Calendar of Events

Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker

December 23, 2014 at 3:00 PM
December 23, 2014 at 7:00 PM

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com, www.ticketmaster.com

DOORS at 7:00 PM - Arrive Early for Best Seating
Your SKETCHING + ART begins at 7:30 PM

Human Monsters is a themed session based entirely on the macabre world of human monsters. The Spooktacular Exhibit at Paulk+Co is sure to set the mood.
$5.00 in ADVANCE | $10.00 at DOOR
18 + Up Welcomed with ID - BYOB + ART SUPPLIES

You may be wondering What IS Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School? Dr. Sketchy is what happens when cabaret meets art school! "Dr. Sketchy works hard to find the most luscious dancers, sideshow performers, unique models, burlesque performers, circus performers, drag artists, belly dancers, hunks of man-flesh and more. Then we let you draw and sculpt them for 2 hours. In between we may have performances and ridiculous drawing contests where you can win swag! We do this once a month." Come meet some of the local movers + shakers in the Knoxville art scene, including Paulk+Co's Spooktacular Exhibit artists. It's a great way to make friends, network & collaborate! Bring your sketch pad, easel or clay and MAKE ART with us.

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.

IJAMS SOCIAL SERIES: (Adults Only) Let's become part of the Ijams nightlife! Join us as the sun sets for drinks and light hors d'oeuvres before we head out on the trails. Once outside, we'll use the light of the full moon to explore the park after dark! The fee for this program is $15 for members and $20 for non-members. Pre-registration is required; please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register.

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

Doors open at 6:00pm and show time is 7:30pm. Shows at the Southern Station will be acoustic based and encourage freedom among the artists, but also create a sense of vulnerability in terms of how the room is setup. All shows will feature wine from Blue Slip Winery and food from Forks on the Road, with future sponsorship opportunities in the works. Admission for shows is currently $10.00, with advance purchases strongly suggested.

To purchase tickets to shows, visit southernstationtn.com/upcomingshows or blueslip.com/event-calendar.

Blue Slip Winery is Knoxville’s first winery and Tennessee’s first urban winery located in the Historic Southern Railway Station. Our wine is made from all locally grown fruit from Tennessee growers, which is made onsite at the railway station. Blue Slip prides itself on providing a unique urban, historical and truly Tennessee wine experience.

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

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

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

Presented by HoLa Hora Latina
First Friday at the Emporium Center-Casa HoLa • December 5, 5:00 - 9:00 PM
A series of paintings by Argentine native Susana Esrequis. Selected by UNICEF to design their Christmas cards and postcards, Susana has also contributed her work to other non-profit organizations including the Argentinean Children Patronage, Argentinean Association of University Women, Knoxville Opera Guild, and HoLa Hora Latina.

Susana Esrequis through her clear-green eyes sees the world with the confidence of a person who does not despair, even when everything leads to uneasiness. She sees with the eyes poorly called “the child”, but it is the glance of a person who did not forget the depth of the nature message, this unique gift always affronted, than now more than ever a lot of us are trying to protect for the man, that mistreated son of God. - Albino Dieguez Videla, Internatinoal Asociation of Art Critics

HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902. Gallery hours: Monday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm. Information: 865-335-3358, www.holaknoxville.org, www.holafestival.org

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

The Knoxville Watercolor Society will exhibit recent works from its members at the Rose Center, 442 W. Second North St., Morristown, TN 37814.

Opening reception will be Friday, December 5th from 6:00 pm. to 8:00 pm, in conjunction with the Rose Center's Holiday Open House. Regular hours for the Rose Center are M-F, 9 am. to 5 pm., and Thursday until 7:30 pm.

For more information about the Knoxville Watercolor Society, membership requirements and to view members' art work go to www.knxvillewatercolorsociety.com.