Third time was the charm as the Marble Springs State Historic Site won “the pot” at Knoxville SOUP.
Anna Chappelle, executive director of the site, which preserves a chunk of the farmstead of Tennessee’s first governor, John Sevier, had presented projects at SOUP twice before in hopes of winning the event’s nearly quarterly micro-grant. She had always met with stiff competition, including at the April 27 SOUP, but finally she prevailed, as SOUP made a return visit to South Knoxville’s premier event location, Dara’s Garden.
Chappelle’s pitch this time was for hands-on materials to be used during school tours. Maybe it was respect for Chappelle’s perseverance. Perhaps it was the community’s concern about students understanding the past. Or it could have been the endorsement from Brooke Maner, a Bonny Kate Elementary School alumna and first-grade teacher at Farragut Primary School who got all 17 first-grade classrooms at her school to tour Marble Springs.
In any case, Chappelle’s presentation earned the most votes from attendees, and she won the take from the door and donations: $830.
Central Cinema, an initiative to open an independent, one-screen movie theater in the Happy Holler area, and Permaculture Garden Upgrade, which sought funds to finance an irrigation system for the community garden at Sustainable Future Center, both received enthusiastic applause and great exposure.
More than 160 people turned out to listen to the proposals, vote on their favorite and dine on soup, salad, bread and cookies provided by Rothchild Catering. No vote was held for favorite soup, but the chicken corn chowder earned the biggest raves.
Knoxville SOUP is presented by the South Knoxville Alliance. The next SOUP will be in July. Visit knoxvilleSOUP.org for details.