Calendar of Events

Legally Blonde follows the story of sorority president Elle Woods as she crosses the country on a mission to find love at Harvard Law School. After discovering how the law can be used to help others, she uses her new found skills to defend a workout-queen in a murder trial, defying the odds and proving that pink can save the day!

MTI rates this production of Legally Blonde: The Musical with a PG rating for mild language and sensuality.

Tickets are $15 for Adults, $12 for Seniors & Students
Valentine's Day price: 2 for $25
Group rates are available

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Info: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

Athens Community Theatre announces their upcoming musical production of Into the Woods, book by James Lapine, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Show dates for Into the Woods are February 13-23, 2014.

In this fairytale mash-up of epic proportion, familiar faces embark on the unknown: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack (of beanstalk fame), dwell in a sylvan community where a meddling witch and a baker are next-door neighbors and the handsome princes from classic fables are competitive and comically vain paramours. Propelled by Sondheim’s majestic score, these characters venture “Into the Woods” and down a different path than that of the stories you’ve heard. The baker and his wife travel in search of a cow, a red cape, yellow hair, and gold slippers to lift a spell placed on them by the haggard witch. Cinderella, Jack, and Little red, too, have set out on inspired quests of their own. As the plot unfolds, these characters’ individual stories intersect through unexpected plot twists, and cameos by other characters of fairytale lore add to the thrill of the journey. In turn farcical and contemplative, James Lapine’s book examines themes of childhood and parenthood, ambition and desire, and takes on allegorical gravity when the tale does not end with “happily ever after.”

Performances are February 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21 and 22 at 7:00 PM and February 23 at 2:00 PM. Tickets for all performances are $15 for adults, $8 for students, except for February 14, which is BE MY VALENTINE NIGHT, when you can bring your prince or princess to the theatre for a “buy one get one $3 off” ticket deal; and February 20, which is FAIRYTALE FUN NIGHT, when you can come at 6:00 PM dressed in a fairytale costume for a complimentary magic potion (hot beverage) and $1 off ticket price.
Tickets go on sale Thursday, January 16th and will be available online at www.athensartscouncil.org, by phone at 423-745-8781, or in person at The Arts Center, 320 N. White St., Athens, Tennessee. For more information, contact The Arts Center at 423-745-8781.

The University of Tennessee School of Music will be hosting the 2014 Joint Regional Conference of The College Music Society Southern Chapter and Mid-Atlantic Chapters. This year's conference will feature many outstanding performances of new compositions and clinics. Highlights of the program include:
Thursday, February 13, 2014
12:40 pm – Grand Opening featuring performances by University of Tennessee Faculty
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, 1741 Volunteer Boulevard

3:40 pm – Composers' Concert featuring new works for jazz ensembles and combos (performed by the UT Big Band and UT Jazz Combos)
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, 1741 Volunteer Boulevard

5:00 pm – Band Director’s Session, “How to make your trumpet section sound better” with Allen Vizzutti, Vince Di Martino, Gabe DiMartino
Julian Band Room, Room 135, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

8:00 pm –Composer’s Concert featuring UT Ensembles
James R. Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Building, 1408 Middle Drive

Friday, February 14, 2014
Doc Severinsen 11:15 am - Keynote address by Doc Severinsen
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

8:00 pm – Concert featuring the Winners of the Doc Severinsen International Composition Contest; Performers to include: Allen Vizzutti, Vince Di Martino, Gabe DiMartino with the UT symphony Orchestra and UT Wind Ensemble
James R. Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Building, 1408 Middle Drive

Saturday, February 15, 2014

8:00 am – CMS Southern and Mid-Atlantic Chapters Business Meetings

12:15 pm – Jazz Concert featuring jazz legend Donald Brown and the UT Jazz Faculty performing the music of Donald Brown
UT Black Cultural Center, 1800 Melrose Avenue

2:00 pm – Performer’s Concert
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, 1741 Volunteer Boulevard

All events are free to local music educators and students. For a complete listing of events, please visit the CMS regional conference website at: http://www.music.utk.edu/conference/index.html
Info: 865-974-5678

Special event; The 2014 Joint Regional Conference of The College Music Society Southern Chapter and Mid-Atlantic Chapter/ Association for Technology in Music Instruction. More information: www.music.utk.edu/conference

Grand opening, keynote address and concerts are free and open to the public. All events unless otherwise noted are at the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall in the newly opened Natalie L. Haslam Music Center. Schedule of public events:

CMS/ATMI: Welcome and Grand Opening 

Featuring UT Music faculty performing new works by CMS composers 

Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 12:40 p.m. 

Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

CMS Composers' Concert #1 

Featuring UT Big Band and UT Jazz Combos performing new jazz works by CMS composers 

Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 3:40 p.m.
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

CMS Composers’ Concert #2 

Featuring UT Concert Choir, UT Contemporary Music Ensemble, UT Symphonic Band, UT Music faculty and students performing new works by CMS composers
Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 8:00 p.m.

James R. Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Bldg

CMS/ATMI Keynote Address by Doc Severinsen 

Friday, February 14, 2014 at 11:15 a.m. 

Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

CMS Composers' Concert #3 

Featuring guest artists performing new works by CMS composers 

Friday, February 14, 2014 at 2:30 p.m. 

Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

CMS Composers’ Concert #4 

Featuring UT Music faculty, guest artists, UT Chamber Singers and UT Opera Theatre performing new works by CMS composers; also featuring UT Wind Ensemble and UT Symphony Orchestra performing the winning compositions of the Doc Severinsen International Composition Contest with guest trumpet soloists Allen Vizzutti, Vince DiMartino, and Gabriel DiMartino

Friday, February 14, 2014, at 8:00 p.m.
James R. Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Bldg. 

NOTE: Parking in Volunteer Hall Parking Garage (1545 White Avenue) is highly suggested due to another major concert on campus

CMS Performers’ Concert 
Featuring guest artists performing classical literature and new works by CMS composers 

Saturday, February 15, 2014, at 2:00 p.m.
Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it is time to book a romantic cruise for yourself and that special someone, and nothing says “I love you” like an unforgettable cruise aboard a luxury yacht.
The Volunteer Princess has a week’s worth of events to entertain you, starting with our romantic pre-Valentine’s Day Sunset Dinner Cruise on Wednesday, February 12, and our pre-Valentine’s Day Starlight Dinner Cruise on Thursday, February 13.
On Valentine’s Day, Friday, February 14th, cupid will stay busy with not one, but two luxurious cruises!
The love boat will sail from 6:30-9:00 PM with the Valentine’s Day Starlight Dinner Cruise. Nauti Dessert Cruise sails from 10:15-11:30 PM.
If you did not get your fill of Valentine’s Day festivities, you are in luck! We have three cruises on Saturday, February 15 for all of the lovers that just cannot get enough of this romantic holiday!
Sunday, February 16, is your last chance to celebrate with your Valentine until next year, so do so with our second Valentine’s Day Champagne Brunch (1:00-2:30 PM).
Ticket prices for each cruise range from $29.95-$69.95 per person. Tickets WILL SELL OUT so make your reservations today!
For more information on The Volunteer Princess’ 2014 Valentine’s Day Events, call (865) 541-4556 or visit www.volunteerprincess.com. Remember the BEST EVENTS ARE ON THE WATER!

Painter Diana Dee Sarkar and wood-turner Gordon Fowler, both of Knoxville, are the Art Market Gallery’s February featured artists. Their recent works will be on exhibit with an opening reception to be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m., Friday, Feb. 7, during the monthly First Friday Art Walk in downtown Knoxville. At the opening reception visitors may enjoy complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Living Room Roots.

Gordon Fowler, whose background includes carpentry and a degree in microbiology from University of Tennessee, studied at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts and the Kentucky School of Craft. He has been turning wood since 2002, concentrating on creating pleasing shapes with an eye to proportion. "I love the symmetry and symbolism of circles, and am inspired by the patterns and contrasts found in nature," he says. With his three children now grown, this fulltime stay-at-home dad spends time in the kitchen, tending to the chickens, volunteering, and at the lathe, where he enjoys creating works from recycled logs that would otherwise have gone into someone's fireplace or the landfill.

Diana Dee Sarkar grew up in Wichita, KS, with a formal education focused on chemistry and medicine. Painting portraits, still life and landscapes on her own, she became serious about art in 2005, studying various media with Hongnian Zhang at the Woodstock (NY) School of Art, Lois Woolley, Anthony Ryder, Susan Ogilvie, Nelson Shanks and others. She holds a certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and is completing work on an MFA at Academy of Art University. Her paintings have been juried into a show at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art Museum, and the International Miniature Painting competition. She paints representationally, currently in oil and pastel.

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery, at 422 S. Gay St., is a few doors away from Mast General Store and next to Downtown Grill & Brewery. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday. The gallery is wheelchair accessible, and parking in the abutting garage and on the street is free on weekends and after 6 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call 865-525-5265, or visit artmarketgallery.net, or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.

Silvia has been on a journey punctuated by artistic endeavors and service to others; a journey where her love of painting and her desire to help victims of domestic coexist. Having worked as bilingual advocate for a domestic violence program she is now in the process of creating a non-profit organization tohelp immigrant women in similar situations. As opposed to her first book, “I Wish…I Wish…I Wish…” which she wrote for children, Silvia’s current book, inSpanish, is on domestic violence. Silvia is a graduate of Leadership Plenty, the Citizen Police Academy, and the Knox County Community Action LeadershipProgram. And when she has extra time, Silvia is a professional chef and loves making fine custom jewelry.

HoLa Hora Latina: 865-335-3358, www.holafestival.org

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its National Juried Exhibition of 2014, a new exhibition featuring selected works from 36 artists in the Southeast region. The National Juried Exhibition was developed in 2006 to provide a forum for local artists to compete on a national scale and display their highest quality work. The exhibition encompasses all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists working in a variety of media such as drawing, photography, digital media, watercolor, oil painting, encaustic, ceramics, and woodworking and will be displayed in the Emporium Center from February 7 – March 1, 2014. Most of the works are for sale. A public reception will take place on Friday, February 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM with a brief awards ceremony at 6:00 PM in which $1,000 in cash awards will be announced. The First Friday reception also features a performance by Tennessee Stage Company from 6:30-6:45 PM and a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson and Friends from 7:00-9:00 PM, both in the Black Box Theatre. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available and chocolate fondue will be provided by the Melting Pot of Knoxville.

Paul Collins served as juror for the exhibition. He is a multidisciplinary artist and curator from Nashville. Collins makes drawings, paintings and sculpture that combine humor, tactility and observation to examine the world around us. He has an MFA from Yale and has been a resident at Skowhegan, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and the Vermont Studio Center. Collins works as Gallery Director and Assistant Professor of Art at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville. “This exhibition offers a powerful view of artists’ narratives and responses to the challenge of creating images in today’s day and age,” says Paul Collins. “The works all evidence a strong sense of voice in answering their own questions of what makes us vital as people and what compels us to make artwork.”

The National Juried Exhibition of 2014 is on display February 7 – March 1, 2014 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit our web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance proudly presents “Afghanistan: Unordinary Lives”, a new exhibition of 20 photographs by Slovenian artist Manca Juvan that portrays civil society in Afghanistan. Juvan made several trips to the country between 2003 and 2009, documenting the lives of Afghans who, after the fall of the Taliban, had been promised much by the international community. Their lives, unfortunately, were little changed for the better. The images have been published in a book of the same title that aims to encourage continued discussion of Afghanistan, particularly of the daily lives of ordinary citizens who are usually omitted from the political/war discussions in the media. The photographs will be displayed in the Balcony of the Emporium Center from February 7 – March 1, 2014. A public reception will take place on Friday, February 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM with complimentary hors d’oeuvres available and chocolate fondue provided by the Melting Pot of Knoxville.

“Despite the international community’s efforts to crush the Taliban regime in Afghanistan after 9/11, and its promises of bringing democracy and rebuilding to this war-torn nation, the ongoing war and instability continues to diminish the hopes of the Afghan people,” says Manca Juvan. “Stories on the lives of ordinary Afghans caught in this endless conflict of interest and the ongoing struggle for money, power, and overall control remind us what the real images of war and poverty, of lives far from ordinary, look like.” Prior to exhibition in Knoxville, the collection of images has shown at Gallery MC in New York; Ljubljana Castle, Koroska Gallery of Fine Arts, STOLP Gallery, and Museum of Modern Art in Slovenia; Photomed festival in France; the Federal Parliament of Belgium; and the Abbaye de Neumünster in Luxembourg. For more information on the Afghanistan: Unordinary Lives project, visit www.mancajuvan.com/unordinarylives.

Born 1981 in Slovenia, Manca Juvan has worked as a freelance photographer since 2000 after completing her studies at the Slovene School for Photography. She has been selected as Photographer of the Year in Slovenia for her reportage work in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and has been twice commended for her work on Afghanistan by the Slovenian Association of Journalists. Her book Afghanistan: Unordinary Lives was published by Sanje publishers in 2010 with an English edition following 2012. In 2011 she was chosen as one of three recipients of a scholarship for NYU/Magnum Foundation Photography and Human Rights Program. Juvan has published photographs and stories on Venezuela, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Thailand, India, the United States, Serbia and the EU countries, among others in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Chicago Tribune, National Geographic (Slovenia), Time.com, Marie Claire, and The European Voice. She is a member of the International Association of Photojournalists called SPUTNIK. She has worked as a mentor on photo documentary workshops and more recently university photography programs, and she prepared several solo exhibitions and participated in many group displays home and abroad.

Her visit has been coordinated by the Embassy of Slovenia in Washington and Lydia Pulsipher, Professor of Geography, Emeritus at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Honorary Consul for the Republic of Slovenia to Tennessee. For more information on Manca Juvan, visit www.mancajuvan.com.

At the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit our Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

Bliss Home is pleased to present Knoxville artist, Christi Shields, for February's First Friday. Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, February 7th from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary Steamboat Sandwiches will be provided and Christi's art will be featured for the month of February.

Christi's February exhibit is a collection of paintings which express emotions from the past through continued experimentation in innovative, edgy and modern acrylic techniques. Christi uses a very action oriented process along with layer techniques and color to create depth. By using bold colors, texture and movement, Christi aims to evoke an emotional response from the viewer.

Admission: Free
Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-329-8868, www.shopinbliss.com

In honor of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the McClung Museum will feature several Olympic-themed bronzes of speed skaters and figure skaters from the Museum's collections.

Art of the Winter Olympics features several pieces by the artist Robert Tait McKenzie—a physician and director of physical education who combined his love of sports and art in a career as a sculptor.

The display, which goes up on February 7, the first day of Winter Olympics competition, will be on view through February 24.

Over the next few months, the McClung will host lectures, family days, and stroller tours related exhibits. As always, admission to both the museum and these programs is free.

More details, as well as information on museum hours and free parking, can be found on the McClung Museum's website, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Pellissippi State Community College is celebrating Black History Month with numerous events at its five campuses throughout February. Activities are free and the community is invited.

The Magnolia Avenue Campus starts the month-long activities with “Healthy Pelli: Campus Health Fair,” Wednesday, Feb. 5. Each Friday in February, the site hosts an African Jazz Cafe in the Lobby.

The Division Street Campus offers two films in February: Disney’s “Ruby Bridges” on the 11th and “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” on the 20th. Both are at 12:15 p.m. in the Student Lounge.

The Magnolia Avenue Campus hosts a “History of African-American Music: Freedom Songs, Blues and Jazz” 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Community Room. The presentation features local jazz artist Kelle Jolly.

The Blount County Campus presents the documentary “The Underground Railroad” Tuesday, Feb. 18, in the Educational Resources Center.

At the Hardin Valley Campus, Feb. 21 brings “A Celebration of African-American Art, Music and Literature.” The event is in the Goins Building College Center, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. It features an art display, performance by the Vine Middle School African Dancers and Drummers, poetry reading by Oak Ridge poet Rose Weaver, and “Taste of Soul Food.”

Also at the Hardin Valley site, Feb. 27 the community is invited to a Faculty Lecture Series presentation: “John Brown: Maniacal Egotist or Moral Crusader?” by Joy Ingram, an associate professor. The talk is at 2 p.m. in the Goins Building Auditorium.

Throughout the month, African-American history exhibits will be on display in the Community Room of the Magnolia Avenue Campus, the Lobby of the Strawberry Plains Campus, the Student Lounge of the Division Street Campus, and the Educational Resources centers of the Blount County and Hardin Valley campuses.

The theme of the display at the Magnolia Avenue Campus is “All About That Jazz”; Division Street, “Embrace African-American Heritage Board of Fame”; and Strawberry Plains, “African-Americans of Influence.”

Other ongoing events include African tea and coffee tastings:
· Hardin Valley, Goins Building Rotunda, 8:30-10 a.m. Wednesdays
· Division Street, Student Lounge, 9-10:30 a.m. Wednesdays
· Strawberry Plains, Lobby, 9-10:30 a.m. Mondays

For more information about Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu or call (865) 694-6400. To request accommodations for a disability, contact the executive director of Human Resources at (865) 694-6607 or humanresources@pstcc.edu.