Calendar of Events

Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. An emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. The show's unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backwards while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically; the two characters only meet once, at their wedding in the middle of the show.

"I can't think of any better way to celebrate the arrival of spring than by spending 90 exhilarating minutes with The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown's giddily sorrowful eulogy for a brief marriage."
—Bloomberg News

"It's instantly clear […] that this poignant, richly dramatic and piercingly honest two-character show is destined to be a hit."
—The Chicago Sun-Times

"Jaw-dropping! A gem of a show from Jason Robert Brown."
—New York Magazine

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 North Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

Where indoor & outdoor spaces bloom! Get inspired at the 38th annual Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show! The 2016 Dogwood Arts House & Garden Show provides visitors the chance to shop hundreds of retailers and manufacturers exhibiting products, offering services and advice on interior design, home improvement, gardening, and more. Stroll through 10,000+ square feet of beautifully landscaped gardens to inspire you and have the opportunity to talk with the designers. Make your home and garden dreams a reality!

HGTV hosts are confirmed for the 2016 House & Garden Show. Matt Blashaw, licensed contractor and host of HGTV’s Vacation House for Free, and Tiffany Brooks, season eight winner of HGTV Star and host of HGTV’s Smart Home 2016, are coming to Knoxville to share their expertise on house renovation, real estate and interior design at the 38th annual House & Garden Show.

At Knoxville Convention Center. Dogwood Arts: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

Knoxville Food Tours will be offering Special Valentine Weekend Tours February 12-14.
For event details, and to purchase tickets, visit www.knoxvillefoodtours.com.

Enhance your time in Historic Downtown with Knoxville’s Award Winning,
Original Tour! Enjoy a complete Knoxville experience in just a few
hours – sample signature dishes from a rotating selection of new and iconic Knoxville restaurants featuring local, regional, Southern & Appalachian cuisine; add pairings of beer from local and craft breweries, wine flights, craft cocktails, Tennessee whiskey, or even moonshine; hear the history of the city and notable buildings. A must for locals and visitors!

$99 per person
Reservations Required
Purchase Tickets at
www.knoxvillefoodtours.com
865-201-7270

On February 12 through 14, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt and Goodwill Industries-Knoxville are teaming up to make Valentine’s sweet for all, especially those who have difficulty finding employment due to disabilities.

The Bearden Menchie’s, located at 234 Brookview Centre Way in Knoxville, is owned and operated by Open Doors Tennessee, a volunteer-run nonprofit organization committed to providing opportunities and positive support for individuals with disabilities. Open Doors Tennessee operates camps and special events for individuals and families. Since the franchise was donated to Open Doors Knoxville in 2014, profits from the Bearden Menchie’s location support Open Doors Knoxville’s programming.

This Valentine’s weekend, Menchie’s is offering a Buy One Get One Free deal to anybody who brings a donation for Goodwill to their Bearden location. Donations will be sold in Goodwill retail stores to generate funding for Goodwill’s year-round programs, impacting thousands of individuals with disabilities or other disadvantages.

Goodwill Industries: 865-588-8567, www.gwiktn.org

Part of the 2015-2016 Broadway at the Tennessee Theatre season!

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER – THE MUSICAL, the iconic story of Tony - the kid from Brooklyn USA - who wants to dance his way to a better life, is back! And back in an all-new production that shares Tony’s love for dancing in spectacular new ways. Fueled by the vintage Bee Gee hits, this contemporary retelling of the classic story captures the energy, passion and life-changing moments that have thrilled movie audiences since 1977. Now, a new generation of dancers meets a new generation of playgoers to explore the soaring sounds and pulsating rhythms of this coming-of-age Disco fantasy.

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

Don't miss Knoxville singer-songwriter Erick Baker 's special Valentine's Day weekend album release show! With Callaghan.

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

As one of the nation’s few full-time vocal ensembles, Cantus has grown in prominence with its distinctive approach to creating music. Working without a conductor, the members of Cantus rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing to the entirety of the artistic process.process. Cantus regards our greatest and most fragile gift in “The Four Loves.” Including music by Francis Poulenc, Edvard Grieg, Ludwig van Beethoven, Bobby McFerrin and four newly commissioned works for this program, “The Four Loves” looks at this unquantifiable emotion from all sides.

Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information/tickets: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

The Athens Area Council for the Arts presents Melinda Doolittle: It Must Be Love, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The final installment of the 2015-2016 Black Box Concert Series takes place at The Arts Center at 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee. Melinda Doolittle became a household name on season six of American Idol and she continues thrilling audiences with her powerhouse vocals and charm. In 2013 alone, Melinda was featured on 5 studio albums, including her sophomore release You’re The Reason. Her latest album, It Must Be Love offers listeners a true glimpse into Doolittle as an Artist, as she wrote half of the songs on the album. Melinda told the Hollywood Reporter that she approached the album “from the aspect of love. It’s what shapes my life daily. I wanted to be transparent and honest.”

The concert is a part of an “Arts Hop,” where the public is invited to attend two arts events. Prior to the concert, the public is invited to an exhibit opening reception for “Fresh Perspectives,” by watercolor students of The Arts Center from 5:00 – 7:00 pm on Friday, February 12, 2016 at The McMinn County Living Heritage Museum, 522 W Madison Avenue, Athens, TN 37303. The artists will be on hand to informally discuss their work. The reception includes light refreshments and is free.

Individual tickets for Melinda Doolittle: It Must Be Love are $15 for adults and $8 for students and are on sale online at athensartscouncil.org, by phone at 423-745-8781, and at The Arts Center, 320 North White Street, Athens, Tennessee.

On the second Friday of each month at 7:30 PM, The Improv*ables do a free, improv comedy show at Time Warp Tea Room. Donations accepted!

1209 N Central St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Info: karlalanhess@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/453041531393721/
https://www.facebook.com/The-Improv-Ables-1564536897116974/

With the Blair Experience

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

Monty, McClung Museum’s resident dinosaur, will “host” the celebration of Charles Darwin’s birthday! Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to join as the museum celebrates Darwin Day–a global celebration of scientific thought and intellectual curiosity held on or around Feb. 12, the birthday anniversary of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin (1809– 1882). Giant puppets of Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, who co-published the theory of evolution by natural selection with Darwin, will also attend. The event is part of the festivities happening across campus in honor of Darwin Day. Birthday cake and snacks will be served, and festivities will include games and gallery talks by museum staff. Contact: Lindsey Jo Wainwright, lwainwri@utk.edu

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

My heart is beating fast, as my mind travels to our next screening, which will be held at 7:30 PM on Friday, February 12. As many of you are well aware, romance has always been the theme for our February presentations, with our upcoming gathering being no exception.

The February 12 bill will devoted to saucy affairs of the heart. Our feature will be the sleek and nimble Hal Wallis production, Wives and Lovers (1963), starring Janet Leigh, Van Johnson, Shelley Winters and Martha Hyer. A thoroughly witty romp, Wives and Lovers is what those swinging sixties were all about! Johnson and Leigh play a New York couple whose marriage gets rocky when struggling writer Van suddenly becomes a best-selling author – all thanks to the efforts of Hyer, his amorous literary agent. Martha sells Van's novel to Broadway and he and Janet relocate to trendy Connecticut – moving in next door to tipsy ex-Hollywood housewife Shelley Winters. Hanging around Shelley's house is Ray Walston, her drinking partner and overaged boy-toy. Rounding out Wives and Lovers' glossy cast is dashing Jeremy Slate, portraying an egotistical, wolfish movie star. Romantic fireworks abound everywhere in this devastatingly funny take on showbiz A-Listers!

Wives and Lovers will be preceded by two other surefire Valentine's Day laugh-getters. First up will be CCC comedy queen Vera Vague, starring in the side-splitting Cupid Goes Nuts. I don't want to spoil things for you, so I'll just say that this hilarious 1947 short presents Vera in a way that will leave you bewitched beyond all reason!

Cupid Goes Nuts will be giving way to the classic Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies, Muscle Tussle (1953). The irrepressible Daffy Duck is the star of this Technicolor cartoon, which finds the webbed one in the middle of one big mess of a romantic triangle. Chattanooga Charles Atlas guest stars.

7:30 PM on Friday, February 12.
Our location: The spacious clubhouse of the Windover Apartments. The journey there will take you to Cheshire Drive (off Kingston Pike, near the Olive Garden); going down Cheshire, turn right at the Windover Apartments sign, then go to the third parking lot on your right, next to the pool. There, the building that houses the clubhouse and offices of the Windover will be just a few steps away!