Calendar of Events

Zoo admission is half-price. Details TBA!

Knoxville Zoo, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.knoxville-zoo.org

Jazz ensembles performing holiday music. Admission is a new, unwrapped toy to donate to the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign, or a donation.

At the Sandra Powell Recital Hall, Natalie Haslam Music Center, 1741 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus. Unless otherwise noted, concerts are FREE and open to the public. *For individual or small group performances, please check the web site or call the day of the event for updates or cancellations: 865-974-5678, www.music.utk.edu/events

On the first Sunday of each month, the American Museum of Science and Energy will open its doors to Knox County students for $0.01*. Tour AMSE’s permanent exhibit galleries; The Story of Oak Ridge, Exploration Station, The World of the Atom,Y-12 and National Defense, Earth Energy Resources, and The Flattop, explore its temporary exhibits, experience the hair raising demonstration Atoms & Atom Smashers, and more. *All children ages 5-15 must be accompanied by a paying adult (age 18 and older) in a ratio not to exceed three children per one adult. Proof of Knox County residency (driver's license) will be required for each adult accompanying children ages 5-15. Contact: Glenda Bingham, 865-576-3200
300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 | www.amse.org

Presentation of Handel's Messiah by Crown College Choir hosted by Temple Baptist Church, Powell, TN
December 1, 2013 6:00PM, Free Admission
www.templebaptistchurch.com, (865) 938 8182

Sunday, December 1, 2013, 4:30 PM at The Foundry, 747 Worlds Fair Park Drive. Jingle and Mingle at the Knoxville Downtown Sertoma Club's Holiday Dinner Concert benefiting "Stockings from US", and endeavor to deliver holiday stockings to our nation's military service members deployed overseas.

Enjoy dinner and live entertainment featuring the South Doyle Madrigal Singers.
$50 per person.
To make reservations, please call the Foundry at (865) 546-8656 by Monday, November 25.

Dr. Anne F. Rogers is a professor of anthropology at Western Carolina University. She received her bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, and her master’s and doctorate from the University of Georgia. She has worked on archaeological sites in the southeastern U.S. for more than thirty years, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Her primary interest is in the Cherokee history of those areas. Her talk be on Before 1838: Pre-Removal Pressure on the Cherokee to Leave Their Homeland.

Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, 576 HWY 360, Vonore, TN 37885. www.sequoyahmuseum.org

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

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