Calendar of Events

Knoxville Opera Guild will host the 11th annual Knoxville Croquet Tournament on the grounds of the UT RecSports Field Complex across from Dead End BBQ on Sutherland Ave. Participation is open to the public, and no experience is necessary to enjoy the event’s relaxed, easy-to-learn game of croquet. Participants can register to play solo or with a partner, or may choose to simply attend and mingle in support of the arts organization.

“The Croquet Tournament allows us to gather and enjoy fellowship as a community while enjoying some friendly competition for a worthy cause,” said Knoxville Opera Marketing and Public Relations Director Michael Torano. “It’s a great opportunity to strengthen our support base and end the 2014-2015 Season with a bang.”

The lively tournament consists of two-player teams who will proceed through up to five wickets. Along with playing croquet on the green, attendees will enjoy a gourmet brunch and high tea, raffle prizes, a bocce game and vintage automobiles. They can also participate in the vintage costume contest, with the judging panel consisting of special guests Mary Lynn Majors and Matthew McClellan.

Additionally, the Knoxville Arts Challenge competition will be presented by Mayor Tim Burchett. The heads of the Knoxville Opera, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Museum of Art, and the Clarence Brown Theatre will compete for Knoxville’s most prestigious croquet award.

Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m. followed by the gourmet brunch and tournament. The event is proudly sponsored and catered by All Occasion Catering. Ticket prices begin at $100 and can be purchased online. Please visit the Knoxville Opera website for additional details and the schedule of events. For more information, please call Audrey Duncan at 865.588.8371.

Knoxville Opera: 865-524-0795, http://www.knoxvilleopera.com/kog/croquet

Sing traditional shape note music from East Tennessee's own songbook, The New Harp of Columbia with the Old College Singers in Athens, TN. All are welcome to participate or listen. Loaner books are available.

Sunday, May 17, 2:30PM. St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Athens, TN.
www.oldharp.org or 423 745-0248.

2 pm Book signing with Denton Loving reading from his new collection of poems Crimes Against Birds

Free and open to the public.

Union Ave Books, 517 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-951-2180, www.unionavebooks.com

Jazz at Ijams, May 17, 2015, 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Come have a picnic at the lawn and listen to some great music! This month will feature Kukuly and the Gypsy Fuego and Melanie and the Meltones.

Visitors are welcome to bring picnics, blankets, lawn chairs, and dancing shoes.
Food and drinks will also be available for purchase.

This event is FREE and no pre-registration is required.
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

Featuring The Larry McCray Band at Barley’s Taproom in historic downtown Maryville, TN. The Party starts at 4pm with our 2015 SMBS IBC Youth Representative Performers – The Joey Pierce Project!

4:30 PM – Doors open
5:00 PM - Joey Pierce Project on Stage
6 - 6:30 PM - Door Prize Drawings and Special Recognition Awards
6:30 - 9 PM - Larry McCray Band on Stage

This is a FREE concert event for SMBS Members and admission is only just $12.50 for guests and the general public. Membership will be available at the door. Annual Membership is just: Single - $25 / Family - $40 / Student & Military - $10 / Corporate - $100. Your membership will include a Membership Card good for area Concert discounts (i.e. 2015 SMBS Blues Cruises and KMA Alive After Five), a Free SMBS T-Shirt of your choice - and discounts on more, plus a free $10 lunch special at Penn Station Subs!

The Performer – Larry McCray - If contemporary blues has a long-term future in the 21st century, it's very likely that guitarist Larry McCray will continue to play a recurring role in its ongoing development. Beginning with this 1990 debut album, Ambition, and continuing into the new millennium, McCray has signaled both a strong commitment to the tradition and the vision to usher the genre in exciting new directions. McCray's first influence on guitar was none other than his sister, Clara, who toured regionally around Arkansas with her own combo, the Rockets. Clara never got to record herFreddie King-styled blues for posterity -- but her little brother has at least partially made up for that omission. Larry followed Clara up to Saginaw, Michigan in 1972. She turned him on to the joys of the three Kings (B.B., Freddie, and Albert), Albert Collins, and Magic Sam, and Larry added superheated rock licks (à la Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers) to his arsenal as he began playing the local circuit with his brothers Carl on bass and Steve on drums. Working on General Motors' assembly line occupied a great deal of Larry McCray's time after he finished high school. But he eventually found enough free hours to put togetherAmbition for Point Blank in a Detroit friend's basement studio. The stunning debut set was a convincing hybrid of blues, rock, and soul, McCray combining the interrelated idioms in sizzling fashion. Suddenly, the stocky young guitarist was touring with labelmate Albert Collins. His 1993 Point Blank encore, Delta Hurricane, was a slicker affair produced by veteran British blues maven Mike Vernon that McCray much preferred to his homemade debut. He followed Delta Hurricane with Meet Me At the Lake in 1996 and Born to Play the Blues in 1998. The bluesman has remained active in the 2000s with albums including 2001's Believe It and Blues Is My Business, 2006's Live on Interstate 75(his first live outing, recorded in Detroit), and the eponymous Larry McCray in 2007.

Information: 865-288-0672, sfkrempasky@gmail.com, www.smokymountainblues.org

It’s time once again for Shakespeare Outloud! Our next reading is nearly upon us. On Sunday, May 17, we’ll read Merry Wives of Windsor at 2:00 pm in the Lawson McGee Library downtown. A few parts will be cast ahead of time and a number of parts will be left open to be grabbed up the day of the reading. If you have a strong interest and want to get signed up ahead of time for a role please get in touch with Tom Parkhill, tennesseestage@comcast.net or by phone at 546-4280.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME
We welcome all voices, all dialects. We read the plays for the joy of reading them, to hear and discover more about the plays and to further help people discover and appreciate these marvelous plays. We’d love you to be part of it.

You may come and grab a script and take part in the reading or you can come and participate as an audience member. Jennifer Horn will provide a brief reference for the play – what we call Shakesology! And we can talk about our thoughts about the play afterwards.
It’s free and it’s fun. We hope to see you on Sunday, May 17 at 2:00PM.
Tennessee Stage Company: 865-546-4280, www.tennesseestage.com
Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave Knoxville, TN 37902

Darkhorse Entertainment, LLC invites you to go back in time at the Tennessee Medieval Faire. The Grand Opening is the last three weekends in May, including Memorial Day, in Harriman, TN. It’s a new tradition – Joust for You! “The Medieval Faire has something for everyone,” said Barrie Paulson, VP-Manager & Entertainment Director. “The Faire is fun and family-friendly – and includes plenty of theatrical violence,” she said with a grin.

The rock stars of the Faire perform The Royal Joust in the tournament arena. There will also be Warriors’ Chess where the characters fight to take over the square. Warhorse rides will be offered between arena shows. Rotating on the stages will be professional, interactive, comedy shows. These include The ridiculously dangerous Fire * Whip * Sword Show; The Steele Sisters; Fantasies, Fables & Fortunes; and Albi Belly Dancers. There will also be Celtic musicians, interactive folk dancers, puppet shows, games, and The Royal Players whose characters include young King Henry VIII. Period crafts, food and beer will be available.

The Tennessee Medieval Faire will run the last three weekends in May, including Memorial Day: May 16-17, 23-24-25, 30-31. Hours are 10-5 EDT. Ticket prices are $14.95 for ages 13 and up, $7.95 for ages 5 to 12, free for ages 4 and under. Free parking is included. The festival is located at 550 Fiske Road, Harriman, TN. For more information, please visit the website: www.TMFaire.com. Please like us on Facebook. A New Tradition -- Joust for You. Fun for the Entire Family!

The Town of Farragut Arts Council presents Carol Erikson as the featured artist for May and June. Located at the Farragut Town Hall, the exhibit highlights her photographic art, titled "Images that Inspire."

A New Jersey native, Erikson's exhibit features a mix of customer favorites and her newer work, including birds in South Texas, the Tybee Island lighthouse, and angel statuary from cemeteries in Savannah and Ohio. Her photography focuses on local nature images, especially waterfalls, wildflowers, old barns and landscapes. Mainly self-taught, Erikson has taken non-credit photography and editing courses at the University of Tennessee. A Rutgers University and University of North Carolina graduate, she works as an analytical project manager in Oak Ridge, supporting the ongoing decontamination and decommissioning work on the Oak Ridge reservation.

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.

Showing work by Athens’ Mayfield Dairy entrepreneur, Goldie Mayfield. The exhibit is scheduled at The Arts Center, 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee. AACA invites community members with original work by Goldie Mayfield to loan pieces to this special exhibit. Goldie Mayfield, one of Athens’ most prolific local artists, is among the women fundamental in bringing the visual arts to our community by teaching and supporting other local artists and by starting our Community Artist’s League. Her work was often featured in Mayfield Dairy’s Christmas cards in the 1980s and early 1990s. She used various mediums and is known for her expert use of watercolor.

Goldie was known for graciously giving away her work to friends and family. Community members who loan work to the exhibit will be duly credited as donors.

The exhibit reception is Friday, May 22, 2015 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Mayfield’s friends and family will be on hand to informally discuss her art. The reception will include light refreshments and is free and open to the public.

Athens Area Council for the Arts, 320 North White Street | Athens, TN 37303. Info: 423.745.8781 or www.athensartscouncil.org

This exhibition is the first major U.S. one-person presentation of Evan Roth’s pioneering multi-faceted and interactive installations, custom software, prints, sculptures and websites. Roth, a self-professed “hacktivist” artist, is interested in uses of technology in popular culture and the urban environment. He inventively combines elements from the disparate worlds of computer programming and street culture. Evan Roth//Intellectual Property Donor offers a unique opportunity to understand the artist’s approach from analysis and archiving to experimentation through to the final—and in the artist’s mind— most important step, opening it up to the world for participation. Blurring the line between artist and hacker, the exhibition challenges gallery visitors to consider how everyday life intersects with virtual reality and how viral media can become fine art.

Evan Roth is an American artist based in Paris. His notable pieces include Graffiti Taxonomy, Multi Touch, EyeWriter, Internet Cache Portraits. He also collaborated with Jay-Z on the first open source rap video. Roth worked at the Eyebeam OpenLab, an open source creative technology lab for the public domain as a Research and Development Fellow from 2005 to 2006 and was a Senior Fellow there from 2006 to 2007. Evan Roth co-founded the Graffiti Research Lab in 2005 and the Free Art and Technology Lab (FAT Lab), an arts and free culture collective, in 2007. Born in 1978 in Okemos, Michigan, Roth currently lives in Paris with his wife and daughter where he maintains a studio and is represented by XPO Gallery.

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

Encore is proud to present one of the most riveting and popular dramas written in the last decade. “Doubt: a Parable” opens with a haunting question: "What do you do when you're not sure?" Written by John Patrick Shanley, this captivating drama captured both the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2005.

Set in a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, “Doubt” concerns Father Flynn, an amiable new priest who believes the clergy should be thought of "as members of the family" to its congregation. His forward-thinking views immediately clash with those of Sister Aloysius - the authoritarian principal who favors discipline over compassion. The conflict mounts towards an explosive climax when Aloysius accuses Flynn of "interfering" with a student based on unproven evidence.

The production stars Linda High as Sister Aloysius. Linda was last seen with Encore as Violet in “Au-gust: Osage County.” High worked with many theatres in the Washington D.C. area, including the Signature and Arena Stage. She also toured Ireland twice in productions of “The Glass Menagerie” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” She is joined by Micah-Shane Brewer as Father Flynn. Brewer was last seen as George in Encore’s production of “Sunday in the Park with George” and has been in and directed numerous productions for Encore. For the past three years, Brewer was an actor with the Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville. Leah Winstead joins the cast as Sister James. Leah was last seen in “Into the Woods” and as the Ghost of Christmas Past in “A Christmas Carol.” Encore welcomes newcomer Tynesha Davis to the stage as Ms. Muller.

Mike Howard returns to work with Encore, but this time, as the director for the production. Audiences are familiar with his work onstage in shows like “Les Miserables,” “The Full Monty,” or “Cats.” “I’m very excited to bring this timely and profoundly important work to Morristown,” said Howard. “The incredible theatrical artistry and talent that abounds in the Lakeway area is deftly highlighted by John Patrick Shanley’s though provoking script. Audiences are definitely going to be treated to a transformative theatre experience.”

Performances of “Doubt” will run for two weekends only May 8-17 at the Judge William H. Inman Humanities Theatre located on the campus at Walters State Community College in Morristown. Evening performances are May 8, 9, 15, 16 at 8:00 p.m. with matinee performances on May 10, 16, 17 at 2:00 p.m. There is a special talkback session with the cast following the May 17 matinee. Tickets are available and can be purchased online at www.etcplays.org or by calling 423-318-8331.

What are we up to in May? April has been a great month for us so far and we're so glad that many of you have come out to paint with us. We've had some of our biggest classes yet, a very successful fundraiser for the Leukemia Society, and we had a huge turnout at the Dogwoods Arts Festival despite the rain. We want to do so much more in our May classes and we're proud to bring you some new artists, new paintings and some new venues as well! Make sure you come out to paint with us! Life's too short for blank walls!

White Lightning
Mon, 5/4/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Calhoun's - MARYVILLE - 751 Watkins Road, Maryville, TN 37801

Starry Night in Knoxville
Mon, 5/11/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Carolina Ale House - 9045 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37923

Eiffel Tower at Night
Tue, 5/12/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Mimi's Cafe - 10945 Parkside Drive, Knoxville, TN 37922

Cumberland Gap
Wed, 5/13/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Calhoun's - Pigeon Forge - 2532 Parkway, Pigeon Forge, TN 37863

Henley Street Bridge
Tue, 5/19/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Calhoun's - Turkey Creek - 625 Turkey Cove Ln, Knoxville, TN 37934

Love Marquee (or is it VOLS?!?)
Wed, 5/20/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Crown and Goose - 123 S. Central St, Knoxville, TN 37902

Reflections of Love
Sun, 5/24/2015, 5:00 - 8:00 PM
Mind Yer P's & Q's - Farragut - 12744 Kingston Pike Suite 104, Knoxville, TN 37934

Hometown Pride
Mon, 5/25/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Hurricane Grill & Wings - 319 Lovell Rd, Knoxville, TN 37934

Tennessee Theater at Night
Tue, 5/26/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Uncorked - 18-20 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902

Butterfly Song
Thu, 5/28/2015, 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Original Copper Cellar - 1807 Cumberland Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916

- Special Offers and Notices for May-
• We are offering a special promotion for brides-to-be! If you book a Private Bridal Event with us, be it a bridal shower, bachelorette party or a "last" girls night out to celebrate, the bride gets her seat for free! Call us for details on our Private Events at 865-356-9179 and let's get you booked as dates are filling up fast!
• Take a selfie with the "Splatmobile" - If you see our vehicle around town take a selfie with it! When you post it on Facebook and tag us, we'll give you a code for 20% off your next public class!
• Come paint with us for free at one of our demonstration classes on May 9th! We'll be at World's Fair Park during the "Relay for Life" event!

Wine & Canvas: Knoxville, TN, 865-356-9179, http://www.wineandcanvas.com/knoxville-tn.html