Major cities in Tennessee are reimagining their public riverfronts as vibrant community spaces.
By Cary Estes on December 23, 2025
Agency Landscape and Design
River City Company launches a visionary plan for the Chattanooga riverfront, showcased in the rendering.
When Tennessee native Anna Mae Bullock – better known as Tina Turner – famously sang about “rollin’ on the river,” she was referring to the Mississippi River, which runs along the western edge of the state.
But the Mighty Mississippi makes up only a small portion of the more than 60,000 miles of waterways flowing throughout Tennessee. And increasingly, this natural resource is being further enhanced through public-private partnerships designed to make many of the Tennessee riverfronts even more attractive and accessible. This, in turn, is expanding recreational opportunities and boosting local economies.
“It really speaks to a statewide commitment to investing in the quality of life in Tennessee,” says Patrick Osborne, planning and design director of the Tennessee RiverLine project. “The state is embracing the value of outdoor recreation. Projects like these reflect a broader movement, where Tennesseans see their waterways as assets to be celebrated and protected.”
Memphis River Parks Partnership
The City of Memphis has a front-row view to the watery wonder that is the Mississippi River. But easy access from downtown Memphis to the river has long been limited.
That began to change in 2017 with the formation of the Memphis River Parks Partnership. The goal was to convert 5 miles of mostly underused river parks into a connected network of public spaces, with multiple access points to Beale Street and other popular downtown destinations.
“It is meant to draw people together in one place that is beautiful and peaceful,” says Paul Chandler, CEO of the Memphis River Parks Partnership. “The intent is to unify our city and enhance relationships that might have never been developed without this park system.”
The centerpiece is the renovation of 31-acre Tom Lee Park, which opened in 2023 and receives approximately 2 million visitors annually. Chandler expects the park to become even more popular in 2026 with the scheduled opening of the Memphis Flyway, a 40-foot-high observation deck that will extend 218 feet over the Mississippi River.
“When the sun sets across that huge body of water, the view from the Flyway is going to be really spectacular,” Chandler says.
Evolving Chattanooga’s Riverfront
The City of Chattanooga made major enhancements to its Tennessee River frontage in the early 2000s with the 21st Century Waterfront plan. Now, Chattanooga’s economic development engine – the River City Co. – is bringing additional improvements to the area through the Evolving Our Riverfront Parks plan, with work scheduled to begin in 2026.
“Our goal is to add strategic features and amenities to allow for year-round daily use and enjoyment of the waterfront,” says River City Co. President and CEO Emily Mack. “We’re focusing on people-centered design and providing places of enjoyment for our community.”
Proposed changes include improvements to the riverfront pier, the creation of additional river access points, landscaping with more shade trees, two new restaurants, two new recreational spaces with playgrounds and more public restrooms.
“This is an opportunity to provide a destination for people to gather and connect with the community and with nature,” Mack says. “It will help support our existing riverfront events, which are huge to the local economy. It will also serve as an economic catalyst for our downtown businesses. This is going to have an incredible ripple effect throughout our city.”
Tennessee RiverLine
The long-term goal for Tennessee RiverLine is to be a 652-mile, 1.2 million-acre river park.
Knoxville Is Part of Tennessee RiverLine
The most expansive project of them all, the Tennessee RiverLine, began as an idea by a student in the University of Tennessee School of Landscape Architecture to create a connected system of recreational opportunities along the Tennessee River.
Now, work is underway to make this vision a reality; the long-term goal is to form a 652-mile, 1.2 million-acre river park, stretching from Knoxville to Paducah, Kentucky.
“It’s a regional vision for how our communities connect with the Tennessee River and adjacent public lands,” Osborne says. “Our focus is on planning and designing river access sites, parks, recreation opportunities and the supporting infrastructure.”
The key to the project’s success, Osborne says, is through the RiverTowns Program, in which RiverLine officials work directly with local community leaders. There are currently 12 communities in Tennessee that have signed up to be part of the program.
“This is a generational project that is moving forward in phases, primarily through our RiverTowns Program,” Osborne says. “We’re helping each of these towns identify and prioritize projects that help improve river access and highlight restorative recreation practices. We want to ensure that the river is accessible, healthy and celebrated for generations to come.”
Tennessee Focuses on Outstanding Parks, Too
The most popular outdoor attraction in Tennessee is easily Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which received more than 12 million visitors in 2024. But if you want to be a little more low-key than Smoky, there are also 60-plus state parks across the state.
The offerings range from the nearly 30,000-acre Fall Creek Falls State Park near Spencer to the 11-acre Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville. Scott’s Gulf Wilderness State Park in Sparta features the 110-foot-tall Virgin Falls, which requires a 4-mile hike to reach. It is one of more than 80 waterfalls that can be found within Tennessee’s state parks.
Tennessee added several state parks in 2025. Though it was a division of an existing outdoor attraction, the Hiwassee/ Ocoee Scenic River State Park was split into two separate parks to provide more dedicated resources to each area. The Ocoee River was the site of the 1996 Olympic whitewater slalom events, and the 2.5-mile course remains popular with paddlers.
Head of the Crow State Park and Fiery Gizzard State Park near Monteagle were both carved out of the already existing South Cumberland State Park.
Even more state parks are on the way. The current 950-acre Devil’s Backbone State Natural Area, which is just off Natchez Trace Parkway near Gordonsburg, is set to receive official state park status soon too.
Tennessee bird watching is also exceptional, with over 400 documented species, including residents and migrants. The Cumberland Mountains are vital, hosting the highest global concentration of the near-threatened cerulean warbler’s breeding pairs. Additionally, successful reintroduction efforts mean the majestic bald eagle is now observable statewide.
— Youth for Christ in Alexandria has been around for 15 years, but recently moved into its new home – the YFC Youth Center at 911 Highway 29 North, near the north McDonald’s.
A
grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony
will take place on Monday, Jan. 12, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Snacks and refreshments will be served.
Nick Jorgenson, the Alexandria area site director for YFC, said that actually,
Youth for Christ
moved into the building in March. However, the building wasn’t really usable until about two and half months ago, he said.
“We had to renovate the entire place,” said Jorgenson. “There was no flooring in here; we had to rip down some of the old walls and redo the bathroom and kitchen. It was a big project.”
Previously, the YFC program operated out of the building behind the Alexandria City Hall where Nordic Warriors is located. Jorgenson said they had a small space in the basement.
The new location is a much bigger space and includes several tables for participants to sit and play games, eat or visit with each other, along with a video gaming space and a foosball table. It also includes a handmade table with plug-ins and a removable top that can be used to play electronic games in a group setting.
Standing in the middle in front of the Youth for Christ Youth Center in Alexandria is Nick Jorgenson, Alexandria YFC director and Heidi Christensen, Parent Life director. Joining them were Sean Levesque, left, executive director for the Youth For Christ West Central Minnesota chapter in Willmar, and Josh Ottoson, the chapter’s Development and Ministry director.
Contributed photo / Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce
Jorgenson said there are lots of different activities for those who are 11 to 19 years old.
“Our number one goal is to reach students with the Gospel, to present Jesus to them, and offer them a way out of horrible situations and horrible lives in the difficult world we live in,” he explained. “It’s not easy to navigate sometimes and so we’re here to walk alongside them and help them become lifelong followers of Jesus. So that’s our goal. But we do it in a relational way.”
The students who attend Youth for Christ don’t just sit around reading the Bible and singing worship songs, Jorgenson added. He said instead, the team at YFC builds relationships with those who attend so that they can earn the right for the students to listen to them.
YFC offers lots of activities
YFC offers different after-school clubs. On Tuesdays, there is the middle school club and then Thursdays are for the high school club. Jorgenson said it’s a time and space after school for students to hang out, play board games, video games and build relationships with not just the adults, but also the other students.
He said they usually will have snacks and beverages and then he will also do what he calls a “life talk,” which usually takes between 10 and 15 minutes.
Nick Jorgenson
“We talk about things going on in their world today and I apply biblical principles without just quoting biblical scriptures to them,” said Jorgenson. “And obviously, it’s in our name – Youth for Christ – so they’re not surprised when I tell them about God or Jesus.”
There are also groups, like the gaming group, which meets every other Thursday night. A volunteer will come in and the group plays games together. Another activity is the Girls Art Night where just the girls come in and do some kind of arts and crafts project, hang out with one another and build relationships with their peers. This group is led by YFC female volunteers.
And now that they have the space, Jorgenson said they have started Friday Night Life, where one Friday a month they do an activity, like Bingo or recently, they had a Christmas party.
Students can come and go as they please these during all the activities at the youth center. They are not made to stay until a program is done.
Students have snacks at a table inside the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center.
Contributed photo / Nick Jorgensen
Jorgenson said the students, as well as the parents, are informed that the students can come and go as they please and that there is not a membership to join. He added that he does collect contact information for both the students and their parents and/or guardians, providing the students give him their parent information. He said it doesn’t always happen, especially with the high school students.
The contact info is for mass messaging that is sent out regularly to students, parents, counselors, etc. to let them know about upcoming activities.
For instance, Jorgenson will let everyone know about an upcoming event called Winter Ignite 2026, which will take place Feb. 27 through March 1 at the Lake Geneva Christian Center in Alexandria. It will feature guest speaker, Brandon Farris, and also Christian hip-hop artist 808 Beezy. For more information, send an email to josh@yfcminnesota.com.
Besides a new location, a new program offering at YFC will be starting in January 2026. Alexandria Parent Life, a ministry for pregnant and parenting teens, will be led by Parent Life Director Heidi Christensen.
This program was originally started in Willmar, which is where the main office for Youth For Christ West Central Minnesota is located. This is the chapter that the Alexandria YFC belongs to. Parent Life is also offered at the Hutchinson YFC.
Heidi Christensen
“This is a new launch for us here in Alexandria,” Christensen said. “We’ll start meeting with pregnant and parenting teens in January on Tuesday nights from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.”
Parent Life is also offered to those ages 11 to 19, but Christensen said the program is a little bit different than the program Jorgensen runs.
She said there will be mentors and that they will be walking alongside the students in a kind-of pivotal point in their life. But, those who are attending are either pregnant or are already a parent.
“We are not a pregnancy center,” said Christensen. “When they come to us, they will have already either made the choice themselves to raise a child or carry the pregnancy to term but have an adoption plan in place. We do not do counseling of any kind. We’re here to walk alongside them and to have mentors.”
She added that parenting or being pregnant while still a teen is challenging and girls often find themselves ostracized from others. Parent Life will be a place where they can all get together and support one another.
Inside the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center there is an open space with tables and chairs for students to play games, hang with their friends or enjoy a snack.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
“They may be from different schools or come from different walks of life, but together they have something in common,” said Christensen.
The mentors in the Parent Life program are able to go with the teen moms to appointments and help them to get back on the path if they’ve dropped out of school, which Christensen said happens often.
Mentors will help them graduate from school, go to college if that was originally planned or go into the workforce.
“Oftentimes, girls who find themselves pregnant think that it is the end of their story and that is just not the case,” Christensen said. “We’re here to provide hope and get them back on track and provide them with parenting tips or even educational tips.”
Like in Jorgenson’s program, Christensen said there will be faith-based discussions, but really, the whole goal is to walk alongside the teens and that if it ends up they make a decision on their own to follow Jesus, that is great. But she stated it is not the sole purpose of the program.
The nursery, which isn’t quite finished, inside the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
In the new YFC Youth Center, there is also a nursery that will be staffed for those attending the Parent Life program who have children. Christensen also noted that there will be free diapers and wipes available to those attending the program.
For more information on the program send an email to heidi@yfcminnesota.com.
Information about the Alexandria Area Youth for Christ program can be found on Facebook at
facebook.com/AlexandriaYFC
or
yfcminnesota.com/ministries.
The video gaming station inside the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
A cozy corner for students to hang out at in the new Alexandria Area Youth for Christ Youth Center.
Montgomery County based ballet schools perform holiday favorite to hundreds of fans.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without ballet performances of The Nutcracker. The Maryland Youth Ballet, based in Silver Spring, is currently in the midst of its marathon run of the holiday production.
“I really have seen the full circle of many students going from Gingersnaps all the way up to our Sugar Plum Fairies,” explained Deidre Byrne, Artistic Director and Principal for the Maryland Youth Ballet.
Rehearsals of the production began in the fall with frequent rehearsals and even individual coaching for those artists performing leading roles. More than 100 students are participating in the production, and there’s even a large group of dedicated parents who volunteer to help the young artists, school officials tell WUSA9.
“I think this experience has really encouraged dancers to be the best they could be,” said Byrne, when asked about how the impact of the performance schedule and preparation has been on the students.
The school’s production features some new costumes this season. MYB’s production of The Nutcracker includes several shows through Dec. 27. For Byrne, who was once a student at MYB, watching the students learn and rise to the challenge is something she enjoys most from the annual experience.
“It really is special for me to watch these kids grow into their artform and love what they’re doing,” she said.
It’s the season of giving. Since our sports friends celebrate all of the holidays, it’s time to hand out some gifts.
Cleveland Browns fans, I am gifting you at least three more years of patience. You have been so good at this. It’s like being a parent. Sure, you’re great at spending money on all of your kids. You, too, know that feeling of how great it was to get a present when you were a child. Well, guess what? I don’t see you getting anything until the team moves into the new dome. So, keep smiling when your kids get you another pair of socks.
Cincinnati Bengals fans, you get the gift of a happy and healthy Joe Burrow. I know he might sound a little frustrated right now. Just get him an offensive line, and that frown will turn upside down. I still think a healthy Burrow gets the Bengals to the top of the AFC North.
The Ohio State University football fans, you get a punching bag. I can’t think of a better gift to explain why the Buckeyes’ offense has fallen asleep in big games like Michigan last year and Indiana this year. I know Indiana was the No. 2 team in the country. But these games are like having money in the bank and then using an ATM from another bank. It’s like the $4 fee. You know you have to pay extra to get what you want.
Cleveland Cavaliers fans, you get a free pass to the trade deadline. I know the injuries are making things difficult. Things are not going as smoothly as they did last year. Head coach Kenny Atkinson is trying to figure things out. But, I think we are at the point where one of the guards has to go, and the team needs to stop chucking up three-pointers at the end of a game like they are playing recreation basketball. It’s hard to watch. Oops, the NBA Grinch is all over this one. He’s taking back the trade deadline gift. He just remembered that he bought not one, but two aprons for Cindy Lou Who. The second apron will cost them a move at the deadline. Here’s a bottle of Advil for this holiday headache.
Cleveland Guardians fans, for you, it’s simple. Bats. Could you imagine the surprise this spring to have a few hitters that could hit .240 to .250 all season? That would be awesome to have just one or two guys with a little pop next year, even if these players come from within the system. Looking at lineups with legit two hitters every game is as much fun as watching the Cavs take 100 three-pointers every night to end games.
Hockey fans. I see you. In Columbus, you are putting almost 16,700 in the stands every Blue Jackets game despite battling for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Be proud.
Cleveland Monsters fans, you have a tradition of leading the AHL in attendance, and you are doing a great job again this season. I give the gift of being strong through the good times and the bad.
Youth sports’ parents, you get the gift of time. You need to realize that time moves so fast, and your wallet empties so quickly. Your gift is a deep breath. To have the moment when you realize this is not going to last forever. It’s not worth trying to keep up with the Joneses. You may think your kid is going pro only to realize that they hit puberty before all the other kids. I say it all the time. Stop yelling at the officials. They didn’t wake up in the morning trying to figure out how to stop your kid from getting name, image, likeness money. We are really struggling to find refs and umps. Let’s give them a break this holiday season.
Andy Baskin writes about Sports for the Cleveland Jewish News. To read more from him, visit cjn.org/baskin.
If you have a suggestion for a column idea for Andy Baskin, send him an email at columnists@cjn.org. He can be heard on “Baskin & Phelps” weekdays on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland at audacy.com.
BENNINGTON — In a collaboration between Chess on the Hill and the Bennington Free Library, youth in grades K through 8, are invited to register for the December 28 “Frosty Knights Chess Challenge Tournament” at the Bennington Free Library.
The event is free of charge and open to the public.
Youth throughout the area are encouraged to enter and, according to Youth Services Librarian Linda Donigan, there are no geographical limits – “Everyone is welcome, no matter where you live.” This includes youth from Vermont, but also from New York and Massachusetts and, “well – anywhere, really.”
“We are very very excited to sponsor this tournament with area children, especially with kids now coming from as far away as Williamstown and the Manchester area,” said Donigan. “Trever Plizga has spread the love of chess throughout our county, and into the Berkshires.”
Plizga, Donigan said, has created a number of after school chess clubs throughout the region, and has worked with the Bennington Free Library to create multiple tournaments for area youth.
“These Scholastic Tournaments are always fun,” said Donigan, noting that it is an excellent way for youngsters to meet others in the area with similar interests.
“It is very motivating for kids to work on their chess skills, and to prepare for the tournaments, and it’s a way for kids to participate in – well, in sports it would be a playoff, but here, it is like athletics for the mind. And, these types of tournaments are very motivating in terms of kids focusing on building their skills.”
The “Frosty Knights Chess Challenge Tournament” will be run as a Scholastic Chess Tournament, starting at 10 a.m. and concluding around 1 p.m.
Parents are asked to register their children by emailing chessonthehill@gmail.com with the player’s name, age, school, and the parent’s contact information (preferred phone number and email).
Donigan stressed that the “school” is for record-keeping and should not be seen as a barrier – homeschoolers are encouraged to join, as well.
The “Frosty Knights Chess Challenge Tournament” will take place on a Sunday, Donigan noted – a day when the Bennington Free Library is typically closed. However, Donigan added, the Children’s Room will be kept open to allow parents a place to hang out and enjoy the Wi-Fi – should they choose to stay.
More information can be found at benningtonfreelibrary.org/about/youth-services, or by emailing chessonthehill@gmail.com.
Three Edwards County residents has had felony charges filed against them this week by Edwards County State’s Attorney, Eric St. Ledger.
Phillip Walden, 54, of Albion, has been charged with domestic battery with a prior conviction. This charge was also filed on Monday, and a court date is pending.
25-year-old Bradley Cummins of Grayville has been charged with possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, a Class 3 felony. He also faces charges of aggravated assault, a Class A misdemeanor, and possession of an expired FOID card. No court date has been scheduled.
43-year-old Martin A. Williams of Grayville faces aggravated drunk driving charges—his third such offense—as well as aggravated DUI while driving on a revoked license. The charges were filed on Monday, and a court date has not yet been set.
The Myrtle Beach Corvette Club (MBCC) recently presented checks to two local nonprofit charities that the club supports.
Proceeds from their 28th Annual Corvettes at the Beach are used to make these contributions possible. The donations went to Canine Angels, where rescued dogs are trained as service dogs to assist disabled veterans, autistic children and first responders, and Julie’s Kids, which provides for children in foster care.
2025 is a record year for the club donations to charity. Checks were presented in the amount of $15,260 to each charity. Through its annual car show, the club has raised over $240,000 over the past 10 years. Myrtle Beach Corvette Club website is www.myrtlebeachcorvetteclub.com.
The Myrtle Beach Corvette Club covers Brunswick County in North Carolina and Horry and Georgetown counties in South Carolina, with over 300 club members between the three counties.
