The City of Kingsport encourages residents to Be Loyal, Buy Local and enjoy a variety of upcoming holiday shopping and entertainment events during November.

Holiday Open House
Thursday, Nov. 5, from 5-8 p.m., downtown Kingsport
The Downtown Kingsport Association presents this official kick-off to the holiday season, with downtown businesses offering holiday specials, refreshments and holiday cheer. Visit Downtown Kingsport Association on Facebook to find a list of participating businesses and restaurants.

The Christmas Connection Artistic Creations Fair
Friday, Nov. 13, from noon-7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 15, from noon-4 p.m.
Kingsport Civic Auditorium, 1550 Fort Henry Drive
Now in its 41st year and sponsored by the Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts, this shopping event features creations by regional craft artists and is free to attend. Visit https://arts.kingsporttn.gov or call 423-392-8414 for details.

Drive-in Movie Night: “Home Alone”
Saturday, Nov. 14
Parking lot opens at 6 p.m., movie starts at 8 p.m.
Cherokee Street Public Parking Lot, 100 block of Cherokee Street
Grab a friend and come enjoy the holiday escapades of the classic film, “Home Alone.” Tickets are $10 per car and can be purchased at https://www.downtownkingsport.org. A limited number of tickets will be sold.

Small Business Saturday
Saturday, Nov. 28
Be Loyal, Buy Local every day, but especially on this national celebration of local, independent businesses. Now more than ever, it’s important to support friends and neighbors operating Kingsport businesses.

Cyber Monday
Monday, Nov. 30
Don’t forget that you can Be Loyal, Buy Local from the comfort of your home by shopping at the websites of independent Kingsport businesses.

Additional events coming in December include Jingle & Mingle on Thursday, Dec. 3, and Christmas Crafts Show at Kingsport Farmers Market on Saturday, Dec. 5.

If there are changes to any of these events, participants should check the respective websites or Facebook pages, along with the This Is Kingsport Facebook page.

Those wishing to participate are encouraged to take all necessary COVID-19 safety precautions such as wearing masks in public spaces, observing social distancing and washing hands frequently. Anyone who is sick should not participate.

The Kingsport Aquatic Center will begin offering swim lessons again this November. The KAC has developed new measures and will limit class sizes to ensure that participants are as safe as possible while in the water.

“Learning to swim is a vital skill for all ages, so we’re very happy to be able to offer lessons again,” KAC Director Kari Matheney said.

At this time, a household member 16 years or older must get into the water with participants of certain classes. Typically the instructor helps each young swimmer to establish trust and comfort in the water, but in order to keep participants safe and socially distanced, this role now falls to a parent or guardian.

All swim lessons at the KAC are American Red Cross courses. The KAC offers group, private, semi-private and adaptive classes to suit you or your child’s unique needs. Weekday classes include eight sessions, either Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday, and Saturday classes are four sessions. Not sure about your skill level? Don’t worry—the KAC can conduct a swim test.

Registration for November lessons will begin on November 2 and close November 7. Lessons begin the week of November 9. If you are an Aquatic Center or YMCA member, weekday lessons are $50 for the first child and $45 per additional child; and Saturdays are $25 for the first child and $22.50. For non-members member, lessons are $60 for the first child and $55 per additional child; while Saturday lessons are $30 for the first child and $27.50 per additional child.

More swim lessons will be available in January after a holiday break. For a detailed class descriptions and registration information, please visit swimkingsport.com or call the Aquatic Center at 423-343-9758.

Keep Kingsport Beautiful, with the support of the City of Kingsport Public Works Department, will hold a neighborhood cleanup in the Lynn Garden community on Saturday, October 24 from 9am to 11am. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Lynn Garden Community Center.

Volunteers are needed to pick up trash, remove debris and help with beautification efforts.  Civic, school and church organizations, Scout troops, businesses, families and individuals are encouraged to be part of this event. This is a great opportunity for students who are looking for community service hours for honors programs and scholarship requirements, particularly Tennessee Promise and TN/VA Scholars students. The Lynn Garden cleanup is sponsored by Republic Services.

Neighborhood groups/associations, churches, schools and businesses are encouraged to organize a cleanup event in their neighborhood and contact KKB to receive free supplies.  Trash bags and gloves will be provided to volunteers.

Keep Kingsport Beautiful is a partnership of the City of Kingsport and the Kingsport Chamber.  An affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Tennessee Beautiful, Keep Kingsport Beautiful has won more than 70 national, state and environmental awards. Its mission is to involve the community in responsible solutions for a clean and beautiful environment.

For more information, contact Sharon Hayes at shayes@kingsportchamber.org or call 423-392-8814.

The City of Kingsport will begin its annual bulk leaf collection beginning Monday, October 12.  In order to make the collection process as efficient as possible, citizens are requested to:

• Place the leaves within 8 ft. of the edge of the street but not in the street.
• Not block storm drains or neighbors’ driveways with piles of leaves
• Make sure leaf piles remain accessible by not parking vehicles on top or beside the leaves
• Take care not to include rocks, sticks or other debris in the pile that would damage the large vacuums used for collection

There are no set days or times for leaf collection. The city is divided into six zones with each street being run in that area before moving to the next zone. Depending on volume and availability of equipment, the general time frame for this free residential service can run as short as a week and up to 3 weeks during peak season. Each zone with be will be serviced at least 9 times during the season and will continue until January 15, 2021. If you bag your leaves, place them with your yard waste and they will be picked up on your regularly scheduled trash & yard waste collection day.

Normally, between 1,800 and 2,000 tons of leaves are collected each year. The leaves are taken to the city’s demolition landfill where they are composted. The composted material is both used for city projects and sold to the public.

For more information on where the trucks are working each day, call the Leaf Line at 423-224-2429 or visit the ‘leaf line’ webpage.

The Kingsport Senior Center Main Site, located on the First Floor of the Renaissance Center, will reopen on Monday, October 5. The Center’s hours of operations will be Monday through Thursday, from 8:00am to 3:30pm. All Branch Sites will remain closed until further notice.

As we continue to follow recommendations from the CDC and the State of Tennessee, guidelines will be in place to ensure the safety of all members and staff.

Masks will be required when entering and exiting the building and should remain on until you reach the activity destination.  As you enter the building, you can voluntarily take your temperature, pick up a mask, and a staff or volunteer will check you into the Center. There will be a new flow of traffic throughout the building, which will be labeled with directional floor arrows.  In order to meet the Governor’s requirement of half capacity, the Center has divided the days in which you may attend:

If you were born in an even year, your days will be Monday and Wednesday. If you were born in an odd year, your days will be Tuesday and Thursday. If you are married, and you and your spouse are born on odd and even years, please pick one and attend only those days.

Exercise classes that are normally on Monday, Wednesday and Friday will now happen every day Monday through Thursday.  There will be limited onsite classes with social distancing and capacity limits applying to each class.

Please see below the full list of guidelines for the safe return to the Senior Center:

Reopening rules and guidelines due to COVID-19

1. We encourage those will compromised immunities to stay at home.
   1. We encourage you to engage with the Center over social media.
2. Consistently check the health status of both staff and members.
   1. Infrared thermometers will be available for both staff and members to check their temperatures.
   2. At this time, masks are required by the Sullivan County mask mandate and should be worn into the building, after activities and to exit the building.
   3. STAY AT HOME IF YOU ARE SICK.
3. There will be a “way to get around the building” plan.
   1. Please see the map listed.
   2. You may enter and exit using the main front entrance or the main back entrance. Once inside, please refer to the directional arrows on the floor for getting around the building.
4. A staggered attendance approach will be used at this time.
   1. On Monday and Wednesday, senior members who were born in an even year will be able to use the facility.
   2. On Tuesday and Thursday, senior members who were born in an odd year will be able to use the facility.
   3. This will be based on the honor system. If members do not follow the guidelines, they may be asked to leave the facility.
5. Reduced hours to aide with cleaning.
   1. Center hours will be Monday through Thursday, 8:00am to 3:30pm, giving the staff time to disinfect from point of contact and through the building and allow for a more thorough cleaning of all equipment, etc., on Friday.
6. Social distancing will be required.
   1. An example of this would be only every other exercise machine could be used at the same time and chairs in the computer room and clay studio would be marked at six feet apart. When the chairs are filled, no one else will be allowed in the room. The same guidelines apply with the billiards room; only two tables will open.
7. There will be a time limit on room usage each day.
   1. Members will only be allowed to spend 1 hour at a time in a specific room to ensure everyone gets a fair chance to use the room.
8. No congregate meals inside the facility.
   1. Congregate meals will still be present for drive through pick up only.
   2. For more information, please call Deborah at 246-8060.
9. Only activities where social distancing can be maintained will be allowed to meet.
10. The card room and lounge will remain closed at this time.

The Senior Center is committed to ensuring the safety all members and staff during these times and looks forward to having its members back!

For questions or more information, please reach out to 423-392-8400. Visit the Kingsport Senior Center on Facebook for the most up-to-date information regarding reopening.