Calendar of Events

"To Kill A Mockingbird," the unforgettable Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, comes to life on the KCT stage with its unique mix of warm nostalgia and frank realism. The lives of young "Scout" Finch and her big brother Jim are about to change forever, when their father Atticus, a lawyer, is appointed to defend a black man accused of attacking a white teenage girl. Meanwhile, the children become fascinated by their reclusive neighbor "Boo" Radley. All their worlds collide in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama, as its citizens confront their fears and prejudices.

Dennis E. Perkins directs the play, and Wheeler Moon assists. Jaden Lily Branson is the stage manager.

Performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; Sundays at 3 PM.

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

A Delicious Gingerbread House… A Magical Forest… The beloved tale of two children whose goodness and faith triumph over an evil witch! Performed in English.

Friday, February 26, 2016 at 7:30pm
Sunday, February 28, 2016 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/hanselandgretel/

Jubilee Community Arts presents its signature celebration of traditional mountain music featuring Tennessee artists recognized as accomplished masters of old styles of fiddle, banjo, ukelele, string bands, sacred music and early country and historical ballads, culminating in the annual Epworth Old Harp Singing.

Featured performers and schedule are listed at http://jubileearts.org/JubileeFestival2015.html. This year's event performances by the Lost Fiddle String Band, Kelle Jolly, Tennessee Stifflegs, John Alvis & Friends, Knox County Jug Stompers, Y'uns, Camp Hollow String Band, Possum Crossing, Roy Harper, Mike & Marcia Bryant, the Bearded and the Mumbillies.

Evening concerts begin 7 pm Friday and Saturday, Old Harp Singing at 2 pm Sunday. Tickets: Friday or Saturday evening: $12 (discounts apply to advance purchase, JCA members, students, seniors 65+). Sunday singing no charge. At Jubilee Community Arts, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916. For information/tickets: 865-522-5851, www.jubileearts.org.

Grammy nominee Judy Carmichael Trio will perform at the Clayton Center for the Arts February 26 @ 7:30 PM and record her Jazz Inspired Radio Podcast on February 28 @ 3:00 PM with special guest John Jorgenson. Tickets for the concert, to be held in the Harold and Jean Lambert Recital Hall, are $25.

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

“Come to the Cabaret” The Akima Club Benefit Cabaret, that is.
U. S. Cellular Stage at The Bijou Theater, 803 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902.
Friday, February 26, 2016 7:00pm and Saturday, February 27, 2016 at 2:00pm and
 7:00pm.
Dinner and Dancing Following the Friday and Saturday Evening Performances at the
Knoxville Marriott, 501 E. Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915.
Black Tie Optional
Cash Bar

Ticket Prices:
$150 each for Friday and Saturday evening show, dinner and dancing or
$50 Show Only. 
$30 each Saturday matinee
www.akimaclub.org

Presented every other year, Cabaret is Akima Club’s major fundraiser. From this event alone we fund grants to many local agencies. Grants are only given for specific projects and are not awarded for salaries and/or operating expenses. These grant funds can only be used to directly aid the clients served by the agencies.

Akima Club also contributes to the community by donating member service hours. We work to support Mobile Meals, FISH Hospitality Pantry, Helen Ross McNabb Center, Ronald McDonald House, Sunshine Industries, Random Acts of Flowers, Sertoma Center, Akima Outreach, and many more. Our yearly service totals more than 6500 hours.

The Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble (TCDE) will open its 35th season with multiple performances at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. This year’s Season Opener Concert will feature dances by Abby Williams, Courtney Kohlhepp and Karlie Budge, as well as a new work by Amy Wilson. “Whether you love modern dance, classical ballet, jazz or you just need to see something that will lift your spirits and make you feel good about your world, this is the place to be” says Ensemble Director Irena Linn.

TCDE is a professional modern dance company comprised of children ranging in age from 8-18 years of age. When you see them perform you won’t believe they are children! The Ensemble has served TN for 30 plus years as dancing ambassadors of goodwill, serving under every Governor since 1981, and exemplifies the highest artistic standards of excellence. TCDE dancers are role models for other children who are motivated and inspired as they experience the joy of movement. The dances performed at the Season Opener Concert will also be going on tour as a part of TCDE’s “Children Helping Children” initiative, which introduces modern dance to children in the most remote areas of our state where there is little opportunity for access to the arts and where most children have never even seen a dance performance, much less experienced dance.

Performances are as follows:

School/Senior Citizen Performances - Friday, February 26th – 9:15am and 11:00am - Children $6.00, Adults $10.00

Public Performances - Friday Evening, February 26th – 8:00pm
Saturday Afternoon, February 27th – 2:30pm
Saturday Evening, February 27th – 8:00pm
Adults $26.00, $15.00 children and students (including college with student ID)

Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble: 865-584-9636, www.tcdedance.org

Presented every other year, Cabaret is Akima Club's major fundraiser. Our next Cabaret will be held February 26 & 27, 2016 at The US Cellular Stage at the Bijou. From this event alone we fund grants to many local agencies. Grants are only given for specific projects and are not awarded for salaries and/or operating expenses. These grant funds can only be used to directly aid the clients served by the agencies. Akima Club also contributes to the community by donating member service hours. We work to support Mobile Meals, FISH Hospitality Pantry, Helen Ross McNabb Center, Ronald McDonald House, Sunshine Industries, Random Acts of Flowers, Sertoma Center, Akima Outreach, and many more. Our yearly service totals more than 6500 hours. Please consider supporting Akima's grant program by supporting Akima Cabaret 2016 with a sponsorship. Advance tickets to the cabaret can only be purchased from Akima Club members. To purchase in advance, please contact Abigail Jumper at abigailwestjumper@gmail.com. On the day of the show, tickets will also be available at the Bijou box office one hour prior to the performance. For more information, please contact the Cabaret Chairman at cabaret@akimaclub.org

Feb 26 at 7 PM, Feb 27 at 2 PM and 7 PM

$50.00 plus applicable service fees. Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com, www.ticketmaster.com

At Hiwassee College in Madisonville.

'' They remind me a lot myself and people that I knew when I was young... they have their hearts in what we call 'traditional' country music.'' -Merle Haggard.

The Malpass Brothers toured as part of the Merle Haggard show for four years and their new Crossroads/Organic Records release was produced by Bluegrass Hall of Famer Doyle Lawson. Christopher Malpass says, '' This is who we are ... My brother Taylor and I do the type of music we do because this music speaks to us, and speaks to the souls of its listeners... Our goal, really, is to see this music be revived, to help ensure it doesn't fade away. It is so encouraging to have young people come to our shows with a new interest in our 'old music.'' www.themalpassbrothers.com

Tickets are $20/Adult and $10/Student.

Monroe Area Council for the Arts: 423-442-3210, www.monroearts.com

"Wild Women Don't Have the Blues" featuring Crystal Shawanda

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

McScrooge's Wine & Spirits will hold a bottle signing, tasting and book signing in honor of Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton, perhaps the most famous Appalachian moonshiner, from 3 to 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 26.

McScrooge's will be pouring free samples of Popcorn Sutton's Tennessee White Whiskey, and John Lunn, master distiller of Sutton's now-legal moonshine, will be on-hand to sign bottles and answer questions about the product. Also on-hand will be Tom Jester and Don Dudenbostel, author and photographer, respectively, of the book "Popcorn Sutton: The Making and Marketing of a Hillbilly Hero." The pair will be available to autograph their book and talk about the three years they spent documenting Sutton's life and moonshine production.

The event falls just before the seven year anniversary of Sutton's death. He killed himself on March 16, 2009, four days before he was to report to prison to serve an 18-month sentence for federal alcohol and firearm violations. For more information about this event, please visit www.facebook.com/events/1701343936750672/.

Interested in helping share the history of Historic Westwood? Are you or someone you know interested in local history? Do you enjoy learning and working with the public? Are you seeking a rewarding volunteer experience? Consider becoming a docent at Historic Westwood. You just need a love for history and historic architecture.

Please join Knox Heritage for coffee and an informal information session. This is a great opportunity to meet some of our active docents and learn more about this rewarding volunteer opportunity. We are looking for individuals who can commit to volunteering Monday thru Thursday between the hours of 10:00AM and 4:00PM and can volunteer once or twice a month. For more information and to RSVP to attend this informational session, please email Hollie Cook at hcook@knoxheritage.org.

Historic Westwood was built as a “wedding promise” in 1890 by John Edwin Lutz and his wife, Ann Adelia Armstrong Lutz. Originally sited on 12 acres along Kingston Pike, it was designed by notable architects Baumann Brothers in the grand Richardsonian Romanesque style so popular in the late 19th century. Westwood is one of the treasured houses known as “The Three Sisters,” which also includes Crescent Bend and Bleak House. Adelia Lutz was Tennessee’s first professional female artist and the house is filled with beautiful hand-painted decorative frescos. While placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the property was never protected by local historic zoning or a permanent preservation easement. The Aslan Foundation purchased the iconic property and donated it to Knox Heritage in 2014. Now the home is protected into the future and saved form development, as well as creating a resource for education and preservation advocacy thought out the East Tennessee region. The Knox Heritage offices are located at Historic Westwood and the house and grounds also serve as a venue for private events.

After searching high and low, Friends of Literacy has discovered Knoxville's most good looking, well-versed, and multi-talented men. Most importantly these men are single! They've put their boyish reservations aside for the good of a greater cause: fighting illiteracy in Knox County. How is FOL going to pull this off? By auctioning off dates with these Guys That Give to the highest bidders on the floor! So, all of you single ladies, put your money where your heart is and attend this one of a kind event on February 26th. The bachelors this year range in age from 25-55 so there is someone for everybody!

This years event will take place at the Crowne Plaza and is sure to be the most exciting auction yet! Doors open at 6:30 pm for the VIP event, which includes a champagne reception and one-on-one mingling time with the Guys That Give. General Admission is admitted at 7:30 pm and includes appetizers and desserts. The auction begins at 8 pm. Come join FOL, along with Emcee Lauren Davis of WVLT and Auctioneer Dino Cartwright as they flaunt this year's cream of the crop!

For tickets or more information call Friends of Literacy 549-7007 or visit our website friendsofliteracy.org. VIP tickets cost $70 and general admission tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. (Please note that last year we sold out so there may not be tickets at the door.) Join us as we auction off these fabulous guys to the highest bidder, all to raise money for adults who can't read.
Friday, Feb 26, 6:30 pm
Crowne Plaza Knoxville, 401 W. Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, TN 37902
friendsofliteracy.org.