Calendar of Events

(For mature audiences only.)

AVENUE Q is Broadway's smash-hit 2004 Tony Award winner for BEST MUSICAL, BEST SCORE and BEST BOOK. A hilarious show full of heart and hummable tunes, AVENUE Q is about trying to make it in NYC with big dreams and a tiny bank account. Called "one of the funniest shows you're ever likely to see" by Entertainment Weekly, AVENUE Q features a cast of people and puppets who tell the story in a smart, risquè and downright entertaining way. The New Yorker calls it "SUBVERSIVE and UPROARIOUS!" For mature audiences only. (Avenue Q has not been authorized or approved in any manner by The Jim Henson Company or Sesame Workshop, which have no responsibility for its content.)

At the Historic Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets and information: 865-684-1200, www.TennesseeTheatre.com.

Preschool program
Tuesday, June 15, OR Wednesday, June 16
Cost: $8 per member; $13 per non-member
Come meet the flowers growing at the UT Gardens! We will visit the garden to meet several flowers, read a flower story and plant our own flower friend to take home! This program is designed for children ages 3 to 5 and one accompanying adult. Pre-registration is required for all classes. Please contact Emily Smith, education coordinator, at 974-7151, or e-mail esmith27@utk.edu to register.

UT Gardens, Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. http://utgardens.tennessee.edu

Organic gardening costs less, yields the same and does not fill our soils and waterways with excess fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, plus food grown organically is healthier and cheaper for you and your family. Join green-thumb Peg Beute and learn why nature's way is the best way. Program is free. LOCATION: Farragut Town Hall. For information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Cost: $15 per member; $20 per non-member
Join Dr. Susan Hamilton, director of the UT Gardens, and learn how to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers in your garden by identifying beneficial insects and companion plants. We will also discuss ways to make your garage more "green." All materials included.

Please contact Emily Smith, education coordinator, at 974-7151, or e-mail esmith27@utk.edu to register.
UT Gardens, Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. http://utgardens.tennessee.edu

Location: UT Gardens Friendship Plaza entrance
These tours return for 2010 and will be held every third Tuesday of the month through October: June 15, July 20, August 17, September 21 and October 19. A tour guide will meet visitors at the Friendship Plaza. Tours are free and open to the public.

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

7 weeks of camps, June 14 - July 2 and July 12 - August 6
Featuring week long camps in visual arts, crafts, music, dance, model trains, science, hobbies and more for ages preschool through Grade 7. All day or half day camps available for grades 1 through 7 half day for preschool. 9am - 4pm

461 West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. (865) 482-1074; childrensmuseumofoakridge.org

7 weeks of camps, June 14 - July 2 and July 12 - August 6
Featuring week long camps in visual arts, crafts, music, dance, model trains, science, hobbies and more for ages preschool through Grade 7. All day or half day camps available for grades 1 through 7 half day for preschool. 9am - 4pm

461 West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. (865) 482-1074; childrensmuseumofoakridge.org

Monday, June 14 — Steve Kaufman, Johnny Bellar, Adam Granger, Joe Collins.
Tuesday, June 15 — Adam Masters, Mary Flower, Rusty Holloway and Jeff Jenkins, Robert Shafer.
Wednesday, June 16— Barbara Lamb, Ivan Rosenberg, Keith Yoder, Jim Pankey.
Thursday, June 17 — Russ Barenberg, Casey Henry, Pat Kirtley, Marcy Marxer.
Friday, June 18 — Pete Huttlinger, Steve Kaufman and Friends, Kamp Kompanions.
Monday, June 21 -- Tyler Grant, Andrew Collins, Mike Clemmer, Richard Starkey, Kathy Barwick.
Tuesday, June 22 -- Gary Davis, Mitch Corbin, Tim May, Rolly Brown, Radim Zenkl.
Wednesday, June 23 -- Carlo Aonzo, Kathy Chiavola, Chris and Sally Jones with Ned Luberecki, Keith Yoder.
Thursday, June 24-- Alan Munde, Roland White & Steve Kaufman, Emory Lester, Mark Cosgrove, Murphy Henry and Casey Henry.
Friday, June 25 -- Beppe Gambetta, Sharon Gilchrist, Steve Kaufman and Friends, Kamp Kompanions.

At Clayton Center for the Arts's R & L Nutt Theatre: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center Box Office M-F 10AM-6PM or by phone or online: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

Discover Life In America: All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory captivating illustrations of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's ecosystems (plants, animals and micro-organisms) 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

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

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