Calendar of Events

This one is for the family. The Passing Zone has been on the Tonight Show, where their quick wit upheld the show’s tradition of razor-sharp humor and the Today Show, where their heart-stopping juggling of razor sharp objects amazed kids and adults alike. Jugglers aren’t this funny. Comics are not this daring. The Passing Zone is both, and the fun the parents and children share during the performance will be an unforgettable experience in the family’s memory. The Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre. Tickets are $22-$35.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 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

The Airmen of Note is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force. Created in 1950 to carry on the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Corps dance band, today the “Note” features 18 of the most talented jazz musicians in the country and is one of the last touring big bands. As a result, it has earned an international reputation as one of the finest and most versatile big bands of its kind in the world.
http://www.usafband.af.mil/ensembles/BandEnsembleBio.asp?EnsembleID=58

At the Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Bldg., 1408 Middle Drive on the UT campus. Please check the web site or call the day of the event for updates or cancellations: 865-974-5678, www.music.utk.edu/events

Knoxville Writers’ Guild Offers Seminar on Memoir Writing

Poet and essayist Marianne Worthington will teach “Seminar in Memoir,” from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 19 at the Redeemer Church of Knoxville, 1642 Highland Ave. Cost is $25 for members of the Knoxville Writers Guild; $30 for nonmembers.

The workshop will provide practical writing strategies for crafting personal narrative, including theme, persona, perspective, and scene. Readings from memoirs and writing exercises will help participants get started.

Worthington is editor of Motif 1: Writing By Ear, An Anthology of Writings About Music (2009) and Motif 2: Come What May, An Anthology of Writings About Chance (2010) for MotesBooks in Louisville, Ky. She is co-founder and poetry editor for the online literary journal Still: The Journal and poetry editor for Now & Then: The Appalachian Magazine.

To register, go to www.knoxvillewritersguild.org or send checks to or send your check to KWG Workshops, P.O. Box 10326, Knoxville TN 37939-0326.

Public Program: Seven Islands: Bird of Prey Walk•About: Sat., Mar. 19, 3 p.m.
(All ages) Join Ijams naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales for a program about the birds of prey (hawks, owls, eagles) of the Tennessee Valley, all of which can be found at Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge at different times of the year. Free for members, $5 for non-members. Call 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

Pruning a tree or shrub can be a daunting task for the average homeowner. Well, not anymore! Join KBGA's master pruner, Mathew McMillan for this informative pruning workshop. He will cover proper tool usage and maintenance, how to assess a tree or shrub for its pruning needs and most importantly, how to make the proper cuts for any pruning task. Make your trees and shrubs happier and healthier this year! To preregister call 865-862-8717 or email info@knoxgarden.org. $10/KBGA Members. $20/Nonmembers.

Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, 2743 Wimpole Ave, Knoxville, TN 37914. Hours: Gardens open daily from sunrise to sunset.

The Knoxville Watercolor Society will be showing their newest works in a Spring Show and Sale at the Knoxville Museum of Art's Community Gallery from March 18th to May 15th. On Sunday, March 20th an opening reception which is free to the public will take place from 2 to 4 PM. Refreshments will be served.

Call Wilda Clark at 865-588-6828 or the Museum at 865-525-6101 for more information. 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: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

C. S. Lewis’s dramatic allegory of faith and sacrifice
comes to brilliant life on the stage of Children’s Theatre
of Knoxville.

Four children in a mysterious mansion find a gateway to
another world deep within an old wardrobe and discover
the wisdom of faith, honor, valor, and bravery during an
intense series of adventures featuring unicorns, elves,
dwarves, leopards, wraiths, and all the animals of the wood.

Reservations are strongly recommended for all CTK performances.

Children's Theatre of Knoxville, 800 Tyson St , Knoxville, TN 37917. For information: 865-599-5284, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com

March 18 & 19, 2011
Featuring the RSCC Jazz, Bluegrass and Stage Bands. Roane State Theatre, Harriman. ($7/10 Student/General Admission)

Roane State Community College, 276 Patton Lane, Harriman, TN 37748. Information: 865-354-3000, www.roanestate.edu

“Free Admission Days, sponsored by Fluor-B&W Oak Ridge, at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy from March 17th to the 22nd. Mark your calendars now!”

Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, 461 West Outer Dr, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. For information: 865-482-1074, www.childrensmuseumofoakridge.org
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

Hosted by the Townsend Artisan Guild, Fine Arts Blount, and the Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau. This interactive fiber arts event connects the community with fiber arts activities. The festival will include fiber animal exhibitions, contests, an arts exhibition, fashion show, workshops, educational demonstrations of fiber processes, spinning, weaving, needlecrafts, dyeing, hands-on projects with children and adults, Fiber Arts Market and more.

http://www.smokymountains.org, http://www.smokymountainfestivals.org or call Jeanie Hilten at the Visitors Center at 865-448-6134 or 800-525-6834)

February 17, 2011 (Knoxville, TN) – The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Xiaoze Xie: Amplified Moments March 11–May 15, 2011.
Amplified Moments is the first major U.S. exhibition to survey the work of Xiaoze Xie (pronounced shout-zah shee-ay), an important Chinese contemporary artist. More than 30 works document his achievements in painting, drawing, photography, installation, and video, and represent his use of books and newspapers to symbolize the fragile nature of history and memory.

Although Xie intended to pursue a career in architecture, the violent military crackdown on student protesters at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 compelled him to shift his energies. He left the People’s Republic of China three years later after completing his training as a painter, and began using symbolic imagery derived from newspapers, decaying books, museum libraries, and media images of current events. For Xie, stacks of printed pages represent not only cultural memory and the passage of time, but the ways in which history is interpreted and recorded according to various belief systems and political agendas.
Xie’s labor-intensive paintings consist of successive layers of pigment applied over several weeks. Working largely from photographs, the artist paints in a manner that is influenced by his camera. Some imagery appears cropped, blurred, and hazy, as if viewed through a photographic lens or perhaps through the filter of memory. The resulting compositions reach near-photographic precision without losing the evidence of the artist’s masterful brushwork.

KMA members are invited to an exhibition preview Thursday, March 10, from 5:30 to 7:30pm. The artists and exhibition curator Dan Mills will present a short gallery talk at 6:30pm. A cash bar will be available.

Admission and parking are free. For more information, contact Angela Thomas at 865.934.2034 or visit www.knoxart.org.

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

The 11-month residency program is an opportunity for emerging artists to further develop both artistically and professionally. This exhibition showcases their progress.
Reception: April 9, 6:00-8:00 PM

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. For information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org