Calendar of Events

Scruffy City Orchestra will present two May weekend Classics and Concertos concerts conducted by Ace Edewards and Matt Wilinson. The music will include selections from Rimsky-Korsakoff, Copland, Wagner and Sibelius, among many others. The three winners of the orchestra's first annual Concerto Competition (Natalie Gregg, flute; Nick Caux, double bass and Joshua Kováč, cello) will be the featured soloists in both concerts.

Friday, May 4, 7:30 at the First Baptist Church, 510 Main Street SW in downtown Knoxville and
Sunday, May 6, 3:00 pm at Austin-East Performing Arts Magnet Academy, 2800 Martin Luther King Jr Ave., Knoxville.

Tickets are $5 at the door. Info: scruffycityorchestra@gmail.com or www.scruffycityorchestra.com.

At Knoxville Civic Auditorium

VERDI’S EPIC LOVE STORY SET AMID THE CLASH OF ANCIENT EMPIRES. Aida, the grandest of all operas, was commissioned to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal and has been thrilling audiences since its 1871 Cairo premiere. In the shadow of the Pharaohs’ pyramids, a bitter war dooms a star-crossed romance between the enslaved Ethiopian princess Aida and a powerful Egyptian warrior. Will Aida be manipulated by her father into choosing country over love? Absent from the Knoxville Opera stage for 18 years, Verdi’s epic returns with 200 performers and its magnificent Triumphal Scene as a spectacular showcase for a stunning international cast. Performed in Italian with projected English translations.

Opera previews hosted by Maestro Salesky begin 45 minutes prior to opera performances. Patrons get insight into the music, story, history and a chance for Q&A. All students are invited to take photos with the cast on the set after the final curtain for Aida.

Performances: Friday, May 4 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, May 6 at 2:30 PM. Contact Knoxville Opera box office for Penny4Arts tickets to either performance. Tickets may also be available starting one hour prior to performance time at the Civic Auditorium. Please allow extra time for parking downtown and security lines. Please be aware of the security policy for the Knoxville Civic Auditorium.

Info from Knoxville Opera: 865-524-0795, http://www.knoxvilleopera.com

A revived tradition -- and one that reflects its earliest origins -- will be celebrated May 4 through May 6, 2018, when WDVX presents Camperfest, a three day celebration featuring artists of East Tennessee origin for the second year in a row. Like last year, when Camperfest was revived after a long absence for WDVX’s 20 year anniversary, the 2018 celebration will take place at Dumplin Valley Farm in Kodak, Tennessee, a 25 minute drive from WDVX’s downtown studios. This year’s headliners include such familiar favorites as Scott Miller, Sam Lewis, Mic Harrison & The High Score, Royal Hounds, Fruition, Amanda Ann Platt and the Honeycutters, Blue Mother Tupelo, Trisha Gene Brady, Cutthroat Shamrock and Tennessee Sheiks. A complete list of performers and the 3-day schedule can be found by going to www.wdvx.com.

Based on the original Camperfest that took place from 1998 - 2001, the event harkens back to the very beginnings of the station that’s now known as a nationally -- and internationally -- acclaimed voice of Americana music. In 1997, the station originally began broadcasting from a 14 foot camping trailer situated on the grounds of the Fox Inn Campground located in Norris, Tennessee, north of Knoxville. Camperfest, which originated as one of the first music festivals of its kind in East Tennessee, takes its name from the original WDVX Broadcast Camper Studio.

Event times:
Friday, May 4: Gates open at 4:00PM. Music 6PM - 11PM.
Saturday, May 5: Gates open at Noon. Music 1:00PM – 11PM.
Sunday, May 6: – Gates open at 11AM. Music Noon – 4PM

Tickets: Cost for a weekend pass is $50 ($60 day of). Friday, Saturday and Sunday one-day admissions can be purchased for $25, $39 and $20, respectively or $$30, $35 and $25 at the gate. Children 12 and younger are admitted free with paid adult ticket. Advance tickets are now on sale via wdvx.com.

The event will be held rain or shine. Festival seating and lawn chairs and blankets are welcome, Food and beverages will be available onsite. No coolers, large backpacks or bags, pets (except for service animals), tents or shade structures, wagons, carts, selfie sticks, drones or other flying objects allowed. Outside food and beverages prohibited. For camping, contact Dumplin Valley Farms directly at https://www.dumplinvalleyfarmrv.com or email dumplingrass@comcast.net or call 865-397- 7942. Campers must have purchased Camperfest tickets for festival admission.

Hosted by UrbanGypsy Trunk Show
May 4 – May 6
At Paulk & Co., 510 Williams St, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917

Friday 1 pm to midnight
Saturday 12:00-8:00pm
Sunday 12:00-7:00

Cash & credit cards accepted

Urban Gypsy Trunk Show is probably the most fun you can have while shopping.

What to expect: Racks upon racks of pre loved clothing. 100's of awesome pieces that have all been hand picked by Elle Erickson, who you can usually find seated behind her S#%ty Advice Booth giving out free hugs and engaged in some infectious conversation. The scene feels fantastic, and puts a smile on your face, and some fabulous new pieces in your wardrobe.
This is a guilt free shopping zone. One where we empower each other. We lift each other up. You will leave feeling better than you arrived. That is my goal. Plus, it feels awesome to buy secondhand first, to support a more sustainable shopping experience.
Most items are like $8!!! and there are random give-a-ways and dancing discounts! There’s usually a great mix of vintage, boho, 80’s, casual and one-of-kind items in the collection. (brands like: j crew, free people, j jill, forever 21, H & M, LL Bean, Gitano, Ralph Lauren)

Expect to move your booty a bit while shopping, it’s called ‘shancing’ (shopping & dancing simultaneously) and make some new friends. It’s more than just shopping. Local artists join in to offer wonderful experiences like tarot readings and henna art.

Come out & bring your friends
Credit card & cash accepted

Discounts given if you arrive in a tutu or if you watch the following documentaries on Netlix : The True Cost, Cowspiracy, 13th , Happy
@urbangypsypopup - follow on insta

https://www.facebook.com/events/2132244790338334/

You are invited to view more than 20 examples of southern mountain rifles and pistols at an upcoming temporary exhibit at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend, Tennessee, from May 1 to October 25, presented by the Kentucky Rifle Foundation. These 18th and 19th century tools were essential for the survival of pioneers in the frontiers of Eastern Tennessee and Western Carolina.

These southern mountain rifles fully evolved in the last quarter of the 18th and the first quarter of the 19th centuries, as pioneers and settlers moved into what is now Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. In the original colonies during this time, the Kentucky rifle was becoming an art piece in its “Golden Age,” while on the frontier, the southern mountain rifle had become an unadorned, iron-mounted utilitarian piece.

Baxter Bean, whose work exemplified the typical southern mountain rifle, was a third-generation gunsmith who worked in the Jonesboro, Tennessee, area. One of Baxter’s rifles, which will be on exhibit, was brought into Cades Cove by Wilson “Wilse” Birchfield, who named the rifle “Old Bean.” Wilse chose to live high in the mountains just under Gregory’s Bald. When he moved out of the Cove into the mountains, the old timers told him the bears would eat him alive. Wilse’s response to this was, “Old Wilson may eat some, too.”

For more details and to learn about special programming, call 865-448-0044 or visit www.gsmheritagecenter.org. This exhibit is included in the cost of daily admission to the Heritage Center or FREE to GSMHC members.

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

The Town's May/June 2018 Featured Artist is Quebec native Jill Crociata. Her colorful textile art is influenced by 1930s cottage and garden design, but with a contemporary twist.

Jill emphasizes texture through techniques of layered fabric and hand stitch. Using hand-dyed fabrics and threads, she creates engaging red-roofed cottages, forested landscapes and gardens that sparkle with beads and combinations of unusual threads. She is a member of the FreeStyle interest group of the Knoxville Chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild.

Each month, the work of an artist or group of artists is featured in specially-designed cases on the second floor of the rotunda in Farragut Town Hall. For more information about this exhibit or to access a Featured Artist application, visit townoffarragut.org/artsandculture or

contact Brittany Spencer at ParksandRecInfo@townoffarragut.org or 218-3378.
Farragut Town Hall, located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive directly across from the Farragut Branch Post Office, is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Reception June 28th 5-7pm

In the Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Paintings by Inna Nasanova Knox (2 - D)
Inna's paintings reflect a lot of sunshine, with the use of bold color and clear hues. She prefers painting cityscapes, but also paints seascapes, and landscapes, where she accentuates the local culture of an area. “I truly believe that every city and place has its own character and individuality.”
Inna grew up in several Russian cities with over a million people, living in Kazan, St. Petersburg, Litvenia Kaunas, and Ukraine Krivoy Rog. She immigrated to the USA in 2000, and in 2005 became a US citizen. Currently, she is a dual citizen of Russia and the USA. “My life experience and art educational background has broadened my visual art approach. My work is included in different private collections in different countries around the world and has been displayed in different countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Litvenia, and Aruba, as well as the United States in Wisconsin, Florida, and Tennessee.”

Harriet Howell (3 - D)
Harriet Howell's scarfs capes are inspired by nature and expressed through color and texture. Some are funky fun and others elegant, but all reveal something about being feminine and feeling wonderful.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Th & Sa 11-6, Fri 11-9, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

Part of the 10th Anniversary Season of Broadway at the Tennessee Theatre

BEAUTIFUL – The Carole King Musical tells the Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning inspiring true story of King’s remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation.

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

Showtimes
Fri Apr 27, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sat Apr 28, 2018 | 8:00PM
Thu May 3, 2018 | 8:00PM
Fri May 4, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sat May 5, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sun May 6, 2018 | 2:00PM
Fri May 11, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sat May 12, 2018 | 8:00PM
Sun May 13, 2018 | 2:00PM

Broadway’s greatest musical farce is back! Stephen Sondheim’s joyous romp through ancient Rome is light, fast-paced, witty, irreverent, and one of the funniest shows ever written. In exchange for his freedom, a crafty slave struggles to win the hand of a beautiful but slow-witted courtesan for his young master by devising a master plan that becomes a domino of twists and turns with cases of mistaken identity, slamming doors, love potions, and chases.--"Something for everyone, a comedy tonight!"

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

April 20 will mark the opening night of another world premiere by national playwright Lisa Soland. This time she also sits in the director’s chair, directing local actor Greg Helton in her new one-person play, SERGEANT YORK: THE PLAY.

Sergeant York: The Play depicts the life and times of Pall Mall, Tennessee resident, Alvin C. York, also known as Sergeant York, the most decorated Army soldier of WWI. York received the Medal of Honor for killing 28 German soldiers and singlehandedly capturing 132 others in the battle of the Argonne forest, France. Gary Cooper won an Academy Award for best actor portraying York in the beloved 1941 film, Sergeant York. Ms. Soland’s live stage version also dramatizes what York accomplished in his community following the war. He built roads into Pall Mall and constructed the Alvin C. York Institute, which forever changed the lives of the people of The Valley of the Three Forks of the Wolf.

Ms. Soland presently teaches playwriting at Maryville College where her drama The Sniper’s Nest premiered, as well as her hit comedy Waiting, both also directed by the playwright. She moved to Eastern Tennessee nine years ago from Hollywood, where she had directed and produced over 80 shows, 55 of which were original. Ms. Soland received a Tennessee Arts Commission Grant for her work on SERGEANT YORK: THE PLAY and has received full support from York’s descendants making themselves available for interviews.

SERGEANT YORK: THE PLAY opens in the HUB student center, on the campus of West Park church, 8833 Middlebrook Pike, April 20 and April 21 at 7:30 pm. The play will then run Thursday through Saturday nights at 7:30 pm, as well as Saturday afternoons at 2 pm, with an additional performance on Memorial Day, May 28, 2018, at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are free. Secure your seat online at: http://www.westparkbaptist.org/sergeantyork/

Flying Anvil Anvil Theatre takes a twisted comedic look at love, bad breakups and revenge in Carrying a Torch. The show features a quartet of female singers performing jazz and blues standards, Broadway show tunes and even a little rock and roll, all arranged by acclaimed local musician, Musical Director Wendel Werner.

Writer/Director Jayne Morgan says the cabaret-style musical is a special reunion for her and Werner. “A couple of decades ago, we did a version of this show with a cabaret act. I’ve always wanted to work with him again and we’re finally making it happen with this updated version. It’s a fun show, particularly for anyone who has ever suffered through a bad breakup…and lived to laugh about it.” Morgan says. “In the second act, audiences get a chance to share their own stories. Which could get interesting.” Werner is a well-known jazz musician who recently directed an all-female version of Jesus Christ Superstar. Morgan is Artistic Director of Flying Anvil Theatre, which opened a new theatre space in Rocky Hill in 2017.

Carrying a Torch showcases familiar and new faces to local audiences. Dana Wham (The Great American Trailer Park Musical) and Jessica Magers-Rankin (The Big F.A.T. Holiday Cabaret) appeared in previous musicals for the theatre. Making their F.A.T. debuts are Broadway veteran Laura Beth Wells, who is also Associate Producer of the show, and recent UT Theatre graduate Lauren Winder. Terry Pfeiffer stage manages.

“We’ve had some fabulous voices on our stage,” Morgan says. “But this cast tops them all. The harmonies Wendel has created are just thrilling. Jaw-droppingly good. If you love harmony, you really shouldn’t miss this.”

Carrying a Torch has two preview performances Wednesday, April 18 (Pay What You Can night), and Thursday, April 19, and opens on Friday, April 20, with an after-party with cast and crew. The show runs for four weeks only – through May 13. Wednesday through Saturdays at 7:30 and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available online at flyinganviltheatre.com, or reservations can be made by calling 865-357-1309.

Flying Anvil Theatre, 1300 Rocky Hill Road, Knoxville.