Calendar of Events

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.

Kathy Womack, author of the blog, “Romantic Reading Escapes,” will lead the third.

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

Join us for a day of fun for the entire family. To celebrate our community and be the gathering place for the community, the Clayton Center is partnering with Independent Insurance Consultants to bring East Tennessee a fun filled day celebrating healthy Minds, Body and Spirit. On Saturday, June 15th please plan to attend this FREE event that will be open to the public between the hours of 10am – 4pm. Enjoy free food samples, kids face painting, swing dancing, painting on the plaza, amazing art, and plenty of entertainment for all ages. This is a free event!

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Info: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

The fabulous 17-member orchestra will perform!

Relix Theatre, 1208 N Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-474-1017, www.relixvariety.com

9:00 am Wagging Walk with Dr. Louise
(All Ages) Grab your favorite four-legged friend and join Ijams' own veterinarian, Dr. Louise Conrad, as she walks her own canine companions. She'll review good doggy etiquette at the park and help owners understand the special safety concerns for dogs in nature. This month will focus on ticks, and how to keep your dog safe this summer. The fee for this program is $5 for non-members and free for members. Please call 865-577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

9:00 am Ijams Birding Series: Chat-About
(Ages 12 and up) Explore part of Knoxville's Urban Wilderness. Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area is state land with lots of open meadows ideal for birding, perfect habitat for yellow-breasted chats. Join naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales, as he regales tales from the outdoors as you search for the feathered residents of the park. You're sure to enjoy the beautiful scenery, laugh a little, and even learn about birds! The fee for this program is $5 for non-members and free for members. Please call 865-577-4717, ext. 110 to register. Note: Due to limited parking, we will meet at Ijams Nature Center and then carpool to the South Knoxville location.

9:00 am - 3:00 pm Ijams @ 5th Annual Rain Barrel & Compost Bin Sale
Ijams and the Water Quality Forum are partnering with the City of Knoxville, Town of Farragut and Knox County to bring you our 5th annual rain barrel and compost bin sale. Proceeds from the sale go to support clean water events such as River Rescue and WaterFest. Visit the Water Quality Forum website for more information. This event will be held at Chilhowee Park.

1:00 pm Magical Fairy Gardens
(All Ages) Just a touch of inspiration, a cute container, some plants and a few accessories are all it takes to get the magic of a fairy garden growing. Of course, you'll also want to add whimsy and merriment as well. Fairy gardens are a great way to get kids interested in gardening, and this workshop is a terrific family activity. At the end, you'll leave with your own piece of nature magic to take home. Fairies typically take up residence within just a few days, so be sure to keep your eye out for magical visitors! The fee for this program is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Pre-payment is required for this program in order to guarantee materials. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 130 to register.

2:00 pm Nature Writing & Journaling Workshop
(Recommended for Adults) Itching to write? Join Ijams senior naturalist, Stephen Lyn Bales, author of two books: "Natural Histories" and "Ghost Birds" published by UT Press, for this fun nature-writing workshop. To loosen the creative juices, activities will take place outside at various thought-provoking locations around the 300-acre park. The "Perils of Publishing" will also be discussed. Bring a notebook and your favorite writing implement. The fee for this program is $10 for members and $15 for non-members. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

2:00 pm Live Animal Program
(All Ages) Have you met all the animals that call the Ijams Visitor Center home? If not, be sure to stop by every Saturday for a chance to get nose-to-beak with some of our resident furred and feathered ambassadors. This program is free, but donations to support animal care are welcome.

4:00 pm Summer Sangria Social
(Recommended for Adults) Join us for an evening of refreshing summer sangrias as we mix up tasty, fresh-from-the-garden wine cocktails. We'll select season fruit and herbs to create a variety of sangria cocktails with different wines. What better way to get a little summer refreshment than a fresh wine punch? The fee for this program is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. Pre-payment is required for this program in order to guarantee materials. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 130 for payment and registration.

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

On June 15 The Knoxville Film & Music Festival will take us on a journey from Hollywood to Dollywood in search of the fabulous Dolly Parton. Directed by John Lavin, Hollywood to Dollywood won over twenty-five Best Documentary Awards, has screened in over 60 film festivals around the world and has gained adulation from filmmakers and celebrities—including Dolly Parton herself.

The film follows brothers Gary and Larry Lane - who conceived a script for their personal idol and inspiration, Dolly Parton, with Dolly envisioned as the lead. The folk idol had long been a heroine to the identical twins, who, growing up gay in a small Southern Baptist town in North Carolina, faced scrutiny because of their sexuality. It would seem a sad story, if the two were not so determined to prevail.

The twins, unable to reach Ms. Parton via email or phone, decided to make the cross country trip from their home in Los Angeles to the Dollywood theme park in Sevierville, TN, with hopes of delivering the work to Ms. Parton personally. Having won $50,000 on the ABC show Wipeout to pay for making the film, Gary, Larry, and Gary’s longtime partner Mike Bowen hop on an RV named Jolene and set out to record the 2,000 plus mile trip. Along the way the crew faces everything from doubt about their project to tornadoes in Texas before having their dreams nearly dashed just outside their destination by the Great Nashville Flood .

In the end, Larry, Gary, and Mike made it to Dollywood, and Dolly herself was so delighted by the project that she contributed 17 original songs--two of them previously unreleased. Since then the brothers have appeared on several national talk shows promoting the film – The Jeff Probst Show on NBC, The Rosie O’Donnell Show on OWN network, and The Marie Osmond Show on Hallmark—with O’Donnell hailing the film as “a beautiful movie.”

The screening will begin at 1:30pm at the Historic Bijou Theatre. There is a Q & A after the screening with filmmakers Gary and Larry Lane. Twenty percent of the proceeds from the June 15 showing and ten percent of every DVD sold will be donated to the Dolly Foundation's Imagination Library. The Imagination Library sends new books monthly to area children up to five years old to increase literacy and foster the love of reading. For more information or to purchase tickets go to www.knoxvillefilms.com. Week long passes start at $25.00. Individual event ticket prices will vary.

Knoxville Soap, Candle & Gifts at 4889 N. Broadway will host a book signing by Krista Tibbs, Knoxville resident and acclaimed author of the novels, The Neurology of Angels and Uncertainty Principles. What would you do if you could scientifically predict when tragedy would strike your town? This is the question at the heart of Uncertainty Principles, released in April 2013. The answer isn't as straightforward as it might seem, and every potential action has dire consequences. Yet at the core of this suspense-filled story are five diverse people exploring the relationships among what we look for, what we perceive, and the power of our expectations. As one of them realizes, “Don’t you see? We never know what’s going to happen next, but uncertainty can be either the root of fear or the cornerstone of hope. It all depends on the observer.”

The Neurology of Angels, the author's first novel, is a story about the hearts inside the business and politics of drug development. The Midwest Book Review called it "superbly written from first page to last", and book bloggers from the U.S. to Australia have described it as "powerful, informative, heart-tugging", "a tender tale of persons who are frail and vulnerable – like most of humanity – yet who aspire to do what is right", and "a very important book, written at a very important time."

Krista Tibbs studied neuroscience at MIT and has spent most of her non-writing career conducting clinical research for rare diseases. More information about the author and her work is available at www.kristatibbs.com and www.storyinside.org.

Meet your favorite “Star Wars” characters without making a trip to a galaxy far, far away. Knoxville Zoo will bring the big screen to life with help from the MidSouth Garrison of the 501st Legion, the preferred costuming organization of Lucasfilm Ltd., producer of the “Star Wars” film series. Famous “Star Wars” characters including R2D2, Darth Vadar, Luke Skywalker, Stormtroopers and Sandtroopers will be meeting fans and posing for photos in the zoo’s East Tennessee Plaza. Little visitors can even learn how to use “The Force” as they engage in mock lightsaber maneuvers and learn how to become Jedi masters. Visitors are encouraged to don their own “Star Wars” attire to celebrate the occasion. The opportunity to meet “Star Wars” characters is included with general zoo admission and free for Knoxville Zoo members.

For more information, please call 865.637.5331 or visit www.knoxvillezoo.org.

Art and science are intertwined in Nikon Small World as the photomicrographs showcase the delicate balance between outstanding scientific technique and exquisite artistic quality. "We are proud that this competition is able to demonstrate the true power of scientific imaging and its relevance to both the scientific communities as well as the general public," explains Eric Flem, Communications Manager, Nikon Instruments.

First place winners Dr. Jennifer Peters and Dr. Michael Taylor of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, partnered to capture the image highlighting their research of the blood brain barrier in a live zebrafish embryo, which is believed to be the first-ever image showing the formation for the blood-brain barrier in a live animal. The top five images in Nikon Small World include: the blood-brain barrier in a live zebrafish embryo; Live newborn lynx spiderlings; Human bone cancer (osteosarcoma) showing actin filaments (purple), mitochondria (yellow) and DNA (blue); Drosophila melanogaster visual system halfway through pupal development, showing retina (gold), photoreceptor axons (blue), and brain (green); and Cacoxenite (mineral) from La Paloma Mine, Spain.

This year's judges were comprised of top science and media industry experts: Daniel Evanko, Editor, Nature Methods; Martha Harbison, Senior Editor, Popular Science; Dr. Robert D. Goldman, Stephen Walter Ranson Professor and Chair, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Northwestern University and Liza A. Pon, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology and Director, Confocal and Specialized Microscopy Shared Resource, Columbia University.

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM-5PM; Sunday 1-5PM. Information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org

June 14 Reception 6pm - 8pm

An exhibition juried by Denise Sanabria from Knoxville.

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

You're a Good Man Charlie Brown (Revised) is presented by The WordPlayers of Knoxville with a professional, adult cast. Follow the antics of good old Charlie Brown as he spends a day pondering the meaning of life. In between kite-flying escapades, baseball games and failed attempts to win the heart of the Little Red-Haired Girl, he finds solace and friendship with Linus, his sister Sally, nemesis Lucy, musical genius Schroeder – and, of course, man’s best friend, Snoopy! Like most of us, these loveable characters search for what brings them true happiness. This musical is for the kid in all of us! (Recommended for ages 5+).

June 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 @ 7:30 p.m. & June 16 & 23 @ 2:30 p.m. at The WordPlayers' Theatre @ MCM, 1540 Robinson Rd., Knoxville, TN 37923. Tickets are $6-$15 and available online or at the door with cash or check. Thursday is Pay What You Can Night.

For more information, call 865.539.2490 or see www.wordplayers.org

Abstract Works from the Ewing Gallery Permanent Collection
June 12 - July 12, 2013

Ewing Gallery Summer Hours: closed: Saturday, Sunday, and Monday
open: Tuesday - Friday 1pm - 5pm and by special request

In its brief history, the Ewing Gallery of Art & Architecture at The University of Tennessee has strived to acquire works of art and architecture for the educational benefits of our students and faculty and for the enrichment of the Knoxville and East Tennessee communities.

This summer the Ewing Gallery will be organizing a permanent collection exhibition focusing on our abstract art.

Abstract works from the permanent collection will be on display from June 12 - July 12.

Ewing Gallery of Art & Architecture, 1715 Volunteer Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37996
865.974.3200
www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

The Athens Area Council for the Arts is pleased to present “Not Just a Snapshot, photography by Sheila Silvus Chesanow”, on exhibit from June 10 – July 25, 2013, at The Arts Center, 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee.

The photographs in this exhibit represent a series of locales in which a lonesome tree, an abandoned building, or a junked car in the back woods may evoke unexpected feelings and thoughts in the viewer. The artist hopes her photographs will cause the viewer to appreciate the beauty found in everyday scenes when one slows down to take a closer look.

The public is invited to meet the artist at an opening reception at The Arts Center, Friday, June 14, 2013 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
Following the reception, two duos of local musicians will perform acoustic sets in a coffee-house style concert, “Soft Sounds for a Summer’s Eve.” Featuring Andrew Kimball and Lindsey Nunley of Athens and Ally and Ashley Clark of Decatur , with Adam Klinker on percussion and special guest Emmy McKenzie, the show will include light hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door. The concert is sponsored by Hiwassee Builders Supply, Inc.

The Arts Center is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. For more information or directions, call The Arts Center at 423-745-8781, or visit the website at www.athensartscouncil.org.