009, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will celebrate its 75th Anniversary. For a list of events and park information, please visit www.greatsmokies75th.org.

CHATTANOOGA
In 2009, the Chattanooga Choo Choo & Holiday Inn will celebrate its 100th anniversary with several events throughout the year, including a swing-band concert featuring the Glenn Miller Orchestra. www.choochoo.com.

Tennessee Aquarium - The Tennessee Aquarium and Hunter Museum of American Art team up to bring a special exhibition to Chattanooga in May, 2009. Jellies: Living Art showcases jellyfish, some of the most mysterious creatures on Earth, alongside breathtaking glass sculptures inspired by nature. This award-winning exhibit was the highest-rated gallery in Monterey Bay Aquarium’s history. A variety of jellyfish species will intrigue guests as they discover how the rhythm, motion, color and patterns of nature have fueled artistic expression. Visitors will also be captivated by the delicate beauty of glass creations by renowned artist Dale Chihuly, regional glass artist Stephen Rolfe Powell and other artists like Chattanooga’s glass master Thomas Spake. Works of art will be featured at both the Tennessee Aquarium and the Hunter Museum. http://www.tnaqua.org/.

The city of Chattanooga is planning a new $10 million softball complex, off Apison Pike, scheduled from completion in 2009. The new complex will be located less than 1-mile from Interstate 75. According to figures released by the Greater Chattanooga Sports and Events Committee, softball has been one of the major economic impact generators for the community since the Sports Committee’s inception in 1992 with an estimated economic impact of more than $50 million.

COLUMBIA
The James K Polk home will have a new museum, the Polk Presidential Hall, which will be an exhibit and program hall hosting 4 exhibits per year, some from the Smithsonian. http://www.jameskpolk.com/new/.

GILES COUNTY/CITY OF PULASKI
Giles County and the City of Pulaski are celebrating their 200th anniversary in 2009. The county and city were formed out of the same legislative act on Nov 14, 1809. http://www.pulaski-tn.com/CityOfPulaski/Default.htm.

HUMBOLDT
HRH Vineyards & Crown Winery is scheduled to open spring 2009.

JACKSON
New museum at Casey Jones Home & Museum – spring 2009
The museum addition will feature extensive architectural design elements that will create a truly authentic train station experience and allow for greatly enhanced exhibits.  There will be a theatre for viewing the story of Casey Jones, expanded exhibits, a traveling exhibit hall and a gift shoppe. http://www.caseyjones.com/.

MEMPHIS
Memphis Zoo will open a new four acre exhibit featuring grizzlies, timber wolves, elk and trumpeter swans in summer 2009. Memphis Zoo was voted the number 1 zoo in America on TripAdvisors top zoos and aquariums. http://www.memphiszoo.org/.

NASHVILLE
THE LOVELESS BARN - There will soon be a lot more to love at the Loveless Cafe. The Loveless Barn is scheduled for completion by January 2009. It will be an exciting new venue space located on the historic Loveless Cafe property. http://www.lovelessbarn.com/.

Frist Center for the Visual Arts will host Medieval Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art possesses one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of early Christian, Byzantine and medieval European art in the world.

- Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Times: American Modernism from the Lane Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from Oct. 2, 2009–Jan. 31, 2010. In the 1950s, William H. Lane (1914–1995), the owner of a small Massachusetts manufacturing plant, began assembling an extraordinary collection of American modern art, which in 1990 was donated to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. With major paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe, Arthur G. Dove, Stuart Davis, Charles Sheeler and many other artists, the exhibition shows the collector’s passion for art that reflects the diversity and dynamism of American modernism. The exhibition was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts. www.fristcenter.org.

PIGEON FORGE
Belle Island Village, a $114 million, 26-acre, themed development with retail, hospitality and entertainment venues, is projecting a Dec. 2008 grand opening. Belle Island Village will feature live entertainment in a variety of styles that will appeal to all age groups. This will include live concerts, shows, auctions, specialty car shows and many more exciting events. Featured at Belle Island Village will be the world's largest private collection of Hollywood memorabilia - preserved by Debbie Reynolds. The museum will feature interactive exhibits including two large state of the art theaters and 10 themed pavilions showing original clips and displaying artifacts from almost every Academy Award-winning film. Also featured is the Darrell Waltrip Racing Experience, which highlights the career of one of NASCAR's most beloved drivers and lets you experience the look, feel, smell and overwhelming sensations the racers feel. http://www.belleisland.com/.

Dollywood - To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Dollywood introduces its most elaborate show ever, "Sha-Kon-0-Hey," featuring new songs by Dolly Parton.  The show captures the powerful story of the founding of the park through its portrayal of the settlers, the rail and lumbermen, the shiners and the Native Americans who dwelled there.  Dollywood also launches Imagine by Le Grand Cirque, a show produced just for the park. www.dollywood.com.

TELLICO PLAINS
75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORP - The year 2009 is the 75th anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). The Tellico Ranger Station has been restored and is like being in a time warp. The remains of an old CCC camp can be seen from the Unicoi Turnpike Trail.

TENNESSEE OVERHILL
The Cherokee National Forest has begun to offer sea kayak trips on the lake. They also offer instruction on the lake with Joe Jacobi, the Olympic champion. http://www.tennesseeoverhill.com/.