Calendar of Events

Jonny Lang has a keen sense of what he aims to achieve creatively, what music means to him, and is focused on the impact that his songs bring to the lives of those that encounter his repertoire. For Lang, with the release of Fight For My Soul, he is entering a chapter wherein he has found his true voice.

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com. For tickets: 865-684-1200, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

The East Tennessee Preservation Alliance (ETPA) and the Sweetwater Historic Zoning Commission are partnering to host an open house at 505 Summit Street in the Mayes Avenue Historic District, which is located a few blocks from Downtown Sweetwater. The house is currently for sale through a unique partnership between ETPA and the Sweetwater City Schools Board of Education to ensure the house is preserved for future generations with a preservation easement. Ethiel Garlington, Director of Preservation Field Services for ETPA, will be on hand to discuss the regional preservation efforts. Ethiel will also point out some of the unique and original features of the home such as pocket doors, lead glass windows and gorgeous mantles. The Historic Zoning Commission members will also share information about the historic district and have Sweetwater’s Sanborn Maps dating back to 1885. These historic insurance maps are a fascinating glimpse back to the history of our communities and in Sweetwater you can locate the former sites of the Wagon Shop, Livery and Cobbler among other interesting businesses and homes. Refreshments will be served and feel free to bring along a covered dish.

ETPA is marketing this charming ca. 1900 house nestled in a historic neighborhood adjacent to downtown Sweetwater. The house has retained many of its original features such as hard wood floors, pocket doors, lead glass windows, built in cabinets, and gorgeous mantles. The house is ready for modern updates and would make a lovely residence or small office due to its walkability to downtown. The expansive house includes 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, 2 kitchens, and a semi-attached storage building. The large level lot would be perfect for entertaining and a rousing croquet match. Remarkably, the house is priced below the tax appraised price. The Colonial Revival style influences show up on the front columns and the gracious side porch. The interior features beautiful fireplaces, several French doors, and abundant natural light. The neighborhood and surrounding area have a walkscore of 65, with schools, hospital, churches, restaurants, library and grocery store all less than a mile away, while still on a beautiful tree-lined street. Sweetwater offers the best of both worlds, with charming, small-town life outside your door, but the amenities and cultural events of the Knoxville about an hour away. Recreational activities also abound, as Tellico and Watts Bar Lake with numerous opportunities for adventure is about a half an hour away. Sweetwater is nestled in a valley, at the gateway to the Cherohala Skyway in Monroe County, Tennessee. Incorporated in 1875, the city flourished due to the establishment of the railroad running through what is now a revitalized downtown business district and the Sweetwater Creek, which winds its way throughout the city. The Mayes Avenue Historic District, where the house is located, has seen a recent resurgence with several historic houses being rehabilitated. The momentum of the residential district has followed the trends of Downtown Sweetwater. Just this year, Sweetwater was added as an official Tennessee Main Street Community, which is a prestigious designation that will help continue the positive impact of preservation on the community and the local economy. Local Realtor, Terri Click Sloan, is assisting ETPA with the marketing efforts and will be on hand at the open house.

In case of inclement weather, please check www.knoxheritage.org for cancellation information.
CONTACT: Ethiel Garlington, Director of Preservation Field Services, 865-523-8008, egarlington@knoxheritage.org

The Farragut Arts Council will sponsor the 2014 Farragut High School Art Show this February at the Farragut Town Hall. Awards will be given for best in show and first, second and third places during a reception to honor the artists and their work on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

View during regular Town Hall hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Reception: Tuesday, Feb. 4 - 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Where: Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive (across from the Farragut Branch Post Office)
How: The art show and reception are free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Lauren Cox, special events and program coordinator, at lauren.cox@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057.

The WordPlayers, in collaboration with The Carpetbag Theatre, will tour: A Woman Called Truth by Sandra Fenichel Asher – A one-act play with music celebrating the life and achievements of Sojourner Truth. Directed by Linda Parris-Bailey with musical direction by Kelly Jolly. The play begins at the 1851 women’s rights convention in Akron, Ohio. We then go back in time to 1797 and travel with Sojourner as she remembers some of the extraordinary experiences that shaped her life. We get a glimpse of her highly cruel and unjust treatment as a slave. We experience how she bravely took her freedom and how she fought to free her son. At the end of the play, we learn how she became “Sojourner Truth” and get a taste of her dynamic spirit as an orator as she delivers her famous “Ain’t I a Woman” speech.

A Woman Called Truth is an important story about a significant woman in our country’s history. You are invited to these free, public performances!

Feb. 2, Fourth United Presbyterian, 1323 N. Broadway, 5:00 pm
Feb. 3, Moses Teen Center, 220 Carrick St., 7:00 pm
Feb. 8, ReCreate Café, Salvation Army, Chattanooga, 1:00 pm
Feb. 11, Walters State – Sevierville, 6:00 pm
Feb. 24, Walters State – Greeneville, 11:30 am
Feb. 24, Walters State – Claiborne, 6:00 pm
Feb. 25, Roane State – Harriman, 12:30 & 6:00 pm
Feb. 28, Walters State – Morristown, 2:00 pm

Info: 865-539-2490, wordplayers@comcast.net, http://wordplayers.org/current-season/touring-shows/woman-called-truth-spring-2014

Work by 12 African-American artists
curated by Sammie Nicely

In the Edith Davis Gallery

Rose Center, 442 W Second N Street, Morristown, TN 37814
Info: info@rosecenter.org, 423-581-4330, www.rosecenter.org, www.facebook/rosecenter

February 1, 12:00 PM - IJAMS BIRDING SERIES: Sandhill Cranes at Hiwassee
(Ages 12 and up) Weather permitting, join Ijams Senior Naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales for a road trip to Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge to see sandhill cranes wintering at the Meigs County location. Golden and bald eagles, winter ducks, and whooping cranes are also possible. Meet at the Ijams Visitor Center. The fee for this program is $12 for members and $15 for non-members. Ijams will provide box lunches and hot cocoa. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

2:00 pm - IJAMS FAMILY WILDLIFE SERIES: Groundhog Day
Unlike the popular movie, you won't be forced to relive this day over and over, but you may want to! Come join us for a fun and informative talk about one of our favorite underground dwellers. Will he see his shadow? Free to members, $5 for non-members. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

Terrarium Workshop February 8
Full Moon Happy Hour Hike February 15
New Naturalist Workshop February 21
Build a Bluebird House February 22

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

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents Sight and Feeling: Photographs by Ansel Adams January 31-May 4, 2014. This exhibition of 23 prints by Ansel Adams emphasizes the role of the artist’s intuitive and emotional response to the landscape in the creation of his powerful and enduring images. Also included in the KMA’s special presentation of this exhibition are three rare prints Adams made during his little-known visit to East Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains in 1948. Adams is widely considered to be America’s greatest landscape photographer. His ability to create black and white photographs with a remarkable range and subtlety of tones is legendary. Yet for all Adams’ technical mastery, he recognized that what made a compelling photograph was far more elusive.

Few are aware that in 1948 Adams traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park—his first and only recorded visit to Tennessee—in order take photographs as part of a Guggenheim Fellowship on America’s national parks and monuments. The resulting images represent an extensive and important artistic record of the Smokies approximately 14 years after the park was established.

There will be an opening reception Thursday, January 30 at the KMA, which includes a members-only preview from 5 to 6pm, and a public opening from 6 to 8pm.

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 presents Contemporary Focus January 31-April 6. This annual exhibition series is designed to serve as a vital means of recognizing, supporting, and documenting the development of contemporary art in East Tennessee. Each year, the exhibition series features the work of artists who are living and making art in this region, and who are exploring issues relevant to the larger world of contemporary art. The three artists selected for this year’s exhibition have a common interest in creating layered works dealing with memory, identity and the surrounding environment—whether suburban, rural, synthetic, or natural. Jean Hess produces dense, intricate collages made up of fragments culled from eclectic sources such as topographical charts, children’s writings, and the natural landscape. In addition to her studio practice, Hess is active as a freelance art writer and curator. Althea Murphy-Price is a printmaker and installation artist who uses hair—both human and artificial—rather than a drawn line as the basis for her elaborately textured compositions. Murphy-Price is an assistant professor of printmaking at the School of Art, University of Tennessee. Jessica Wohl is a mixed media artist based in Sewanee whose sprawling installations, obsessively detailed ink drawings, and sewn portraits are largely inspired by contemporary suburban life. She currently lives in Sewanee, Tennessee where she is an Assistant Professor of Art at The University of the South.

There will be an opening reception Thursday, January 30 at the KMA, which includes a members-only preview from 5 to 6pm, and a public opening from 6 to 8pm.

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

By Matthew Lopes; Directed by John Sipes

Everyone has scars in this stirring period drama. In April 1865, a wounded Jewish Confederate soldier returns to his home in Richmond only to find it ruined and abandoned--except for two former slaves also raised in the Jewish faith. As the three men celebrate Passover, they uncover a tangle of secrets and grapple with an uncertain future brought on by the end of the Civil War.

This production contains strong language and content and is recommended for high school and up.

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

In Kaufman and Hart’s 1940s comedy, famed author and personality Sheridan Whiteside, invited to dinner during a speaking tour, slips on the doorstep, breaking his hip. A tumultuous six weeks of confinement follows as the irascible and disagreeable invalid takes over the host family’s home and destroys their domestic tranquility with the arrival of strange and exotic get-well gifts, a parade of celebrity friends, and a devious plot to undermine his secretary’s budding romance.

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

In Kaufman and Hart’s 1940s comedy, famed author and personality Sheridan Whiteside, invited to dinner during a speaking tour, slips on the doorstep, breaking his hip. A tumultuous six weeks of confinement follows as the irascible and disagreeable invalid takes over the host family’s home and destroys their domestic tranquility with the arrival of strange and exotic get-well gifts, a parade of celebrity friends, and a devious plot to undermine his secretary’s budding romance.

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

Featuring over 40 pieces from East Tennessee College Students

Join us at The Arts Center at 5:30 on Friday January 31 for an opening reception & award presentation; light refreshments provided by the AACA hospitality committee

The Arts Center, 320 North White Street, Athens, TN; 423-745-8781
http://www.athensartscouncil.org/a/events/regional-college-art-student-show-accepting-submissions/