Calendar of Events

Juried mixed media exhibition by regional artists. Reception on September 18, 7-9PM with gallery talk at 6:30 PM.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9AM-5PM; Saturday-Monday, 1-4PM. For information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

10am-6pm Saturday & 11am-4pm Sunday
For the most part, small Southern towns aren’t exactly known for their appreciation of all things cultural. But then again, Sweetwater isn’t your typical small town. Our community is putting its long-time love and support of fine arts on full display at the third Sweetwater Arts Celebration. The event, which takes place in historic Downtown Sweetwater, will showcase the work of some 50 fine artists and craftsmen from across the region. Each day selected fine art and craft artists will feature a wide variety of mediums - including: • WOOD • CERAMICS • GLASS • PHOTOGRAPHY • ETCHING • WATERCOLORS • OILS • JEWELRY • POTTERY • PRINTMAKING • FIBER ART • SCULPTURE • CLAY

Sweetwater Valley Citizens for the Arts: 423-337-5976, www.sweetwaterartscelebration.com

Internet Genealogy

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: Monday-Friday: 9AM-4PM; Saturday: 10AM-4PM; Sunday: 1-5PM. For information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

Greenways are connecting our neighborhoods and communities. Knoxville and Knox County have more miles of paved greenways than any other urban area in the state. This workshop will introduce you to our greenway system, provide maps and allow you to experience the greenway that passes through Ijams Nature Center firsthand. This program is free! To register call Sheila at 577-4717 ext. 10.

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

Slow Food Knoxville and friends for the 3rd Annual PESTO FESTO! This year we will head south to Organicism Farms in Seymour, TN where Jessica and Ryan have friendly chickens, mountain views, and an abundant garden to share with us.

Arrive early on September 18th, around 4PM, for Farm Tours, Bocce and Bluegrass on the lawn, and to enter the Pesto Contest*! Bring your dancing shoes because the Bearded will be our rollickin' entertainment for the evening! A locally-sourced, Italian-inspired dinner prepared by the UT Culinary Arts Program and Slow Food Volunteers will be served family style at 6:30, with music and a bonfire under the stars to follow.

Please bring your own adult beverages and a blanket to sit on before the meal begins if you wish; the meal will be served at tablecloth adorned tables with chairs provided.

Contact sarah@slowfoodknoxville.org if you are interested in carpool arrangements.

Tickets for this year's event are $15 for each child under 12 years old, and $40 per adult ticket, with a $10 discount for Slow Food Members. Bring your ticket to Downtown Wine + Spirits for a 15% discount on your purchase for the event!

Tickets will be sold online here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/125562

At the Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Friday, 10AM-8PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: www.knoxart.org; 865-335-3358, holahoralatina@yahoo.com, www.holafestival.org

An exhibition of art and fine crafts created by leading national and regional artists, followed by an auction of the work on September 24. Join your friends for an evening filled with original art, fantastic food, and loads of fun. Art Auctions & Cocktail Buffet, Party Attire.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Friday, 10AM-8PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: 865-934-2036, www.knoxart.org

Free and open to the public
Opening reception Friday, September 17, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists' talks at 7 p.m.

This exhibit features the art work of Bobbie Crews and photographs of Clay Thurston. Bobbie Crews has been painting professionally since 1993. She earned her BFA in studio art from the UT School of Art, graduating Suma Cum Laude in 2007. Her artwork is widely collected in the U.S. and overseas. Locally her work is exhibited in schools, government buildings, churches, businesses, and private homes. Bobbie teaches art, speaks on art and is a courtroom sketch artist. She is also an activist for women in the form of artwork for education and awareness of domestic violence. A retired physical education teacher with the Oak Ridge schools, Clay Thurston now pursues photography full time. He has traveled extensively in the continental U.S. and Alaska and across the globe photographing the beauty and diversity of the land, its wildlife, and its people. Clay has been an award-winning nature and wildlife photographer for about 35 years. Inspired by his wife and best friend, Bobbie Crews, he now seeks to find the art in an even wider range of subject matter.

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

Kuumba Watoto Urban Youth Institute and African American Appalachian Arts, Incorporated will be launching West African Dance Classes for the entire family and the “Dancer in You”. Fall Quarter 2010 will include a six (6) week session for six consecutive Saturdays, beginning Saturday, September 11th thru Saturday, October 16th 2010. The second 6 weeks will begin October 23rd thru December 11th, 2010. Gain a Session Pass for thirty ($30) dollars. Door admission is $5. Children’s class 11:00am-11:45am & Adult class 12:00-12:45am. Classes will be held at YWCA Phyllis Wheatley Center at 124 S. Cruze Street in Knoxville, TN. For more information please call: (615) 429-4235 or kuumbawatoto@yahoo.com; www.kumbafestival.com

In this brilliant and powerful drama, Sister Aloysius, a Bronz school principal, takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the young Father Flynn of improper relations with a student. A gripping story of suspicion that is less about scandal than about fascinatingly nuanced questions of moral certainty. Winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play. 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

by Jones, Hope & Wooten. Hilarity abounds when the feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia, decide to shake up their lives. The action in this rollicking Southern comedy takes place in SPA-DEE-DAH!, the abandoned church-turned day spa where this group of friends gathers every Friday afternoon. After the loss of a dear friend, the women realize time is precious and if they're going to change their lives and achieve their dreams they have to get on it now! But Sugar Lee, their high-spirited, determined leader, has her hands full keeping the women motivated. Carlene's given up on romance, having buried three husbands. Nita's a nervous wreck from running interference between her problematic son and his probation officer. Mavis' marriage is so stagnant she's wondering how she can fake her own death to get out of it. And sweet, simple Crystal entertains them all, singing Christmas carols with her own, hilarious lyrics.

The comic tension mounts when a sexy, ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, a marriage proposal comes from an unlikely suitor and Sugar Lee's arch rival vows she'll stop at nothing to steal the spa away from her. By the time the women rally together to overcome these obstacles and launch their new, improved lives, you've got a side-splitting, joyful comedy that will make you laugh out loud and shout "Hallelujah!"

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 N. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets are $10 plus fees for Thursday & Sunday; $15 plus fees for Friday & Saturday. For information: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com. For tickets: 865-523-7521, www.KnoxTIX.com

More details to come!

The Tennessee Valley Fair we know today was born in 1916; however, we can trace its origins back to the earliest years of this century. It began as an idea in the minds of a group of progressive and in some way idealistic Knoxvillians. These men dreamed of making their city the shinning centerpieces of a prosperous and modernized Appalachian. Lead by the regions most enterprising citizens - businessmen, publishers, educators, and others, they conceived the idea of bringing to their city a great exposition, which would serve as a showcase for Knoxville and all of southern Appalachia, drawing national attention to the city's promising start in commerce and industry and to the region's bountiful (but as yet undeveloped) natural and human resources. Thus was born the Appalachian Exposition of 1910. A great deal remains unchanged; however the Midway today offers much of the same of thrills and oddities as it did ninety years earlier, and the Fair's nightly fireworks seem never to lose their appeal to Fair-goers of all ages. Most importantly, whatever the effects of social, economic, and technological change in the world around it, the Fair remains for all East Tennesseans a place to learn, to compete, to have fun, and most of all to build memories.

Tennessee Valley Fair: 865-215-1471, www.tnvalleyfair.org