Calendar of Events

This Tony Award winner evokes the delightful humor and infectious energy of honky tonk dives, rent parties and stride piano players in 1930's Harlem. The rollicking, winging music of the inimitable "Fats" Waller gets the joint a-jumpin as the cast struts, strums and sings songs made famous in a career that ranged from uptown clubs to downtown Tin Pan Alley to Hollywood and concert stages in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
April 25-May 11, 2014, Mainstage.

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.

Where: Market Square, Downtown Knoxville
Time: Friday and Saturday: 10 am – 9 pm, and Sunday: 11 am – 5 pm

Celebrate the arts in downtown Knoxville during the Market Square Art Fair as several city blocks are transformed into a lively street fair! Fine art and craft, live entertainment on three stages, a culinary arts demonstration and tasting area, A Children’s Creation Station, and festive food characterize this fan-favorite featured event of the Dogwood Arts Festival. The Market Square Art Fair is a juried show with over 70 local and regional artists exhibiting and selling their original work. In addition to the artists areas in Market Square and Krutch Park extension, a culinary arts experience awaits attendees. Cooking demonstrations, festive food creations, and delicious wine tasting will be featured in the Culinary Arts areas. Enjoy live entertainment all weekend long on the Market Square stage, the Union Avenue pop-up stage, and the Krutch Park stage geared towards children. Join us for a spring celebration of our region’s arts, culture, and natural beauty in the heart of downtown Knoxville!

Market Square, located in the center of downtown Knoxville, was the site of the city’s original marketplace, established in 1854. With the Art Fair, Market Square’s identity as the city’s communal centerpiece carries on into the 21st century. 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

Legacy Parks Foundation will host a weekend of urban adventure at the 2014 Outdoor KnoxFest presented by Pilot Flying J, with events for everyone from the novice nature-lover to the outdoor expert. The two-day signature event of the Dogwood Arts Festival is scheduled for April 26-27 and will feature trail rides, runs, hikes, paddles, climbing and more for anyone looking to Get Out & Play in Knoxville! The Outdoor Adventure Center at Knoxville’s Volunteer Landing will be the hub for people of all ages, experience levels, and interests to experience the natural beauty of East Tennessee with a focus on the Urban Wilderness, a 1,000-acre playground just minutes from downtown Knoxville. Clinics and demos will provide an opportunity to try new activities or hone skills, and the rides, runs and paddles will make for a day of fun for both experts and newcomers alike. New this year is the Mini Adventure Challenge taking place on Saturday. The Mini Adventure Challenge encourages kids and new adventurers of all ages to test their skills, discover new outdoor activities and be rewarded for accepting the challenge! Pick up your Challenge Card when you check in and let it guide you through the dozens of activities offered at Outdoor KnoxFest. Try your hand at six of the day’s activities and get a free water bottle. Try 10 and be entered in a drawing for great prizes. Challenge Cards will be available Saturday at registration tables at the Outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center and the Outdoor KnoxFest booth on Market Square. Most of the activities are free and will include:
• 20, 40 and 60 mile Road Rides
• Mountain Bike Ride for All Levels
• Scenic Bike Rides
• Fly Fishing Clinics & Demos
• History & Wildflower Hikes
• Hiking & Biking Clinics
• Sailing Demo & Clinics
• Disc Golf Clinic & Demos
• Free Paddle Board & Kayak Paddles
• Climbing Wall and Slack Lines
• Urban Wilderness Trail Run
• Mountain Bike Race

OUTDOOR KNOXFEST/2222
The event has attracted participants from throughout the region, including Asheville, N.C., Chattanooga, Nashville and Atlanta. Proceeds from the event benefit Legacy Parks Foundation. During the past five years, Legacy Parks Foundation has raised more than $3 million for parks, greenways and recreational venues, added more than 400 acres of parkland to Knox County and helped protect nearly 1,000 acres of farm and forestland in East Tennessee. The Outdoor Knoxville initiative is championed by Legacy Parks Foundation as a major step toward putting Knoxville on the map as a premiere outdoor recreation community. Launched in 2012, the three-pronged project capitalizes on the exceptional outdoor recreational assets found in and around Knoxville. It includes the Outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center, a website and the Outdoor KnoxFest presented by Pilot Flying J, promoting outdoor activities for people of all ages and skills. For more details and to register for events, visit OutdoorKnoxville.com. Legacy Parks Foundation: 900 Volunteer Landing Lane, Knoxville, TN 37915. Info: 865-525-2585, www.legacyparks.org

April 25-27, there will be Foothills Craft Guild member demonstrations in the lobby in the Museum of East Tennessee History, 601 South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. This event is part of the Dogwood Arts Festival's Market Square Art Fair.

Or, A Matter of Hats
April 25 & 26 at 8:00 PM
April 27 at 3:00 PM

FREE performance (donations accepted but not required). All the good tunes from 7 different musicals. You ’ll go home humming. GOOD VOICES, including Daniel Berry! It’s a “Revue” - Staging - Lights - and Hats !

Westminster Presbyterian Church, 6500 Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN
http://www.wpcknox.org/

Open mic event for local spoken word artists, singers, poets, dancers, and more! Admission is $3.

Carpetbag Theatre at Fourth United Presbyterian Church, 1323 N. Broadway Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-544-0447, www.carpetbagtheatre.org

In keeping with the traditions of Southern Appalachia, the Museum welcomes the warmth of spring with a renewal of the annual ritual of “Sheep Shearing”, a day of hands-on activities surrounding the trimming of a winter’s growth of heavy fleece from its flock of free-range sheep.
The Museum of Appalachia, a Smithsonian Affiliate, will host this annual practice in middle of its rolling fields, surrounded by its historical village, on Friday, April 25, 2014, from 10am to 2pm. The wooly animals will be trimmed by Kentucky native John Cooper, an experienced shearer who takes time to explain the process to onlookers, demonstrating with vintage, hand-cranked and hand-held shears, powered by enthusiastic student participants.
In settlement days, Appalachian farmers sheared their sheep each spring to garner the wool, an important staple used in many ways. On Sheep Shearing Day at the Museum, craftsmen, trained in traditional arts, will provide informative programs on cleaning, carding, and spinning fleece into yarn and thread, using the same tools and techniques as their ancestors. These talented demonstrators provide one-on-one opportunities in spinning, weaving and quilting, illustrating the many valuable ways the pioneers used their wool.
Enjoy the gentle sounds of porch picking musicians, join interactive dulcimer and old-time musical programs, designed to entertain and engage guests of any age, or watch additional artisans operate the historic sawmill and blacksmith shop. All demonstrations and programs fulfill the Museum’s educational mission to preserve the past and pass along the Appalachian culture to future generations, by providing individuals with the up close and personal chance to see, smell and touch a little piece of history, creating lasting memories.

Museum memberships are available, providing a year of Museum visits and other benefits; join now and attend the Sheep Shearing Day free! As an official affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum also offers Smithsonian memberships in conjunction with its own program.

Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy., Clinton, TN 37716 (16 miles north of Knoxville at I-75, exit 122, then one mile east). Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

The 6th Annual ARTitude: Inspired Creations for the Home and Garden to be held on Friday, April 25th at Cherokee Mills is an annual event showcasing one-of-a-kind, up-cycled, repurposed works for the home & garden. Local and regional artists refresh and embellish gently used items or create something new! In years past items accepted were limited to furniture and home furnishings. This year we additionally welcome handcrafted items, such as pottery, jewelry, knit and other creations that one might enjoy in the home. The creative possibilities are endless! Find an item to repurpose in your attic or a friend’s basement or choose something from our collection at Cancer Support Community. We also feature a limited number of pieces to be sold in our Artist Marketplace. Artists and their works will be featured on our website, Facebook page, and other media outlets starting in March.

All funds raised provide services for families facing cancer in our community. Programs include support groups, education workshops on managing cancer, wellness classes including exercise, yoga and nutrition as well as social connections.

For more detailed information, please contact Margaux Cowan-Banker, development coordinator (MCowan-Banker@CancerSupportET.org) or Beth Hamil, executive director (BHamil@CancerSupportET.org) or call (865) 546-4661.

Swing
The Sheiks are mandolinist Don Cassell, singer Nancy Brennan Strange, lead guitarist Don Wood, bassist Jon Steele and multi-instrumentalist Morgan Simmons. Taking inspiration from the great Gypsy guitarist Django Rinehardt, they describe their music as “acoustic swing.” The Sheiks are known individually for their work with area bands and musicians for over 20 years working in bluegrass, old-time, jazz and swing idioms, including the Dismembered Tennesseans, Strange Company, and the New Dixie Entertainers.

Jubilee Community Arts, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916. For information: 865-522-5851, www.jubileearts.org. For tickets: 865-523-7521, www.KnoxTIX.com

Great Smoky Mountains Ampitheater featuring Good Thymes Ceilidh Band

Celtic music kicks off a weekend of music in Townsend, Gatlinburg and Cosby as residents and visitors alike celebrate the mountains' musical past. Ticket Prices: Adults: $5, GSM Heritage Center Members: FREE, Children 5 and under: FREE

The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is 501 c3 Museum and Cultural Center. The Heritage Center is open Monday thru Saturday 10 am - 5 pm and on Sunday 12 noon to 5 pm starting in April. Admission is free for Heritage Center members, Adults $6.00 ,Seniors 60 plus and children ages 6 - 17 $4.00, children 5 and under are free. Closed Easter Sunday. The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is a not for profit museum and is located between the traffic light and the national park entrance, on scenic Highway 73. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

Friday, April 25; 6-8pm; Appalachian Reflections featuring 3 artists at Fine Arts Blount Last Friday Artwalk

Appalachian Reflections is an acrylic collaborative painting by three artists – Susan Tolson, Gail Karnoupakis and Deede Edele.

The piece is comprised of nine panels visualizing an Appalachian Sunset over Butterfly Gap in Maryville, Tennessee. Each artist completed three panels; one of the sky, one of the mid-range and one of the foreground, not in vertical order. The artists are known for their distinctive and very diverse styles. The challenge of the piece involved creating an image that included each artists’ particular strength, but allowed cohesiveness in the overall presentation.

The artists hope you will be pleased with their interpretation and be drawn to the beauty of an East Tennessee Appalachian Sunset.
ArtSpace Gallery
106 E. Broadway
Downtown Maryville

Arrowmont presents the film LEGACY: How a century of vision and generosity created a community.
Friday, April 25, 6:30pm, at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, Tenn.
With a special musical performance by John Phillips and The Turkeys
Admission is FREE
In 2013, a dozen 16mm reels of Pi Beta Phi settlement school promotional films were discovered in Arrowmont’s archives. The films have been cleaned, restored and digitized by Motion Picture Conservator Eric Dawson and Media Archivist Bradley Reeves, both of the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS), based in Knoxville. Spanning five decades—from the 1920s to the 1960s—those films capture a magical, isolated campus. They also capture a rapidly changing Gatlinburg, and viewers can see the town blossom from a sleepy mountain hamlet to a bustling tourist destination.
For more information about Arrowmont’s gallery schedule and upcoming exhibitions, visit arrowmontgalleries.org. To view or learn about workshops and other arts and crafts programming at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, visit arrowmont.org.