Calendar of Events

Opening reception on July 22, 6:30-8:30 PM. Also showing oils by the students of Aurora Harrison Bull.

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9AM-5PM; Wednesday & Friday, 10AM-5PM; Saturday, 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartctr.org

Sunset Music Series: The Naughty Knots.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, Townsend, TN 37882.
Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Saturday Closed on Sunday
For Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

Want to know what's hot and what's not? Knox County Public Library and UT’s Center for Children's & Young Adult Literature are teaming up to present a workshop highlighting the best new books of the year for children and young adults at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street.

The day will be divided into two sessions, focusing on different age groups. Books for birth through 6th grade will be covered in the morning session, from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM; and the afternoon session, from 1:00-4:00 PM, will discuss books for 6th through 12th grade. Each session will cost participants $25. Participants provide their own lunch and parking. Certificates of Attendance will be provided for professional development purposes. Participants can register at www.knoxlib.org. Presenters are: Julie Danielson, Lisa Meidl, Beth Jackson, Dr. Susan L. Groenke, Dr. Kimberly Black, and Emily Davenport.

For more information, please call Miranda Clark at (865) 974-2305 or visit www.knoxlib.org.

ChristyFestâ„¢ is an annual festival held in Townsend, Tennessee to celebrate Christy the novel by Catherine Marshall, as well as the TV series and movies. Each year cast members, producers, writers, directors and crew from both productions come to ChristyFestâ„¢ to share memories, mingle with fans and enjoy the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains where the TV Series was filmed in Townsend, TN. The Festival explores related material such as mountain crafts, herbal medicines, music, history and early mountain culture. Events and presentations feature nationally known experts in a variety of subjects of interest to Christy enthusiasts.
Pre-registration required. Questions: Please email registration@christyfest.org
www.christyfest.org

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, Townsend, TN 37882.
Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Saturday Closed on Sunday
For Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Art by the Kids, For the Kids in the KMA Education Gallery. The exhibition showcases artworks created by the oncology and hematology patients of East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. Organized by University of Tennessee Dance Marathon, the exhibition is part of a year-long effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer and other blood diseases. UTK’s Dance Marathon specifically benefits the oncology and hematology patients at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. For more information please visit activities.utk.edu/dance-marathon.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

1st through 3rd Grades. Have you ever heard an Indigo Bunting sing or a chipmunk chip? Have you ever felt the bark of a sycamore tree or the leaves from a beech tree? Join us and we explore the natural world using our five senses, and yes, we will even be using our taste buds! To register for camps contact Jennifer Roder: 865-577-4717, ext. 130 or jroder@ijams.org

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). Information: www.ijams.org

Please join us for an afternoon of refreshments and fine art! Meet the artist, Wendy West, and see her show, “Then and Now: A Retrospective,” featuring her work in glass, pottery, and pastels at the Townsend Artisan Gallery from 4 to 6 pm on Saturday, August 13.

Townsend Artisan Gallery, 7277 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Townsend, TN 37882. Information: 865-448-8018, www.townsendartisangallery.com

The Ewing Gallery of Art & Architecture at The University of Tennessee announces its current summer exhibition, About Architecture. This exhibit is comprised of works from the large permanent collectionthat incorporate issues and aspects of architecture, whether it is historical, contemporary, fictional, or for documentation purposes. Some of the works on display have not been shown before. A sample of artists selected include Roy Lichtenstein, Walker Evans, Edward Westcott, and Joseph Delaney. This exhibition is free and open to public. Summer Hours until August 16, 2011: Tuesday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM; Friday 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

The Playhouse kicks off its 2011-2012 season with the joyous, fast paced musical comedy "Hairspray." Turn back the clock to 1960's Baltimore when big-hearted, big-haired Tracy Turnblad dances her way onto the Corny Collins Show. With her discovery of a brand new sound comes new friends, new obstacles, and bigger hair. Can Tracy get past her fabulously snobby nemisis, integrate the television show, and snatch the boy of her dreams without mussing her hair? Get your tickets to find out!

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

The 36th Annual Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair
Voted one of the South’s most popular summer events, Gatlinburg readies itself for the 36th Annual Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair. Over 180 craftspeople will be exhibiting and demonstrating their crafts at the Gatlinburg Convention Center this July 15 through 24. During these dates the Gatlinburg Convention Center transforms into an enormous multi-level community of craftspeople from all over the U.S. The 36th Annual Gatlinburg Craftsmen’s Fair will host some of the country’s finest artists and craftsmen that offer their unique art for sale.

Hours are 10am to 6pm daily and 10am to 5pm on Sundays. Music shows are 12, 2 and 4pm daily 12 and 2pm on Sundays and are included in the admission cost ($6 for Adults and children 12 and under free. Group rates available). For additional information call 865/436-7479 or visit our website at www.craftsmenfair.com

An entertaining evening of the various writings of the Bard, presented during the summer in Market Square. An old blanket or lawn chair is all you need to view the free performances under the stars. Donations of $5 are always welcome. Thursday-Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM.

The Comedy of Errors - July 14, 16, 22, 24, 28, 30; August 5, 7, 11, 13
One of Shakespeare's first plays, Comedy of Errors is also one of his funniest. Two sets of identical twins (!) with the same names (!!) - Dromio and Antipholus, who were separated as infants grow up in rival cities, Ephesus and Syracuse, with no knowledge of the others whereabouts - until the twins from Syracuse pay a visit to Ephesus.

Othello - July 15, 17, 21, 23, 29, 31; August 4, 6, 12, 14
Shakespeare's towering tragedy of an outsider who excites fear and hatred because of his "differentness." This play of jealously and revenge, of cruelty and murder is set in motion by the passing over of Iago for a promotion he feels should be his. He determines to destroy the man he holds responsible - the noble warrior, Othello - the Moor of Venice.

Tennessee Stage Company: 865-546-4280, www.tennesseestage.com

Free and open to the public with an opening reception Friday, July 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists' talks at 7 p.m.

Carl Gombert, "Order" - Carl Gombert was born in Brimfield, Ohio in 1959. He started taking painting lessons at the age of 14 with money he earned delivering newspapers. He earned a BFA in Drawing from the University of Akron and an MFA in Painting from Kent State University. He worked as a stagehand before pursuing a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts at Texas Tech University. He has exhibited in more than 150 shows throughout the country, and since 1993 has taught painting, drawing and art history at Maryville College in Tennessee.

Ricky Beene, "Salt of the Earth: The Petros Portraits"
Ricky Beene is a painter from Petros, Tennessee, a small town situated in the Cumberland Mountains. A native Appalachian and teacher by training, Ricky is a self-taught artist who works primarily in acrylics on gessoed hardboard. He has had previous exhibits at Carson Newman College, the Oak Ridge Art Center, and the Emporium Center in Knoxville. "For the last ten years I have been painting portraits of people from my home town in a series called Salt of the Earth:The Petros Portraits. These paintings, currently numbering near 150, depict a large cross-section of the people who live in Petros. I also have been working on a smaller series of brushed ink drawings that are called The Wide-Spot Suite. Together all these pieces represent a single vision of the people of our town. There is a shared bravery and trust poured into the making of these portraits, and I hope that they show something of the struggles and joys of life in a small Appalachian town".

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: Monday-Thursday 9AM-5PM; Friday 9AM-4:30PM; Sunday 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org