Calendar of Events

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center
www.gsmheritagecenter.org or call 865-448-0044

May 18 GSMHC Guild Annual Gala: “Heartbeat of the Mountains” – the Heritage Center’s annual benefit dinner is a social highlight of the spring season with great food, music, and both live and silent auctions.

The International Biscuit Festival celebrates that most perfect of foods – the Biscuit. The International Biscuit Festival attracts over 20,000 guests to Knoxville from across the United States to enjoy food, music and fun. The Festival was recently named the Best Food Festival in the nation by Livability.com, and has been featured in numerous national publications.

The International Biscuit Festival announced that a record number of Biscuits will be offered at the Biscuit Boulevard tasting area during the 2013 International Biscuit Festival, to be held Saturday, May 18, 2013 in downtown Knoxville. Biscuit Boulevard features twenty different Signature Biscuits created by participating restaurants, bakeries and other Biscuit makers. Guests can purchase Boulevard tickets that provide five samples for just $10.00. Tickets will be available for purchase the morning of the event beginning at 8:30 am. The Boulevard will be open from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

For more information about the International Biscuit Festival, go to biscuitfest.com or contact John Craig at john@biscuitfest.com.

What do Superman, Curious George, Lunch Lady, and dinosaurs have in common? Knoxville and May 18. This year's Children’s Festival of Reading promises to be epic -- Titanic even. As one of the country's oldest and largest literary festivals just for children, the event has gained a reputation as being an important stop for children's authors and illustrators. This year's line up continues the tradition of bringing in some of the most highly acclaimed talents in children's literature including Sharon Draper, five-time recipient of the Coretta Scott King Author Award and National Teacher of the Year. Jarrett Krosoczka is renowned for his "Lunch Lady" series of graphic novels and "Punk Farm" books. Bob Shea has pitted unsuspecting librarians and just about everyone else against dinosaurs in his popular "Dinosaur vs. ..." series. Also joining the Festival is the First Class Maid Jaynee of the Titanic Museum and Allan Wolf whose book,The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic, explores the notorious shipwreck in verse. Emmy Award winner, Bobby Norfolk brings his spellbinding storytelling skills back to the stage of the Festival. Joining him is his very talented wife, Sherry Norfolk, who is a storyteller and educator in her own right. Jim Gill will have the crowd crooning with his latest musical book, Soup Opera. Keep a look out for Curious George who will be roaming the Festival along with other storybook characters.

It all takes place on Saturday, May 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in World's Fair Park at the 9th annual kick off celebration for Knox County Public Library's summer reading programs. The event is free and open to the public. Free parking will be available in UT's 11th Street Garage as well as in the city lots downtown including Locust Street Garage, Market Square Garage and State Street Garage.

The Children's Festival of Reading celebrates the literary arts with six performance stages, a Parade of Books, arts and crafts, book sales, 50 community booths, food, music, storytelling, and tons of fun. Readers of all ages are encouraged to sign up for a summer of reading in one of the Library's summer programs. For more information about the 2013 Children's Festival of Reading, visit www.knoxlib.org/cfor.

The Knoxville Writers’ Guild will host three workshops designed to give more information to and provide hands-on assistance for writers interested in self-publishing. All three workshops will be held from noon to 2 p.m., at the Stone House, Church of the Savior, 934 North Weisgarber Road.

The first workshop will be held on Saturday, April 20, and will include a general overview of self-publishing as an option.
The second workshop will be held on Saturday, May 18, and will address specific questions that writers have about their specific project.
The third, set for Saturday, June 15, will focus on marketing.

Patricia Gilliam and Daryl Yearwood, both successful self-publishing writers, will lead the first two workshops in the series. Kathy Womack, author of the blog, “Romantic Reading Escapes,” will lead the third.

The second session in the self-publishing workshop series will focus more on attendees’ specific questions regarding their project.

Marketing, a relevant topic for all writers, traditionally published or self-published, will be the focus of the last of the workshop series. Womack promotes self-published and traditionally published authors in the young adult, new adult, romance and paranormal genres.

Cost for any individual workshop is $35 for KWG members and $40 for nonmembers. Discounted rates are available for anyone wishing to attend all three workshops. If a KWG member registers for all three, the cost is $90. For nonmembers, the cost is $100. To register or to become a KWG member, visit to www.knoxvillewritersguild.org. To register for the workshops via snail mail, send your check to KWG Workshops, P.O. Box 10326, Knoxville TN 37939-0326. For more information, contact: 865-809-8723, AdriaAmosKWG@gmail.com

On May 18, 2013, the Tennessee PKU Foundation (TN PKU)is sponsoring their annual Knoxville PKU Walk at the Knoxville Zoo from 9-12 p.m. Everyone can preregister and find additional information at http://tennesseepku.org/downloads/PKUWalkKnoxville2013.pdf.

TN PKU, a non-profit organization, sponsors events in each area of the state to promote awareness of this rare metabolic disease and raise funds for research. Founded in 2007, this organization was the only source of support for families in our state with this disease.
Each year the walk raises vital funds to aid researchers in searching for potential cures. This year's walk will continue providing funding to search for answers about this genetic disorder.

To register or for more information, contact Jessica Lamb at 865-386-3651 or email ms_georgiapch@yahoo.com. For more information on the TN PKU Foundation, visit www.tennesseepku.org.

The Princess Theater Foundation in Harriman is presenting The Glenn Miller Orchestra in concert. This orchestra plays the music of the original Miller orchestra of the 40's and 50's. It is the most popular and sought after big band in the world today for both concert and swing dance engagements. With its unique jazz sound, the Glenn Miller Orchestra is considered to be one of the greatest bands of all time. The present Glenn Miller Orchestra was formed in 1956 and has been touring consistently since, playing an average of 300 live dates a year all around the world. Check their web site for more information: www.glennmillerorchestra.com

The concert is one night only, presented in the beautiful newly restored Princess Theater in Harriman. Tickets for seating on the main floor are $20 with balcony seating $15. Tickets may be purchased at the Rocky Top General Store, Harriman Jewelry Exchange or by calling 865-882-8867.

Girls Outside invites girls in grades 4-6 to join them in a 3-mile roundtrip hike at the University of Tennessee Arboretum.

Hosted by: Girls Outside, Contact: Kelly Sturner at knoxgirlsoutside@gmail.com
Location: UT Arboretum, 901 S Illinois Ave, Oak Ridge, TN

Participants must register by May 15 at http://girlsoutside.org/

http://www.outdoorknoxville.com/calendar/event/3608-ut-arboretum-hike

The Spring 2013 East Tennessee Plant Swap will be held at the large shelter at Tyson Park located at 2351 Kingston Pike, Knoxville. Setup will begin at 9:30 am. Swapping plants starts at 10:00 am. Lunch will begin around 11:30 am. Admission is free to everyone. No money is allowed. Swappers bring plants, seeds, or gardens supplies and trade for whatever is available. If you cannot bring plants, bring pots, small gardening tools, magazines, or anything that has to do with gardening. If you plan to stay for lunch, bring picnic-like foods to share or canned drinks, ice, napkins, etc.
www.easttnplantswap.com

Songs, the Heart, and Bee’s Knees - featuring graphite, watercolors, graphitint pencils, vintage linens, up-cycled distressed mirror

Join us for a wine and cheese reception on May 17 at 7:00 PM, AND in honor of the Biscuit Festival, we will also have strawberry biscuit shortcakes! Leann's works are visual interpretations of lyrics, yearnings of the heart, and sweet moments in nature. After spending over 20 years as a full-time mom for three children, Leann returned to her love for drawing and watercolor. She discovered that her talent was not lost but just on standby waiting until the time was right for her to sharpen a few pencils and begin marks of faith and hope on a fresh page.

website: www.leannvineyardcooper.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeannsArt
etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/leannvc

Viewings also available by appt. through late June. 865-368-5778
The SHAREhouse, 1640 Jefferson Ave., Knoxville, TN 37917

Jessica Schatz, the Artist of the Month at the Plateau Creative Arts Center, has been an artist for as long as she can remember. She also remains busy as an interior designer, specializing in staging and new construction, and is also a pet portrait photographer. She also donates her photography services, photographing homeless pets in order to help them find homes. Jessica and husband, Robert, recently became Fairfield Glade residents. They have been coming to Fairfield Glade for 27 years, as she has family in the area. Originally from the Midwest, she once ran a Gallery called “Widow’s Weeds” that featured both Civil War reenactment photography and more contemporary art. . Perhaps the most fascinating part of her artistic history is how she became the only woman at that time to photograph camp life and battle reinactments of the Civil War. “I hate war , but I love history, and the genre of photography of that time”. So when she was asked to record the reenactments by Prince William County, VA (site of two Civil War Battles) Jessica said “yes”.

Jessica first became interested in photography by using her mother’s point-and-shoot camera as a young girl. A friend of hers, who had been badly injured in the war in Viet Nam, gave her her first Nikon,as he was unable to use it. She has been a professional photographer, specializing in hand-painted black-and-white photography, until recently. She also enjoys another near “lost art” painting floor cloths, the precursor to linoleum. Thomas Jefferson had a floor cloth as a rug. Itinerant artists used to go house-to-house, painting the floor cloths. They can also be utilized as placemats, table runners, and as wall hangings (one is hanging in her exhibit).

Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. Hours: M-F 9AM-4PM; Saturday-Sunday 1-4PM. Information: 931-707-7249; www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

TCDE will present an Evening of Dance at the Carousel Theatre. There will be 5 performances, as follows:
Thurs, May 16, 6:45 PM
Fri, May 17, 6:45 PM & 8:45 PM
Sat, May 18, 6:45 PM & 8:45 PM

Please call the office at 865.584.9636 or email us at tcde@nxs.net for any questions or just stop by the Dancers Studio located at 4216 Sutherland Avenue in Knoxville for tickets. http://dev.tcdedance.org/

In an extraordinary exhibit, Lens and Brush: The Visual Textures of East Tennessee, acclaimed watercolor artist Sandy Brown elucidates illusions of texture in Jim Caldwell’s breathtaking photographs of the environs of eastern Tennessee. Two artists, working in different mediums; one artist finding inspiration through his love of the land and the other artist finding inspiration in her ability to reinterpret texture, structure and light transitions.

An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Tuesday, May 14th from 1:00 to 3:00 PM.

522 West Madison Avenue, Athens, TN 37303. Information: 423-745-0329