Calendar of Events

Hosted by UT Every Child Outdoors (ECO) & Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum

Story Thyme integrates education, nature, craft and physical activity.
Free to all pre-school aged children, their parents or guardians
Wednesdays from 1-2 PM beginning in April

Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum, 2743 Wimpole Ave, Knoxville, TN 37914. Hours: Gardens open daily from dawn to dusk. Information: 865-862-8717, www.knoxgarden.org

Where: West High School
When: Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Time: 9:30am-12:30pm
How Much: Free

A Very Special Arts Festival is a unique event that celebrates the artistic endeavors of Knox County school-aged students having diverse abilities. The event is not a competition, but an event that provides an opportunity for students with disabilities to share their talents, works of art, and accomplishments with an interested audience.

The event includes a wide variety of activities in music, dance, drama, and visual arts. Workshops of “make and take” arts and crafts, demonstrations, exhibits of art work, and performances by individuals with disabilities are all elements of the festival. Students will enjoy numerous local character “walk abouts”, an exhibit from the Knoxville Zoo mobile, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, a DJ, and a variety of other activities. The main purpose of the event is to encourage and stimulate feelings of self-worth and to provide opportunities for students with disabilities to get together and express their creative talents in areas where there are no handicaps… the arts!

Supported by AKIMA women’s Club of Knoxville, Pilot Club of Knoxville, West high School, and West Knoxville Civitan Club, the event is a united effort between the Dogwood Arts Festival, the University of Tennessee Departments of Art and Special Education, and Knox County Schools.

Most of the Festival's wide range of arts events, performances, and exhibitions are offered to the public free of charge. Dogwood Arts Festival: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

The first Wednesday of each month at the Square Room on Market Square. Featuring a variety of music played by local and regional musicians in various small jazz ensemble configurations. Admission is $15 and includes a lunch buffet.

It seems like just yesterday that Morristown native Andrew LaPrise was playing piano in the Knoxville Jazz Youth Orchestra. Fast forward through a UT Jazz degree under Donald Brown, and today LaPrise is known as one of the most exciting and accomplished pianists in the region. In his first ever jazz lunch appearance, Andrew takes on the music of Chano Dominguez, a pioneer in the fusion of jazz and Spanish Flamenco. The music is full of energy, with complex rhythms and breathtaking harmonies. Prepare to be be amazed.

Knoxville Jazz Orchestra: 865-573-3226, www.knoxjazz.org

Railroad Earth is one of Americaʼs greatest bands playing today, plain and simple. They sing of our nationʼs changing landscape and social ills with a commitment reminiscent of Woody Guthrie, while interpolating instrumental timbres that could have been pulled from Celtic or Cajun culture. And as anyone who has caught them live will attest, their concerts are imbued with the fire-in-the-belly passion of straight-ahead, blue collar rock & roll.

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

Make plans with your school, neighborhood, church or workplace to distribute information about autism and wear blue all day to kick off Autism Awareness Month. Details TBA

Artistic Spectrum: 865-816-9716, info@artisticspectrum.org; http://artisticspectrum.org

A Public Talk by Lama Norhla Rinpoche: Yoga and the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition

How can we better achieve balance and clarity?
Lama Norlha will speak on the relationship of asana to meditation to help achieve clarity and calm. Considered by many to be a meditation master, Lama Norlha has years of experience and training in various Tibetan Buddhist methods. Many of these methods have proven successful regardless of one's belief or religion and this talk is appropriate for any (or no) religious tradition. Also, you do not have to be a regular yoga practitioner to benefit from Lama Norlha's words of wisdom.

Lama Norlha Rinpoche, an accomplished meditation and retreat master, is the abbot of Kagyu Thubten Chöling Monastery in New York State and director several Dharma centers in the eastern United States, including Milarepa Dzong in Happy Valley, just outside of Maryville, TN.

Glowing Body, 711 Irwin Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-545-4088, www.glowingbody.net

Join Merikay Waldvogel on April 2 at 12:00 as she speaks about the craft work of the Walker sisters. The Walker Sisters are well known for their fight to remain in their Little Greenbriar home long after the Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened. Continuing their mountain traditions, the five unmarried sisters lived much as their great-grandparents had done, growing food and sewing their clothes. As their fame spread, their home became a favorite stop for tourists willing to make the long walk to the cabin. After the death of the last sister in 1952, the national park packed and inventoried the items in the cabin. Merikay Waldvogel was invited to view their textiles, coverlets, and quilts for a magazine article.

This lecture will tie in with an upcoming exhibit, Woven of Wood: East Tennessee Baskets, 1880-1940, which will feature many baskets from the Walker family.

The program is sponsored by Harriet Z. Albers Memorial Fund and is free and open to the public. The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville. Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture. Soft drinks will be available for purchase. For more information on the lecture, exhibitions, or museum hours, call 865-215-8824.

Pellissippi State Community College launches its annual Student Juried Art Show; the event is free and the community is invited. The Art Show takes place in the Bagwell Center for Media and Art on the Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.

“The exhibit will include student works from a variety of media: drawing, painting, two-dimensional and three-dimensional design, ceramics, even blacksmithing,” said Jennifer Brickey, a Fine Arts assistant professor. “We really want to showcase the students that take studio art classes at Pellissippi State. It’s a really great show.”

The opening reception and awards ceremony are 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 2. Awards will be announced at 4 p.m. The exhibit is juried by Pellissippi State’s art faculty. The grand prize for the show is the “purchase award,” in which Pellissippi State buys a student’s artwork for the college’s permanent collection. The award is worth up to $500. Other awards include $25 gift cards to Jerry’s Artarama, given to four runners-up.

The annual Student Juried Art Show is part of The Arts at Pellissippi State, which brings to the community cultural activities ranging from music and theatre to international celebrations, lectures, and the fine arts. Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

Reception: Friday, March 28, 5:30-9 p.m.
The District Gallery is pleased to present Terra Madre: Women in Clay, a group show featuring the work of more than twenty female artists with diverse approaches to clay. Terra Madre was formed in 2000 by a small group of artists from East Tennessee. The group’s members are as distinct as their creative work. Each woman comes to the group with her own artistic experience and unique expressive style. “Our mission is to support one another in our clay work, to advance the appreciation of ceramics in East Tennessee, and to encourage each other in the pursuit of our dreams as artists and as women,” said Jackie Mirzadeh, a functional potter and teacher at the Knoxville Arts and Fine Crafts Center. President Patricia Herzog says, “We all need encouragement at times, and I find that talking to women with similar interests and experiences helps me to continue my artistic endeavors with renewed energy.”

The exhibit will include both functional and sculptural ceramics as well as jewelry. Participants are: Elaine Barnes, Gray Bearden, Judy Brater, Jane Cartwright, June Crowe, Tina Curry, Valerie Eiler, Annamaria Gundlach, Candy Finley-Brooks, Amy Hand, Janet Harper, Patricia Herzog, Liz Howell, Lisa Kurtz, Karyn Kyte, Stephanie Levy, LeAnn Lewis, Patty Lewis, Jane Longendorfer, Wendie Love, Sandra McEntire, Jackie Mirzadeh, Shauna Stevens, Linda Sullivan and Belinda Woodiel-Bril.

The District Gallery, 5113 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: Mon-Fri 10-5:30, Sat 10-4. Information: 865-200-4452, www.TheDistrictGallery.com

The Creative Arts Co-op is proud to present the 8th annual high school level musical... 'CHICAGO!'

Fifteen high school students representing four high schools and the home school community will take the stage this season. Represented schools include: Harriman High School, Oliver Springs High School, Rockwood High School, Roane County High School, and the home school community. The annual events offers local students the opportunity to participate in a musical production - a daunting endeavor for smaller high schools.

Join us at the Creative Arts Co-op Visual & Performing Arts Center, 426 Ruritan Road, Harriman on March 28, 29, April 4, 11 & 12, 2014 at 8:00pm. Tickets are $10.00 at the door.

Need more information? Call the Co-op at 865/765-1129 or visit www.creativeartsco-op.com.

Come see why the '20's Roared...!

Reception: April 4, 6:00 to 7:30 PM (Show closes immediately after the reception.)

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 9AM-5PM; Wednesday & Friday, 10AM-5PM; Saturday, 9AM-1PM. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartctr.com

Anne V. McGravie’s semi-autobiographical story about Navy servicewomen during World War II will play in the Clarence Brown Theatre’s Lab Theatre March 27-April 13, 2014. The corporate sponsor for this production is Stowers Machinery. Due to popularity, seating is extremely limited. A first-come-first served waiting list will begin forty-five minutes prior to curtain for sold out performances. Should seating become available through ticket donations, release of house seats, or other means, these seats will be released to patrons based on the order of the waiting list.

McGravie said that the thought of “going away and being on my own” was the main draw of joining the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS). “It was a different life in every way and opened my mind and the whole world to me. I enjoyed everything about it, and when the war was over I didn’t know what to do with myself,” she said.

Tracey Copeland Halter (Director) will make her directorial debut with this production. She received her MFA in Theatre from New York University and served on the UT Theatre faculty from 2005-2013. Her CBT acting credits include: “Black Pearl Sings!”, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” “Charley’s Aunt,” The Who’s Tommy,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, “Intimate Apparel,” “Fences,” and “A Christmas Carol.” She also has performed on Broadway, at the NY Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center, the Alliance Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, and others.

“There are so many universal themes for women in this play. Who am I? What role do I play in history? What's my legacy? What happens to a life that has been compartmentalized (inside and out) in such a small space for so many years?” Copeland-Halter said about the production. The cast is comprised on graduate and undergraduate Theatre actors.

Ticket prices range from $5 to $15. As a participating member of the Blue Star Theater family, the CBT welcomes U.S. military personnel, spouses and children as well as U.S. veterans and offers discounted tickets to active-duty military and immediate families, as well as returning veterans for our productions. Tickets are limited to two per household and are based on availability.

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