Calendar of Events

Darkhorse Entertainment, LLC, invites you to time-travel back to the Middle Ages at the fourth annual Tennessee Medieval Faire. The festival is located in Harriman near I-40 just 30 miles west of Turkey Creek. This rugged outdoor festival will spring to life on May 19 and run for three weekends, including Memorial Day. “Our theme this year is Robin Hood, and patrons are invited to Live the Age of Chivalry in the High Middle Ages (circa 1194). Patrons can interact with well-loved characters of Sherwood Forrest, meet Maid Marian, and even get knighted,” said Barrie Paulson, VP-Manager and Entertainment Director.

The festival will include continuous professional family-friendly entertainment. In the tournament arena will be Real Jousting and Warriors’ Chess, where the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and his henchmen square off against good Robin and his Merry Men. There will also be interactive comedy shows, puppet shows, Irish and Celtic music, English folk dances, patron costume contests, and costumed street characters. In addition, vendors will be selling medieval crafts, food and beverages, including beer.

The Tennessee Medieval Faire is a family-friendly outdoor festival. Dates are May 19-20, 26-27-28, June 2-3. Hours are 10am-5pm ET. Ticket prices are $17 for ages 13+, $9 for ages 5 to 12, and free for ages 4 and under. Field parking is free. The festival is located at 550 Fiske Road, Harriman, TN. For more information, please visit www.TMFaire.com, find the Tennessee Medieval Faire on Facebook, or call 865-376-0319.

Sottish Festival and Games at Maryville College, 502 E Lamar Alexander Pky, Maryville, TN 37804. MAY 19 - 20, 2018

Saturday, May 19, Games open at 8:00AM on the Intramural Field.

Athletic competition and band competition commences on Main field
Enjoy Athletics, Highland Dance, Celtic Food, Pipes & Drums Bands,
Celtic Entertainers, Dogs, Sheep, Highland Coos, clan tents and vendors. Competitions and events continue the entire day.

Sunday, May 20, 7:30AM, Half Marathon and 8:00AM, 5K Run.
Games Open on Intramural Field at 8:00AM and events continue throughout the day.

ALL DAY ACTIVITIES include: Pipes & Drums Bands, Highland Athletic competition continues, Wrestling, 1 Mile Walk,
Celtic Food, Two Entertainment Stages, Highland Coos and Sheep in the animal area,
Merchandise and Food Vendors.

4:30 PM Closing Ceremony - mass bands
5:00 PM Games Close

For a complete schedule of competitions and events please visit: http://smokymountaingames.org/

At Ironwood Studios, 119 Jennings Ave, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917
THIS IS A FEMALE-ONLY EVENT. 2018 Paint Days are scheduled! Round up your lady friends and get painted!
Details:
: 100% of the proceeds go to help local women who are battling cancer.
: Door will be open from 11-6 on Saturday May 19 and Sunday May 20. This is a 2 day event and there are 2 event pages to track interest.
: We kindly ask for a $20 minimum donation* to participate as a human canvas for this empowering and fun event.
: No appointments necessary, as painting is first come first served.
: See the VIP/Fast Pass post for additional options.
: After you have been painted, we will photograph the artwork on your torso for use in our annual auction!
: You will have the option to preorder a copy of your photograph for pick up at the auction. The fee for preorders is $25 for pick up and $30 if you need your photo mailed to you.

*Our goal for the Paint Days fundraiser is to raise funds but we also want everyone who is interested to have a chance to participate in this great event. We are fortunate to have a sponsor this year and a fund to assist those who may need help with entrance fees/dontations. If you know someone in this situation, please send a msg here or an email breaststrokesknoxville@gmail.com to let us know how we can ensure everyone has a chance to join us for Paint Days 2018.

Come join us to raise #healingmoney for local women. This annual painting/photographing event provides images for our annual fundraising auction. Please also plan to join us in the fall for our major fundraiser when we auction off the anonymous photographs of the body art from this weekend (more info to come soon!) Some lucky artists will have their work featured in the Breaststrokes calendar, which will also be for sale as soon as they are published. Although breasts are in the forefront for Paint Days, our assistance is not limited to women with breast cancer. We support women with ALL kinds of cancer. Your contribution, whether as a human canvas, an artist, a photographer, or a volunteer, makes a direct impact on women in our community.

Saturday event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2141163779445670/
Sunday event: https://www.facebook.com/events/409698362774457/

Part of the 2017-2018 Concert Season

Join the Knoxville Guitar Society for its Spring Benefit Concert. This concert will feature students of local guitar teachers such as Larry Long and Chris Lee as well as other guest artists.

Tickets are sold at the door the night of each event. Ticket prices (unless otherwise noted): $20 adults; Children 12 & under admitted free; Students 12 - 18 $5 General Admission. Seating is general admission. Box office opens 1/2 hour before performance. Free reception immediately following concert. Concerts take place at Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, 425 North Cedar Bluff, Knoxville. Knoxville Guitar Society: 865-694-4108, www.knoxvilleguitar.org

Two shows - 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. - Join us for the music of Broadway right here in Knoxville at the historic Bijou Theatre on Gay Street!

Special Offer! Get 4 tickets for the price of 3 with code TMNME3 at checkout. *Ticket cost will display as a discounted rate for all four tickets, not as one free.

The choir was founded in 2012 with just 15 singers and has now grown to more than 60 members from across East Tennessee. The volunteer chorus meets for weekly rehearsals and commits to learning and performing the songs from memory. In addition to the large chorus, a smaller ensemble group also performs with the choir and at community events throughout the greater Knoxville area. Dr. Stevens, who is beginning his fourth year as the KGMC artistic director, is also the Associate Director of Choral Activities and Coordinator of Vocal Music Education at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN.

At the Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information/tickets: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com, www.ticketmaster.com. Knoxville Gay Men’s Chorus: (865) 255-5623, www.knoxgmc.org

Spring is in full swing at the Arboretum! The UT Arboretum Society’s monthly hike (third Saturday monthly) for May will be held May 19 at the UT Arboretum, 9:00 a.m.

The weather is finally getting warmer, and this is a great time to spend outdoors. Learn about the UT Arboretum’s trails on this short trail hike (1 to 1.5 hours). Hiking any trail above your fitness level can make for a less than enjoyable day while out on the trail. Hikes will be varied in intensity level, and the route may be changed due to weather conditions or leader’s choice.

The hikes will be led by Arboretum staff or a member of the UT Arboretum Society. The hike will begin at the parking lot of the UT Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge at 9:00 a.m. This is approximately a one-hour fun, short trail hike. Participants are asked to wear clothes appropriate to the weather and boots or good shoes for outdoor walking. This is a free program offered by the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society. To learn more about this hike or the UT Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org. For more information on the program, call 865-483-7277.

Join the fun while experiencing America’s game as it was played in 1864. This free public event is enjoying its 4th season and Historic Ramsey House is proud to be a part of this historic reenactment. The players play by 1864 rules, wear period uniforms and our local Knoxville teams bear the names of actual teams that existed in Knoxville during that time. The Knoxville Holstons and Emmett’s Machinists play other vintage league teams from around the state. The league has been in existence for 5 years and has grown from two teams to somewhere close to 15. Vintage Baseball starts on March 24th! Games start at Noon. Outside food, snacks and beverages prohibited. Please support Ramsey House concessions.

Historic Ramsey House, 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: 865-546-0745, www.ramseyhouse.org

Join us for free a free Family Fun Day featuring activities, crafts, tours, and more.

The McClung Museum will offer a family event centered on medicinal plants. Additionally, there will be tours of the exhibition Pick Your Poison: Intoxicating Pleasures and Medical Prescriptions.

All materials will be provided. The program is free and open to the public. Reservations are not necessary.

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

Paddington Bear will be there! And so will Ferdinand the Bull. Join Knox County Public Library for its 14th annual Children’s Festival of Reading as it kicks off its Summer Library Clubs. On Saturday, May 19 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., World’s Fair Park will transform into a fairytale kingdom with cool cats, bespectacled bears, kindly bulls, and a ladybug girl ready to give out hugs and pose for selfies. The Festival is known for its rock star authors and illustrators, musicians, storytellers, puppets and much more. This year promises to blow it out of the park with its theme: Libraries Rock! The event is free and open to the public.

Kicking off the day, Dollywood’s Penguin Players will put one of Imagination Library’s most beloved books, Pretend by Jennifer Plecas, to song and dance on the main stage. Multi-talented Eric Litwin, the original creator of Pete the Cat as well as author of The Nuts and Groovy Joe will rock the stage with his music. Newbery Award Medalist Linda Sue Park, author of A Long Walk to Water and A Single Shard will be on hand to tell stories of her own and to sign books. Lori Nichols, author of an Imagination Library favorite Maple, will be joined by fellow author/illustrators Brooks Benjamin, Jessica Young and Corabel Shofner.

Families can also make arts and crafts with Miss Libby, learn to juggle with One World Circus and run experiments in the Science Village with Dr. Al Hazari and The Muse. Back this year, Bookitecture will challenge budding engineers to build a tower of books. And what’s a reading festival without puppets? Cattywampus Puppet Council will bring The Story of Ferdinand to life.

Summer reading programs help students retain their academic skills over the summer. Research shows that struggling students can lose as much as 1.5 years of academic progress between grades 1 and 6 if they don’t read on summer break. Furthermore, summer reading offers children and youth a chance to explore books that are of personal interest. Studies show that when readers are encouraged to choose their own books, they become stronger and more engaged readers.

For more information please visit Knox County Public Library: 500 West Church Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-215-8750, www.knoxlib.org

May 19 from 9 AM-3 PM take part in a fun and adventurous modern-day treasure hunt where you can win GoPros, loads of adventure gear and a free trip to Panama for your entire team of 2-4 people! You'll be adventuring all over Knoxville and the surrounding areas completing epic challenges to earn clues that will lead you and your teammates to buried treasure worth $7,500! Second-tenth place get hundreds of dollars in prizes and everyone who finishes gets $10 to the Adventure Hunt Store and gets their name in a raffle to win a trip to Panama! Spots are limited and prices increase regularly so sign up today!

The Adventure Hunt Team at www.adventurehunt.co, Instagram: @AdventureHunt.co
Facebook: ​​/AdventureHunt.co, Twitter: @AdventureHuntCo.

Preparations are well underway for the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center's fifteenth annual Heritage Happening gala and auction. The theme of this year's fundraising event is Smoky Mountain Memories, which honors the purpose of the Heritage Center to preserve, communicate, and celebrate the rich history of the Smoky Mountains and their people. The Heritage Happening will be held at the Center's home in Townsend on Saturday evening, May 19, 2018. It will feature both silent and live auctions as well as an elegant dinner catered by Rothchild's of Knoxville. Guests will enjoy live Appalachian music and story teller Elizbeth Rose as emcee.

The wide array of unique items to be auctioned this year includes beautiful artwork from area artisans, destination vacation trips, wine, Smoky Mountain activities, and food and dining experiences, thanks to the generosity of donors across East Tennessee and to the dedication of our Guild members who solicit these diverse items. To preview auction items, please visit the Heritage Happening website www.auctria.com/auction/HeritageHappening2018. Items are continually being added, so check the website frequently.

Tickets are $125.00 per person, $90.00 of which is tax deductible.

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 3/4 mile east of traffic light at the Highway 321 and 73 intersection towards the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Townsend, TN. Hours: M-Sa 10-5. Information: 865-448-0044, www.gsmheritagecenter.org

The almost 12-acre easement on Beaver Creek next door to the Powell Branch Library, was donated to Legacy Parks by Dr. Bob Collier in December 2016. We’ve been chipping away at the overgrowth for the last few weeks and now we are calling all volunteers to pitch in a hand to help us complete the 1st phase of the project – clean up! We need volunteers for trash pick-up, bulb transplanting and weed removal.

Once phase one is complete, we will be able to start transforming the preserve into a beautiful county park that will be maintained by Knox County Parks & Recreation and will include natural surface walking trails, a playground, restored historic structures, a kayak rest stop on Beaver Creek and more!

Join us at the workday on Saturday, May 19 from 9am-12pm. Sign up here to volunteer: info@legacyparks.org