Calendar of Events

Grade-school students from the Stanford Eisenberg Knoxville Jewish Day School are building a canned food sculpture, featuring the school’s name and ram mascot, for a “STEAM Out Hunger”. The project is inspired by Knoxville’s Holiday Canstruction® event hosted by Messer Construction. ConAgra and Bush Beans donated the 1,440 canned-food building blocks for the sculpture. The Besmann Family Fund for Social Justice and Spiritual Enrichment of the Knoxville Jewish Community Family of Funds also provided support.

American Museum of Science & Energy, 300 S. Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM-5PM, Sunday 1-5PM. Information: 865-576-3200, www.amse.org

Sunday, December 7, 8:30AM and 11:00AM
Festive music for the season led by our Children and Youth Choirs.

Sunday, December 14, 8:30AM and 11:00AM
A service of Music and Readings by the Parish Adult Choir with the Brasswind Quintet.

Church Street United Methodist Church, 900 Henley Street, Knoxville, 37902
865-524-3048; www.churchstreetumc.org

A limited number of tickets are now on sale for a very exclusive evening at the Historic Ramsey House. Travel back in time to 1797 to experience a traditional family Christmas dinner. Only five seatings of 10 guests each are available. What makes this event so special is that guests will be served in the Ramsey House dining room on fine China, bringing the house museum to life with an authentic holiday feast.

The house will be decorated for the holidays with natural greens, fruits, vegetables and nuts, and lit by candlelight. The walkway to the home will be lined with candles in mason jars and a costumed docent will give a special guided tour of the entire house. Complete with wine and dessert, the two-hour tour and dinner will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Visitor Center with a viewing of the award-winning film that gives the background and history of the home, family and early Knoxville.

These dinners, catered by Bradford Catering, will be offered on Sunday, Dec. 7 through Thursday, Dec. 11. The cost is $125 per person or $1,250 for a private event for a complete table of 10 people. This is only the second year of this offering of a holiday dinner with friends, business associates or with people that will become new friends. Reservations must be made in advance and with limited seats, tickets sell out quickly. Please call (865) 546-0745 to reserve your place on a first come first serve basis. Payment will be required to reserve a seat.

Historic Ramsey House, 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: 865-546-0745, www.ramseyhouse.org

The Choirs of Ascension will present a Candlelight Service of Advent Lessons & Carols on Sunday, December 7, at 5:30PM.

800 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919
(865) 588-0589
www.knoxvilleascension.org

Ijams Nature Center will be hosting a Holiday Marketplace. The event will feature holiday shopping with over 40 vendors including local artists and craftspeople. To make your shopping merry, we’ll even have beer, wine, and snacks for sale, as well as festive music and craft stations. Get all your shopping done in one place while you support local arts and your local nature center!

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Call for Visitor Center hours. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

In the True Spirit of Christmas…

A benefit concert for student scholarships featuring holiday music performed by UT Music faculty and students
Sunday, December 7, 2014 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Historic Westwood: 3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee 37919

The UT School of Music's Board of Advisors is sponsoring a Holiday Musicale to benefit the School's student scholarship fund.

The School of Music scholarship fund allows many young musicians the opportunity to benefit from enrollment in the School of Music program who otherwise could not attend.

This unique holiday event will take place Sunday, December 7, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Historic Westwood: 3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, Tennessee 37919

A highlight of the School's Holiday Musicale are the live performances of traditional and non-traditional holiday music, featuring talented UT Music faculty and students.
Heavy hors d'oeuvers will be served, and guests are asked to wear casual or festive attire.

Reservations for the Holiday Musical are required and can be made by calling the School of Music office during regular business hours at 865-974-3241 by December 1. The suggested donation is $75 per person. Additional scholarship donations also will be accepted. The School of Music accepts cash, checks, Visa, MasterCard or Discover.
http://www.music.utk.edu/holiday-mus/index.html
We hope you will join us for this special occasion and, in the spirit of the holiday season, we encourage you to add your support to the worthy causes of music, education and our next generation of young musicians. THANK YOU!

Kids will create a colorful woven project using recycled T-Shirts. We'll talk about the importance of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" and they'll go home with a custom piece of fabulous art that they will be proud of. You can join in the project with your child or enjoy hanging out with other like minded parents in our Gallery. Our December exhibit is curated and created by the Bearden High School Art Department. (Maybe you can even get a little holiday shopping done!) OR - If your child is over 5 years of age and well behaved, you can go enjoy a well deserved moment away downtown.

A healthy snack buffet is included and coffee & libations are offered to the parents. $20 for the first child, $10 per sibling. Reservations are required. Contact us at events@paulkandco.com to secure your spot, we are limited with space. Ages 3+, we'll cater to their skill level.

Paulk+Co, 510 Williams Street, Knoxville, TN 37917, 865.335.3334 - https://www.facebook.com/paulkandco
Free, covered parking is available adjacent to Paulk+Co in the City lot under the bridge.

At the Museum of Appalachia, log cabins and barns nestle at the base of a hill. Smoke rises lazily from chimneys, signaling warmth from within on a chilly December day. Beginning on December 6th, the Museum will celebrate Christmas in Old Appalachia, a festive winter celebration that captures the beauty and simplicity of an old-fashioned Christmas. Inside the cabins, simple cedar Christmas trees are draped with paper chains, popcorn strings, sweet gum, and sycamore balls. In the Dan’l Boone Cabin, a dormant sapling wears cotton “snow” and scraps of cloth for bows. Pine clippings, magnolia leaves and holly berries line the mantels above the fireplaces. The Little Tater Valley School House is adorned with hand-made ornaments made by local students. Tattered or well-worn quilts are laid under the trees; topped with carved wooden animals, tin horns, rag dolls, wagons, and spinning tops—all of which were presents found early on Christmas morning. Children often opened their Christmas packages to find practical gifts, such as new shoes or books, purchased from a mail order catalog; and relished in the joy of receiving something as simple as an orange or a peppermint stick.

For December 6th-7th the Museum has planned a variety of charming holiday festivities to kick off its Christmas season. Such fun activities include: craftsmen demonstrating traditional arts, warm fires surrounded by traditional porch musicians playing seasonal music, local authors signing their books, and a delicious home-cooked dinner at the Museum’s restaurant. Continuing through December 24th, special holiday exhibits include the children’s display in the Hall of Fame, with toys and furniture made by loving parents and grandparents, and Granny Irwin’s traditional Christmas Crazy Quilt—brought out only on special or festive occasions.

Browse the regional, ‘American made’, hand-crafted gifts and books in the Shop at the Museum for a special Christmas gift. Enjoy hot, southern country-style lunches, served daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Museum restaurant. Home-made cakes, pies, cookies, and other holiday treats are available all day, or can be made special to order for Christmas gatherings.

December hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily (8:30 a.m.-3pm on Christmas Eve and closed Christmas Day). The Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate and a not-for-profit organization, is located 16 miles North of Knoxville, one mile East of I-75, Exit 122. Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

This vintage steam engine train takes guests on a 90-minute excursion through some of Knoxville’s most historic and beautiful countryside.

Our Christmas Lantern Express trains feature holiday decorations, holiday refreshments, story time with celebrity readers and a visit with Santa.

DECEMBER
Saturday, December 6 at 9:45 am (sold out), 1 pm, & 4:15 pm (sold out)
Sunday, December 7 at 1 pm & 4:15 pm
Saturday, December 13 at 9:45 am, 1 pm (sold out), & 4:15 pm (sold out)
Sunday, December 14 at 1 pm & 4:15 pm
Saturday, December 20 at 9:45 am, 1 pm, & 4:15 pm
Sunday, December 21 at 1 pm & 4:15 pm

FARES
Adults: $26.50
Senior (55+): $25.50
Child (3-12): $15:50
Toddler (1-2): $7.50
Infant (under 1): Free

400 Neyland Drive, Knoxville, TN 37902, 865-524-9411, http://www.threeriversrambler.com

Candlelight Tour on Saturday, December 6th, 4:00-9:00PM
Sunday, December 7th, 12:30-5:00PM

$10 Advance Tickets on sale at all Knoxville area Kroger Stores and available on line:
www.oldnorthknoxville.com.
$15 Day of Event Tickets/$10 Seniors
on sale at ticket booth.

Park and ride shuttles from Tennova Healthcare/Physicians Regional Medical Center, Woodland Avenue parking lot.
For more information:www.oldnorthknoxville.com, 865 523 4665.

Artists throughout history have found inspiration in the form of birds. Man imbued birds with mystical and religious meaning due to their fascinating ability to exist in two worlds – the earthly world, and the sky, or heavenly realm. Drawn primarily from the Ewing Gallery’s permanent collection, Of a Feather features works from historic and contemporary artists who represent birds in a diverse assortment of styles. While some artists approach the bird as studies of simplified form others utilize strategies of space and distance to take a more poetic or analytical look at the economic and social issues attached to birds. Works range from hyperrealism to whimsical to abstract. This exhibition incorporates a number of artists of artists from New York and Chicago including Keith Haring, Michael Kirk, Keith Long, Diane Churchill, and Laurie Hogin; regional artists, Howard Finster, Todd Johnson, Kelly Hider, Heather Middlebrooks, Gary Monroe, and Richard Jolley, as well as distinguished faculty from the University of Tennessee – Jered Sprecher, Diane Fox, Beauvais Lyons, Marcia Goldenstein, Don Kurka, Bill Kennedy, Clark Stewart, and Byron McKeeby. The artworks on display consider themes of scientific inquiry, symbolism, environmental consciousness, and the rituals of birding, among others. The exhibition is organized by Sam Yates, Director and Curator of the Ewing Gallery, in tribute to the late artist, Ellen Lanyon, who often used images of birds in her art. Two of her works will be on display. Of a Feather will be on view at UT’s Downtown Gallery December 5, 2014 through January 15, 2015.

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Wednesday-Friday: 11AM - 6PM, Saturday: 10AM - 3PM. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

New narrative sculpture & paintings ("Every Picture Tells a Story") by Marga McBride, and new paintings by Charlotte Terrell. Opening reception & Holiday Open House Dec 7, 5-8 PM.

Bennett Galleries & Company, 5308 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Info: 865-584-6791; www.bennettgalleries.com