Calendar of Events

Come to the Blount Mansion for our Colonial Christmas Celebration, an open house.
The focus of our special candlelit tours of the mansion will be Christmas traditions from the colonial period as well as depicting Christmas on the Tennessee frontier. We will also have some special guests – come view a demonstration of colonial yarn spinning while enjoying some snacks and warm drinks.

The open house is: Friday, December 5
With tours at 6:00 and 7:00PM.
Suggested donation is $5 and we appreciate your support!

For more information call (865) 525-2375 or email info@blountmansion.org

PROGRAM: Unveiling and Dedication of Tennessee Civil War Trails Marker “Knoxville: A Divided City”
LOCATION: Old Knox County Courthouse, 300 Main Street, Knoxville, TN 37902
ADMISSION: FREE

A new Tennessee Civil War Trails Marker to be unveiled on December 5 will focus on Knoxville as a bitterly divided city. Located at the Knox County Courthouse, the marker tells the story of the happenstance of simultaneous Union and Confederate rallies taking place in April 1861 only blocks apart on Gay Street. Knoxvillian Samuel Bell Palmer witnessed the rallies firsthand, and with amazing accuracy, sketched the scene from memory while a prisoner-of-war at Camp Douglas, Illinois. Those familiar with downtown will recognize several of the buildings, such as the Lamar House on the south end of Gay and the tower of the Catholic Church to the north.

The dedication will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m., December 5 at the Knox County Courthouse, Main Street. Participating in the dedication will be Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero. Representing the state is Tennessee State Historian Dr. Carroll Van West, who, along with Tennessee Tourism Commissioner Susan Whitaker, co-chairs the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. Others participating in the program are East Tennessee Historical Society Director Cherel Henderson, and Calvin Chappelle, chair of the Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

The Tennessee Civil War Trails Program is part of a five-state trails system that encourages visitors to explore both well-known and familiar sites associated with events of the Civil War. Tennessee has 310 markers, and its trails guide is the most requested of the five states, which also include Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. “Knoxville: A Divided City” is the eighth Civil War Trails marker in Knox County. Local sponsor for the marker is the East Tennessee Historical Society.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: Monday-Friday: 9AM-4PM, Saturday: 10AM-4PM, Sunday: 1-5PM. Library: Monday-Tuesday: 9AM-8:30PM, Wednesday-Friday: 9AM-5:30PM, Saturday: 9AM-5PM, Sunday 1-5PM. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

Join us as Dan Lipe, Senior Interaction Designer for Scripps Networks, talks about the work behind the design - people, research, strategy, and purpose.

David Denton, an architect and urban planner, will be speaking about his last seven years exploring in virtual reality with an introduction to the Oculus Rift, the amazing virtual immersion goggles which will be available to be experienced.

As always, First Friday Fanfare is free, but registration is required. Join us for tacky christmas sweaters, design insights, pizza, and beer on December 5th!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/first-friday-fanfare-a-design-perspective-of-tacky-christmas-sweaters-tickets-14611522457

Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, 17 Market Square Suite 101, Knoxville, TN 37902

Local artists will be selling holiday gifts and other arts, crafts and jewelry. The event will be on Friday, December 5, 2014. Kwanzaa a Ki-Swahili term meaning “First Fruits of Harvest” and also nationally recognized as a Holiday during the latter part of December will be discussed and on display. The Presentation will begin at 7:00pm. First Friday attendees will have the opportunity to take in the Visual Exhibition of Alan Jones and Hawa Ware Johnson.

Downtown African American Art Gallery will be hosting a First Friday and Kwanzaa Holiday Marketplace on December 5, 2014 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm, The Emporium Building, 100 South Gay Street, Suite 106, Knoxville TN, 37902. A Taste of Africa will be served, to raise funds, for Kuumba Watoto Urban Youth Institute/Kuumba Kamp. Donations are invited.

Interested Artists feel free to send Proof Package to office address. For more information please call African American Appalachian Arts Incorporated directly at 865-217-6786. Email: kuumbafest@gmail.com.

A new Tennessee Civil War Trails Marker to be unveiled on December 5 will focus on Knoxville as a bitterly divided city. Located at the Knox County Courthouse, the marker tells the story of the happenstance of simultaneous Union and Confederate rallies taking place in April 1861 only blocks apart on Gay Street. Knoxvillian Samuel Bell Palmer witnessed the rallies firsthand, and with amazing accuracy, sketched the scene from memory while a prisoner-of-war at Camp Douglas, Illinois. Those familiar with downtown will recognize several of the buildings, such as the Lamar House on the south end of Gay and the tower of the Catholic Church to the north.

The dedication will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m., December 5 at the Knox County Courthouse, 300 Main Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Participating in the dedication will be Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero. Representing the state is Tennessee State Historian Dr. Carroll Van West, who, along with Tennessee Tourism Commissioner Susan Whitaker, co-chairs the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission. Others participating in the program are East Tennessee Historical Society Director Cherel Henderson, and Calvin Chappelle, chair of the Knox County Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

The Tennessee Civil War Trails Program is part of a five-state trails system that encourages visitors to explore both well-known and familiar sites associated with events of the Civil War. Tennessee has 310 markers, and its trails guide is the most requested of the five states, which also include Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. “Knoxville: A Divided City” is the eighth Civil War Trails marker in Knox County. Local sponsor for the marker is the East Tennessee Historical Society.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information on the marker unveiling, exhibitions, or other programs, call 865-215-8824 or visit the website at www.EastTNHistory.org.

Friday, December 5, 2014
Knoxville Sunsphere

We invite you to join us for Boombox Christmas Caroling with Phil Kline’s Unsilent Night! Phil Kline's Unsilent Night is a free outdoor participatory sound sculpture of many individual parts, recorded on cassettes, CDs, and mp3s, and played through a roving swarm of boomboxes carried through city streets every December. People bring their own boomboxes and drift peacefully through a cloud of sound which is different from every listener's perspective. Since 1992, this 45-minute work has grown into a worldwide annual communal event that has become an essential part of many winter holiday celebrations.

With your help, we will create this roving sound installation, where boomboxes replace voices in a holiday caroling event like no other! You bring a boombox, cassette tape player, iPod/iPhone/iPad with speakers, or any other media playing device you wish, and nief-norf will supply a CD, cassette tape, or digital download of one of the four parts of the piece. We all press play together, and walk through the streets of downtown Knoxville, creating a cacophony of bells, voices, and reverberant joy that will make heads turn on every corner.

If you wish to join us this year, PLEASE REGISTER at http://www.niefnorf.org/2014-15-season, where you can tell us if you need a tape, CD, or will bring your own iDevice. This is so we know how many of each to bring!

The Appalachian Ballet Company in their 43rd season will present the annual holiday tradition - The Nutcracker. The production features live music by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. The Appalachian Ballet Company will present four public shows and two school matinees (includes K-8 curriculum guide covering common core standards). Dancing the role of the Nutcracker Prince the first weekend will be David Ward, courtesy of BalletMet, Columbus, OH. He will be partnering ballerina Kylie Morton Berry, the Sugarplum Fairy, formerly with North Carolina Dance Theatre. The second weekend Ms. Berry will be joined by freelance artist Peter Doll of Atlanta, GA. This year’s production will include several new pieces of choreography featuring guests artists, who will be traveling in to perform with ABC’s soloists.

December 4 & 5: 10:00AM - Full length school matinee performances of The Nutcracker at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium.
December 6 at 8:00PM and December 7 at 2:00PM - Full length public performances of The Nutcracker, accompanied by the Knoxville Symphony, at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium.
December 13 at 2:00PM and 8:00PM - Full length public performances of The Nutcracker, accompanied by the Knoxville Symphony, at the Clayton Center for the Arts.

For over 100 years, this classic story has proven to be a favorite, enchanting audiences of all ages. Come see the magic with lavish scenery, glorious tutus, soldiers, snowflakes and sugar plums at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium or The Clayton Center for the Arts – the first and second weekends of December. Tickets are now on sale -- call ABC at 865.982.8463 or Knox Tickets 865.656.4444 or Clayton Center 981-8590. Info: www.appalachianballet.com

Join us in the Alumni gym at the Maryville College, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy.
There will be 52 members of the Blount County Arts and Crafts guild. Free parking and admission. Free photos with Santa on Sat. Hours are Fri. & Thurs. 10 am -6 pm, Sat 10 am - 3 pm. The website is www.blountartsandcrafts.com, or call 865-995-9056 for more info.

The exhibit will showcase interesting artifacts from the museum's permanent collection that have not been displayed in many years or have never been on display. Spanning numerous decades, featured items include personal household items such as electronics, tools, clothes, hats and hat boxes, children's toys, and more. In addition, the vignette in the Doris Woods Owens Gallery will display furniture and household items from an 1890s-era bedroom.

Farragut Folklife Museum, 11408 Municipal Center Dr, Farragut, TN 37934. Hours: Monday-Friday, 10AM-4:30 PM. Information: 865-966-7057, www.townoffarragut.org

Knoxville Zoo is partnering with YP® to extend the popular “Buy One, Get One Free” admission ticket offer through February. Knoxville Zoo and YP® are offering buy one, get one free tickets to make visitors aware that the winter season is one of the best to see animal activity. On days when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, some animals will be moved indoors, but guests can still see many of their favorite animals, including elephants, gorillas, penguins, chimpanzees and reptiles, in their indoor viewing areas.

Buy one, get one free tickets can be purchased at the zoo ticket window during regular zoo hours. Discounted admission tickets must be used by Feb. 28, 2015, and cannot be combined with any other promotion, discount, or coupon.

Knoxville Zoo, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.knoxville-zoo.org

Member Art Exhibit coordinated by Susan Cooper. On Art Wall at Bookmark Café, 1 vertical case and 1 square pedestal case in Entry Rotunda of library.

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

The Knoxville Museum of Art and the Tennessee Art Education Association present the ninth annual East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition November 28, 2014-January 11, 2015. The exhibition features artwork created by middle and high school students and offers students the opportunity to display their talents and be honored for their accomplishments in a professional art museum environment. This event is made possible by the generosity of presenting sponsor Regal Entertainment Group and additional sponsors Pharma Packaging Solutions, Emerson Process Management, and Home Federal Bank.

Students, school administration, family, friends, and the public are invited to a reception and awards ceremony Tuesday, December 9 from 6 to 8pm at the Knoxville Museum of Art. The event is free and open to the public.
The East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition is open to students in grades 6-12, attending public, private, or home schools in 32 counties across East Tennessee. Fewer than a third of the more than 1500 entries in this highly competitive show will make it through a rigorous jury process. The Best-in-Show winner will receive a Purchase Award of $500, and the artwork will become a permanent part of the collection of Mr. James Dodson, on loan to the Knoxville Museum of Art's Education Collection.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org