Calendar of Events

Civil War Historical river cruises in Knoxville, Tennessee

If you would like a relaxing and entertaining weekend on the river join us aboard TRACE 1. Bring your friends and guests to share this memorable experience with you. Learn the history of the area during the steamboat/Civil War era where you see the Armstrong Locket plantation home, Bleak house, Longstreet's Heights, Armstrong Hill, Fort Dickerson and many others. You will have an annotated map to help visualize the 1863 siege of Knoxville with Confederate and Union positions highlighted.

Your crew will be the 150 year old spirit old Sam Clemmons and Miss Drusilla. Sam has operated steamboats for many years and will entertain with the local Civil War history even if he never did pick a side.

Saturday gourmet sandwich lunch Civil War cruises, 12:00, 90 minutes, $26 adults and $20 children.
Second Sunday gourmet sandwich lunch cruise, 12:00, two hours, $32 adults and $26 children 5 to 11, see more sights.
Friday and Saturday Civil War cruise 3:00 and 5:15, 90 minutes, $18 adults and $14 children on-line or $20 and $16 at the gate
Sunday Civil War cruise 3:00 and 5:15, 90 minutes, $18 adults and $14 children 5 to 11 on-line or $20 and $16 at the gate
Prices above are for advanced on-line reservations.
If you have a copy of our narration booklet with you, you get a $2.00 discount for everyone in your party. You may purchase a copy at the Knoxville Visitor's Center or Knoxville History Center, both on Gay Street.

NavCal River Rides http://navcal.com/navcal/CWHistory.htm. 865-765-3407

Bliss Home is pleased to present Knoxville artist, Jane Nickels, for April's First Friday. Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, April 4th from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary Steamboat Sandwiches will be provided and Jane's art will be featured for the month of April.

Jane's April exhibit will feature her Knot Perfect series which consists of paintings that explore a biomorphic interpretation of Celtic knots and overlapping pattern, color and line demanding an emotional response.

“Finally Spring” at the Plateau Arts Center
That is the theme for the annual spring show at the PCAC, and it couldn’t come at a better time! The Art Guild at Fairfield Glade invites you to view and vote on your favorite selection among the new works displayed for the first time at the Plateau Creative Arts Center (PCAC).

Come and view this high quality art presented in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pastels, colored pencil, photography, mixed media, pottery, sculpture, jewelry, and fabric. The theme of “Finally Spring” will be displayed starting on April 4. Voting will end on April 18. Ribbons will be awarded to the winners in the categories of People and Animals, Landscape, Floral, Still life, Sculpture and Mixed Media, and Showcase/Jewelry. Ribbon Awards will take place on Friday morning, April 25.

The PCAC is handicapped accessible and open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. M-Sat. Website: www.artguildfairfieldglade.net. Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN.

Diana Scott-Auger of Greenback who paints in acrylics and Harriet Smith Howell of Rutledge who creates hand-painted wearable silk are the Art Market Gallery’s featured artists for April. Their recent works will be on exhibit at The Art Market Gallery through April 27, with an opening reception to be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m., Friday, April 4, during the monthly First Friday Art Walk in downtown Knoxville. At the opening reception visitors may enjoy complimentary refreshments and live music performed by the Tennessee Valley Accidentals.

Besides the featured artists' exhibit, April is the month for the gallery's popular annual silent auction. This year it will be held April 1-27 with an even greater variety of works than before, and with a new option: a "Buy It Now" price, set at 80 percent of an artwork's retail cost, which allows a customer to pay for it and take it home immediately.

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery, at 422 S. Gay St., is a few doors from Mast General Store and next 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. For more information, call 865-525-5265, or visit artmarketgallery.net, or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.

KNOXVILLE’S CASA HOLA PRESENTS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOCUSING ON MEXICAN “GUEST WORKERS” IN THE US
Hola Knoxville, the local Hispanic organization that promotes communications between Latinos and the people of our community, will host a series of special events during April that focuses on the experiences of bracero workers and their families. The bracero program (bracero means “manual laborer”) which brought millions of Mexican guest workers to the US just after the end of WWII, ended in 1964 under mounting criticism for exploiting Mexican workers and depriving jobs from American workers. Since most Americans know very little about bracero, the nation’s largest experiment with guest workers, these programs provide an understanding that is so especially important in current times. In 1962, Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association, later to become the United Farm Workers. Under his leadership, farmworkers with allies in other unions, churches and community groups, were able to put enough pressure on politicians to end the bracero program and to work toward improving the conditions of farmworkers. Chavez died in 1993. The bracero program was controversial in its time and braceros experienced exploitation but also opportunity. The program was truly bittersweet and an overlooked chapter in American history.

Hola Knoxville, the Hispanic organization that promotes unity and communication between Latinos and the larger community, will host the “Bittersweet Harvest” exhibit during the month of April. This very special exhibit, created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Services and made possible by Humanities Tennessee, examines the experiences of bracero workers and their families and provides rich insight into Mexican American history. The exhibit will be displayed at Casa Hola in the Emporium Building on North Gay Street in Knoxville and will consist of six panels of freestanding, illustrated banners and photographs on loan from the Smithsonian, a poster by local Lourdes Gaza, figurines and other art materials by Angel Luna, a Telamon mural designed by children of migrant workers, and audio and visual excerpts of a documentary on Cesar Chavez who organized the United Farm Workers union. Chavez’s great-great granddaughter, Julz Chavez, will attend the reception.

The opening reception for this very special exhibit will be April 4th from 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM in suite 109 of the Emporium Building, 100 South Gay Street. The public is invited and refreshments will be served. The “Bittersweet Harvest” exhibit will be the central event for a number of other Hola-sponsored events focusing on this theme and will include a round table discussion and Knox county school appearances by Julz Chavez. For details of these events, go to casahola@holafestival.org or contact the Casa Hola manager at 865 335-3358.

The “Bittersweet Harvest” exhibit, created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Services and made possible by Humanities Tennessee, is a display of banners, posters and other art that examines the experiences of these bracero workers and their families. The exhibition will be on display in the Casa Hola suite in the Emporium building (100 South Gay St) throughout the month of April with a special opening reception scheduled for April 4th at 5:30 PM.

African American Appalachian Arts, Inc., (AAAA, Inc.) at the Downtown African American Gallery will be hosting a First Friday Open House and Radio Listening Party. In honor of Jazz Appreciation Month during April, the Downtown African American Gallery will be presenting a Visual Exhibition of local visual and performing artists, Kelle Jolly and Emily Mathis. AAAA will also host a listening party to celebrate the debut of WUOT’s newest radio show, Jazz Jam with Kelle Jolly. Guests will be able to listen to the show while viewing the artwork in the studio.

Jazz Jam with Kelle Jolly celebrates great, classic and contemporary voices of jazz. The Jazz Jam with Kelle Jolly is an hour long show that includes recordings, live performances and interviews of local, national, and international artists on the jazz scene.

On April 30th, 2013, Mayor Madeline Rogero recognized April as Jazz Appreciation Month and April 30th as Jazz Day in Knoxville to celebrate the important cultural, social and even economic contribution that jazz makes to the Knoxville community.

African American Appalachian Arts: 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 106, Knoxville, TN 37902. 865-217-6786, downtownafricanamericanart@gmail.com

This three-day long celebration of Tennessee's role in American Roots music - including, but not limited to, country, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and rock - features musical performances by locally-revered and nationally-renowned artists. Along with the dozens of musical performances over the course of the weekend, there will also be music-related workshops as part of Musician's Corner. One Knox County student may receive admission for $0.01 per one paying adult.

Various venues in downtown Knoxville and the Knoxville Botanical Garden & Arboretum
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.rhythmnbloomsfest.com | www.dogwoodarts.com

Legacy Weekend at Arrowmont, April 3 - 6.

We've developed a terrific weekend of workshops, programs and special events, each chosen to help celebrate Arrowmont's rich history and the breathtaking Smoky Mountain landscape surrounding the school. And we've chosen workshop media and themes that complement each other, and invite shared learning and interaction among the studios.

There will be fiber arts, woodturning, musical instrument making, traditional basketry, poetry, digital photography, painting, folk pottery and fishing lures, along with special lectures, presentations and an extra festive gallery opening.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

MASSKUS PRODUCTIONS proudly announces a Tennessee Premiere of a new Musical-Comedy Show for the Greater Knoxville Region.

“ASSISTED LIVING: The Musical,” was created by the team of Betsy Bennett and Rick Compton both members of The Dramatist Guild of America. Based in Naples, Florida and active with a variety of different venues there; they have delighted audiences with their original material for over 16 years. “Assisted Living,” has played across the U.S., including San Francisco and Las Vegas, but will be making its Tennessee premiere on April 3rd at The Historic Grove Theatre in Oak Ridge.

“Assisted Living: The Musical” is a fast-paced 75 minute show with two performers and a pianist appearing as 18 characters. It is a good-hearted look at getting older with side splitting humor and catchy tunes. It’s a show for those of a certain age, those that have parents and friends entering this phase, and for everyone that hopes to grow old with humor and dignity. It tells the story from inside the “process” by being funny yet without being insulting or sarcastic.

“ASSISTED LIVING: The Musical” will perform 5 times at The Historic GROVE Theater, (now celebrating 75 years), 123 Randolph Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Performances are scheduled for;
Thursday, April 3 – 7:30pm
Friday, April 4 – 7:30pm
Sat., April 5 – 3pm & 7:30pm
Sunday, April 6 – 3pm

Tickets for these performances are available through www.KnoxvilleTickets.com, by phone 865-656-4444 or toll free 877-995-9961, and in person at Knoxville Tickets outlets or at the door.

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

Based on the gripping science-fiction thriller by Lois Lowry. The play will be presented March 28 through April 13, Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM & 5 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM.

The Giver won the 1994 Newbery-Medal for the Best Children's Novel, and the book has sold more than 5.3 million copies. In the not-too-distant future, Jonas is nervous about the upcoming Ceremony of Twelve, in which every person in The Community is assigned a lifelong occupation. Jonas is singled out to become The Receiver of Memories, an Elder position who alone holds memories of the world's past... memories of all that humans have experienced, no matter how pleasant or painful. At the ceremony of Twelve, Jonas will receive the Truth. And there will be no turning back.

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-599-5284, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com. Reservations: tickets@childrenstheatreknoxville.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...!