Calendar of Events

Please make plans to join us in 2011 for another year of celebration and commemoration honoring the life and legacy of the Dream and the Dreamer. With the exception of the MLK Awards Luncheon on January 13, all events are open to the public without charge.

+ Friday, January 1-31: MLK Gallery of Arts Tribute – Bijou Theatre - Featuring original works of art focusing on Dr. Martin Luther King and his work by art students in the Knox County Schools as well as professional artists in the community. The exhibit will be on display throughout the MLK celebration holiday week and continuing through the months of January and February
+ Friday, January 7, 5:00-7:00 PM - Opening Reception – Bijou Theatre

+ Wednesday, January 12, 12:00 NOON - Interfaith Prayer Service - This year’s interfaith service will be held at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2137 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. This very special service will feature leaders from a variety of faith groups to produce a true spirit of interfaith worship. Musical selections will underline the interfaith theme.

+ Thursday, January 13, 8:30 AM - Leadership/Diversity Symposium at Knoxville Marriott Hotel ballroom, 500 Hill Avenue, 38915 - A highlight of the MLK celebration is the annual leadership symposium providing a forum for dialogue and exchange of information about social justice issues.
+ Thursday, January 13, 12:00 PM - Leadership/Awards Luncheon - In the Knoxville Marriott Ballroom, is a ticketed event and advance tickets can be purchased for $40.00 from the MLK office 865-673-8988. (A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.) In addition to the presentation of MLK Special Awards, the guest speaker will be the Reverend Otis Moss III.

+ Friday, January 14, 6:30 PM - Community Discussion – Beck Cultural Exchange Center with Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance - An especially important element in the MLK Celebration activities is an open conversation sponsored by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance. Ralph Hutchinson is Chair of this event.

+ Saturday, January 15 - Youth Symposium at Knoxville College, 901 Knoxville College Dr, Knoxville 37921 - The MLK Jr. Commemoration Celebration Commission Youth Symposium team has again partnered with the Knoxville Chapter of Jack & Jill of America to provide a day of youth development and leadership training. We intend to continue to nurture and develop the next generation of leaders who will be inspired to reweave the fabric of our community for future children and youth.
Teacher In-Service Training at Beck Cultural Exchange Center, 1927 Dandridge Ave, 37915 - In partnership with the Knox County Schools, this special program will help participants gain an understanding of why “Creativity” is important to the nation’s global standing today and in the years to come. Teachers completing this training session will receive five hours credit toward certification.
Y.W.C.A. Race Against Racism - The mission of this annual program is to eliminate racism by holding the Annual Race 5K Run/One Mile Walk along Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue.

 Information is available at http://ywcaknox.com.

Sunday, January 16, 6:00 PM - “A Night With the Arts” at the Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street - This new and exciting program will be a sitting tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King's vision through a multi-faceted artistic presentation that includes some of our areas most gifted singers, actors, dancers, and poets, The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, The Knoxville Opera, the MLK Holiday Celebration Choir, and introducing the MLK Children's Chorus.

Monday, January 17 - Memorial March Parade at 10 - The purpose of the parade is to offer the community a visual and audible display in tribute to the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The 2011 Parade route will stretch from the Tabernacle Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Avenue to Greater Warner AME Church in Burlington.
Memorial Tribute Service at Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church at 11:45 - This service culminates the MLK Memorial Parade and will feature a Keynote Speaker as well as special music.
Information: www.mlkknoxville.org; mcombs@utk.edu; 865 573-2994

Art Market Gallery is pleased to spotlight the work of two of its member artists: jewelry by Jennifer Lindsay and kiln-formed glass by Paula Marksbury. Ms. Lindsay creates unique handmade jewelry using Swarovski crystals, imported seed beads and other elements. Ms. Marksbury, whose fused glass designs are often bold in color, shape, texture and design, will be exhibiting multi-dimensional one-of-a kind sculptures for the wall. A First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists is planned for January 7th from 5:30-9 pm.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11AM-6PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its National Juried Exhibition of 2010, a new exhibition featuring selected works from 35 artists in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio. The National Juried Exhibition was developed in 2006 to provide a forum for local artists to compete on a national scale and display their highest quality work. The exhibition features both traditional and non-traditional work and will be displayed at the Arts & Culture Alliance’s Emporium Center Gallery from December 13, 2010 - January 26, 2011. A public reception will take place on Friday, January 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM with a brief awards ceremony at 6:00 PM in which $1,000 in cash awards will be announced.

A gallery of images may be viewed at http://www.knoxalliance.com/album/juried_2010.html.

Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, January 8, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. 100 S. Gay Street, 37902. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

An exhibition by ORAC members. Reception on December 5, 2-4PM with gallery talk at 1:30 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

Interested in learning what role Jewish community members Sam and Virginia Morrison played in Elvis Presley’s career? (Hint: It happened on Market Square.) Ever wonder what Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” would have been called if one of Knoxville’s Jewish community leaders, Max Friedman, had not spoken up? Curious about what distinguishes the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge as unique in American history?

The story of Jewish immigration to Tennessee and how those who came here embraced the culture they found is the subject of this touring exhibition from the Tennessee State Museum. It follows the Tennessee Jewish experience from the 1770s, when the first Jews immigrated to upper East Tennessee to escape religious persecution in Europe. The exhibition then guides visitors through more than 200 years of history by way of compelling stories and images that illustrate the development of Jewish communities across the state; in East Tennessee, congregations located in Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Chattanooga, and Blountville are featured. The exhibition also explores how Jews were able to preserve their religious and cultural heritage while at the same time embracing and supporting the culture found in Tennessee.

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