Calendar of Events

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

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 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

Haunting and beautiful photography by local artist and activist, William Isom.
Artist statement: "Traditionally working in photography to express the impressions of my environment, I'm aiming to continue my themes of the considered obsolete and discarded. Expressing this through textured materials encountered on backroads intrigues me. I hope to infect the viewer with my blurred glimpses and meditative moments found just east of town."
50% of all sales will go to benefit the Neighborhood Center at 800 North 4th Ave and Gill Street (formerly The Birdhouse). First Friday reception: 6-9 PM

URBhana, 115 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-951-5454, www.urbhana.com

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition of 2-D works by the Fountain City Art Guild entitled “Summer Solstice Show” in the main gallery of the Emporium Center.

An opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on July 1 from 5:00-9:00 PM with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and wine. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com. For more information, visit www.fountaincityartguild.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition opening Friday, July 1, at 5:00 PM in the Balcony of the Emporium Center featuring seven local artists:

+ Terrie Boruff-Yeatts (Knoxville, TN) - A contemporary and whimsical view on the subject matter that surrounds our everyday life - www.terrieyeatts.com

+ Stephen Brayfield (Knoxville, TN) - Watercolor paintings depicting life in and around the southern Appalachian and Blue Ridge Mountains - www.brayart.com

+ Regina L. Garner (Maryville, TN) - Digital photography

+ Chuck Jensen (Crossville, TN) - Contemporary portraits of people making changes on the American Landscape - www.chuckswoodstock.com

+ Terri Jordan (Clarksville, TN) - A suite of oil paintings based on the artist/muse Suzanne Valadon

+ Dawn Kunkel (Knoxville, TN) - Mixed media works

+ Linda A. Waterhouse (Maryville, TN) - An assemblage of colorful faces and instruments in Black & White digital photography - www.lawaterhousephotography.com

The group exhibition will be displayed in the Balcony at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. An opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on July 1 from 5:00-9:00 PM with complimentary hors d’oeuvres. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

Classic movies to be shown this summer:
June 24: "North By Northwest" with Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint
July 8 & 10: "The Sound of Music"
August 5 & 7: "Some Like It Hot"
August 13 & 14: "Gone with the Wind"
August 19: "West Side Story"

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com. For tickets: 865-684-1200, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Korean artist Kwang-Young Chun (b. 1944) began work on his series of Aggregations in the 1990s. Today, he is recognized internationally for these sculptural forms. The basis of his work is individual, triangular, Styrofoam shapes. Individually, these shapes are minuscule. Taken together, however, their visual impact is immense. This concept of the aggregate is what drives Chun’s work.

The Styrofoam shapes are covered in Korean mulberry paper. In Korea, the paper is a mainstay and has many utilitarian uses from floor and window coverings to candy and medicinal wrappers. It also resonates with personal meaning for the artist, who recalls trips to an herbalist as a small child. Medicines wrapped in mulberry paper hung from the ceiling of the shop, the paper protecting the contents from dampness and insects.

Chun uses pages recycled from old books to cover the geometric forms. These pages are covered in Korean and Chinese characters, adding another layer of cultural and personal meaning. He hand ties the paper over each shape, twisting pages into string to complete the wrapping. In this way Chun is able to integrate traditional materials into a contemporary context.

There will be an exhibition preview party Thursday, June 9, 2011 from 5:30-7:30pm.
Curated by Susan Moldenhauer. Funded in part by the National Advisory Board of the UW Art Museum and the Wyoming Arts Council through the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wyoming State Legislature.

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