Calendar of Events

Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee - Ongoing/Hayworth Gallery
This permanent installation, housed in one of the two large top-floor galleries, traces the development of fine art and craft in the region and the surrounding area over the past century. It tells the largely unknown story of the area’s rich artistic history and its connections to the larger currents of American art. Featured works are drawn from the KMA collection along with selected works on loan from several regional museums and private collections.

Currents: Recent Art from East Tennessee and Beyond - Ongoing/Faires Stokely Gallery
This exhibition showcases the exciting range of contemporary works by a stellar slate of more than 30 international artists and East Tennessee luminaries. The selection is grouped in thought-provoking juxtapositions that call attention to new directions in art and new approaches to the artistic process, and help viewers discover meaningful connections between featured works.

Thorne Miniature Rooms - Ongoing/Great Hall
Thorne Rooms are among America’s most well-known miniature diorama groups. The Thorne Rooms were developed in the 1930s and 40s by Mrs. James Ward Thorne of Chicago, who collected miniature furniture and accessories and used them to create dioramas built to a scale of one inch to one foot.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

The Knoxville Museum of Art and the Tennessee Art Education Association present the eighth annual East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition, which features artwork created by middle and high school students and offers students the opportunity to display their talents and be honored for their accomplishments in a professional art museum environment. This event is made possible by the generosity of presenting sponsor Regal Entertainment Group and additional sponsors Emerson Process Management, Home Federal Bank, Carton Services Inc, and the Tennessee Theatre.

Students, family, friends, and the public are invited to a reception and awards ceremony Tuesday, December 3 from 6 to 8pm. The ceremony this year will be held at the Tennessee Theater at 604 S. Gay Street due to the renovations taking place at the KMA. Student artwork will be on view at the museum. The event is free and open to the public.

The East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition is open to students in grades 6-12, attending public, private, or home schools in 32 counties across East Tennessee. Fewer than a third of the more than 1500 entries in this highly competitive show will make it through a rigorous jury process. The Best-in-Show winner will receive a Purchase Award of $500, and the artwork will become a permanent part of the collection of Mr. James Dodson, on loan to the Knoxville Museum of Art's Education Collection. This is the first exhibition to open in the newly renovated Clayton Building. Having been closed to the public since late August, the museum has undergone extensive renovations and is reopening in stages as work is completed. The two galleries on the museum’s main level will house the Student Art Exhibition and boast newly finished flooring, while new terrazzo flooring will greet visitors as they enter the front doors.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Wears Valley wants to take you back in time to the days of old-fashioned Christmas trees, horse-drawn wagon rides, hayrides, and storytelling. Lots of fun awaits you in the Valley during the holiday season. A four-week long event, "Christmas in Wears Valley" will begin with a tree lighting ceremony at 6:00 pm on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 at 3601 Lyon Springs Rd in Sevierville, TN. The event will run through December 31st.

Special events are spread over four weekends, November 29-30, December 13-14, December 20-21, and December 27-28. The first weekend is the tree lighting ceremony on November 29. On November 30 professional storytellers will tell you stories that will make your jaws drop. Throughout the four-week event, you can enjoy a tree tour, hayrides, horse-drawn wagon rides, and shopping for a live Christmas tree – all available daily. Storytelling events will be held on Saturday afternoons. http://www.christmasinwearsvalley.com

Tom Dudzick's 5-character comedy is about a young man who brings home his Jewish atheist fiancé to meet his very Catholic parents on Christmas Eve. With the inevitable family explosion comes an out-of-left-field miracle that propels the family into a wild exploration of love, religion, personal truth and the nature of earthly reality.
Greetings! is a miraculous comedy that has become a welcome alternative to A Christmas Carol in theatres all across the country.

"Tom Dudzick's comedy is a hilarious boy-brings-fiancée-home at-Christmas story." — The New Yorker

Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 3:00 PM. Tickets are $10 plus fees for Thursday & Sunday performances and $15 plus fees for Friday & Saturday performances. If available, tickets will be sold at the door.

Theatre Knoxville Downtown has open seating. Doors open 30 minutes prior to show time. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to pick up your tickets and claim your seats. TKD reserves the right to seat walk-in patrons during the final 15 minutes prior to show time.

Tickets: 865-523-7521; www.KnoxTIX.com. Information: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

Come by and enjoy refreshments while you visit and shop. For more information, stop by the center, located at 2716 Andersonville Hwy, Norris, TN, 37828, call 865-494-9854, or visit www.appalachianarts.net.

Appalachian Arts Craft Center: 2716 Andersonville Highway, Clinton, TN. Hours: Monday-Saturday 10AM-6PM; Sunday 1-5PM. Closed Sunday and Monday in January and February. Information: 865-494-9854, www.appalachianarts.net

November 29: Market Square, Krutch Park & Krutch Park Extension at 6:00PM.
Downtown Knoxville becomes a Christmas village with caroling and marshmallow roasting! The 38 ft. tall Chirstmas tree in Krutch Park Extension will be lit and Krutch Park will sparkle with more than 100,000 lights. There will be train rides for children of all ages and a Christmas market place with vendors.
Free activities include pictures with Santa Claus, hot cocoa by the Salvation Army, face apinting , balloon animals and much more!
City of Knoxville - Special Events Office: 865-215-2024, www.cityofknoxville.org/events/

Friday, November 29, at 6:30 PM on the Market Square Stage.
This year's WDVX Holiday Ho-Ho-Hoedown will embrace the Christmas in the City's "A White Christmas in Knoxville" theme with a musical celebration. Streamliners String Band will be performing some big band swing sound. Based out of Knoxville, this band consists of the region's finest young jazz musicians and plays hard-swinging music. Also performing will be Knoxville's national champion clogging dance team from the Step Above Dance School. And WDVX's Freddy Smith and his Christmas Chicken will entertain and pose for pictures.
6:30-7:00PM: The Step Above Dance School
7:00-7:15PM: Christmas Tales by Freddy and his Christmas Chicken
7:15-9:00PM: Streamliners String Band

www.City of Knoxville.org/christmas

The Knoxville Museum of Art's landmark Clayton Building will reopen Friday, November 29, 2013 in time for the East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition. The museum’s Great Hall and North Garden will remain closed while work continues in those areas. Exterior cleaning and repairs began last January. Interior work began in the fall and included installing new floors, upgrading bathrooms, renovating the catering kitchen, painting, and installing new lighting. All of the exterior and interior renovations and improvements are getting the museum ready for the unveiling of Richard Jolley’s monumental glass and steel sculpture Cycle of Life in early May 2014. The museum will continue with free admission and invites the community to come see the beautifully renovated Clayton Building. The public can follow renovation updates on the museum’s website (www.knoxart.org) and on Facebook and Twitter.

The Knoxville Museum of Art celebrates the art and artists of East Tennessee, presents new art and new ideas, serves and educates diverse audiences, and enhances Knoxville’s quality of life. 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: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

November 29, 1863 may be the most pivotal date in Knoxville’s Civil War history, and to commemorate this historic day, the Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission invites the public to experience some of these historical activities with a day of exciting programs and historical commemorations.

Below is a list of details for the day:

6:00 a.m. - At dawn on November 29th, 1863, Confederate forces assaulted the Union-held Fort Loudon in Knoxville, later to be renamed Fort Sanders. On the morning of November 29th, 2013, two groups of reenactors will set out to recreate that event and to contemplate what happened 150 years ago.

Confederate reenactors will set out from Bleak House and Federal reenactors will set out from the Farragut Building in downtown Knoxville. At the exact time of the battle, they will meet at the approximate site of the northwest bastion of Fort Sanders. The event is intended to be a symbolic representation of what occurred, rather than an actual reenactment. Participation in the march is by invitation only, although the public is welcome to observe or bring candles in remembrance.

11:00 a.m. - A formal dedication of High Ground Park will take place. This is an invite only event, with the Park opening to the public at 1:00 p.m.

12:00 p.m. - In commemoration of the Battle of Fort Sanders, church bells in the downtown area will ring for one minute at noon to signify both remembrance and reconciliation. Participating churches include, but are not limited to: St. James Episcopal Church, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, Saint John’s Lutheran, First Baptist Church, Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Tyson House UTK, and Second Presbyterian Church. In addition, Ayres Hall on the University of Tennessee Campus will also join in with the rining of their bells.

1:00 p.m. - Fort Higley will open to the public for the first time in the form of High Ground Park. Thanks to preservation work by the Aslan Foundation, the park preserves the remains of the Union fort constructed in 1863 and includes the remnants of trenches, rifle pits, and a cannon redoubt. A meandering walking path surrounded by native plants and a hardwood forest follows a stone wall that leads to fort’s remnants.

The public is invited to tour the low-impact park from 1 pm to 3 pm. Refreshments will be provided and exhibitors, including the East Tennessee Historical Society, Knoxville Civil War Roundtable, McClung Museum, Legacy Parks Foundation, South Knoxville Alliance and representatives from Historic Homes of Knoxville, will have displays set up in a tent immediately adjacent to the park until 3 p.m. Due to limited on site parking, service shuttles will be available from a designated lot along Cherokee Trail at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The park will close at sunset, and will be open to the public daily, from dawn to dusk.

In addition to the dedication of High Ground Park, two monuments in the Historic Fort Sanders Neighborhood will be rededicated in the afternoon to honor those who fought at the Battle of Fort Sanders. Starting at 1 pm, the 79th New York Highlanders and the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable will host a wreath laying at the 79th New York monument located on the corner of Clinch Avenue and 16th Street. The monument was originally dedicated in 1918 by the 79th New York Veterans Organization.

2:00 p.m. - The Chapter 89 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy will place a wreath on the monument originally dedicated by Knoxville Chapter 89, UDC on November 29, 1914 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Sanders. The monument is located between Clinch Avenue and Highland Avenue on 17th Street. The public is invited to attend both events and honor both sides that fought at the Battle of Fort Sanders.

The Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission invites the public to attend theses events. Plans are already under way for programming in 2014, with a culmination of activities occurring in the spring of 2015 for the State of Tennessee's 2015 Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event.

For more information visit: knoxcivilwar.org.

The Clarence Brown Theatre holiday tradition of the timeless Dickens classic returns to the Clarence Brown Theatre mainstage. This year's production features an enhanced set, more music and will include an intermission. Also new this year will be a special photo opportunity and sweet treat concessions for young and old alike. "A Christmas Carol" is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, whose ghostly journey and transformation through Christmas past, present and future is among the most beloved stories in western literature. Described by Dickens as his "little Christmas Book," "A Christmas Carol" was first published in December 1843. The story was instantly successful, selling over 6,000 copies in one week. It has since been republished countless times and adapted for stage and screen. It remains one of literature's most enduring and often-quoted stories of hope, triumph, and communal spirit.

The production features professional actors and resident artists, UT Theatre faculty, UT graduate and undergraduate student actors, and actors from greater Knoxville. The preview is Wednesday, November 27 followed by Opening Night Friday, November 29. UT faculty/staff, senior citizens, children and students receive discounts.

Clarence Brown Theatre / Carousel Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

At the Knoxville Convention Center, Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 2013.

Fantasy of Trees is a holiday celebration benefitting Est Tennessee Children's Hospital and has become a tradition for thousands of families in East Tennessee. This 5 day event features over 120,000 square feet of designer decorated Christmas Trees, holiday wreaths, displays, children's activities and special exhibits. Bands, dance companies, choral groups, magicians and singers delight and entertain guests. This year the Fantasy of Trees theme is "Christmas on Main Street". Whether it is a visit to see Santa, a chance to see the most up to date holiday designs, begin holiday shopping or enjoy some of the area's best entertainment, Fantasy of Trees has something for everybody.
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: 9:00AM-9:00PM, Thursday: 3:00-9:00PM,
Sunday 12:00-6:00PM. Adults $12, children 4-12, $6, 3 and under free.
www.fantasyoftrees.org

Opening Reception Friday, Nov. 22, 6:30 - 8:00 PM, everyone welcome
Most of the watercolors, oil paintings, mixed media, and acrylic paintings will be for sale by the artists. Awards will be announced for the show at 7 PM during the reception. The show will be on view free of charge.

Also debuting on Friday night during the reception is the first annual "Fountain City Art Center Holiday Gift Shoppe." Most, but not all, of the items for sale will be between $5 and $20 and have been handmade by FCAC members. All of the items are donated for this fund raising event to help with Art Center operating expenses, especially tough winter weather heating bills. All proceeds go directly to benefit the Center

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9AM-5PM; Wednesday & Friday, 10AM-5PM; Saturday, 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartctr.com