Calendar of Events

Saturday, March 23
10 a.m.HIKE-A-THON: Dog Walk with Alan Williams. WVLT's news anchor Alan Williams is one of Knoxville's most familiar faces. Join Alan and his canine friends as they explore Ijams Nature Center, one of Knox County's dog-walking hot spots! Open to all ages.
11a.m. HIKE-A-THON: Babies in Backpacks Hike with Jennifer. Grab your littlest hikers and join educator Jennifer Roder (and baby makes two) on the trails. This hike is designed for babies in backpacks and carriers; strollers are not recommended since we will not be on paved trails. Recommended for families with children under age 2.
2 p.m. HIKE-A-THON: History Hike with Paul and Jack Neely. Ijams Nature Center evolved from humble beginnings during the early twentieth century into a natural showplace known as the Bird Sanctuary. Join Ijams' Executive Director, Paul James, and Metro Pulse writer, Jack Neely, as they share tails of Knoxville's past. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
3 p.m. Family Program: Wildflower Hike at Hastie Park. Discover the colors of spring during this wildflower walk at William Hastie Natural Area, part of Knoxville's Urban Wilderness. You'll accompany wildflower enthusiasts, Bob and Lynne Davis as they share their love and knowledge of spring wildflowers. This program is free to members and $5 for non-members. Please call 865-577-4717, ext. 110 to register. Leaders: Bob and Lynne Davis with Stephen Lyn Bales.

Monday, March 25
9 a.m. -- 4 p.m. Ijams Spring Break Camp. Join us and explore the exciting things that spring has to offer at Ijams Nature Center. You'll never know what we'll do each day... we may explore the quarries, stomp through the creek, or even meet a few of our animal ambassadors. Be prepared to get a little wet and a little dirty. Fun is mandatory and hilarity is recommended! Cost: $140/week for members and $160/week for non-members; $40/day for members or $50/day for non-members. Camp attendees can choose to attend individual days or all week. Extended care is available from 8-9 am in the morning and 4-5 pm in the afternoon for an additional fee of $10 per child per hour. Campers should bring a sack lunch and 2 snacks each day. Please call 865-577-4717, ext. 130 to register.
10 a.m. HIKE-A-THON: Discovery Hike at Ijams with Samantha. Lace up your hiking boots and discover the wonders of wildflowers, animals, and trees at Ijams Nature Center. Open to all ages.
4 p.m.: Nature Fun Station. Join us each Monday afternoon for a different Nature Fun Station. You never know what kind of outdoor fun we'll be digging up each week. These programs are FREE and no registration is required.

Tuesday, March 26
9 a.m. -- 4 p.m. Ijams Spring Break Camp. Join us and explore the exciting things that spring has to offer at Ijams Nature Center. You'll never know what we'll do each day... we may explore the quarries, stomp through the creek, or even meet a few of our animal ambassadors. Be prepared to get a little wet and a little dirty. Fun is mandatory and hilarity is recommended! Cost: $140/week for members and $160/week for non-members; $40/day for members or $50/day for non-members. Camp attendees can choose to attend individual days or all week. Extended care is available from 8-9 am in the morning and 4-5 pm in the afternoon for an additional fee of $10 per child per hour. Campers should bring a sack lunch and 2 snacks each day. Please call 865-577-4717, ext. 130 to register.

Wednesday, March 27
9 a.m. -- 4 p.m. Ijams Spring Break Camp. Join us and explore the exciting things that spring has to offer at Ijams Nature Center. You'll never know what we'll do each day... we may explore the quarries, stomp through the creek, or even meet a few of our animal ambassadors. Be prepared to get a little wet and a little dirty. Fun is mandatory and hilarity is recommended! Cost: $140/week for members and $160/week for non-members; $40/day for members or $50/day for non-members. Camp attendees can choose to attend individual days or all week. Extended care is available from 8-9 am in the morning and 4-5 pm in the afternoon for an additional fee of $10 per child per hour. Campers should bring a sack lunch and 2 snacks each day. Please call 865-577-4717, ext. 130 to register.
10 a.m. HIKE-A-THON: Up and Over Hike with Sarah. Educator Sarah Brobst will lead intrepid hikers up Tharp Trace, Ijams Nature Center's most strenuous trail, which makes a one-mile loop around Mead's Quarry Lake. Due to the level of difficulty of this trail, this hike is not recommended for small children.
6 p.m. HIKE-A-THON: Hiker's Happy Hour with Sabrina. See Ijams Nature Center in a whole new light! Everything changes after dark... the trails, the trees, and the entire park. Be part of the Ijams nightlife as we enjoy cocktails and snacks before exploring the trails. Recommended for ages 21 and up. ($20 for non-members; $15 for members)

Thursday, March 28
9 a.m. -- 4 p.m. Ijams Spring Break Camp. Join us and explore the exciting things that spring has to offer at Ijams Nature Center. You'll never know what we'll do each day... we may explore the quarries, stomp through the creek, or even meet a few of our animal ambassadors. Be prepared to get a little wet and a little dirty. Fun is mandatory and hilarity is recommended! Cost: $140/week for members and $160/week for non-members; $40/day for members or $50/day for non-members. Camp attendees can choose to attend individual days or all week. Extended care is available from 8-9 am in the morning and 4-5 pm in the afternoon for an additional fee of $10 per child per hour. Campers should bring a sack lunch and 2 snacks each day. Please call 865-577-4717, ext. 130 to register.
10 a.m. HIKE-A-THON: Little Tikes Hike with Sarah. Bring your little ones out to explore, dig, run and play. Each week has a different theme. Recommended for families with children aged 2-5.
2 p.m. HIKE-A-THON: Ijams Explorers Hike with Sabrina. Even if you have been to Ijams before, you never know what you'll find on each new visit; each trip is a new experience! Open to all ages.
4 p.m. Backyard Birds FeederWatch. Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. FeederWatch data help scientists track bird populations. Join us each Thursday in March as we visit the feeders around Ijams Nature Center to identify and count the visiting bird species. At the end, we'll submit our bird counts to help with this research project. This program is FREE and registration is not required.

Friday, March 29
The Visitor Center will be closed for Good Friday. Be sure to stop by and enjoy the trails!

Saturday, March 30
1 p.m. Living Clean & Green: Gardening Up. Vertical gardening is a trend that is on the rise among those with a green thumb. A boon for those with space demonstrations, this technique can be used on any blank wall or bare fence that needs beautifying. You can tend edibles, annuals, even perennials with these vertical gardening ideas - all of which inspire high hopes for the season ahead. Join Ijams green thumb Peg Beute for tips on how to use wooden pallets, re-purposed display racks and other containers to achieve a terrific new look in your yard. This program is FREE to the public; please call 865-577-4717, ext. 110 to register.
1 p.m. Geology of Ijams and Quarries. Do you want to learn more about the stories that soil and stones have to tell? Then join geology expert Harry Moore as he shares the tales of earth's rocky path to the present. We'll explore the rocks and quarries of Ijams Nature Center, in search of clues to our geologic past. Come early and meet hike leader, geologist and author Harry Moore (He'll have books to sell). Free to members, $5 for non-members. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

HIKE-A-THON: Closing Events
5 p.m. HIKE-A-THON: Closing Hike
6 p.m. HIKE-A-THON: Closing Ceremony
7-10 p.m. HIKE-A-THON: Hikers Ball. After a full month of hiking, it's time to scrape the mud off your boots and kick up your heels at the Hiker's Ball! This event will feature hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, and live music from The Bearded. Party attire is optional, but hiking boots are mandatory!

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

Presented by the East Tennessee Historical Society, Knox County Archives, and McClung Historical Collection. "Civil War Genealogy on the Internet." Finding your Civil War ancestor, service records, pension records, battle records, regimental histories, burials, obituaries.

601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Free and open to public. Class limited to 22 persons, reservations required (reservations open March 11; call 865-215-8809)
www.eastTNhistory.org

JUKEBOX JUNCTION featuring The Diamonds & The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra - Saturday March 23, 2013 at 7pm

JUKEBOX JUNCTION – 4 Decades of Musical Hits! Available for the first time, two of nostalgia's major attractions -- The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and The Diamonds -- starring in the entertaining, non-stop musical revue, Jukebox Junction. This package features musical hits of four decades of America's favorite music -- from big band hits to doo-wop and rock and roll classics! This is the first time a package like this has ever been available. Both attractions have consistently demonstrated their ability to appeal to that ever expanding demographic -- fans that love the "Music of America".

The Second Series of performances will take place at the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Center located at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Oak Ridge High School Wildband whose boosters will also be helping patrons at the shows. Tickets to the following 3 shows are available through www.KnoxvilleTickets.com, by phone 865-656-4444 or toll free 877-995-9961, in person at Knoxville Tickets outlets or at the door.

The War of 1812 brought Tennessee into the national spotlight for its military and political prowess and catapulted General Andrew Jackson to the presidency. A symposium examining the state’s important role will be presented on March 23 at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. It is one of a series of programs held across the state by the Tennessee War of 1812 Commission, with funding by the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University. It is hosted locally by the East Tennessee Historical Society.

The symposium will feature three experts on the Creek War to present their research on the impact of the conflict’s on the region’s peoples under the theme, “Rethinking the Creek War,” a theme that reflects the title of a new book, Tohopeka: Rethinking the Creek War and the War of 1812, to which all three have contributed key essays. Some 600 Cherokees fought alongside General Andrew Jackson’s army against the Red Stick Creeks at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

“Revisiting the Creek War of 1813” Symposium, 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m. at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. The conference is free and open to the public, but registration is advised. To register 865-215-8824 or email eths@eastTNhistory.org.

Speakers and topics:
9:00-9:30 a.m. Registration
9:30-10:15 a.m. “The Cherokees in the Creek War”,
Dr. Susan Abram, West Carolina University
10:15-11 a.m. “Tennessee and the Creek War”
Dr. Tom Kanon, Tennessee State Library and Archives
11-11:45 a.m. “Rethinking the Significance of the Creek War within the War of 1812”
Dr. Kathryn Braund, Auburn University
11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Roundtable Discussion, Moderated by Dr. Carroll Van West of the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation
1:00 p.m. Discounted admission at several War of 1812-related historic sites in and
near Knoxville

The Knoxville programs are headquartered at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street.

The Black Lilies' first hometown show in a year, celebrating the release of our new album Runaway Freeway Blues (in stores nationwide March 26) with Langhorne Slim

8:00PM March 23 at the Tennessee Theatre.
Tickets via the Tennessee Theatre box office, all Tickets Unlimited Outlets, by phone at 865-656-4444 or online at tennesseetheatre.com.

The Black Lillies return for their first hometown show in a year in celebration of the release of their new album, Runaway Freeway Blues. Led by multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter Cruz Contreras, the band’s award-winning blend of country, alt-rock, neo-folk and mountain music is a rollicking good time that has earned them critical acclaim and deep devotion from fans nationwide. Hip enough for Bonnaroo and South by Southwest audiences but with enough authentic Appalachian soul to be repeat performers on the stage of the legendary Grand Ole Opry, the Black Lillies’ eclectic style offers a boatload of talent with a reputation on the rise. Their hometown shows are always the stuff of legends, and this will certainly be one that you don’t want to miss.

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

World Storytelling Day is celebrated by Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association, a non-profit group of professional storytellers, educating and entertaining to celebrate the culture and heritage of our area. The Theme is “Fate and Fortune”, Humor and History based on culture and heritage of the Smokies. The Storytellers are Cuz Headrick, Rick Elliott, Carol Bell, Susan Fulbright, Kathleen Mavournin, and Jeanette and Charlie Stevens. Refreshments served. Free Parking. Donation requested is $7 per adult, $4 student, under 5 free. Fund raiser for SMSA programs in schools and communities.

At American Legion Hall #202, 1222 East Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Highway 321, across from Food City, between Gatlinburg Police Dept. and Post Office. Contact Jan at 865-429-1783, cuznjan@juno.com | www.smokymountaintellers.org

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson Collection of African-American Art March 22 through June 16, 2013.

Larry and Brenda Thompson have amassed a remarkable collection of art by African Americans from around the nation. The strength of the Thompson’s collecting process lies in their considered attention to artists who have typically not been recognized in the traditional narratives of African American art.

In addition to acknowledged “masters,” the Thompsons have collected works by artists who have been labeled “emerging,” “unknown,” “outsider,” “eccentric,” “vernacular,” “regional” and more. The result is a collection that redefines the landscape of American art, offering a more in-depth, inclusive understanding of African American artists and their aesthetic and social concerns.

Knoxville Museum of Art 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.

Directed by Dennis E. Perkins. In rural Virginia, Jesse is struggling with finding his place in the world. He draws and dreams of becoming something special. Leslie, the new girl from the city and the ultimate outsider, opens a world of imagination, art and literature for him. Together they create Terabithia, a fantasy kingdom where they are safe from those who don’t understand them. Their friendship grows as Jesse’s world expands. When tragedy strikes, the strength which Jesse gained in Terabithia takes him forward on his own and lets him share the magic of his dreams.

Friday 3/22 at 7 PM
Saturday 3/23 at 1 PM
Saturday 3/23 at 5 PM
Sunday 3/24 at 3 PM
Thursday 3/28 at 7 PM
Friday 3/29 at 7 PM
Saturday 3/30 at 1 PM
Saturday 3/30 at 5 PM
Thursday 4/4 at 7 PM
Friday 4/5 at 7 PM
Saturday 4/6 at 1 PM
Saturday 4/6 at 5 PM
Sunday 4/7 at 3 PM

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 800 Tyson Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-599-5284, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com. Reservations: tickets@childrenstheatreknoxville.com

2nd Annual Tennessee Salsa Congress ~ Bigger & Better ~

Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 8:00 PM
through Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 11:00 PM (ET)

Knoxville Convention Center
701 Henley St
Knoxville, TN 37902

We have just reserved a section of one of the largest Ballrooms in East Tennessee, so get ready for 4 days of Dance Workshops and Latin Parties with Professional Instructors and Performers in Knoxville TN!

SalsaKnox Dance Company
(865) 455-3658

Art exhibits featuring students, faculty and visiting artists are regular occurrences at Pellissippi State Community College. So, too, are photography-related events showcasing the works of guest photographers. New this year is an exhibit that focuses solely on the work of Pellissippi State’s Photography students. The March 18-29 event is free and open to the public.

Gallery guests have the chance to explore images captured by Pellissippi State students in their travels near and far, in vivid color and in subtle black-and-white. Students who pursue the art of photography at Pellissippi State do so through the Photography concentration in the Media Technologies program. The degree program’s other three concentrations are Communication Graphics Technology, Video Production Technology and Web Technology.

The exhibit is one of the events that make up Pellissippi State’s arts series, “The Arts at Pellissippi State.” The series brings to the community cultural activities ranging from music and theatre to international celebrations, lectures, and the fine arts.

An opening reception, also free and open to the public, takes place March 21, 3-6 p.m. The Student Photography Exhibit and opening reception take place in the gallery of the Bagwell Center for Media and Art at Pellissippi State’s Hardin Valley Campus. Regular exhibit hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. For additional information about the exhibit or “The Arts at Pellissippi State,” call (865) 694-6400 or visit www.pstcc.edu/arts.

Tennessee Stage Company Presents its 16th Annual NEW PLAY FESTIVAL & World Premiere Production of Harrison Young’s ONLINE FIGHTING. ONLINE FIGHTING is an action-comedy about two video gamers rekindling a feud. What starts off as fun and games online quickly becomes a battle of jealousy and revenge offline -- especially once loved ones are involved. While deadly serious, to them, the feud is a laugh out loud roller coaster ride to the audience.

Performances are: Thursday – Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm | Sunday afternoons at 3:00 pm
*Opening night, March 15, 2013 will include a post show playwright’s reception to honor Harrison Young and will feature a special price of $ 20.00.

At Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 131 N. Gay Street, Knoxville. Tickets are on sale now. Call (865) 546-4280 for tickets & reservations. General Admission is $15, Students and Senior Citizens $12. www.tennesseestage.com