Calendar of Events

The Knoxville Museum of Art celebrates the season with the first-ever holiday display in the Thorne Miniature Rooms, on view until early January 2012.

East Tennessee miniature artisans and Thorne Room experts Annelle Ferguson and Jolie Gaston designed a display which includes eight period vignettes representing the American home during the holidays. The vignettes contain a variety of 1/12 scale furnishings, many of which are adorned with miniature needlework in the form of quilts, samplers, rugs, tablecloths, and chair seats hand crafted by Ferguson. In addition, Ferguson and Gaston transformed one of the KMA’s nine Thorne Miniature Rooms, the Victorian Parlor, by adorning it with a selection of miniature Christmas toys and a small decorated tree based on mid-19th century English designs.

The Knoxville Museum of Art's Thorne Rooms are among America's most well-known miniature diorama groups. They were developed in the 1930s and 40s by Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago. The Knoxville Museum of Art is one of five museums in the country to have a collection of Thorne Rooms.

The museum is located in downtown Knoxville at 1050 World’s Fair Park and is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday 10 am–5 pm, and Sunday 1 pm-5 pm. Admission and parking are free. For more information, contact Angela Thomas at 865.934.2034 or visit www.knoxart.org.

Children’s Theatre of Knoxville will present a live stage version of the beloved Jean Shepherd film: “A Christmas Story,” for nine performances, Thursdays through Sundays from December 9 through 18.

Ten-year-old Ralphie Parker daydreams of getting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. But Mother and Ralphie’s old man agree: “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Ralphie’s dreams and schemes come to life on the CTK stage, as he fantasizes about fighting Black Bart, going blind from eating Lifebouy soap, writing the greatestChristmas essay of all time, and much more.

The COMPLETE PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE is:
Friday, Dec. 9 at 7 PM
Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1 PM and 5 PM
Sunday, Dec. 11 at 3 PM
Thursday, Dec. 15 at 7 PM
Friday, Dec. 16 at 7 PM
Saturday, Dec. 17 at 1 PM and 5 PM
and Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3 PM.

Reservations are strongly recommended for all CTK performances. To reserve tickets for the production, e-mail thenumber of adult and child tickets needed, along with your
requested performance date and time, to tickets@childrenstheatreknoxville.com at any time. Or you may call us at (865) 599-5284 between the hours of 10 AM and 5 PM.

TICKETS are $12 per person. CTK is continuing our special Adult & Child Combination rate for this production: If an adult and a child enter together, these two may be admitted for $10 each.
Reservations are strongly recommended for all CTK performances.

The play is being performed at CTK’s theatre in downtown Knoxville, located at 800 Tyson Street.

What began as a musical about cats after Andrew Lloyd Webber picked up a book of poems in an airport bookshop has become one of the longest running shows in Broadway's history. Winner of seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, CATS features 20 of Andrew Lloyd Webber's timeless melodies, including the hit song, "Memory."

Dec 9 at 8:00 pm
Dec 10 at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Dec 11 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm

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

Join the RSCC choral and instrumental ensembles in a holiday celebration! The Concert Choir, Jazz Band, and Bluegrass Band perform holiday favorites, including some pop collaboration and the Celebration Singers offer A Song Is Born, a cantata for Christmas by Douglas Nolan. RSCC Theatre, Harriman, tickets $5 suggested donation at the door.

December 9 at 7 pm and December 11 at 3 pm

Join the RSCC choral and instrumental ensembles in a holiday celebration! The Concert Choir, Jazz Band, and Bluegrass Band perform holiday favorites, including some pop collaboration. The Celebration Singers offer A Song Is Born, a cantata for Christmas by Douglas Nolan.

RSCC Theatre, Harriman, tickets $5 suggested donation at the door.

December 9 at 7 pm
December 11 at 3 pm
www.roanestate.edu/theatre

Garden Buds: Holiday Cards, Preschool program
The University of Tennessee Gardens

Friday, December 9 OR Saturday, December 10
10-11:30 a.m.
Do you have lots of tissue paper left over from last year’s holiday season? Come to this fun class as we reuse the tissue paper to make textured envelopes. We will also recycle holiday cards for you to take home and give to your friends and family. This program is designed for children ages 3 to 5 and one accompanying adult.
$10/member, $14/non-member

Preregistration is required for all
classes. Please contact Derrick
Stowell , educational coordinator,
at 974-7151, or email derrick.
stowell@yahoo.com to register

Bring your left over tissue paper from last year's holiday season to this fun class and we will reuse the tissue to make textured envelopes. We will allso recycle holiday cards for you to take home and give to your family and friends. This program is designed for children ages 3-5 and one accompanying adult.

Friday, Dec. 9 or Saturday, Dec. 10, 10:00 - 11:30 AM
$10/member, $14/nonmember
Preregistration is required: Derrick Stowell at 974-7151 or email derrick.stowell@yahoo.com.
UT Gardens, 2431 Joe Johnson Drive, Knoxville

“Holiday Dance Party” with The Atomic Horns
$9 General Admission
$5 with Membership or student ID
Free for ages 17 and under

The ten members of this Oak Ridge-based band come from a diverse background of swing, big band jazz, rock, and musical theatre. With polished vocal harmonies, killer horns and a rock solid rhythm section, they deliver a sonic extravaganza of rhythm & blues, rock & soul, and dance music, with a “mushroom cloud-sized” dose of swing – covering 50 years of popular music, from current hits to Cab Calloway, big band to Michael Buble.

Morris Ardoin – tickets $10 JCA member/student/snr 65+, $11 general audience advance, $12 at door, $6 children 12 and under

Born in 1935 in Evangeline Parish, Morris Ardoin is the oldest son of legendary Cajun/Creole musician Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin. He began learning to play music at thirteen years old by listening to his cousins and has been going strong for over 60 years now. Although many people know him as one of the last Louisiana Creole fiddlers, few have had the opportunity to see him as the accomplished accordionist and singer that he is. At long last, here is the chance to get an up close and personal look at his unique recordings which include timeless renditions of many well known Creole songs as well as several new songs written by Mr. Morris himself.
Sparky and Rhonda Rucker– Jan 14 - tickets $10 JCA member/student/snr 65+, $11 general audience advance, $12 at door, $6 children 12 and under

This special program is a fundraiser to support the Joy of Music School
programs and will include performances by the School's children's choir,
heavy hors d'oeuvres, beverages, live and silent auction, plus other musical
entertainment and activities. Tickets are $85 each at the door, $75 advance
purchase, and may be ordered by calling the school office at 865 525-6806.

Cherokee Mills (2240 Southerland Avenue)

The Joy of Music School provides music lessons, instruments, and other
special musical opportunities to financially disadvantaged young people.
The program also endeavors to teach good habits that will carry over into
the students' lives' work and to expose them to new opportunities for
success. For more details about the Joy of Music School, go to their website
at www.joyofmusicschool.org.

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com. For tickets: 865-684-1200, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Holiday Sparkles & Spirits, a benefit for The Joy of Music School

As always, the event will feature live and silent auctions of fine wine and beautiful jewelry from around the world. There will be a special performance by students in the Joy of Music School Youth Choir. Knoxville’s Superstition Quartet, a lively, all-women a cappella group, will also entertain guests at Holiday Sparkles & Spirits, performing a variety of songs in the four-part barbershop style.

Friday, December 9, 6-10 p.m.
Cherokee Mills, 2200-2800 Sutherland Ave., Knoxville (free, convenient parking)

$75 per person before Nov. 20, $85 after (includes heavy hors d'oeuvres, cash bar)

Contact the Joy of Music School today to reserve your tickets.
Francis Graffeo, Executive Director (865) 525-6806 / graffeo@joyofmusicschool.org