Calendar of Events

The Mission of BreastStrokes Knoxville... is to impact women in our community through empowerment, artistic expression and financial support. BreastStrokes Knoxville will empower women in two ways: first, by encouraging women to come together in artistic expression, and second, by giving women financial aid in their time of need. BreastStrokes Knoxville will also strive to raise cancer awareness, encourage cancer screenings, and further support the cancer community.

Calling all artists to paint for a great cause! Female-only event. 100% of proceeds go directly to women in Knoxville with cancer. Please RSVP to breaststrokesknoxville@gmail.com. Event at Ironwood Studios, 119 Jennings Avenue, 37917. http://breaststrokesknoxville.com/

The Knoxville Choral Society presents ~ “Choral Masterworks: Mozart Requiem, KV 626”. The Knoxville Choral Society is excited to present, for the first time in Knoxville, the Robert Levin edition of Mozart’s Requiem. Mozart was one of the most gifted composer/musicians to ever live. His “Requiem” was under construction when his life ended. The Levin edition preserves all that is directly Mozart and completes the work with a more learned and well-crafted Mozart sound than ever before. Please join us for this amazing evening of music.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and are available at Rush’s Music, from any choral society member, at the door, and online at www.knoxvillechoralsociety.org.

At West Hills Baptist Church, 409 N Winston Rd, Knoxville, TN 37909. Knoxville Choral Society: 865-312-2440, www.knoxvillechoralsociety.org

Knoxville native and University of Tennessee alumna, Dale Dickey, will be awarded the CBT Artistic Achievement Award at the Clarence Brown Theatre’s annual Gala to be held at Jackson Terminal, 205 W. Jackson Avenue in Knoxville, TN. Called the “reigning queen of Southern gothic,” Dickey began acting on the University of Tennessee stages at age nine, and participated in more than 20 productions before she became a theatre major at the University in 1979. While in school, she apprenticed with the Clarence Brown Theatre numerous times, receiving her Actors' Equity Card for professional stage actors in 1983.

She began her career in New York, working in many off-Broadway venues and spent two years as an artist-in-residence with the Manhattan Punch Line's Improvisational theatre company. In 1986, she was accepted to the British American Drama Academy in Oxford for a summer. She later would join the American cast of Sir Peter Hall's Broadway production of “The Merchant of Venice,” with Dustin Hoffman. She has worked in numerous regional theatres across the country and spent three summers at the acclaimed Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut. She has earned two Los Angeles Theatre Alliance Ovation Awards for her stage work. Maintaining her ties to the University and the Clarence Brown Theatre, she returned on multiple occasions to work directly with students and star in several productions, including “The Rainmaker,” “Steel Magnolias,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and “Sweeney Todd.” In 2010, she received a Distinguished Alumna Award in recognition of her service to her alma mater. In 2015, she received an honorary Master of Fine Arts degree, the highest degree awarded in that discipline.

The CBT Gala benefits the Clarence Brown Theatre Artists Endowment. CBT Gala attendees will enjoy an evening trip around the world with extravagant dining, enlightening conversations, and an energetic live auction, complete with experiences you won’t want to miss out on – including a private Tennessee River Cruise and tickets for four to The Food Channel’s Food & Wine Festival in New York! Tickets go on sale April 17. Visit us online at clarencebrowntheatre.com/gala for more information.

The Knoxville Literary Exchange is a free, monthly poetry and prose writing workshop open to high school age students. The workshop will focus on giving students the opportunity to engage in writing, share their writing, and receive encouraging feedback--all in a supportive, safe space. The Knoxville Literary Exchange meets every third Saturday in the fall (September, October, November, and December) and spring (February, March, April, May). For further information, please contact organizer Liam Hysjulien at KnoxLitExchange@gmail.com

The Central Collective, 923 N. Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-236-1590, info@thecentralcollective.com, www.thecentralcollective.com

PERFORMING BLONDE ON BLONDE

Marrying classical string arrangements and punk attitude, Old Crow Medicine Show have become poster boys for a generation of Americana and roots revival musicians who are setting the bar ever higher with world-class musical ability and sheer love of playing. Their single "Wagon Wheel" was certified platinum in 2013. The band's live concerts are the thing of legend, treating ticket holders to a true folk and roots experience as the band sails through sets that are 100-plus minutes long. The members orchestrate a revolving door of instruments that are being employed at any time, including guitjo, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, drums, guitar, upright bass, harmonica, resonator guitar and more.

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com, www.ticketmaster.com

World’s Fair Park will be all abuzz with storybook characters, authors, illustrators, storytellers, musicians, and more for the 13th annual Children’s Festival of Reading. Hosted by Knox County Public Library to kick off its summer reading programs, the free event will feature classic storybook characters including Pete the Cat, Corduroy, Pancake Pig, and Berenstain Bears. Keeping with this year’s theme of Building a Better World, East Tennessee PBS is bringing in Bob the Builder, and Downtown Knoxville is partnering with Union Avenue Books by hosting the oft-hidden Waldo.

Adam Rex, author and illustrator of the bestselling Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich, will headline the Festival. His debut novel, The True Meaning of Smekday, was adapted into the DreamWorks film Home in 2014. Over the years, he has collaborated with well-known authors Neil Gaiman, Amy Timberlake, and Mac Barnett. Other acclaimed authors and illustrators being featured at the Festival include Julie Danielson, Susie Gardner, Gwendolyn Hooks, Lita Judge, Charles R. Smith, Jr., Richard Sobol, Mary Reaves Uhles, and Sarah Weeks (see bios below). The musical headliner is Farmer Jason, and Dollywood’s Penguin Players will start the day with their song and dance rendition of Pretend by Jennifer Plecas at 10:00 a.m. on the main stage. All authors and illustrators will be available to sign books and meet their fans.

At noon, everyone is invited to join the Parade of Books, which will be led by the Bearden Middle School drum line. The Science Village is returning to the base of the Sunsphere with hands-on experiments by Dr. Hazari. The Muse and the L&N Stem Academy will present scientific curiosities for all ages. Miss Libby’s Arts and Crafts tent will bring out the creative spirit in any child with a wide range of crafts. Other activities include a ride on the Molar Express sponsored by East Tennessee Pediatric Dentistry, a toddler’s play area, One World Circus, music, storyteller’s theatre and lots of food. More than 50 organizations will be on site offering literacy related activities and games. The Children’s Performance Stage at the Amphitheatre will showcase some of our most talented students in the area.

New this year: Bookitecture! Festival goers are encouraged to try their hand at building skyscrapers or tunnels with hundreds of books. “The Children’s Festival of Reading is the perfect way to end the school year and kick off the library’s summer programs,” said Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett. “We are fortunate to be able to bring kids and authors together. This is a great chance to encourage kids and families to read over the summer.”

www.knoxlib.org/cfor

Preparations are well underway for the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center's fourteenth annual Heritage Happening Gala and auction. The theme of this year's fundraising event is "Celebrating the Smokies", which echoes the purpose of the Heritage Center to preserve, communicate and celebrate the rich history of the Smoky Mountains and their people. The Gala will be held at the Heritage Center in Townsend on Saturday, May 20, 2017. It will feature both silent and live auctions as well as an elegant dinner catered by Rothchild Catering of Knoxville.

The wide array of unique and lovely items to be auctioned this year includes beautiful artwork from area artisans, destination vacation trips, wine, unique Smoky Mountain activities, and food and dining experiences. This year, the live auction will feature a special work by a renowned local artist honoring the Smokies' recovery from the devastating fires, and it will be unveiled for the first time at the Gala. All looking for unusual gifts or for a treat for themselves will find something to please at this event, thanks to the generosity of donors all across East Tennessee and to the dedication of our Guild members who solicit these unique and diverse items. To preview items to be auctioned, please visit the Heritage Happening website www.auctria.com/auction/HeritageHappening2017. Items are continually being added, so check the website frequently.

Invitations to "Celebrating the Smokies" will be mailed in April to Heritage Center members and past attendees, but all are welcome to purchase tickets by calling the Heritage Center at 865-448-0044 or by going on-line to www.auctria.com/auction/HeritageHappening2017 or www.gsmheritagecenter.org. Tickets are $125.00 per person, $90.00 of which is tax deductible. On-line pre-bidding on silent auction items will open on May 1st, and a code to access the auction site will be emailed to ticket holders on that date.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 3/4 mile east of traffic light at the Highway 321 and 73 intersection towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, TN. Hours: M-Sa 10-5. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

Join the UT Gardens and regional native plant experts as we explore how native plants can not only enhance our landscape but also increase biodiversity and improve our environment. Margie Hunter, author of Gardening with Native Plants will give us a chance to learn how to garden with native plants of Tennessee. Participants will also explore how native plants support pollinators and learn about native orchids and how to grow them in your landscape.

UT Gardens, Knoxville. Room 156/157 Plant Biotech Building E. J. Chapman Dr. Saturday, May 20, 2017, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
$60 members; $80 nonmembers

Native Plant Sale open to symposium attendees: 3:00-3:45 p.m.
Native Plant Sale open to the public: 3:45-6:00 p.m.​
For more information and to register for the symposium please visit https://ag.tennessee.edu/utg/Pages/Native-Plant-Symposium.aspx.

UT Gardens, Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-7151, http://utgardens.tennessee.edu

Rescheduled due to weather! The event will now be held on Saturday May 20th from 10 am to 5 pm.

Join us for a day of family friendly fun and artist instruction as we celebrate the unveiling of our new mural! This is a FREE event for all to attend.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
11 am Curtis Glover Mural Demonstration
10 am Live Plein Air Painting featuring Mike Berry with pastels
10 am Live Plein Air Painting featuring Connie Gaertner with oils
11 am Face painting by Making Faces
11 am - 2 pm Kids Chalk Art Competition - K-3; 4-7th & 8-12th grade.
12 pm - 3 pm Spray Paint Competition - Adult & High school categories Sno Cones, Food vendor, Public Art, Kids Chalk Art Contest
2 pm Chalk Competition Judging- Gift certificates to winners!
3 pm Spray Paint Competition Judging-Gift certificates to winners!

Jerry's Artarama, 5220 Homberg Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-588-0738, http://www.yourartsupplies.com/category/store-events-knoxville

Come celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Knoxville Gay Men's Chorus! This special concert will feature some beautiful music, some fun surprises, and the story of our wonderful family! Tickets are available now!
More information about the chorus and the concert is available at www.knoxgmc.org and our offical facebook page! https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleGayMensChorus/

At the Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com, www.ticketmaster.com

Knoxville Gay Men’s Chorus: (865) 255-5623, www.knoxgmc.org

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will sponsor the popular MOTH…er’s Night Out program to learn about moths and other nocturnal insects. The UT Arboretum is located at 901 S. Illinois Ave. (HWY 62) in Oak Ridge. Have you ever wondered about what kind of insects are out hunting and eating while you sleep snugly in your bed at night? Come learn about these creatures with naturalist Kris Light. After an introductory program in the Visitors Center, we will venture outdoors to check the sheets to observe the insects that have been attracted by the black lights. Bring your camera, your friends and your kids as well as a magnifying glass, a flashlight and a desire to learn about these fascinating critters! This program is appropriate for all ages.

This is a free program offered by the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society.
Info: 865-776-8227

Join the fun while experiencing America’s game as it was played in 1864. This free public event is enjoying its 4th season and Historic Ramsey House is proud to be a part of this historic reenactment. Join us for a double header featuring local favorites the Knoxville Holstons versus Travellers of Brentwood at 12:00 PM and the Emmett Machinists facing off against Mountain City of Chattanooga at 2:30 PM! Delicious food and drink will be available for sale at the game – cash only please, and all sale benefit Ramsey House. Please no outside food or beverages.

Historic Ramsey House, 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: 865-546-0745, www.ramseyhouse.org