Chattanooga arts to November: Free as they want to be at the Hunter, AVA's member salon from Nov. 6, See Rock City on stage and the CSO's Rachmaninoff Nov. 19.

Last checked Oct. 20, 2026. Listings come from each venue’s own calendar: the Hunter Museum, the Association for Visual Arts, the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera and the Tivoli Theatre Foundation, which runs the Tivoli, Memorial Auditorium and the Walker Theatre. Refreshed every week; check the venue before you go.

The Tivoli Theatre reopens this week, the Hunter Museum’s big fall show is up through January, and the symphony plays Star Wars and Rachmaninoff in November. At the Theatre Centre, See Rock City opens Nov. 6. Holiday shows, including the Nutcracker, have their own page: Nutcracker and holiday shows.

Exhibitions now showing

  • Free as they want to be: Artists Committed to Memory, through Jan. 11, 2027, Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View Ave. It opened Oct. 1. Exhibition page.
  • Jessica Wohl: I Dreamed You Were Here, through Feb. 22, 2027, Hunter Museum, Mansion Stairwell. Exhibition page.
  • Daniel “Attaboy” Seifert: Upcycled Garden, Hunter Museum, East Art Lounge, a long-term installation through March 6, 2028. Exhibition page.
  • AVA Exhibit 5, through Friday, Oct. 30, AVA Gallery, 30 Frazier Ave., North Shore. The Main Gallery shows 2025 Best in Show winner Danyelle Woods; the Landis Education Gallery shows 2025 Juror’s Choices Jeweli Eslinger, Meredith Olinger and Andy Brooks. AVA exhibit calendar.
  • AVA Annual Member Salon Show, Friday, Nov. 6, to Dec. 20, AVA Gallery, with an opening reception Nov. 6. AVA exhibit calendar.

Theater and dance

  • Stage Fright Cabaret, Friday, Oct. 30, Chattanooga Theatre Centre. Doors 7 p.m., cabaret 7:30 p.m., then a Halloween dance party 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Theatre Centre.
  • See Rock City, Nov. 6-22, Chattanooga Theatre Centre, Circle Theatre. Times and tickets on the season page; box office 423-267-8534.
  • NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet, 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22, Memorial Auditorium. A touring production. Listing.

Concerts and classical

  • Billy Strings, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 20-21, Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St. The Tivoli’s reopening shows; tickets were sold by request lottery. Listing.
  • 37th IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, Memorial Auditorium. Part of World of Bluegrass week; see our World of Bluegrass page.
  • Chattanooga Youth Symphony Fall Concert, 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2. CSO listing.
  • Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, Memorial Auditorium. The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera plays John Williams’ score live to the film, conducted by Ben Palmer. CSO listing.
  • Keb’ Mo’, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10, The Walker Theatre. Listing.
  • Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, Memorial Auditorium. Pianist Chaeyoung Park, with a new work by Chattanooga composer Jonathan McNair. CSO listing.

Film

The Tivoli Foundation’s Bobby Stone Film Series runs Halloween classics at The Walker Theatre, each at 2 and 7 p.m.:

  • Vertigo, Friday, Oct. 23. Listing
  • Suspiria, Sunday, Oct. 25. Listing
  • Psycho, Thursday, Oct. 29. Listing
  • Rocky Horror Picture Show Live, 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30. Listing

Talks and museum events

The Hunter Museum lists these dates; times and registration are on each event page.

  • Art Wise: Deborah Willis, Ph.D., Thursday, Oct. 22. Event page
  • Style in Free as they want to be, Thursday, Oct. 29. Event page
  • Throwback Thursday and SOBI Connects, Thursday, Nov. 5. Event page
  • Art After Dark (for teens), Saturday, Nov. 14. Event page
  • Vision+Verse: Posing as Past, Thursday, Nov. 19. Event page

Classes and workshops

  • Make and Move, Monday, Nov. 2; Crafts and Coffee, Friday, Nov. 6; Sunday Studio, Sunday, Nov. 8; and Artful Yoga, Sunday, Nov. 22, all at the Hunter Museum. Hunter events.

Regular events

  • AVA Gallery, 30 Frazier Ave., is open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and noon to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed Monday and Tuesday. Free. avarts.org.

Send us your event

Running a show, exhibition or concert in Chattanooga? Email hello@chattanoogajournal.com with the date, time, venue, price and a photo you own, and we will add it.

More: things to do this month and things to do this weekend.

Frequently asked questions

What exhibitions are on in Chattanooga now?

The Hunter Museum of American Art is showing Free as they want to be: Artists Committed to Memory through Jan. 11, 2027. AVA’s gallery on Frazier Avenue shows its 2025 Best in Show and Juror’s Choices artists through Oct. 30, then its Annual Member Salon Show from Nov. 6 to Dec. 20.

What is the Chattanooga Symphony playing in November?

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 and 3 p.m. Nov. 8, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with pianist Chaeyoung Park at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. Both are at Memorial Auditorium.

What is on at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre?

The Stage Fright Cabaret and Halloween dance party on Friday, Oct. 30, then See Rock City in the Circle Theatre from Nov. 6 to 22. The Happy Elf follows on the Main Stage Dec. 4-20.

Is the Tivoli Theatre open again?

Yes. The Tivoli Theatre Foundation’s calendar has Billy Strings opening the restored Tivoli at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 and 21, and the Broadway season moves back into the Tivoli with Waitress on Feb. 19-21, 2027.