Calendar of Events

THIS DECEMBER, River & Rail Theatre Company will premiere a new original folk musical titled, The Unusual Tale of Mary & Joseph’s Baby. Written by Tennessee-based award winning recording artist Don Chaffer and NYC-based playwright Chris Cragin-Day. The Unusual Tale of Mary & Joseph’s Baby surprises virgin-believing and non-virgin-believing audiences alike, engaging this this oft-told story with a sincerity and humanity that bursts with imagination and wonder.

Performed at East Jackson Ave in the Old City, 111 East Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915. River & Rail Theatre Company, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 106, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets & Information: 865-407-0727, www.riverandrailtheatre.com

THE HIVE SHOPPE - Please support local artist and makers by shopping with us this Holiday season.

The Hive, 854 N Central St., Knoxville, Tennessee 37917. Information: (865) 282-2018, www.thehiveknox.com

Thursday, December 8, features a Candlelight Tour from 6:30-8:30 PM.
Friday, December 9, is the Day Tour and Luncheon. Homes are open 9-11 AM and 1:30-4 PM. Luncheon is at 12:00 Noon.

Tickets for the Candlelight Home are $125 and the Day Tour and Luncheon are $85. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

The hippest concert of the season. Holiday favorites in the styles of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and more. Show-stopping vocalist Niki Haris joins the band this year to help make your season bright. Haris brings a wealth of performing experience to bear. She has toured the world as backup singer to Madonna, and enjoyed a long-standing musical collaboration with her late father, pianist Gene Harris, one of the most soulful jazz pianists of all time. Guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit!

At the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN, 37902. Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: 865-573-3226, www.knoxjazz.org

Jubilee Community Arts presents Knoxville Square Dance with live old-time music by The Hellgramites, calling by Stan Sharp, Ruth Simmons and Leo Collins.
Thursday, December 8

The Knoxville Square Dance is back on second Thursdays at the Laurel! No experience or partner is necessary and the atmosphere is casual. (No taps, please.)

8:00 pm at the Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37916-2016

Admission: $7 ($5 for students & JCA members)

Follow the Knoxville Square Dance on Facebook: www.facebook.com/knoxvillesquaredance

ETTAC cordially invites you to Toy Tech 2016.

Thursday, December 8, 2016
5:30-7:30 PM
Knoxville Museum of Art
1050 World's Fair Park Dr.

Join us for an evening of holiday fun as we celebrate with food, music, crafts, and the distribution of adapted toys.
Families and caregivers welcome!
Please register by November 30.

Do you have questions about Toy Tech 2016? Contact Lorrie at (865) 219-0130 or at lorriec@ettac.org
East Tennessee Technology Access Center, 116 Childress Street, Knoxville, TN 37920. Information: 865-219-0130, www.ettac.org

This holiday season, get ugly with Goodwill! We have the Christmas sweaters you need for your upcoming party.

Join us on Thursday, December 8th at the Bearden Beer Market for sweater decorating, smores by the fire pit, classic Christmas movies and great beer. Bearden Beer Market is donating $1 from every pint sold to benefit Goodwill's job training programs. For registration or more information please visit http://www.goodwillknoxville.org/shareyoursweater.

Thursday, December 8, at Bearden Beer Market, 4524 Old Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919.

Campfire Stories at The Central Collective, Thursday, December 8, 2016
6:00-8:00PM.

Human connection thrives on storytelling, be it a joke, a family legend, fairy tale, or a paranormal experience. Passed down from generation to generation or exchanged on a coffee break at work, stories allow us to connect, relating in the fears and triumphs of life. They put on display the heart of a soul and place it within the reach of another soul. We hunger for it, consuming millions of books and movies each year, only to bask in the need to understand and to be understood.

This month at the Central Collective, we’re calling forth this connection with stories around the [indoor] campfire, complete with tents and s’mores. You’ll get the chance to listen to others and tell your own stories, ideally limited to 10 minutes per person, and PG-13 (kids are welcome). To get you started we have three prompts to choose from, ranging from light-hearted to deep, true or fantasy. It’s your choice! Or if you’d rather just come and listen, we’d love to have you there. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find some inspiration from your fellows along the way.

Tell a story about your favorite memory. Why does it mean so much to you? What led up to it? Was there a turning point that made it significant? Has it shaped you?
Tell a story of attaining a dream and finding emptiness. What inspired the dream? Was it pressure from outside forces or a need to be a hero? What obstacles got in the way? When was the realization that the grass wasn’t greener on the other side? What was the lesson? The new outcome?
Wild Card! Got a magnificent story burning inside? Tell it!
Get thinking about your best stories on these prompts, or just come and listen! Either way, you’re sure to hear something special at Campfire Stories.

Tickets are $10 and include light snacks. Kids are welcome and can attend free with an adult. Reserve your spot at http://www.thecentralcollective.com.
The Central Collective, Thursday, December 8, 2016, 6:00-8:00PM.
923 N Central St, Knoxville, TN · (865) 236-1590

Enjoy a free community event to celebrate the winter holidays in Five Points! View Christmas lights in Hardy Park and enjoy holiday music and refreshments in Tabernacle Baptist Church alongside your neighbors this holiday season.

Our schedule:
5:30 - 6:00 PM - Welcome and Prayer at Dr. Walter Hardy Park (2020 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue).
6:00 - 7:30 PM - Entertainment and Refreshments at Tabernacle Baptist Church (2137 Martin Luther King Jr Ave).

Musical and dance performances will be presented by community members, schools and churches. Free and delicious holiday refreshments, including hot chocolate, apple cider and other goodies will also be available. Come out and relax with a night of fellowship, family and friends with us! At Dr Walter Hardy Memorial Park, 2098 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, Knoxville, Tennessee 37915

17th Street Studios is throwing open its doors to the public for one night only on Thursday, December 8th from 6-9:30pm. Come socialize, tour the studios, and view and purchase artwork.

This event is free and open the public. Light refreshments and drinks will be served. Artists will display artwork and there will be a pop up market of original artwork for sale at a wide range of prices.

17th Street Studios is a work space for artists Britton Sharp, Lesley Eaton, Jon Hendrix, Renee Holiday, Eric Brittain, Beth Meadows, Gwyn Pevonka and Janet McMullen. 17th Street Studios is located in Redeemer Church at the corner of 17th and Highland in the Fort Sanders neighborhood. Parking is available in the parking lot on the corner and along the street on Highland Avenue.

https://www.facebook.com/events/741957982619080/

Rala is hosting an evening with Knoxville artist, Cynthia Markert. She has just completed a new series of her classic women on wood and they are on display exlusively at Rala starting in December.

Artist Cynthia Markert has been creating her mixed media paintings on wood since graduation from the University of Tennessee with a major in Studio Art and a minor in Women's Studies. Her biographies appear in Who's Who in America and Who's Who In American Women. Her work is included in the archives of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. Markert's work has been exhibited at Lou Arronow Gallery in San Francisco, D.C. Space in Washington D.C, Studio 33 in Palm Beach Gardens and Lagerquist Gallery in Atlanta. Her work is presently in Rala in downtown Knoxville, Liz-Beth Gallery Knoxville, Kress Emporium in Asheville, and The Knoxville Museum of Art Gift Shop.

This is a free event, open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

RALA, 323 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artist-reception-with-cynthia-markert-tickets-29807598329?aff=1fc6ff7978

With a variety of local holiday and winter farmers' markets there are so many opportunities to continue eating seasonally, shopping locally, and supporting your local farmers, local artisans, and local craft producers. Grow Oak Ridge will open their new Oak Ridge Winter Farmers Market at St. Mary's School in Anderson County. With a bounty of local farms and producers in attendance, folks in Anderson County and the surrounding areas will have an indoor market to shop every Saturday, 10 AM - 1 PM (closed Dec. 24th & 31st).

https://www.facebook.com/events/1550346168601296/