Calendar of Events

The Athens Area Council for the Arts announces the return of the perennial favorite holiday event for three performances. Jazzy Little Christmas VIII opens Friday, December 6 and runs through Sunday, December 8 in the Sue E. Trotter Theater at The Arts Center. “Jazzy” is perfect for music lovers looking for an exciting kick-off to the holiday season. Directed by Pam Thigpen, the evening features local musicians singing and playing their favorite Christmas tunes cabaret-style with an emphasis on fun, inspiration, and holiday cheer. Light hors d’oeuvres, homemade desserts, and a cash bar available at 7:00 PM. The show begins at 7:30 PM.

New voices in the ensemble include: Lauren Brown Shepherd, Matthew Crabtree, Whitney Kimball Coe, and Mark Reedy. Advance reservations are required; tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students. Make reservations by phone at 423-745-8781 or in person at The Arts Center.
The Arts Center is located at 320 North White Street in downtown Athens, Tennessee.

Christmas' most beloved ballet completely narrated and primarily performed by children, The Nutcracker is Roane County's favorite Christmas tradition. Arts in Motion Dance Studio, RSCC Theatre, Harriman.
December 6 & 7, 7:00PM, December 8, 2:00PM
Tickets in advance and at the door. For best seating buy in advance.
Tickets at Kingston Arts in Motion. For tickets call 865 376 0295.

Santa Claus has come to town and made “Santa’s Village” at Knoxville Zoo his temporary East Tennessee headquarters. The jolly old elf will be available to discuss Christmas wishes and pose for holiday photos Thursday, Dec. 5th through Sunday, Dec. 8th and Thursday, Dec. 12th through Sunday, Dec. 15th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. each day. Guests may bring their own cameras for photos or purchase portraits taken by a professional photographer.

Located in The Pilot Special Exhibits Building, the halls of Santa’s Village are all decked for the holidays. Santa’s Village also has a “Secret Santa Gift Shop”, featuring items from $5 and up and designed just for little ones to do their very own holiday shopping. Knoxville Zoo’s staff of elves will help small shoppers make their selections and then wrap up their purchases to make sure there is no peeking before the big day.

Santa’s Village is included with general zoo admission. Currently, the zoo is celebrating Penguin Discount Days, and admission to Knoxville Zoo is half-off through Feb. 28, 2014.

Knoxville Zoo is Knoxville’s largest year-round attraction. Located off exit 392 from Interstate 40, the zoo is open every day except Christmas Day. Knoxville Zoo is nationally accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is committed to the highest standards in animal care and well-being, ethics, conservation, and education. Currently, the zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Admission and ticket sales stop one-hour before the zoo closes. Next-day admission is free after 3 p.m. For more information, please call 865.637.5331 ext. 300 or visit www.knoxvillezoo.org.

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

The Farragut Folklife Museum invites the community to visit "An Old Fashioned Christmas" exhibit, on display Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, through Friday, Jan. 3, 2014 (closed Dec. 24 and 25). This special holiday exhibit will feature items from the Museum's collection of artifacts as well as items belonging to Folklife Museum Committee members.

The exhibit showcases a variety of antique toys, games and dolls dating from the late 1800s through the 1900s. A featured item is the Rice doll house, designed and built in 1929 by local architect Malcolm Rice and a National Architecture Award recipient in 1930. Originally with electricity, the doll house was enjoyed by three generations of the Rice family. Folklife Museum committee member Lou LaMarche has loaned several 1940s toys from his personal collection, including toy soldiers, a Rudolph radio and an electric football game. In addition, the exhibit features a 1940s toy steam engine donated by museum volunteer Malcolm Shell as well as 1970s Star Wars toys donated by Mayor Ralph McGill.

The Farragut Folklife Museum is committed to preserving the heritage of its East Tennessee community and features a remarkable collection of artifacts from the area, including an extensive collection of the personal belongings of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, first Admiral of the U.S Navy and hero of the Civil War. Housed in the Farragut Town Hall located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive, the museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and offers free admission. For more information about the museum or the exhibit, please visit www.townoffarragut.org/museum , like the museum at www.facebook.com/farragutfolklifemuseum, or contact Museum Coordinator Julia Barham at julia.barham@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057.

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

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

Leapin' Lizards! The popular comic strip heroine is back in one of the world's best loved musicals. With equal measures of pluck and positivity, determined little orphan Annie escapes the orphanage and the clutches of the embittered Miss Hannigan in search of her parents, who abandoned her years ago. Yet, with a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City, she manages to charm the hearts of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, a loveable stray mutt named Sandy, and even the President!
November 22-December 8, 2013.

Purchase tickets online 24 hours a day: www.orplayhouse.com.
Purchase by phone or at box office: 865 482 9999, 12:00-5:30PM Mon.-Sat. during performance weeks.

The Art of the Creche II: Folk Art Nativities from Around the World
Featuring new selections on loan from a private collection.

Also showing - Selections from the Permanent Collection
Featuring International Artists including Henri Matisse, Edouard Manet, Salvador Dali and many others.

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 16, 7 to 9 PM
Gallery Talk: 6:30 PM
The event is free and open to the public. Bring your friends and family!

Oak Ridge Art Center * 201 Badger Avenue * Oak Ridge
(865) 482-1441