Calendar of Events

Dragon Lights, Knoxville’s first-ever Chinese lantern festival, will take place at Chilhowee Park and Exposition Center and will be open every night from 5:30pm until 10:00pm.

Featuring over 40 larger-than-life lantern displays, Dragon Lights is the largest Chinese lantern festival in the Eastern Unites States. Thousands of sculptural and light components make this event a true visual treat. Dozens of Chinese artisans travel the world to keep this century-old tradition alive, and they will be constructing the displays on site at Chilhowee as the festival draws near. Dragon Lights also will feature performances by Chinese acrobats and Chinese folk art demonstrations, as well as children's activities.

Don't miss this unique experience. Tickets ($16 per adult, or $10 for children) are on sale now. Call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or stop by the Civic Coliseum Box Office. (Group tickets for 15 or more are only available at the Coliseum Box Office, 865-215-8999.) http://www.chilhoweepark.org/dragon-lights-festival/

For his film installation at The University of Tennessee Knoxville's Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902, in conjunction with the 2018 Big Ears Festival, Los Angeles based collage film artist Lewis Klahr will present a looped, rotating selection of his films that explore the vicissitudes of time and memory. Many of the films included will be from his ongoing, open-ended series of digital films Prolix Satori. Also included will be a special sequence assembled to be screened only under the following weather conditions — severe overcast or rain lasting at least 60 minutes.

About the Artist
Lewis Klahr uses found images and sound to explore the intersection of memory and history. He is primarily known for his uniquely idiosyncratic films, which he began creating in 1977 and has screened extensively in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Lewis Klahr teaches in the Theater School of the California Institute of the Arts and is represented by The Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London.

Lewis Klahr is currently at work on a new feature length series of collage films titled Circumstantial Pleasures and Porcelain Gods, a retelling of Jean Luc Godard's 1963 film Contempt as a collage novel.

EXTENDED HOURS DURING THE BIG EARS MUSIC FESTIVAL
Thursday, March 22: 2:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.
Friday, March 23: 11:00 A.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Saturday, March 24: 10:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
Sunday, March 25: 1:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sa 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

Kelle Jolly’s Women in Jazz Jam Festival returns for its third year in downtown Knoxville. The festival kicks off on Friday, March 16. On Friday evening, the festival officially opens when the popular Women in Jazz Jam Festival Band returns to the Knoxville Museum of Art’s Alive After Five Concert Series with a performance at 6 p.m. Admission for the show is $15 for adults, $10 for students or members and children under 17 are free.

New this year, on Saturday, March 17, is the noontime "Women in Music Gathering" networking event at The Emporium Center, located at 100 S. Gay Street. Women who perform or work in any genre of music are encouraged to attend. Bring promotional material to share. Discussions will be led by organizers of the festival. Bring your instrument for a jam session. This event is free and open to the public.

On Saturday evening, enjoy an early show at The Emporium Center. From 5:30-9:00 p.m., savor the sounds of The Anna Helms Quartet, Kelle Jolly, and Ensemble Swing Time with guest violinist, Diane Monroe from Philadelphia. Advance tickets are $15 or $20 at the door. http://womeninjazzjamfestival.com/tickets/

The headline artist, violinist Diane Monroe, will perform at noon on the WDVX Blue Plate Special in the Visit Knoxville building. “Diane Monroe bridges the traditions of classical composition and jazz improvisation.” Her elegant violin performance of jazz standards sings and moans like an enchanting voice. For over a decade she toured as first violinist of the Max Roach Double Quartet. For more than 15 years she has been leading The Diane Monroe Quartet, which appeared at the Kennedy Center’s Women in Jazz Festival in 2012.

Festival t-shirts will be available at all events. Festival Sponsors include Visit Knoxville, Sequoyah Studios, The Appalachian Community Fund, Knox County Commissioner Evelyn Gill and Indiegogo campaign supporters.

WJJF Organizer, Kelle Jolly: (865) 622-7174, womeninjazzjamfestival@gmail.com, www.womeninjazzjamfestival.com

It's back by popular demand! To celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, Downtown Knoxville’s Blue Slip Winery & Bistro, located in The Historic Southern Railway Station at 306 West Depot Avenue, is hosting the return of Clever By Half Productions's (CBH) original murder mystery, HINT. CBH, which bills itself as “Interactive. On-Demand. Entertainment.”, originated in the Shenandoah Valley and toured the Eastern seaboard over the past decade. Having now returned to Tennessee, owner and Knoxville native, Noah McBrayer Jones is excited to reach new audiences and expand the thriving Arts community in his hometown.

Patrons will have three more chances to enjoy this fan-favorite murder on March 16 and 17 at 7:00pm and March 18 at 1:30pm.

HINT is the fast-paced story of a dinner party gone awry. When Mr. Brown invites six of his dearest friends to a fete, they expect to paint the town red. However, once it’s clear that blackmail is the name of the game, murder is added to the menu. So, who finally showed their true colors? Was Mr. Pine green with envy? Is the widowed Mrs. Snow as innocent as she seems? Did Senator Wheaton have the guts or was he too yellow-bellied for such a crime? The entire event takes place around the diners. Over several courses, audiences will follow the clues and then attempt to catch the killer red-handed during CBH’s signature device, an interactive interrogation with the performers.

“The Devil is in the details,” Jones says. “We’re playing to the people in the crowd who are engaged and love a good pun, and we love immersing ourselves as deeply into the worlds as we can.” In addition to prizes for rooting out the culprit, Blue Slip will present awards those who come in their best thematic or Saint Patrick's Day attire.

6:30pm (1:00pm on Sunday) Doors and Bar is Open
7:00pm (1:30pm on Sunday) Show Begins Promptly with Salads and Charcuterie
8:00pm (2:30pm on Sunday) Buffet Dinner followed by Dessert

Reserved Seating — $50.00 per person or $90.00 per couple. To reserve tickets, please follow the link below: https://www.facebook.com/events/937311813102571

For more information about the company and their public or private booking opportunities, please visit the CBH website: http://cleverbyhalf.com. You can also follow the company (https://www.facebook.com/Clever.By.Half.Productions) or Blue Slip Winery & Bistro (https://www.facebook.com/BlueSlipWinery) on Facebook. For More Information, Please Contact: Noah McBrayer Jones, Owner/Artistic Director, Clever By Half Productions, noah@cleverbyhalf.com, 540.416.2666

JOIN US to SUPPORT EAST TN KIDNEY FOUNDATION on ST. PATRICK'S DAY!
KNOX SHAMROCK FEST™ presented by Fresenius Kidney Care
Friday, March 16th, 3p-10p &
Saturday, March 17th, 10a-10p

"...the region's PREMIER Family Friendly St. Patrick's Day Celebration!"

2018 Expanded Entertainment Line-Up! Featuring Award-Winning Regional & Local Musicians in Market Square

Friday, March 16th 3pm - 10pm
• Family Friendly Festival 3p - 8p
• Gaelic Spelling Bee
• Irish Dancing
• Gaelic Sports - Hurling
• Live Concert: Raven and Red 8p-10p

Saturday, March 17th 10am - 10pm
• Lucky Kidney Run 10a
• Awards Ceremony 10:45a (Register Now thru race day)
• Family Friendly Festival 10a - 8p
• Sandsations Celtic Dance
• Knoxville Pipes & Drums
• Irish Dancing
• The McGills 5:15p - 7:00pm
• Way Sneaky Eddie 8pm - 10pm

https://www.etkidney.org/events/2018-knox-shamrock-fest%E2%84%A2-presented-fresenius-kidney-care

Four Leaf Peat – Tennessee’s Premier Traditional Irish Band presents a St. Patrick’s Day celebration and Album Release Party

Knoxville Based Four Leaf Peat has been performing traditional Irish music locally and regionally since 2004, and for the second year, brings their Paddy’s Day party to the Historic Bijou Theater! Come on out to tap your feet, sing a few choruses and celebrate with the guys as they release their 4th full length recording (recorded at the Bijou) at Knoxville’s longest running and most authentic St. Patrick’s Day event!!

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

Kelle Jolly & The Women in Jazz Jam Festival

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 $15 for general and $10 for museum members and college students with ID. Ages 17 and under are admitted free.

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

Knox Heritage continues its series of educational lunches, Lost & Found, with “Riding with the Blue & Gray: Kingston Pike Homes in 1863”

Guest speaker will be Joan Markel, Curator of Civil War History at the McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture

Parking is free and is available in the Laurel Church of Christ parking lot next door – 3457 Kingston Pike. A free lunch buffet will be served beginning at 11:30 a.m. and the program will begin at 12:00 p.m. Reservations for lunch are required. Call Hollie Cook at 865-523-8008 or email her at hcook@knoxheritage.org to make a reservation.

Knox Heritage, at Historic Westwood, 3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-523-8008, www.knoxheritage.org

Join Smoky Mountain Storytellers’ celebration in the fellowship hall at Highland Presbyterian Church, 721 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy., Maryville, TN, 37804. We will provide light refreshments (coffee and cookies). SMSA Gratefully accept donations.

Performance Artists are: Jim Eastin, Sheri Liles, Jean Davidson, Kathleen Mavournin.

Around the World, as many people as possible tell and listen to stories in as many languages and at as many places as possible, on the Spring equinox. SMSA Member Millie Sieber brought the idea back from her Storytelling tour of Sweden. Call 865-454-3656 for info, or visit www.smokymountaintellers.org

McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture announces the Museum Store Spring Sale March 15 through March 31.

Shake off winter and enjoy blooming flowers with handmade garden art by local artisans, seeds, and beautiful botanical items in the Museum Store’s Spring Sale.

UT Students and Museum Members always enjoy 10% off all purchases, and all Store proceeds benefit the museum’s free educational programming.

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

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center in Norris will hold its Spring Porch Sale starting on Thursday, March 15, and continuing for about two weeks. The Porch Sale, held each spring features outdated stock, seconds, student crafts and nonjuried work by members. It’s an excellent time to get great deals.

The Appalachian Arts Craft Center is a nonprofit center with a mission to support arts and crafts in Appalachia through education, sales, and community involvement. The center is located at 2716 Andersonville Highway 61, Clinton, TN, one mile east of I-75 north at Exit 122.

Appalachian Arts Craft Center hours: M-Sa 10-6, Su 1-5. Information: 865-494-9854, www.appalachianarts.net

Part of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's 2017-2018 Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series, which marks the KSO’s 82nd season and features new Music Director Aram Demirjian.

Music Director Aram Demirjian continues the mighty Masterworks season with Mahler’s Blumine, Weill’s Suite from The Threepenny Opera, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. This concert illustrates how stories are told through music, with cantatas and symphonic tone poems. This concert explores melodies from the angelic, pure and sacred to the contrasting folksy music one might hear on the street. Performed in Latin by the Knoxville Choral Society, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is based on the medieval collection of poems by the same name.

Each concert includes a 30-minute pre-concert chat at 6:30 p.m. with conductor and guest artist, allowing an up-close Q&A session, insights and background to the music, composers and more. Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 PM at the Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Tickets and information: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com