HATCH a plan for the weekend

Sunday, January 1, 1905

photo Works by Stephen Graham and other artists will be for sale at Faux Bridges Ar and Literature Festival.

HATCH 2012 is a new festival that focuses on the many creative aspects of the Chattanooga area. From art to architecture to culture to technology, there is something to do, see, hear or experience planned for each day through April 22.

Below is just a sample of what you can find as part of HATCH.

4 Bridges Arts Festival

One of HATCH's biggest events is the 4 Bridges Arts Festival. More than 15,000 people are expected to participate at the two-day event at First Tennessee Pavilion.

Presented by the Association for Visual Arts, 4 Bridges has been recognized as a top family destination by Southern Living's Reader's Choice Awards and Family Fun Magazine.

IF YOU GO

* What: 4 Bridges Arts Festival.

* When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

* Where: First Tennessee Pavilion, 1826 Carter St.

* Admission: $7 one day, $10 both days; free for ages under 18.

* Phone: 265-4282.

*Website: www.4bridgesartsfestival.org.

Music Schedule

Saturday

11:30 a.m. Mark "Porkchop" Holder

1 p.m. Brian Ashley Jones

2:30 p.m. The Stratoblasters

4 p.m. Julie Gribble

Sunday

11 a.m. Stephen Brehm

12:30 p.m. Slim Pickins

2 p.m. As Girls Go

3:30 p.m. Sweet Georgia Sound

KIDS CREATIVE ARTS AREA

Trained art educators are on hand to help lead kids of all ages in the Kid's Art Creation Area. The original projects are free, and they change every two hours as long as supplies last.

HATCH's 10X10 brings music, arts and eats

One of the new events that is part of HATCH is 10X10. This special event, focusing on a 10-square-block area of downtown, takes place Monday through April 20. It is designed to showcase local music, great eats and original artwork within the grid.

Hosted by MakeWork, 10X10 features 100 creative works big and small. Ten large-scale installations highlight the plan. These include a sculpture park of foam animals fording the Tennessee River, a light projection and experimental sound piece near Miller Plaza, a giant harp-like instrument at the Walnut Street Bridge Amphitheater and a "Supernova Pavilion" at Bluff View Art District. It will feature 620 modules of recycled plastic repurposed to look like a rock in a field.

Musicians and bands will play a variety of music throughout the week as well. On Monday, for example, the Creative Discovery Museum, 321 Chestnut St., will feature Stephen Humprhies and Dan Landrum on hammer dulcimer during the 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. lunch break.

On April 20, jazz veteran Bob Dorough, one of the writers for classic Schoolhouse Rock songs like "Conjunction Junction" and "I'm Just a Bill," will perform during a jazz buffet at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 E. M.L. King Blvd.

For a schedule of 10X10 events, visit MakeWork.is.

Faux Bridges at Winder Binder Gallery & Bookstore

The fifth annual Faux Bridges Art and Literature Festival, which originated as a tongue-in-cheek alternative to 4 Bridges, begins tonight at Winder Binder Gallery, 40 Frazier Ave. From 7 to 9, there will be a book signing and reception for John Wheeler Jr. (aka David Jackson), author of "The Chronicles of Cadillac Dave: True Confessions of a Drug Kingpin." The four-book series is about the 1970s youth counterculture movement in Chattanooga. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Saturday, nearly two dozen artists from five states will will be set up from noon to 7 p.m. in the parking lot adjacent to the gallery. Several mediums, including painting, metal work, glass work, sculpture, mixed media assemblage and printmaking will be on exhibit.

At 8 p.m., the gallery will host a performance by the 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra, whose shows were named by Atlanta Magazine as one of the "67 Things Every Atlantan Must Do." The event is produced in conjunction with the Shaking Ray Levi Society.

The festival continues from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot. Inside the gallery from 2 to 4 p.m. Rebecca Cook, Finn Bille, Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Ray Zimmerman, E. Smith Gilbert, Bruce Majors and Helga Kidder will be giving readings of poems and prose.

For more information, visit www.fauxbridges.com.

Art Car Caravan

The HATCH festival will mark the debut of the Art Car Caravan. These vehicles, which for matters of the caravan can be a car, bike or other wheeled contraption, have been modified in appearance as an act of personal artistic expression.

From 9 a.m. to noon today, these art cars will head out to area schools, including Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, Eastlake Academy, Chattanooga Christian School and Howard School of Academics and Technology. The cars have been designed in such a way as to encourage questions and discussions about what art is and how art is created. One, a Honda Accord, for example, honors the game of ice hockey.

On Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, the Scenic City tailgate party and parade will take place on the Southside. Cars will line up on 14th Street across from the Chattanooga Choo Choo. At 11:45 a.m., the motorcade will make its way down Cowart to Main, then onto Rossville Avenue and through Jefferson Heights before finishing up on Main Street for more fun.

Sculptor presentation

North Carolina artist Bill Brown, whose work is featured in the River Gallery Sculpture Garden, will visit Thursday. He will be at the gallery, 400 E. Second St., all day to discuss his sculpture and techniques with steel. A wine reception with the artist is scheduled 7-8:30 p.m. Call 265-5033, ext. 5, for more information.

Painting Workshop at River Gallery

Artist Erin Gafill will present a "Passion of Painting" creativity workshops from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at River Gallery, 400 E. Second St., in the Bluff View Art District.

The workshop "commits the artist to exploring not only color, texture, composition and line, but love, risk and the meaning of life," according to a news release.

Oil painting excursion to Raccoon Mountain

Why not combine art with an outdoor adventure?

On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., plein air artist Brett Weaver will lead an Oil Painting Outdoor Excursion to Raccoon Mountain. Cost is $150 per person, and reservations are required; call 266-4453 Meet at Shruptine Gold Leaf Designs, 2646 Broad St., at 9:30 a.m. Shuptrine's will provide a cooler of drinks and snacks, but you should bring your own bag lunch.