Calendar of Events

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center’s Sunset Music Series, now in its fifth year, will premier on Friday, June 11 with a performance by Wild Blue Yonder. All the concerts are presented in the Heritage Center’s outdoor amphitheater which has a roof over the entire amphitheater so that concerts may be presented rain or shine. Wild Blue Yonder is back for their fifth appearance and is the only band to perform every year since the Series began. Also back by popular demand are Labron Lazenby & LA3, who made it to the finals of this year’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis; Hokum’s Heroes, from Boston; John Myers Band, who recently released a new CD “I Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”; EG Kight, the “Georgia Songbird”; Y’uns, a “seriously silly” jugband from Knoxville; and Steve Kaufman, 3-time national guitar champion from Maryville. Making their Sunset Music Series debut this year are the Lonesome Coyotes, Knoxville’s most celebrated band to play in the western swing and country-rock style. Admission to the concerts is $4.00 and may be purchased at the door. Heritage Center members are admitted free.

SUNSET MUSIC SERIES 2010
Friday, June 11 Wild Blue Yonder: Bluegrass, country & Americana
Friday, June 18 Labron Lazenby & LA3: Blues, boogie & rockabilly
Friday, June 25 Hokum’s Heroes: String-band music with elements of swing, folk and blues
Friday, July 16 Lonesome Coyotes: Western swing, honky-tonk & country-rock
Friday, July 23 John Myers Band: Soul, gospel and country
Friday, July 30 EG Kight: Blues, ballads & roots music
Friday, August 6 Y’uns: Jug-band music with elements of country, swing and blues
Friday, August 13 Steve Kaufman: Three-time national guitar champion

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, Townsend, TN 37882. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

A hilarious Tony Award-winning musical tale featuring a quirky yet charming cast of overachievers' vying for the spelling championship of a lifetime. Six adolescent outsiders in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, learn that winning isn't everything and that the spelling bee is the one place where they can stand out and fit in at the same time. Suitable for mature teens and older.

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway in Historic Jackson Square, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. For information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

Benefit concert with Goose Creek Symphony at The Shed, Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson, Maryville. Tickets must be ordered and paid for ahead of time ($15 per person, $60 for two (includes music, food, and unique t-shirts for two people). For information: 865-219-0130 www.discoveret.org/ettac

On the second Friday of each month. All ages and experience levels are welcome to participate in this fun, family event. Kids love the Raku process. Or it could be a great "date night" event. Plus, you will be taking home a beautiful piece of art to decorate your home that you helped create! We offer three options for participation:
+ Pick One: The $30 fee includes: your choice of 1 bisque piece, use of our studio raku glazes and participation in the firing.
+ Make One*: The $30 fee includes: 5 lbs of Raku Clay, bisque firing of your piece, use of studio raku glazes, and participation in the firing. (*The 'Make One' option requires that your piece be in our hands, ready to bisque no later than Tuesday the week of the firing. Please contact us for more information regarding this option.)
+ Bring One: The $20 fee includes: Use of studio raku glazes and participation in the firing. (Bring your own bisque piece.)

Mighty Mud, 2444 Sutherland Ave, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11-6PM. For information: 865-595-1900, www.mightymudclay.com

Live at the Square Room in Market Square as part of WDVX's Blue Plate Special Series.

Information: 865-544-0447, www.carpetbagtheatre.org

Let Ijams light up your life. Fireflies, a.k.a. lightning bugs, are summertime wonders. How do they do it without burning their breeches? Join Peg Beute and learn all about fireflies through interactive games and outdoor activities. Fun for all ages. Free to members, $5 for non-members. Call Sheila: 577-4717 ext. 10 to register.

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Visitor Center: Monday: by appointment only for tour groups and school trips; Tuesday-Saturday: 9AM-5PM; Sunday: 1-5PM (March 1 - November 30). For information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

AMSE Discovery Shop 20% Discount Day on all store regular-priced merchandise. Unique history and science books, kits, gifts, apparel and Oak Ridge souvenirs.

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM-5PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org

Convenes on 700 beautiful acres in Manchester, TN. Tickets for Bonnaroo go on sale at noon next Friday, Nov. 27.

This week will be put on by Angela Howard and One World Circus. Children will learn a variety of circus arts including juggling, stilt-walking, unicycling and static trapeze. A performance to showcase their skills will be put on at the end of the week. Call Lissa McCleod at 865.776.8294 for information and registration.

Collecting shells has been a pastime of many, young and old, for centuries. It is only when collecting becomes a passion rather than a pastime that the finest examples are sought, and the subject is researched in detail. Such is the case with this collection, one of the country's finest, assembled by local physician Dr. Peter Stimpson. Focusing on six families of marine gastropods - cowries, cones, conchs, harps, volutes, and olives - the collection includes over 1,000 species listed in the "Registry of World Record Size Shells". Dr. Stimpson has made a portion of his collection available for public enjoyment in this exhibition.

1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Mon - Sat: 9:00A to 5:00P, Sun: 1:00P to 5:00P. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

20 award winning photomicrographs. Dynamic images at the intersection of science and art show the beauty and complexity of life as seen through a light microscope. AMSE Lobby

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM-5PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org

In this show, you will see the work of two of Hanson Gallery's most talented artists.
Eleanor Miller captures the essence of creation and life in her ethereal landscape
paintings. Greg Decker's eclectic works give us a peek into a mature artist's world,
translated through luminous landscape and figurative paintings and studies.

First Friday celebration: June 4, 5-8 p.m.

Hanson Fine Art & Craft Gallery, 5607 Kingston Pk, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: Monday-Friday 10AM-5:30PM; Saturday 10AM-5PM. For information: 865-584-6097, www.hansongallery.com