Calendar of Events

Staged Readings of two new scripts The Chinese Cook by Jean Battlo and Online Fighting by Harrison Young.

Remedy Coffee Shop 125 W. Jackson Avenue

The Chinese Cook: Saturday, Feb. 4, 2:00 pm
Online Fighting: Sunday, Feb. 5, 2:00 pm

All staged readings are free to the public

Tennessee Stage Company
tennesseestage@bellsouth.net www.tennesseestage.com

America’s most beloved vocal group is coming to Knoxville carrying armloads of Grammys and hits from a career spanning nearly 40 years. With favorites such as “Birdland,” “Boy From New York City,” and more. This concert is sure to sell out!

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, 100 S. Gay St, Ste 302, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information and tickets: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

9 am - 3 pm ECYCLE EVENT: Farragut High School
This free eCycle event collects old computers, laptops, parts, peripherals and a few other electronic items. All of these items have hazardous materials and should not be disposed of with your regular garbage. This event provides the community with the opportunity to properly recycle these items. Drive though... Drop it off... it's that easy!

10 am PUBLIC PROGRAM: Birds of Prey
Come learn more about the aerial hunters of Ijams Nature Center. We'll talk about adaptations and hunting strategies and you might even get to meet one of our resident raptors. (Make a day of it! Join us for the Bird of Prey WalkAbout at 1 pm.) Free to members, $5 for non-members. Please call to register. Leader: Stephen Lyn Bales.

11 am LIVING CLEAN & GREEN: Winter Gardening: The Harvest
In the Winter Gardening Series, participants will learn tips and tricks to growing in the cold weather months. This program will focus on harvesting the winter garden. We'll see what's ready to eat in our organic garden. Free. Please call to register. Leader: Peg Beute

1 pm WALKABOUT: Birds of Prey at Seven Islands
Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge is a great place to learn about local birds of prey. On a good day in February bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, American kestrels and even Northern harriers are all possible. Join us and see what we find! Free to members, $5 for non-members. Please call to register. Leader: Stephen Lyn Bales

2 pm PUBLIC PROGRAM: Animal Program
Join us every Saturday for a live animal encounter with one of our non-releasable education animals. Free to members, $2 for non-members. No registration required.

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Call for Visitor Center hours. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

The second of the Cozy Winter Nights Concerts at Clayton Center for the Arts will feature teenage singer-songwriter Samantha Hatmaker on February 4, 2012. All concerts are $10 and begin at 8:00 PM. Tickets may be purchased by calling 865-981-8590 or visiting www.claytonartscenter.com.

Clayton Center for the Arts Executive Director planned the Cozy Winter Nights Series as an extension of the popular Friday Nights Live Music Series in the summer. “We had the summer series and it has been successful enough to want to repeat it and add this one,” he explained. “This one has been in my head from the beginning.” In preparation for the Cozy Winter Nights debut, an electric fireplace has been installed in the Silver Spoon Express, a cafe that will be open prior to each concert. And because you have come early to dine first, you get the choice parking spaces as well. The Silver Spoon will open at 5:00 PM for concertgoers.

Celebrate mid-winter with a cozy afternoon of hot chocolate and other warm drinks and chocolate desserts, while learning some cool new crafts. Talented Craft Center members will be at several stations where you can get started with knitting, play with paper crafts, make a simple beaded jewelry piece, and more surprises. Try them all or stick with one – or just enjoy the chocolate (including a chocolate fountain) and camaraderie – all for the cool low price of $10. Registration deadline February 3. Held at the Craft Center, 2716 Andersonville Highway 61 near Norris, Tenn., one mile east of I-75 north at Exit 122. For more information, call 865-494-9854, or see our web site, www.appalachianarts.net.

Joe Letitia, our January First Friday artist, will be making himself at home for another month. Please join us for our First Friday reception on Friday, February 3 from 6-9 p.m. at Bliss Home, 29 Market Square.

His art makes a statement, and it's one that we want to keep around for awhile longer. If you missed his fantastic pieces we hope you will not miss this opportunity.

For more information please contact Anne at anne@shopinbliss.com or 865.673.6711.

Jake Livesay of Knoxville will show acrylic paintings, and Victor Schmidt of Nashville will display forged steel and brass sculptures. The simple saying “If not now, when?” reflects the artists’ desire to draw attention and enjoyment to their work in the present moment. The exhibition will be displayed at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from February 3-24, 2012 with an opening reception as part of First Friday activities on February 3 from 5:00-9:00 PM.

“If Not Now, When?” will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, February 4, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

Guitarist Steve Kaufman, a three-time winner of the National Flatpicking Championships, will offer an all-level mandolin workshop in Alcoa, TN, February 3rd and 4th, 2012 to be held at the Mainstay Suites 361 Fountain View Circle, Alcoa, TN and an all-level flatpicking guitar workshop on February 17th -18th, 2012 to be held at The Townsend Visitors Center, 7906 E. Lamar Alexander PKWY, Townsend, TN. The evening concert will be held on February 18, 2012 at The Palace Theater, 113 W. Broadway, Maryville, TN. This year’s slots are going fast, so make your reservations now. JoEllen at 865-982-3808 or email at jo@flatpik.com

The fee for the all-level mandolin workshop is $90 per person and the fee for all-level flatpick guitar workshop is $90 per person. A non-refundable deposit of $45 is required to hold a space, with the remainder due the day of the workshop. Pre-registration required. Seating is limited. For more information or to register for the workshop contact JoEllen at 865-982-3808 or email at jo@flatpik.com

The play is set in the dining room of a typical well-to-do household, the place where the family assembled daily for breakfast and dinner and for any and all special occasions. The action is comprised of a mosaic of interrelated scenes—some funny, some touching, some rueful—which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP. The actors change roles, personalities and ages with virtuoso skill as they portray a wide variety of characters, from little boys to stern grandfathers, and from giggling teenage girls to Irish housemaids. Each vignette introduces a new set of people and events; a father lectures his son on grammar and politics; a boy returns from boarding school to discover his mother's infidelity; a senile grandmother doesn't recognize her own sons at Christmas dinner; a daughter, her marriage a shambles, pleads futilely to return home, etc. Dovetailing swiftly and smoothly, the varied scenes coalesce, ultimately, into a theatrical experience of exceptional range, compassionate humor and abundant humanity.

Tickets: Adults $17 Seniors and Students $15
On Sale Now!!!
Call the Clayton Center Box Office for more details.

The Festival is a celebration of the human history, natural beauty, and cultural traditions of Townsend, Cades Cove, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The event involves many community groups and businesses and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is free, except for lunches and suppers, where there are reservations required, with charges for meals. Music workshops require pre-registration.

http://www.smokymountains.org/winter-heritage.html

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 3/4 mile east of traffic light at the Highway 321 and 73 intersection towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, TN. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

Innovative home building technologies and strategies that can help restore the health and viability of natural systems are explored in "Sustainable Shelter: Dwelling Within the Forces of Nature," exhibition opening February 1 and on display through April 20, 2012 at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

Through graphics, cartoons, interactive computer games, model homes and mock shelters, visitors can explore how ordinary activities -- from reading a book to drying clothes -- impact the planet's carbon and water cycles. The exhibit also compares and contrasts human dwellings with those of other animals, offers a cross-cultural look at human dwellings from around the world and looks at the changes in building methods and consumption patterns of U.S. houses over the past 150 years.

The American Museum of Science and Energy, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, is open Monday through Saturday from 9 am - 5 pm and Sunday 1 - 5 pm. Admission is Adults $5, Seniors (65+) $4, Students (6 - 17) $3 and Children (5 and under) are free. AMSE members are free. Group rates are available for 20 or more with advance reservations. For more information on AMSE membership, exhibits, programs and events, click on www.amse.org To schedule a group visit, call AMSE at (865) 576-3200.

Penguin Discount Days
December 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012
10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Knoxville Zoo becomes the coolest place in Knoxville to visit during Penguin Discount Days! Beginning December 1, 2011 and continuing through February 29, 2012, admission to Knoxville Zoo is half-off.

Half-price admission tickets can be purchased at the zoo ticket office during regular zoo hours. Tickets can also be purchased at all Knoxville area Kroger stores and online at www.knoxvillezoo.org. Discounted admission tickets must be used by Feb. 28, 2012, and cannot be combined with any other promotion, discount, or coupon.