Welcome to Tuesday’s Daily Connections, where we start with a little trivia and a smile before connecting you with what’s happening around Our Town, across Tennessee and beyond.

Tuesday Trivia

Question: Which Tennessee city is officially recognized by Congress as the “Birthplace of Country Music”?

Answer: Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia. The 1927 Bristol Sessions helped launch the recording careers of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family and became a landmark in country music history. Explore the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.

Today in History

Sept. 22, 1862 — President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. It declared that enslaved people in states still in rebellion on Jan. 1, 1863, would be free. Read the National Archives account.

Tennessee Trivia

Those famous 1927 Bristol Sessions were recorded in a temporary studio set up by producer Ralph Peer. The sessions captured performers from across the region and helped put Appalachian music before a national audience. Learn more.

Today’s Smile

Why did the leaf go to school on the first day of fall? It wanted to turn over a new leaf.

Today’s Highlights

  • First day of fall — The autumnal equinox arrives today, marking the astronomical beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. Learn about the equinox.
  • Townsend Fall Heritage Festival — The annual celebration returns Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25-26, at the Greater Smokies Event Grounds. Appalachian music, handmade crafts, traditional demonstrations, Southern food and family activities run from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., with music beginning at 11 a.m. Admission is free. Parking is $10 per day, benefiting the Townsend Volunteer Fire Department. Festival information.
  • South College adds construction management programs — South College Knoxville has launched associate and bachelor’s degree programs in construction management in a hybrid format. The programs cover estimating, scheduling, construction operations, contracts, cost control, leadership, technology and sustainability. Program information.

Community Connections

  • Food City Strawberry Plains — A flag-raising and ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, to celebrate completion of the store’s expansion and remodel. The project added nearly 10,000 square feet and more than 50 jobs, along with a Starbucks café, expanded food service and produce areas, an expanded pharmacy and upgrades to the fuel center. Food City.
  • Smokies Life Branch Out — Upcoming programs include Monarch Butterfly Tagging & Education on Oct. 3 and 7, Elk in the Smokies on Oct. 9 and 17, a Forest Bathing Guided Walk on Oct. 30, Grandma Gatewood’s Walk on Nov. 4 and the Aunt Liddy Monologue on Nov. 12. See Branch Out events.
  • UT Arboretum looks at monarchs — The UT Arboretum Society will present “The Secrets of the Monarch” by Zoom at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1. Education coordinator Michelle Campanis and naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales will explore monarch migration and the butterfly’s remarkable life cycle. UT Arboretum Society.

Beyond Knoxville

  • Across Tennessee — The University of Tennessee Press has announced “The Middle of Somewhere: Eight Walks Through the Tamed Wild of West Tennessee” by Stephen Black. The memoir, scheduled for publication Oct. 20, explores landscape, memory, nature and belonging through eight walks around Gibson County. UT Press.
  • Across America — September’s changing season is also National Honey Month, a reminder of the agricultural importance of honey bees and other pollinators. Honey production connects agriculture, backyard gardens and the foods we eat. USDA pollinator information.
  • Around the World — The September equinox is a global astronomical event: Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, producing nearly equal periods of daylight and darkness around the world. Learn more from NASA.

National Month

National Honey Month — September celebrates honey and the bees that produce it. East Tennessee shoppers can make the observance local by looking for Tennessee honey at farmers’ markets and farm stands while remembering the important role pollinators play in gardens, farms, and natural areas. Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

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