Calendar of Events

Diana Roger's mixed media/assemblage art work is on exhibit at the Bird-Feeder Gallery in October. Please join us for the opening reception this coming Friday, October 9th from 6-9 at the Birdhouse 800 N. Fourth St. in the Fourth & Gill neighborhood.

My recent work is mixed media / assemblage created using a combination of traditional art materials and found objects from both the natural world and my urban surroundings. In the past I've made work that was, more often than not, expressive and very colorful but, with these newer pieces, I've made a concerted effort to strip down my usual style and create a subtler, more minimalist aesthetic. I don't have a particular theme or message in mind when I create but I have been making more of an effort, recently, to simply find things that are visually interesting and stimulating within my immediate surroundings. Because of this the work feels personal but it is also my attempt to communicate with other individuals who are also attempting to find beauty and artistic satisfaction in their everyday lives.

Please check the Birdhouse Community Center schedule of events for open hours at birdhouseknoxville.com. or call Gerry Moll at 480-239-0506 to make a special viewing appointment.

Birdhouse, 800 N 4th Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: http://birdhouseknoxville.com/

This year’s beloved and historic three-day event will take place on October 9-11th, with more than 70 national, regional and local musicians booked to perform on five rustic outdoor stages, throughout the pastoral grounds of the Museum of Appalachia. Music enthusiasts come from all over the United States, Canada and Europe to experience this annual tradition, now in its 36th year.

Lineup includes: the Del McCoury Band, JD Crowe and the New South-Reunion, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Balsam Range, the Gibson Brothers, the Boxcars, Larry Sparks and the Lonesome Ramblers, Kenny and Amanda Smith, Josh Goforth and many, many more.

Visit the Museum of Appalachia’s website, www.museumofapppalachia.org or the Tennessee Fall Homecoming Facebook Page for breaking details. See the full list of artists as booking progresses, get up-to-date festival information, find answers to FAQs, get directions and more.

Knoxville Opera is excited for the curtains to rise on its spectacular production of Boito’s Mefistofele. Mefistofele tells the tale of Goethe’s Faust. With two exclusive performances, Knoxville Opera’s talented cast will bring the story of Mefistofele to life at the magnificent Tennessee Theatre. “Mefistofele will be one of our most powerful performances yet with 200 cast members including a 50-member onstage orchestra,” said Brian Salesky, Knoxville Opera Executive Director. “Each of the sensational scenes is sure to captivate everyone as they witness the thrilling story twist and turn.”

Faust, an old scholar longing for passion and excitement, sells his soul to Mefistofele, the sinister devil, in exchange for a life of love and youth. During his journey, he has unforgettable encounters including a Witches’ Sabbath orgy. In the end, he is faced with a difficult decision that can haunt him for the rest of his eternal life.

Performed for the first time ever in the state of Tennessee, Knoxville Opera’s Mefistofele will feature special effects that opera lovers and novices will not want to miss including the orchestra pit rising and lowering during scenes, a smoke-filled stage, and brass choirs playing throughout the Theatre.

Knoxville Opera is delighted to welcome back international stage director Brian Deedrick following his successful Knoxville productions of Die Fledermaus and The Elixir of Love. The diabolical Mefistofele will be performed by The Metropolitan Opera’s Donovan Singletary, Julia Lima will enthrall the audience as the tragic Margherita, and Cody Austin will deliver Faust’s romantic and dramatic character.

Friday, October 9, 2015 at 8:00pm
Sunday, October 11, 2015 at 2:30pm
Opera preview hosted by Maestro Salesky begins 45 minutes prior to each performance.

Annoucing Sempre Opera Society! If you would like to attend one of our performances but don’t have anyone to go with you, join our Facebook group: Sempre Opera Society! S.O.S. is an opera-loving group that will meet for dinner and drinks prior to performances and sit together during the show. Join us on Facebook for more information.

At the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets and info from Knoxville Opera: 865 524-0795, http://www.knoxvilleopera.com/schedule/mefistofele/

Knoxville Book Arts Guild will hold a gallery show Friday, October 9, 5-9PM and will join the Gilded Leaf Bindery Saturday, October 10, 10AM-1PM to offer bookbinding demonstrations. Both events are free to the public!

Striped Light print studio, 107 Bearden Place, Knoxville, TN 37917. Info: 865-200-8541, info@stripedlight.com, or www.stripedlight.com

Join the Bijou alums when they perform AC/DC's Back in Black!

Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com, www.ticketmaster.com

With Kayley Farmer

Alive After Five is a unique live music series that takes place in the smoke-free, casually elegant setting of the Ann and Steve Bailey Hall in the Knoxville Museum of Art. There is a live band on stage, seating at tables, two cash bars, food from area restaurants, free freshly popped popcorn, and free parking. Audience members can enjoy listening to music, dancing, and browsing the museum’s art galleries. Admission is $10 for general and $5 for museum members and college students with ID. Ages 17 and under are admitted free. Info: 865-934-2039.

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

The Athens Area Council for the Arts presents The Barefoot Movement, critically acclaimed bluegrass band, on Friday, October 9, 2015, at 7:30 pm. The Barefoot Movement kicks off the 2015-2016 Black Box Concert Series that takes place at The Arts Center at 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee.

The music of the Nashville-based group The Barefoot Movement is heartfelt, energetic, and down home. It is as down to earth as their intention for members of their audience: “sit back, relax, take your shoes off, and stay a while.” All the worries and frustrations of the world melt away as the charming four–piece acoustic band takes listeners back to a simpler place and time. Whether you’re seeking emotional ballads or rip–roaring barn–burners, you can expect a collection of music that offers something for everyone.

Series and individual tickets are on sale for the Black Box Concert Series online at www.athensartscouncil.org, by phone at 423-745-8781, and at The Arts Center, 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee 37303. Other performances in the series are: authentic Memphis blues, Daddy Mack Blues Band on January 15, 2016, and Melinda Doolittle “It Must Be Love” just in time for Valentine’s Day on February 12, 2016.

Concert-goers who purchase a series ticket package save at least 20%. A family series ticket package (immediate family only) is $115, a couple’s ticket package is $72, and an individual ticket package is $36. Individual tickets ($15/ adult and $8/student) may be purchased by phone, online, at The Arts Center, or at the door prior to performances, pending availability.

The Barefoot Movement, Friday, October 9, 2015, at 7:30 pm. Athens Area Council for the Arts: 320 North White Street, Athens, TN, 37303. Info: 423-745-8781, www.athensartscouncil.org

Appalachian, Folk and Americana

Tickets are available at the door the night of the concert. No advance ticket sales. You are welcome to bring lawn chairs. Join us for dinner at 6 pm - Concessions provided by Campfire Grill, Townsend. No coolers, food or drink may be brought into the concert. Sorry, no pets permitted, except for service animals. At the GSM Heritage Center ampitheater. $8 per person. GSMHC Members Free.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 3/4 mile east of traffic light at the Highway 321 and 73 intersection towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, TN. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

Thursdays and Fridays 2PM-7PM and Saturdays 2PM-5PM through the month of October

Need something for Halloween? Need something for your school play? A dance recital? Need a base costume to build on and get creative with? Are you a Playhouse actor who wants that certain costume you wore onstage? If you answer yes to any of these, Oak Ridge Playhouse can help you out with our Big Costume Sale! In order to improve on-site storage and make some facility upgrades, we are reducing the inventory of costume stock. Hundreds and hundreds of garments are going up for sale. We are offering a lot of a little bit of everything: full costumes, partial costumes, vintage, formal, bridal, holiday, and many one-of-a-kind items available. NOTHING OVER $15!

Cash or Valid Credit Card only. NO PERSONAL CHECKS. Don't wait too late. Shop early for best selection! Costume Shop is located on the east side of the Playhouse facility.

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

BOO! at the Zoo presented by U.S. Cellular® kicks off Knoxville’s largest Halloween event. Knoxville’s largest Halloween event features 12 nights of safe and not-too-scary fun scheduled over three weekends, Thursdays through Sundays, 5:30-8:00 p.m. each evening. BOO! at the Zoo, a Halloween tradition for 29 years, is a family event featuring trick-or-treating through the zoo along the BOO! Trail, the Chick-fil-A Monster Mash tent with fun that’s perfect for preschool and elementary-aged event-goers, friendly costumed characters and entertainers throughout the zoo, the Carni-GROWL, an all-new carnival-themed activity area and the only “haunted” carousel in East Tennessee, the Scary-Go-Round. (How can you tell it’s haunted? It goes backwards, of course.)

Boo! at the Zoo tickets are $8 per person. Children under two are admitted free. Parking is $5. Tickets are available at in advance by phone at (865) 637-5331, online at knoxvillezoo.org and at the zoo’s ticket office during regular zoo hours. Knoxville Zoo members receive a $2 discount on admission tickets and free parking. U.S. Cellular customers can show their U.S. Cellular phone and receive $2 off BOO! at the Zoo admission.

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

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center in Norris will hold its Fall Porch Sale starting Thursday, October 8, and running for about two weeks. The Porch Sale features outdated stock, seconds, student crafts and unjuried work by members of the Craft Center. It’s an excellent time to get great deals. There will also be baked goods for sale!

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center is a nonprofit center that has been fulfilling its mission by promoting traditional artists and crafts in the East Tennessee area for 40 years. Currently the center has about 70 crafters who sell in the shop.

Appalachian Arts Craft Center: 2716 Andersonville Highway, Clinton, TN. Hours: M-Sa 10-6, Su 1-5. Information: 865-494-9854, www.appalachianarts.net

Surface Design Association (SDA) will host its first Craft + Concept Intensive, Made/Aware: Socially Engaged Practices, at Arrowmont. The conference will offer participants meaningful interactions with accomplished artists and designers whose community art practices have global impact. Featured presenters Mary Fisher, Charllotte Kwon, Rowland Ricketts III & Laura Sansone will activate ideas for socially engaged projects including the preservation of indigenous natural dyeing processes, building craft collectives for African women dealing with AIDS, up-cycling used clothing into new designs and conceptualizing impactful community projects.

SDA is a non-profit textile arts organization founded in 1977. SDA promotes international awareness and appreciation of fiber, textiles & new materials. Members include artists, designers, educators, students, curators, gallery owners and textile enthusiasts from around the world.

http://www.surfacedesign.org/conference/conference-2015
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org