Calendar of Events

Blues

Raised in several countries in South America, Hector moved to Chicago and played several years with Lonnie Brooks (Alligator Records), experiencing first-hand the Chicago blues scene. After moving to Tenessee he played with Terry Hill's Balboa and worked for several years on the TNN music television series I-40 Paradise and Pickin' at the Paradise. In addition to his own band, now in its 24th year, he records and performs with R.B. Morris and the Lonesome Coyotes. In 2007 he released his first solo acoustic record, "Wherever you go," featuring SGMA's Studio Musician of the Year David Johnson and Mark Fain of Ricky Skaggs' Kentucky Thunder. Bluegrass Unlimited called its songs "refreshing in that they offer something much deeper than just another rehashing of standard bluegrass warhorses." Hector Qirko leads one of the region's tightest, most versatile ensembles, with Steve Brown on drums, Dirk Weddington on saxophone, and Jim Williams on bass. The band focuses on the blues, with overtones of rock, country and Latin American styles.

At the Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916. More information: 865-522-5851, www.jubileearts.org

Children 12 and under can join the hunt or other contests for fun and prizes! We will also have a craft station and photo opportunities with the Easter Bunny. Admission will be $5 per child (pay at the Gardens).

Information: (865) 974-8265, http://utgardens.tennessee.edu

The Knoxville Garden Club and Garden Study Club present the 45th annual Talahi Plant Sale at Lakeshore Park. This year's theme, It's So Easy Being Green, reminds customers to appreciate and conserve the world in which we all live. For the first time, the Talahi Plant Sale is partnering with the Knoxville Recycling Coalition to be a Zero Waste Event. All plant sale by-products will be recycled. In addition, special "green" items, such as reusable grocery bags and compost bins, will be offered for sale. Considered to be the oldest plant sale in the area, the event is sponsored by All Occasions Party Rentals, Bob's Package Store, D & H Machines, Dean-Smith Realty, HGTV, Pope's Garden Center, WBIR-TV and WNOX News Talk.
For information, contact Ellyn Cauble at edbmc@comcast.net

Knoxville Zoo knows how kids like to take their eggs in the spring-with the Easter Bunny, of course! Knoxville Zoo will be hosting the annual Breakfast with the Bunny event in The Clayton Family Kids Cove tent. Guests will enjoy a delicious hot breakfast buffet of scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit salad and Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Hot beverages and juices will also be available. Live animals, activities and an egg hunt will also be part of the fun, and the highlight of the event is a visit with the Easter Bunny. The cost is $22.95 for adults and $19.95 for children ages 2 through 12. Zoo members receive a $3 discount per person. Admission to the zoo is included. Seating is limited and reservations are required by April 7. For more information or to make a reservation, call 865.637.5331 ext. 300. Spring gets even more exciting at Knoxville Zoo when the animals celebrate Easter with their own egg hunts. Zookeepers will hide papier-mâchè and real eggs in exhibits for animals to find and play with. The African elephants in the Stokely African Elephant Preserve will be celebrating in a big way with giant Easter baskets, too. These enrichment activities will take place throughout the day for the enjoyment of zoo visitors and animals alike. Times for enrichment activities will be posted in the zoo's entrance plaza and throughout the zoo.

Knoxville Zoo is located off exit 392A from Interstate 40. Currently, the zoo is open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and weekends from 9:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. For more information, please call 865.637.5331 ext. 300 or visit www.knoxville-zoo.org.

by Matthew Barber. You're going to fall in love all over again when you see this funny, romantic and heart-warming Broadway hit that charmed the New York critics, winning the Outer Critics Circle Playwrighting award and a Tony nomination for best play.

We travel to Italy—land of love, hope, enchantment and rejuvenation. In this romantic journey, two lonely married women rent an Italian villa for a month. They share the rent with a crusty Englishwoman and a lonely aristocrat. What could be better than sun, rest and relaxation? When the men in their lives make a surprise visit, their relaxing vacation turns into an unexpected amore!

Performances: Thu/Fri/Sat @ 8:00 pm, Sun @ 3:00 pm. Tickets: Thu/Sun - $10, Fri/Sat - $15
319 N. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. More information: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

The Jerry's Show "Last Name and Zipcode"
Opening Reception Friday April 10th 7-10pm
Closing Reception Friday April 17th 7-10 pm

Free summer concert series in Market Square. Free parking after 6 p.m. at the Locust Street, Market Square and State Street parking garages.

April 9 - Arrested Development with special guest
April 16 - Cowboy Mouth with Phil Pollard & Band of Humans
April 23 - Karl Denson's Tiny Universe with Brent Thompson & His Wandering
April 30 - Big Head Todd & the Monsters with Joan Jones
May 7 - Local night featuring Royal Bangs, Same As It Ever Was, and Tenderhooks
May 14 - Gavin Rossdale with Vertigo
May 21 - Grupo Fantasma and The Belleville Outfit
May 28 - Dave Barnes with Jonathan Sexton & The Big Love Choir
June 4 - Shooter Jennings with 1220
June 11 - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals with special guest
June 18 - The Wailers with special guest Toubab Krewe
June 25 - Jamey Johnson with Brendon James Wright & The Wrongs

View over 60 miles of trails, open gardens, camera sites, rose gardens, and historic homes as you enjoy a walk, bike ride, drive, or bus tour. More information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

Widowland, the M.F.A Thesis Exhibition of Jessie Van der Laan will take place at the Downtown Gallery. In this print and fiber installation, Van der Laan investigates ideas of love and loss. In a space filled with many repeated objects, there is a sense of loneliness, emptiness, and sorrow; however, we are only able to recognize these absences by acknowledging the pieces that are missing. Van der Laan is receiving her Masters of Fine Arts, with an emphasis in Printmaking from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In this show, she builds upon print techniques and theory in combination with sculptural, fiber based work. The hours of the show are Wednesday, April 8 through Friday April 10, 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Saturday April 11, 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. There will be a public reception on Friday April 10 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m.

More information about Jessie Van der Laan on her website, www.jessievanderlaan.com

106 South Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Wednesday-Friday 11-6, Saturday 10-3. FREE. For more information: (865) 673-0802, www.ewing-gallery.org

Offered in her studio (Suite 107 in the Emporium, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37901) on Tuesday afternoons beginning on April 7 for six weeks. The cost is $90. Interested participants should contact Bobbie at bccreate@hotmail.com or (865) 591-0831.

The Sound of a Train at Night: Paintings and prints by Beth Meadows at Tomato Head Restaurant.
April 4 - May 2 in downtown Knoxville; May 3 - June 7 in Maryville.

For more information, e-mail aemeadows @ gmail.com

A world-class collection of large-scale outdoor sculpture in downtown Knoxville.

More information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com