Calendar of Events

May First Friday at Bliss Home
Bliss Home 29 Market Square Knoxville, TN 37902
Friday, May 2, 2014 through the end of the month.

Bliss Home is pleased to present Knoxville artist, Ocean Starr Cline, for May's First Friday. Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, May 2nd from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary Steamboat Sandwiches will be provided and Starr's art will be featured for the month of May.

Part of the International Biscuit Festival, the Biscuit Art Exhibition runs May 2-31 at Bliss Home, Coffee & Chocolate, and Rala.

Purchase Biscuit Art online at Biscuitfest.com/art.

Jonathan Howe Fine Art now showing at The Tomato Head restaurant in Market Square through May. See a collection of masterful portraits in various mediums from oil on canvas to pen and ink on paper. This selection of fine art displays the diverse ways of revealing the light given to the human countenance.

Jonathan Howe Fine Art, 4513 Lee Rd, Knoxville, TN 37921.
The Tomato Head: 12 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902, Phone (865) 637-4067.

Elaine Barnes of Harriman and Suzanne Jack of Knoxville are the Art Market Gallery’s featured artists for May. Their recent works will be on exhibit at The Art Market Gallery through May 25, with an opening reception to be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m., Friday, May 2 during the monthly First Friday Art Walk in downtown Knoxville. At the opening reception visitors may enjoy complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Nostalgia --Electric Mix.

Owned and operated by about 60 professional artists, the Art Market Gallery, at 422 S. Gay St., is a few doors from Mast General Store and next to Downtown Grill & Brewery. Hours are 11 a.mm. 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.

Photography exhibit: Gary Johnson and Karen Krogh
Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church

Free and open to the public
Opening reception May 9 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.
Exhibit runs May through June 2014

Where: Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Gallery
2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

The featured exhibits at the library! The exhibits will be coordinated by his children, Allison Gallup and George Gallup, III. George Gallup, Jr., had a home in Blount County, TN. His father founded the Gallup Poll, and George, Jr., continued the business until he sold the company.

"George Gallup: Political Posters, History and Americana Collections” Political Pollster Exhibit, coordinated by his children, Allison Gallup and George Gallup, III, on the Art Wall across from the Bookmark Café and Art Panels at the Reading Rotunda area of the Main Gallery.
“George Gallup: Political Campaign Buttons” in two display cases in the Mid-Gallery area of the library across from the Bookmark Café.
“George Gallup: Political Campaign Bottles, a Ballot Box, Framed Autograph and pictures of George Gallup, Sr.” in one vertical case in the Entry Rotunda.
“Gallup Family Americana Collections” in three square pedestal cases in the Entry Rotunda.
“Gallup Family” in the Genealogy display case near the Reference Genealogy Desk.

Blount County Public Library, 508 N. Cusick Street, Maryville, TN. Information: 865-982-0981, www.blountlibrary.org

In conjunction with the new feature exhibition, Woven of Wood: East Tennessee Baskets, 1880-1940, the East Tennessee Historical Society will be holding a series of “Casual Basket Sundays” and special demonstrations by members of the Foothills Craft Guild. Guests are invited to bring their baskets, share stories, and meet with basket experts. Programs include:
April 25-27, Friday and Saturday - 10:00 am-4:00 pm, Sunday - 1:00-5:00 pm
Basket Making Demonstrations
There will be basket making demonstrations from members of the Foothills Crafts Guild on the porch and front lobby of the East Tennessee History Center. Featured artists include Karen Kenst, Sue Mowen, Judy and Virgil Davis, Bill Alexander, and Jim Gentry.

April 27, 2:00-4:00, A United States show and tell gathering
Collectors will show their favorite or unusual baskets made roughly from 1880-1940, regardless of where in the United States they were made. Examples are likely to be seen from Pennsylvania, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, and Middle Tennessee, as well as Native American. Each collector will tell something about his basket, either why it is a favorite or something of its history. There will also be basket demonstrations by featured basket maker Billy Sims and Sue Mowen and Bill Alexander from the Foothills Craft Guild.

May 11, beginning at 2:00, Mother’s Day Gallery Tours
Interactive gallery tours of the East Tennessee Historical Society’s feature exhibit Woven of Wood lead by guest curator Carole Carpenter Wahler. Museum visitors will learn about baskets and their features and are welcome to join in at any time.

May 18, 2:00-4:00, Casual Basket Sunday- A world wide show and tell gathering
Collectors will show baskets made anywhere in the world, at any time, and of any materials. Examples are likely to be seen from Australia, Africa, Philippines, England, and China, as well as baskets made in Tennessee from the middle of the 20th century to the present. Each collector will tell something about his basket, either why it is a favorite or something of its history. A gallery tour of Woven of Wood will take place immediately following the show and tell gathering.

“Casual Basket Sundays” are free and open to the public and will take place at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street. For more information please call Michele MacDonald, (865)215-8829 or visit www.eastTNhistory.org.

The Town of Farragut Arts Council presents Mary Agnes Schaefer as the featured artist for April and May. Located at the Farragut Town Hall, her exhibit - "Fabric Friends" - features handmade fabric dolls.

A charter and current member of the Farragut Arts Council, Schaefer spent many hours as a child playing with paper dolls as well as making handmade dolls out of drawing paper. Later in life, she started making paper dolls for her granddaughters and nieces. Each doll includes a wardrobe, toy and carrying case. The goal of her fabric dolls is to inspire children to use their imagination. Schaefer's "Fabric Friends" are available for sale at the Concord Gallery and the Annabelle Emporium in Loudon.

Each month, the work of an artist or group of artists is featured in specially designed cases on the second floor of the rotunda in the Farragut Town Hall. For more information about this exhibit or to access a Featured Artist of the Month application, please contact Lauren Cox at lauren.cox@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057 or visit www.townoffarragut.org/artsandculture.

The Farragut Town Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive directly across from the Farragut Branch Post Office.

Join Bill Landry of "The Heartland Series" for a guided trip around Cades Cove. Bill will share stories, tales and adventures during each tour.

$50 per person, advance reservations required, with a limit of 18 guests per tour.
Call 865 448 8838 for reservations Mon.-Fri., 10:00AM - 5:00PM.
Bill Landry Cades Cove tour dates:
Saturdays, April 12, May 24, May 31, June 7, June 21, July 5, July 12, July 19, July 26,
August 2, August 16, August 23, September 6.

Tours depart at 9:30 am from the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend.
Tour is approximately 4 hours.
Light snacks and a cold beverage is included in the ticket price.
Bill Landry Cades Cove tours will run rain or shine.

Poets for Preservation is a forthcoming spring poetry series presented by Knox Heritage and eight local poets in April and May of 2014. Native Knoxville poets, most residing in the area for 30 years, will perform engaging works about history, home, and new beginnings in celebration of the opening of Historic Westwood at 3425 Kingston Pike. Poets will read in pairs on Saturdays at 3 p.m. in April and May as listed below. Refreshments will be served, and guests are welcome to look around the newly restored mansion after the readings.

April 12, 3 p.m.
Linda Parsons Marion and Laura Still

April 19, 3 p.m.
Marilyn Kallet and Keith Norris

May 10, 3pm
Donna Doyle and Rose Raney

May 24, 3 p.m.
Darren Jackson and Arthur Smith

Historic Westwood at 3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
865-523-8008, www.knoxheritage.org

Art in Public Places Knoxville is a monumental installation of large-scale outdoor sculptures by regionally and nationally acclaimed artists. The sculptures enliven downtown Knoxville as well as McGhee Tyson Airport.

Opening Reception: Friday, April 4, 5:00 – 9:00 pm
Award Ceremony: Friday, April 4, 5:30 pm

We are honored to announce noted sculptor, Kenneth M. Thompson, as the Juror for the 2014-2015 exhibition!

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

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