Last weekend, "The Avengers" broke box office records for the opening weekend of a film. In July, the hotly-anticipated "The Dark Knight Rises," the third of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, will be released. For those who want to go big and bold at the cinema, summertime is the right time.

Hydrangeas come in 23 different species, though only five are widely cultivated in the United States, according to the U.S. National Arboretum.

As summer approaches, John and Patsy Hyatt hope to spend some nights on the sleeping porch off the upstairs bedroom of their Cedar Bluff, Ala., home overlooking Weiss Lake. “The higher you go, the prettier (the view) is,” Mrs. Hyatt said.

Do you ever have a moment when you realize there are good, honest people out there in the world?

Seeing the Black Jacket Symphony perform is not the same as seeing The Beatles perform, of course, but every effort is made to honor, not imitate, the sounds of the Fab Four.

When most of his peers are sitting in a classroom, looking at a chalkboard, Addison Flanigan and his classmates are out collecting bugs.

I will not have the opportunity to spend this Sunday with my mother, as Chattanooga is a little farther than a hop, skip and a jump from New York.

Sunday, after serving Mom breakfast in bed (because that's what you do on Mother's Day), spend the afternoon at Chattanooga Market.

Food is wasted at an alarming rate.

Robin and Andrew Scharff believe adopting a child is something they are called to do.

Cooking together has innumerable benefits for families, said Jayne Griffin, education director at the Creative Discovery Museum.

Brandywine, Sungold, Stupice, Cherokee Purple. Is there anything quite like a fresh summer tomato?

Ever sing along to a song and think, "Hmmm, those are some strange lyrics"?

Thanks to a forgetful or unsentimental adolescent girl, I am now the proud owner of a corsage for the first time in 14 years.

Stacy Johnson, executive director of La Paz Chattanooga, said tonight is all about celebrating the variety of Latino heritage within the greater Chattanooga community.

There are three kinds of breakups: There's the kind where it's all one person's fault and he deserves to be drawn and quartered. There's the kind where it's completely mutual and everyone still really likes each other.

Marion Cook said the Chinese Acrobats of Hebei will keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

French poet Arthur Rimbaud once wrote, "One is not serious when one is 17." This might be the case for some, but many people age 17 and younger do face serious issues, often before they are prepared.

Tyler Lamb confesses he was a little taken aback by the requirements for the marathon training class at Lee University.

After retiring from a career with the U.S. Postal Service, Carl Pendergrass found his way to metal arts when a friend helped him replumb his house.

When it comes to food, looks matter.

Rules, it has been said, are made to be broken, and that is certainly true when it comes to pairing food and wine.

Clifford Ackerson recently built his first set of raised garden beds. "It's not difficult," said Ackerson, a civil engineer. "You just have to stay with it."

This weekend is the 12th annual Spring Plant Sale & Festival at Crabtree Farms. More than 100 varieties of plants will be available, including raspberries, aloe and figs.

Chattanooga has always been a town with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, said Paul Smith, manager of Chattanooga Market.

A friend of mine is miffed at her boyfriend for not making good on a promise to take her to Europe for a recent birthday.

Jim Witter has been performing the hits of Billy Joel and Elton John for 11 years now, but he only recently saw the two perform together.

It’s just about time to get back to the beach. While shopping for swimsuits can be about as much fun for many women as, say, a trip to the dentist, swimsuit fashions have evolved to flatter ladies of different ages and sizes.

Michele Norris fondly remembers Mr. Sample, her flag football coach from her hometown of Minneapolis, Minn.

Tomatoes. Peppers. Cucumbers. Squash. Zucchini. Eggplant. Okra. What says summer more than a rainbow of freshly grown vegetables?

Chattanooga Theatre Centre director George Quick said the Festival of New Plays was one of the things that drew him to the Chattanooga area.

Gloria Chien has been waiting three years for this one.

A former colleague of mine once said, quite aptly, "when someone says 'no offense,' it means 'this may offend you.' " Well, no offense, but I feel like we've become the society that cries wolf.

Legend tells that ancient Greeks and Egyptians used honey to embalm the dead. Today, honey is largely thought of as a kitchen staple. Like wine, honey is greatly influenced by its land source.

John Cena remembers Sunday dinners when he was a child in Michigan, eating the dishes of his parents' Argentinean upbringing. Now, he said, he hopes to bring the flavors he remembers from his boyhood to the Scenic City, with his new food truck, Taste of Argentina, which will launch Tuesday at Warehouse Row.

The Department of Education, Arts & Culture, in collaboration with Councilwoman Carol Berz, is spearheading an effort to conserve water in Chattanooga.

I think I was about 13 when I started collecting quotes. At first, I would peruse previously published books of quotations and copy them into a journal.

What do you call a combination of 10 handsome men and a repertoire of songs that spans several decades? Straight No Chaser.

Some might say Maria Chattin-Carter has come full circle. After graduating from East Ridge High School in 1994, she attended Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., receiving of bachelor of fine arts degree in theater.

On a Tuesday night at Pasha Coffee & Tea in St. Elmo, the Classic Literature Book Club gathers. Tonight, they are discussing a seminal work of Southern literature: Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."

The only problem with her vehicle, Kate Warren says, is that it can’t fit through the drive-through at McDonald’s.

"A diplomat," poet Robert Frost once said, "is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age." Age is, indeed, an age-old sticking point for some. There's that adage about never asking a woman's age or weight.

"It's kind of a complicated story," said Perry Ward of "The Gondoliers," the Gilbert and Sullivan opera opening tonight at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Ward, an instructor in the music department, is directing.

Museums don't always have the reputation of being the most fun places in the world, especially for families.

Buying and eating local food is one way to honor the workers, growers and entrepreneurs in and around Chattanooga.

Spring is in the air. So is pollen. The sun is shining, and though the final frost date is not until April 15, Old Man Winter seems to have officially left the South.

This weekend, check out some crafts. Maybe get a new piece of jewelry. Sniff a few handmade candles. Stop and color.

Spring has sprung with enthusiasm.

In a dystopian world, in which citizens live under the rule of an oppressive government, children are forced to compete to the death in an annual competition. The winner -- the last one standing -- will receive money and food for his or her district, or state.

With respect to Jane Austen, if it is not a truth universally acknowledged that once your friends start having children your relationship with those friends will change drastically, then it should be.