Calendar of Events

On December 22, 2008, a retaining wall at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston coal-fired power plant collapsed, causing a fly ash spill of unprecedented size—2.6 million cubic yards of the wet gray sludge buried about 400 acres six feet deep. Despite TVA's massive cleanup effort, environmentalists and residents are concerned about the possible health hazards posed by the ash at the accident site and miles downstream.

Art from the Ashes includes a selection of objects by concerned artists and other individuals from across the country who learned of this accident and wanted to help affected families. This exhibition features a variety of works ranging from original paintings and sculptures to photographic reproductions, prints, and other items. The works on display will be auctioned on Sunday, June 28 with all proceeds going to the United Mountain Defense (UMD), a local environmental advocacy group whose mission includes raising funds to provide medical assistance for residents affected by the ash spill. For more information about UMD, please visit www.unitedmountaindefense.org.

KMA Community Gallery, 1050 World's Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37918. 865-525-6101. www.knoxart.org

Mixing serious rock chops with a stand-up comic's timing, Mike Rayburn plays for laughs. But with 8 Carnegie Hall performances, his ability to please an audience is no joke. "If Victor Borge played guitar (and drank too much coffee), he'd sound like Mike", says critic, Mark Johnson. His DVD entitled, Classically Trained, Comically Derailed, was shot in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. Don't miss "The World's Funniest Guitar Virtuoso."
Tickets available through Joy of Music School - 525-6806
Breakfast Rotary - 675-5901
and the Bijou Box Office - 656-4444

Champagne and strawberries, vintage costumes and fun on the green will all be a part of the Knoxville Opera Guild's Croquet Tournament, a benefit for Knoxville Opera. The event will be held at the University of Tennessee Visitors' Center, 2712 Neyland Drive, Knoxville, 37916 (on the corner of Kingston Pike and Neyland Drive), starting at 12 p.m.

The schedule for the day is as follows:
12 noon: Playing Croquet on the Green – until winners are determined
12-2:00 p.m.: Gourmet Picnic in the Tent on the Green
4-5:30 p.m.: Champagne Tea with Strawberries and Cream

Other fun elements of the day include opportunities to play croquet with Maestro Brian Salesky, Bocce Ball, vintage cars, trophies for the Croquet Tournament and Vintage Costume winners. Coach Johnny Majors and his wife Mary Lynn will judge the costumes. White attire is encouraged including traditional white sports or Old World elegance; a long dress and garden party hat for the ladies, and turn-of-the-century whites for the gentlemen. A cash bar will be available all day. The cost for the event is $100 per person which includes a tax-deductible donation. The deadline for reservations is May 13th and may be made by calling 865-584-2724.

Ta daaaaa!!!!! For the first time in JoMS history. Our great kids will perform a recital in a real theatre on a real stage! And it's Knoxville's Bijou Theatre, downtown. Yes, everyone's nervous, but that's to be expected. There's lots of practicing and rehearsing going on in preparation for the big event. Please make plans to come support children and music. Admission to the recitals is FREE. There's also free parking at all meters downtown on Sundays, AND free parking in the State Street Garage. Call 865-525-6806 or visit www.joyofmusicschool.org

Please join us for our Volunteer Work Days on the 3rd Saturday of the month. Activities will include brush removal, weeding, and light gardening. Please provide own gloves. Tools will be available.

Dates: May 16, June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19, October 17

2743 Wimpole Avenue, Knoxville, TN. 865-540-8690, www.knoxgarden.com

Visit four private and three public gardens in Knoxville through The Garden Conservancy's Open Days Program, presented in partnership with the Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum. Visitors may begin the tour on both dates at the Knoxville Botanical Garden, located at 2743 Wimpole Avenue in Knoxville, for directions to each private garden. Hours for Saturday's tour are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; hours for Sunday's tour are 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A portion of the proceeds collected at each garden will benefit the Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum. The Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum serves as the presenting partner of the event. Founded in 2001 on the site of the former Joe N. Howell and C.B. Howell Nurseries, the gardens are situated on a scenic ridge-top with a stunning view of the Smokies and located just five minutes from downtown Knoxville. A magical place with whimsical round stone buildings, stone-sided greenhouses, and secret garden paths and alleys, the gardens feature mature specimens of rare and unusual trees and shrubbery, remnants of the nursery collections, and are surrounded by thousands of feet of romantic stone walls.

In addition to private gardens and the Knoxville Botanical Gardens & Arboretum, the Blount Mansion Garden and University of Tennessee Trial Gardens will also be open to visitors. There is a $5 per person admission fee for each garden, payable by cash or check the day of the event. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Open Days are rain or shine, and no reservations are required. Information: 865-862-8717, www.opendaysprogram.org

Come Celebrate the Music, Dance, Crafts and Arts of the British Isles and Appalachia At Beautiful Rugby, Tennessee.

FEATURED PERFORMERS: SHEILA KAY ADAMS
Renowned Ballad Singer & Storyteller From Western North Carolina
BUTCH HODGKINS & LONESOME COUNTY LINE
Traditional Cumberland Plateau Bluegrass
THE BOYS OF COUNTY NASHVILLE
Lively & Haunting Irish Music & Song at Its Best
Coal Mining Songs & Tales by TONY THOMAS - Old Time Gospel by the JOHNSON SISTERS

Dance around the Maypole…jump up and buck dance…hear great old-time music… tour antique filled buildings….visit with more than 80 crafters and artists… Festival activities are at the restored Victorian village on East Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau. Festival hours Saturday are 10 am – 6 pm; Sunday 10 am - 5 pm EDT.

5517 Rugby Hwy., (State Scenic Hwy 52), Rugby, TN 37733. Information: (423) 628-2441? or www.historicrugby.org

This annual outdoor arts and crafts festival is held to raise awareness for the need to protect and preserve the streams and rivers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and raise funds for more conservation.

For information: (865) 448-9459

10 am-7 pm, Friday-Saturday; 12-5 pm Sunday

Tennessee Artists Association and the Merchants of the Market Place invite you to a Spring Festival. Art and Photography by local artists and children's activities. Event is free. The Market Place is located just west of Cedar Bluff on Kingston Pike. Our website is www.tennartists.org. For information, call 865-693-4292

Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday @ 8:00 pm
Tickets: Thu & Sun: $10 / Fri & Sat: $15

Directed by Jayne Morgan!
Musical direction by Vickie Masters!
Theatre Knoxville Downtown's outrageous take on all things Knoxville. A little song ... a little dance ... a little seltzer down your pants. Who knows what the night will bring? Join us for skits, sketches, parody songs, and other amusements as we poke fun at everything we can think of. Politicians, personalities, current events, local color: it's all fair game. Don't miss it! www.theatreknoxville.com or 865-522-5851

60 original contemporary works by painters and sculptors hailing from around the world. Organized annually and providing a wonderful comparison to 18th- and 19th-century bird art by Catesby, Wilson, and Audobon in the concurrent exhibition "Birds of the Smokies".

1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9-5 and Sunday, 1-5. FREE. For more information: (865) 974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Drawn from the rich archive at the John Kobal Foundation in London, this exhibition focuses on the stars, the sets, and the scenes created by the film industry and memorialized by the most important photographers who worked in Hollywood from 1920 to 1960. Featuring more than 90 vintage prints, Made in Hollywood offers a glimpse into the world of fantasy, glamour, and perfection that the image makers produced. Kobal (1940-1991) was a leading Hollywood historian who collected prints by some of most important photographers working in Hollywood during its golden era: Ernest Bachrach, Margaret Bourke-White, Nikolas Muray, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Eugene Richee, George Hurrell, and many others. Their subjects are drawn from the pantheon of the greatest stars produced during the golden age of Hollywood: Garbo, Dietrich, Swanson, Cooper, Harlow, Gable, Hepburn, Bogart, and many others.

1050 World's Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 10am-5pm, Friday 10am-8pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, and Sunday 1pm-5pm. FREE admission. For more information: (865) 525-6101, www.knoxart.org