Calendar of Events

Come sing shape note music from East Tennessee's own seven shape song book "The New Harp of Columbia."
Free, all are welcome, no experience required and loaner books are available.
Sunday, June 11, 6:30-8:00PM at the Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916.
Please visit www.oldharp.org for more information or call Claudia Dean at 865 673 5822.

Each Second Sunday of the month at 2pm, docents offer free guided tours of Higher Ground, Currents, and traveling exhibitions to the public. In order to reach a broader audience the KMA offers Spanish speaking tours once a month at 3pm. From 1-4pm there will also be art activities for all ages!

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

Celebrate the Grand Opening of the Children's Garden at UT Gardens, Knoxville! Families come out to celebrate the grand opening of the Children's Garden and have some fun in the sun. We will have story time, music, crafts, snacks, sprinkler time and much more.

UT Gardens, Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-7151, http://utgardens.tennessee.edu

Join the fun with renowned local comedy group Einstein Simplified.
The UT Arboretum Society presents a special first-of-its-kind fundraiser on June 11th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge. Come enjoy the fun as this well-known Knoxville area comedy improv group entertains us with original, unrehearsed improv. If you like Second City and Saturday Night Live, this show is for you! Given today’s roller coaster political climate, we expect a very funny show. Don’t miss it!
Tickets are now on sale and they are selling quickly. Due to space limitations, only 90 tickets can be sold. All tickets will be sold before the event. There are no walk-up sales. Tickets are $30 each. Various cheeses will be served, a ticket for one glass of wine and the live show are included in the ticket price. Soft drinks will be provided. A cash bar for wine will be available for sale. The preferred method of ticket sales is online at the UT Arboretum Society website http://utas.brownpapertickets.com/
If you are not able to purchase online, you can send a check to: 10626 Forest Crest Road, Knoxville, TN 37922 made out to the UT Arboretum Society. Please put “Einstein Simplified” on the memo line. For information call 865-776-8227.

The event is Sunday, June 11, from beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the UT Arboretum Auditorium, 901 S. Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. Gates open at 4:30. Social hour, with drinks and a variety of cheeses and crackers from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The show starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. and will end about 7:00 p.m.

Bring your spouse, significant other, friends and neighbors. But mostly, bring your sense of humor!!!!

Great Father’s Day gift for dad, spouse or friends – but you must bring your sense of humor!

We live in a crazy up and down world so the UT Arboretum Society is offering you a chance to forget all that on Sunday, June 11th at the UT Arboretum Auditorium located at 901 S. Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. Join us as we all laugh, non-stop, as the renowned award-winning comedy group, Einstein Simplified, presents an hour of uninterrupted improv comedy. This 23-year-old well-established group performs funny and often physical, unrehearsed comedy.

The fun begins at 5:00 with a reception that includes wine and a wide variety of cheeses. This is a chance to mingle with the comedy troupe and socialize with the crowd. Cost is $30 per person and that includes one free glass of wine, cheese, crackers and the comedy show. All tickets will be sold before the event. There are no walk-up sales. Soft drinks will be provided free of charge. A cash bar for additional glasses of wine will be available. The preferred method of ticket sales is online at the UT Arboretum Society website http://utas.brownpapertickets.com/. If online purchase is a problem, call 865-776-8227.

Einstein Simplified has been a Knoxville staple for 23 years, having performed at Side Splitters and, for the past few years, every Tuesday night at Scruffy City Hall (Preservation Pub) in Market Square in Knoxville. These comedians are in demand, doing a weekly show and many special appearances.

Two Magnificent Gardens Re-Open!

JUNE 3 & 4 and JUNE 10 &11
Saturday :: 10:00-5:00 | Sunday :: Noon-5:00

Thanks to April showers, we will reopen two of our featured gardens this June!

On June 3 & 4, we will open GATOP garden, a beautiful 10 acre garden in East Knoxville off Riverside Drive. This is an amazing property which is archived with the Smithsonian Institute and features an extensive sculpture collection.

On June 10 & 11, we will open Savage garden, a garden in the middle of Fountain City. After many years of extensive restoration, Savage Garden is once again the kind of magical place envisioned by Arthur Savage a hundred years ago. This garden is located at 3237 Garden Drive. Dogwood Arts' Featured Gardens are sponsored by ORNL Federal Credit Union.

This event is free though a $5 donation on-site is suggested.

For a list of featured gardens please visit http://www.dogwoodarts.com/2017-featured-gardens. Dogwood Arts Festival: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

Knoxville Children’s Theatre, in partnership with The Ritchie Company, will present “Sleeping Beauty & the Seven Sisters,” based on the classic fairy tale by Charles Perrault.

The play will be performed June 9 - 25, Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; Sundays at 3 PM. KCT reboots the classic story amidst the color and pageantry of France. The happy life of Briar-Rose is interrupted by a curse from one of the Seven Wise Sisters of Fountainbleau, sending the girl into a deep sleep. Can an ancient wizard and a young soldier come to her rescue with some magic of their own?
The play is performed by 14 talented young actors, from ages 8 to 14.

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

We are honored to be home to U2's first ever U.S. festival headlining performance right here on The Farm! Our festival site is a beautiful 700-acre farm, located in Manchester, TN, about 60 miles southeast of Nashville and 40 miles northwest of Chattanooga.

https://www.bonnaroo.com

Encore Theatrical Company announces its Young Stars Series production of “Hairspray". Performances are scheduled for June 8-11. For more information, please visit www.etcplays.org or call 423-318-8331.

Adapted from the Broadway production that won eight Tony Awards, “Hairspray Jr.” is a delightful and fun family-friendly musical. It's 1962, and spunky, plus-size teen, Tracy Turnblad, has one big dream – to dance on the popular "Corny Collins Show." When she finally gets her shot, she's transformed from social outcast to sudden star. In balancing her newfound power with her desire for justice, Tracy fights to dethrone the reigning Miss Teen Hairspray, Amber von Tussle, and integrate a TV network in the process. With the help of her outsized mom, Edna, and guest DJ, Motormouth Maybelle, the rhythm of Tracy's new beat just might prove unstoppable.

For more information, please visit www.etcplays.org or call 423-318-8331.

The image of the tortured artist is cliché because it’s often true, and, more so, because we talk about it a lot. In fact we love it. It may be that it appeals to a strange human craving for martyrdom: we love those who suffer for their passions. But not all artists fall on their swords or mutilate their ears; for a whole bunch of them the creative process reflects an earnest desire to bring a burning passion or drive to create into harmony with a good, even calm life.

Dino Liddick is one of the seekers of calm. Dino’s exhibit, “With the Eye, For the Mind” is currently hanging in our Market Square location, and the work that comprises the show is built upon a foundation of mindfulness and kindness. Some of that is a reaction to an emotional life, and some is related to sheer practicality. Certainly the artist has responded to emotional crises in his work, but for Liddick, the art isn’t merely a kind of therapy: it’s a statement of being. “Sometimes somebody will ask me how I feel, and I say, well, look at that painting – that’s how I feel.” On his website, he writes, “Rather than pulling ideas from the mind to produce ‘art,’” he, “practices clearing his mind through the process of a piece.”

Rather than formulate a work, Liddick hopes the piece will come together intuitively without too much conscious involvement. It’s an effort to feel rather than to think. When he’s moved by a subject or situation, Dino tries “to go home and reach that feeling, and let that feeling come into shape. I try to paint the feeling and then put in the shapes – I don’t try to the paint the shapes and then put in the feeling.”

“With the Eye, for the Mind” by Dino Liddick will be on view at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head on Market Square from June 5th through July 2nd. The exhibit will display at the West Knoxville Gallery Tomato Head from July 4th through August 3rd.

Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. http://thetomatohead.com

The Dogwood Arts Regional Art Exhibition was developed to showcase and award the finest artists of our region. Fine art encompassing all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists has been selected by juror Leslie Noell, Director of Programs at Bakersville, North Carolina’s Penland School of Crafts.

June 2, 2017: Opening & Award Ceremony 5:30-8:30 (awards at 7 PM).

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

A self-taught artist with a background in creative writing and journalism, a passion for advertising, and an unrelenting drive to make. Ryan-Ashley finds herself crafting copy by day, stringing together minimalist-inspired wearables by night, and reading books in hot baths as often as possible.

Ryan-Ashley has been teaching knitting for 14 years, and facilitates workshops on a variety of subjects including peyote-stitch beadwork, bead-making, fiberwork jewelry, intro. to leatherwork, and a host of other DIY-related topics. New to Knoxville, but eager to dig into the maker community, you can learn about any and all upcoming projects, workshops, and shows at http://www.smartandbeckercreative.com/.

Opening reception: 6-9 PM on Friday June 2.

RALA, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com/