Calendar of Events

Popcorn balls and paper chains… fruits and nuts in their stockings … carols by the fire... a cedar tree cut in the nearby woods- that’s the Christmas most rural Appalachian children knew. And it's the Christmas we recreate each year throughout the Museum village at our special.... Join us as we recreate a meaningful holiday of simpler times. Traditional trees and hand-made decorations, typical of austere pioneer days, transform the Museum’s authentic log buildings.

Wander through the village and marvel at the simple treasures of their settlement days. In the one-room, dirt-floored “Dan'l Boone” cabin, strings of popcorn and cotton bolls circle a dormant tree; Paper chains and other ornaments trim the tree in the Little Tater Valley Schoolhouse. Sweet gum and sycamore balls are strung throughout the Mark Twain Family Cabin, and a traditional silver star tops a native red cedar Christmas tree in the turn-of-the-century Peters Homestead House. Apples, nuts, homemade toys, and oranges fill stockings hung in the cabins. Pick up some stocking stuffers in the Museum Gift and Antique Shop, which features everything from hand-crafted ornaments, locally made muscadine and moonshine jellies, and beautiful pottery, along with baskets, quilts, and plenty of Appalachian specialties. Or just come and enjoy a homemade southern country lunch in front of the warm fireplace. You'll want to make Christmas in Old Appalachia part of your family's annual holiday tradition!

Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy., Clinton, TN 37716 (16 miles north of Knoxville at I-75, exit 122, then one mile east). Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

Hosted by Nourish Knoxville and Market Square Farmers.

Join us for the first Market Square Holiday Market of the season! Nourish Knoxville continues the holiday tradition of shopping local this year with its festive Market Square Holiday Market, to be held Saturdays, December 5, 12 and 19. The Market Square Holiday Market is open 12 to 6 p.m. with farm vendors selling until 3 p.m. near the Market Square stage, and craft vendors and food trucks open until 6 p.m. on Union Avenue adjacent to Market Square and along Market Street. Farm vendors will offer many root crops, hearty greens, greenhouse-grown vegetables/herbs, meat, honey, eggs, winter squash and more. Prepared foods—which also make great gifts—include hot sauce, granola, candy, jams, salsas, baked goods and pasta.

The Holiday Market includes many of the artisan craft vendors who vend during the year, in addition to several who “pop up” just for the holiday season. They offer up handmade pottery, unique jewelry, hand-woven scarves and wraps, creative home décor, as well as locally raised poinsettias, greenery and seasonal wreaths. https://www.facebook.com/events/1200037256689708/

Raise The Tree is a local Christmas tree delivery service that is entering it's sixth season. Raise the Tree delivers beautiful premium Fraser Fir Christmas Trees from a nursery in Western North Carolina. 10% of proceeds will go to local non-profits. This year we are highlighting Old North Knoxville Historic District, Toys for Tots, and Knoxville Area Rescue Ministries. This year Raise the Tree will have a physical location in addition to our delivery service. A display of trees will be at 1241 Armstrong Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Market days/bonfire gatherings will be December 5 & 12. Trees will be for sale nearby at Knox Revival Paint Co. Visit www.raisethetree.org for details and to order.

Make plans now to join us for the 27th Annual Victorian Holiday Home Tour on December 5th & 6th! Old North Knoxville features beautiful homes built in the Queen Anne, Craftsman/Bungalow, Neoclassical Revival, and American Four Square style. To help you kick off your holiday season, Old North Knoxville neighbors will open the doors of select homes in a variety of these styles, restored and decorated for the season for your viewing pleasure!

Candlelight Tour: Saturday Dec. 5th, 2015 4:00PM – 9:00PM
Afternoon Tour: Sunday Dec. 6th, 2015 12:30PM – 5:00PM

http://www.victorianholidayhometour.com/

Gardening takes a team. Parents, grandparents, and children, come out to the UT Gardens to make memories and learn fun and new gardening ideas.
Plants and animals have all adapted to survive the cold weather. Explore the Gardens and find our why some trees keep their leaves all windter and others don't. Go on a scavenger hunt and find what "coat" plants and garden animals put on to stay warm.

Saturday, December 5, 10:00-11:30PM.
Cost: $5/member family, $10/nonmember family.
All programs require preregistration. Contact Derrick Stowell, garden educator, at dstowell@utk.edu or 865 974-7151 or visit utgardens.wildapricot.org/UTGardensEvents.
UT Gardens, Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-7151, http://utgardens.tennessee.edu

One of our most popular offerings. Learn how to take fresh greenery and create your own holiday wreath to display in your home. Cost of the program includes materials.

Saturday, December 5, 1:00-3:00PM
Cost: $25/members, $35/nonmembers.
All programs require preregistration. Contact Derrick Stowell, garden educator, at dstowell@utk.edu or 865 974-7151 or visit utgardens.wildapricot.org/UTGardensEvents.
UT Gardens, Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-7151, http://utgardens.tennessee.edu

Presented by OLE SMOKY MOONSHINE. The rough-voiced rodeo veteran and country songwriter Ryan Bingham comes to the Bijou this December!

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

ADORE CHRISTMAS TOUR WITH CROWDER & LAUREN DAIGLE
Catch Chris Tomlin on the biggest tour of his career! The artist garnered four 2015 GMA Dove Award nominations last month including Contemporary Christian Artist of Year, Worship Album of the year and Worship Song of the Year.

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

Dogwood Arts is rallying East Tennessee to take part in the community-wide dogwood tree-planting day on Saturday, December 5. As part of the Bazillion Blooms program, Dogwood Arts asks Knoxville communities to keep their neighborhoods and communities beautiful for years to come by planting not only dogwood trees, but flowering trees and shrubs, bulbs, and perennials during the Fall gardening season. Fall planting allows plants to develop a strong root system over the winter months, so they are strong for next year’s summer heat. Through the Bazillion Blooms program, Dogwood Arts offers disease-resistant dogwood trees at dogwoodarts.com or by calling 865-637-4561 through November 13th. These 3’ – 4’ bare-root trees are available for $25 each or five for $100. Trees ordered from Dogwood Arts must be picked up on Saturday, December 5, from 9:00am to 12:00pm at the UT Gardens parking lot off Neyland Drive. Trees will not be distributed at a later time or date. Larger blooming trees, as well as other flowering shrubs, bulbs, and perennials will be available for purchase at participating Bazillion Blooms garden centers this fall:

 Ellenburg Landscaping & Nursery :: 722 Vanosdale Road, 37909 :: [865]769-5677
 Stanley’s Greenhouse & Plant Farm :: 3029 Davenport Road, 37920 :: [865]573-9591
 Wilson Fine Gardens :: 5805 Walden Drive, 37919 :: [865]603-4002

Since the initiation of Bazillion Blooms in 2009, Dogwood Arts, along with community and corporate partners, have planted more than 7,200 April-blooming, disease-resistant dogwood trees.

Dogwood Arts: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

Christmas Open House at the Fort
December 5 @ 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Experience Christmas in the 1800’s with James White’s Fort and enjoy the Treats of the Season. Free Admission, but donations gladly accepted.
James White's Fort, 205 E. Hill Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915. Information: 865-525-6514, www.jameswhitefort.org

Klezmer Music. Originating mainly in Eastern Europe, klezmer music is documented in early recordings of Jewish immigrants to America as far back as 1895. After a period of decline, an energetic revival of this music beginning in the 1970s spread from New York, Boston and San Francisco to many other parts of the country, including the Knoxville area. Tennessee Schmaltz develops the tradition of Jewish klezmer in America, adding country and bluegrass sounds to the mix of East European wedding tunes, Yiddish theater and music hall, cantorial singing, and popular traditions of the old and new worlds. Their claim to be the only klezmer group in the entire world with a washtub bass remains unchallenged.

Tickets: $14 (discounts apply to advance purchase, JCA members, students & seniors)
At Jubilee Community Arts, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916. For information/tickets: 865-522-5851, www.jubileearts.org.

Marble Springs State Historic Site will host a Candle Making Workshop on Saturday, December 5 starting at 11am. This hands-on workshop will teach visitors about lighting sources of the 18th century. Visitors will learn how to make beeswax candles by the open hearth. Guests will need to pack a lunch. Reservations are required and space is limited to twenty participants. The enrollment fee is $20 for the cost of materials. Details are subject to change. For more information call (865)573-5508, email info@marblesprings.net, or visit our website at www.marblesprings.net.
Programing assistance for this event is provided by Knox County. Marble Springs is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Historical Commission, and supplemented by additional funds raised by the Governor John Sevier Memorial Association.

All activities take place at the Marble Springs State Historic Site: 1220 West Governor John Sevier Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920.
Information: 865-573-5508, www.marblesprings.net