Keep An Eye On the Tri-State

The city of East Ridge on the Tennessee/Georgia state line, has joined 15 other communities across the tri-state region in the Thriving Communities creative placemaking network.

Sam Welty, an artist from Norfolk, Virginia, painted a mural that celebrates the women's suffrage movement in downtown Athens, Tennessee.

In a small corner of the Southeast, a sustainable economic development organization launches a bold vision to preserve the region’s Appalachian beauty and way of life.

Shannon Millsaps, Thrive's Operations Manager, was named to Chatter's 20 Under 40 List for 2020.

Pigeon Mountain’s Wildflower Wonderland Pigeon Mountain’s Wildflower Wonderland Pigeon Mountain, located just west of LaFayette, Georgia, is essentially an arm of Lookout Mountain. It stretches for about ten miles northeast of its divergence from the east side of Lookout Mountain, and is largely contained within the 20,657-acre state-owned Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area. The mountain reaches an elevation of around 2,330 feet at its highest point, and overlooks the pastoral V-shaped McLemore Cove, which lies between it and Lookout Mountain.

Russell Cave, carved by underground erosion through a layer of limestone, is considered the oldest rock shelter regularly inhabited in the eastern U.S., and has provided evidence of human use over thousands of years, beginning with Paleolithic spear points used for hunting mastodons, sloths, and bison.

Many visitors to the Hiwassee Refuge include a stop at the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park, which, in addition to the history-oriented features, provides a roofed overlook on a high bluff above the Tennessee River.

Six communities in Southeast Tennessee will receive resources and earmarked funding to institutionalize arts and cultural development strategies.