Calendar of Events

The holiday season is underfoot, so during this gift-giving season, please join Oak Ridge artist Eun-Sook Kim as she holds a series of art shows and sales at her studio, displaying her unique crafted artistic creations in varied mediums. The show proceeds will benefit the Scarboro Learning Cetner scholarship program.

Sundays, Dec 8, 15, and 22, 1-4 PM
109 Windham Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Info: 865-483-4514

December 8, 2013
A Smokeyland Christmas at 3:00PM in the Powell High School Auditorium. Sacred and secular selections of Christmas music performed by the Smokeyland Sound Barbershop Chorus, an acapella men's four-part competition chorus. Also performing will be the Foothills Sound Youth Chorus which placed 6th in the latest national competition being voted the best high school program. Quartets performing will be: Collectors Edition, Three Nice Guys and Fortuitous.
Admission $8 and $10.
www.smokeylandsound.com or (865) 577-6405.

This is a great time for our members, their friends and others to come and share the natural warmth and beauty of the holiday season at our beautiful 18th century home. There will be no admission fee for this event. Donations to support Ramsey House and its educational programming would be greatly appreciated. Ramsey House is located at 2614 Thorn Grove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. As you check into the Visitor’s center you will hear holiday music provided by the lovely sounds of children’s voices and violins. Enjoy holiday treats and hot mulled cider or coffee and take time to visit with friends and other Ramsey House members.

As you stroll up to the house along the candle lit path imagine the carriages and guests arriving in their best attire. Enter the kitchen and envision the hustle and bustle in the kitchen of many hands preparing food for the big event. Picture the Ramsey family and their friends around a festive table in the Great Hall or the quiet warmth of conversation in the Parlor. Upstairs you can imagine the children snuggled in their beds waiting for that very special gift that will be waiting for them in the morning. All in rooms aglow with the light of candles and the fragrance of natural greens used in decorations in that period.

So come spend a very special evening at Historic Ramsey House. Learn more about this very special family that helped to settle the southwest frontier now known as Knoxville, Tennessee. 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: 865-546-0745, www.ramseyhouse.org

Ijams Nature Center will be hosting a Holiday Market and Fair. The event will feature a holiday marketplace with over 25 vendors, including local artists and craftspeople. In addition, we will have beer and wine for sale while you do your holiday shopping! We will also have fun food and snacks for sale and be treated to festive holiday music by local musicians and singers. There is no admission to come in and enjoy the music and, of course, the shopping. For even more holiday fun, be sure to purchase a ticket to participate in our holiday workshops:

2 pm – 5 pm Kids Craft Area ($5)
Let your kids make their own fun holiday crafts and ornaments.

2 pm – 5 pm Upcycle Eco Make-and-Take ($10)
Turn broken jewelry and watches into ornaments and other fun crafts.

3 pm – 4 pm Pamper Your Loved Ones ($20)
Create stress-relieving and aromatherapy products to give as gifts or keep for yourself!
*Pre-registration is required for this workshop; please call (865) 577-4717 to register.

Get all your shopping done in one place while you support your local arts and your local nature center! The event will fun for all ages, so make plans to come spend the afternoon with us.

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

Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews has God-given talent, natural charisma and a relentless drive to bridge music's past and future. His third outing for Verve Records, Say That To Say This, was co-produced by Andrews and kindred spirit Raphael Saadiq, and sounds like nothing else out there, as Andrews and his longtime band, Orleans Avenue continue their natural musical evolution.

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com. For tickets: 865-684-1200, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

The RSCC Music Department offers a traditional concert of Christmas favorites and winter inspired arrangements, featuring Celebration Singers, Concert Choir, Jazz Band, faculty and guest musicians.
December 8, 6:30PM
Princess Theatre, Harriman
Donations accepted at the door.

Roane State Community College students from multiple campuses combine to perform a program of solo and small ensemble selections.
Princess Theatre, Harriman
Free to public.

December 8, 2013
Home Federal Bank presents “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Tennessee Theatre
1:00PM and 5:00PM

Celebrate the Christmas season in the grandeur of the Tennessee Theatre as Home Federal Bank presents the classic film "It's a Wonderful Life."
Admission is free; no ticket is required. Seating is limited to the theatre's capacity.
www.homefederalbanktn.com

December 8, 2013
“A Gift of Lights”
Crescent Bend, 2728 Kingston Pk
2:00-8:00PM
Free Admission
Crescent Bend has a “gift” for you and your family this Holiday Season.
With twinkling Christmas lights in the formal gardens, a historic home trimmed with traditional holiday decorations, and a very special holiday quilt exhibit from the Smoky
Mountain Quilters on display, we invite you to visit Crescent Bend and join with us in celebrating the most important part of the holiday season...“giving.” It is our hope and
desire that all those who attend will help the Mission of Hope by bringing cans of food, new un-opened toys, or by making a monetary contribution.
This family event is for all ages to enjoy one of Knoxville's historic homes and to share in the joy of “giving” this Holiday Season.

The Fourth Annual Smoky Mountain Blues Society Christmas Party will take place at the Well on Sunday December 8th, 2013. Doors opens at 3 pm, music starts at 4 pm. Admission is $3 for members, $5 for non members. All monies will go towards sending our bands (Buck Hoffman & Paul McQuade, GRITS from Dumplin Valley) to Memphis for the International Blues Competition!

Once again the format this year is potluck. Attendees are encouraged to bring good food to share. Also, the Society will be collecting cans to donate to local food pantry so attendees should bring canned goods for others less fortunate. The musical line up is:
Blue Barry and the Terraplane Drifters
Buck Hoffman and Paul McQuade
GRITS from Dumplin Valley
Open Mic

This has always been a wonderful holiday event. People get to listen to some good music, share good food with good friends and likely make some new friends. In years past the party has been held at Brackins in Maryville. It is being moved to Knoxville this year to make it more convenient for our Knoxville members and friends. This event is open to the public. The Well is located at 4620 Kingston Pike, Knoxville. The phone there is (865) 851-7459. For more information, contact SMBS President Robert Higginbotham (865.300.3648) or our secretary, Steph Cabell (865.323.3518)

www.smokymountainblues.org

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra presents a musical education moment with Maestro Lucas Richman entitled: “Ernest Bloch: A Musical Soul.” This event is FREE TO ATTEND and will take place at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. Maestro Lucas Richman will discuss how music is used in cultural, spiritual and creative expression, and particularly how composer Ernest Bloch expressed his spirituality through his musical composition, his work and his life. The KSO will perform Bloch’s Sacred Service February 20-21, 2014 as part of the Moxley Carmichael Masterworks series presentations of Music of the Spirit.

Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a 20th-century Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was born in Geneva, Switzerland and began playing the violin at age 9. He began composing soon afterwards. He is best known for his work for cello and orchestra, Schelomo. He held several teaching appointments in the U.S. and was also director of the Cleveland Institute of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 1941 he settled in Oregon and lived there until he died in 1959. Bloch’s Sacred Service (Avodath Hakodesh), was composed in 1930-33.

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

The Tennessee Women Project is proud to announce the release of their new book, Tennessee Women of Vision and Courage. A Knoxville book launch and wine and cheese reception will be held Sunday, December 8, 2013, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. at the East Tennessee History Center at 601 South Gay Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Tennessee women fought for their right to vote, compulsory education for children, racial justice, and equal opportunities. Their pioneering spirit, vision, and courage enabled them to overcome hardship and adversity to blaze a trail for other women. Compiled and edited by Charlotte Crawford and Ruth Johnson Smiley, this book chronicles the hardships and successes of 22 historic women who left their mark on Tennessee. Crawford said, “The contributions of women are often shown as a footnote in history. The stories of the women in Tennessee Women of Vision and Courage bring these women out of the shadows and shine a light on the trail-blazing, pioneering spirit embodied by them. They deserve to be remembered and acknowledged and to take their place in the history books of Tennessee.”

While the book includes profiles of women across the state, several stories focus on those who made their particular mark on East Tennessee. These include Elizabeth Paxton Houston, the mother of Sam Houston; women’s education advocate Angie Villette Warren Perkins; physician and hospital founder Emma Rochelle Wheeler; newspaper publisher Edith O’Keefe Susong; Tennessee’s “first lady of politics,” Anna Belle Clement O’Brien; and aviator and flight instructor Evelyn “Mama Bird” Bryan Johnson (picture on the book’s cover), among others. Twenty experienced Tennessee women writers from a variety of professional backgrounds volunteered to research, document, and create original profiles of the historic Tennessee women included in this book. Each contributor drew from her own unique knowledge and experience to connect with her subject and make history come alive. East Tennessee contributors include: Judy Arnold, Sara Baker, Kathy Duggan, Sherri Gardner Howell, Margie LeCoultre, Hannah Seay, and Pam Strickland of Knoxville; Margaret “Peggy” Emmett and Pat Hope of Oak Ridge; Ann Thornfield-Long of Norris; Deborah Staley of Maryville; Jane Powers of Crossville; and Rita Lorraine Hubbard and Stephanie Todd of Chattanooga. To ensure that the stories of these women are not lost, the project plans to provide a copy of the book to every high school library in Tennessee. When told of the proposed donations, Margaret Britton Vaughn, Tennessee Poet Laureate, said: “When students read about Tennessee history, it is the names like Jackson, Polk, Crockett, York, and so many other men that have gone down on pages of recognition. The Tennessee Women Project has broadened the scope in their book and honored twenty-two women who have been instrumental in the making of the volunteer state.”

The December 8 program will include a panel of contributing authors and the book’s editors, who will discuss their experiences in researching these remarkable women. This will be followed by a book signing, and books will be available for purchase. Attendees are invited to partake in a wine and cheese reception as part of the event. Non-alcoholic beverages will also be served. Books are also available online at Amazon.com. For more information about Tennessee Women of Vision and Courage, visit the website at http://www.tnwomenproject.com or write tnwomenproject@gmail.com.

Information: (865) 691-6264 or sgseay@gmail.com; www.tnwomenproject.com/media-kit/