Calendar of Events

Oct 11-14, Oct 18-21, Oct 25-28
5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. each evening

BOO! at the Zoo presented by U.S. Cellular® is Knoxville’s largest Halloween event featuring several nights of not-too-scary Halloween fun perfect for preschool and elementary-aged children. A Halloween tradition for 32 years, BOO! at the Zoo is a family event featuring trick-or-treating along the BOO! Trail, where little trick-or-treaters can fill their bag with goodies as they make their way through the zoo. Each night of BOO! at the Zoo will have a variety of entertainment.

New This Year! We are offering combo ticket good for general zoo admission AND BOO! admission for $25.95 for ages 4 and up. Please note these tickets are available only on Saturdays.

Back by Popular Demand: Zoo Knoxville Annual Passholder Only Night! Thursday, October 11th is a special night exclusively for Zoo Knoxville Annual Passholders and Circle of Friends members as a thank you for supporting our mission throughout the year. (Please note: Tickets still have to be purchased for this night. Click on the Buy Passholder Tickets Now button below.)

$9 per person Thurs, Fri and Sun; $10 per person Saturday; Children under 4 admitted free
Free parking
$8 Zoo Knoxville Annual Passholders and U.S. Cellular customers

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org

Bring your group to Boo at the Zoo and spend the night, too! Schedule a special night by getting VIP entry into Boo at the Zoo and then afterwards have an overnight educational adventure, exploring the zoo with our guides. Boo at the Zoo Bedtime programs include admission to Boo at the Zoo, educational activities and tours of the zoo, encounters with our animal ambassadors, a private keeper chat, breakfast, and admission to the zoo the next morning.

Offered by reservation only. For ages 6 and up.
Available only October 11th – 14th, 18th – 21st and 25th – 28th.
$55 per person (includes Boo at the Zoo admission and zoo admission the next morning)
For more information or to request a reservation contact us at zkcommunity@zooknoxville.org.

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org

The WordPlayers presents Gulf View Drive, a serio-comedy by Arlene Hutton, October 11- 26 at Erin Presbyterian Church.

Gulf View Drive is an engaging, glimpse of life story set in the 1950s. Just as everything begins to come together for Raleigh and May, family tensions start to bear down like the heavy heat of Gulf Coastal Florida, where they just bought their first home. Their dream house shrinks as relatives descend carrying their own baggage. Questions concerning race, segregation, and traditional values seep into their lives, challenging them and testing their love for one another. Entertaining and moving, the revelatory Gulf View Drive will have you sitting on the screened-in porch in the middle of the hilarity, irony, and tension. (Suggested for ages 13+)

Oct. 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 @ 7:30 p.m., October 14 & 21 @ 2:30 p.m. at Erin Presbyterian Church, 200 Lockett Rd., Knoxville. Tickets, $10-$15, are available online at wordplayers.org and at the door. Thursdays are Pay What You Can Nights. Call 865.539.2490 for more information.

Gay Bryant’s work is on exhibit at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head from October 7th thru November 4th and at the West Knoxville Gallery Tomato Head from November 5th thru December 3rd.

Aristotle spent a lot of time thinking about the human drive to control circumstances that interfere with a happy, safe, and productive life. As silly as it might sound, the philosopher was describing the same basic urge that impels us to insulate our houses and to buy insurance – we like to have a buffer between us and misfortune. Of course, at some level and in some circumstances, control is impossible. Often the only seeming answer is acceptance which means letting go of control and hoping for the best. Relationships can be like that. Watercolors can be the same.

In fact, if you talk to as many artists as we do, you’ll find that many of them believe that their work guides them (not the other way around) and that the best thing they can do is to just get out of the way. Artist Gay Bryant feels that way, at least some of the time: “Mostly I work in watercolor. And the key is letting go, to let the paint do its thing.”

And while it may appall some ancient Greeks and more than a few control freaks among us, her ability to trust in fate or good luck or providence (or whatever you want to call it) leads Bryant to more than a few beautiful places. Her nature paintings are evocative without being dogmatic; the gentle patterns recall a presence, a sense of being there, but they’re not so specific that you can’t imagine being there yourself. In fact, you may feel compelled to visit Alum Creek or Icewater Spring at dawn to experience Bryant’s subjects with your own eyes.

Read more about the artist and her work: http://thetomatohead.com/gay-bryant/

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

Butterfly Foray and Monarch Tagging at Seven Islands State Birding Park

Enjoy the wonder and beauty of flying flowers as we search the park for monarchs and other butterflies. To help scientists understand the monarch migration, we’ll put tracking tags on the monarchs we’re able to catch. Kids of all ages are welcome. We’ll start at 1:00pm with a brief explanation of the monarch migration and its importance. We’ll take a short hike (1-2 miles) through the park to find butterflies and tag as many monarchs as we can. Butterfly nets will be provided, but if you have your own, feel free to bring it. Please note that monarch populations and migration patterns vary. On any day we could see many, few or none. No matter how many we see, we’ll learn about why monarchs and other butterflies are fascinating, their importance and how we can help them. Sturdy shoes are recommended.

Location: Seven Islands State Birding Park
Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Dates: Saturdays, October 6, 13, 20
Fee: $5 per person
Ages: All

Proceeds support Tennessee Butterfly Monitoring Network, a research and conservation project of Zoo Knoxville, and Friends of Seven Islands State Birding Park. Advance Registration is required. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information or questions, email Steve McGaffin at smcgaffin@zooknoxville.org. https://www.zooknoxville.org/experience/monarch-tagging/

Opening: October 5th from 6PM-9PM (the show will be up through the end of November.)

Chris McAdoo is a painter, printmaker, and designer living in East Tennessee. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, collections, and publications around the country and he has been an active studio artist for nearly twenty years.

In addition to having work on display, Chris will be painting live during the opening! All are welcome to come and watch, and Chris is happy to talk with folks as the process unfolds.

“My most recent series focuses on memory (or the lack thereof) and the significance that we attach to objects and places, particularly when we take them out of their original context. My work is an extension of my own experiences growing up in the south and a comment on my connections that give me a visceral reaction to the past rather than simple nostalgia. While the paintings speak to me in a very particular way, I would much rather suggest a narrative to the viewer than to lay it all on the table.”

Ongoing Show: Blanket Fort Studios---Kendra Barth (of Blanket Fort) produces funky ceramic pieces. Working out of her studio here in Knoxville, she uses a unique style to evoke wonder in her pieces. "I created this studio to share my love of naive wonder and storytelling."

Rala, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Phone: (865) 525-7888
Instagram: @ShopRala
https://shoprala.com/

Enjoy the Opening Reception of the Artful Wonder Fall Art Show from 5-7 PM on Fri October 5.

This special reception is scheduled on the regular monthly “Fun and Wine Friday” reception date. Participants can view the show entries and watch the presentation of ribbons and cash awards to the winning artists. Hors d'oeuvres, wine, and other beverages will be available. The reception is free and open to the public.

Art Guild at Fairfield Glade at the Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. Hours: M-Sa 9-4. Information: 931-707-7249, www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

Recent works by artist Fran Thie and potter Larry Gabbard will be featured throughout October at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the artists, including complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Harold Nagge, will begin at 5:30 p.m. on October 5th, during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk. The show will highlight Fran Thie's pastel and watermedia works, and Larry Gabbard's fast-fired clay pottery.
The Art Market Gallery is also happy to welcome four new members in painting/drawing—Carole Quin, Kara Lockmiller, Pebbie Mott and Linn Stilwell—whose work will be on display beginning October 1st.

Fran Thie: Fran is an established pastel and watermedia artist whose work reflects her love of creative writing and literature by presenting sensitive, impressionistic and expressive interpretations of nature in both landscape and abstract paintings. Through intuitive use of color and texture, she strives to transform an ordinary scene into a special place where both drama and serenity can co-exist. Fran paints in both pastel and watermedia, but her primary specialty is pastel. By first preparing an underpainting in acrylic or watercolor, she lays a foundation for visual depth and richness, which she then overlays with pastel. While many of her works have been painted on location, she often begins the painting from a photograph or sketch in her studio, then puts the resource material aside and completes the painting by intuitively reacting to the painting surface. Her works, whether representational or abstract, always have their foundation in the world of nature.

Larry Gabbard: Larry began his pottery career after moving to Kingston, TN in 1999, and training initially at the Oak Ridge Art Center (ORAC). Most of his pottery is wheel thrown; he seeks out unique, alternative kilns and firing techniques (e.g., raku, horse hair, saggar, obvara, and pit firing). Larry attends workshops of well-known potters throughout the Southeast, studying and applying their unique techniques. He has attended classes at John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC; Hambidge Center for Creative Arts at Rabun Gap, GA; Mudfire Gallery, Decatur, GA; and the ORAC in Oak Ridge, TN. Larry enjoys fast-firing techniques which create a rich variety of textures and colors on bisque clay. He finds the unexpected marks made when clay, heat, and smoke interact to be among the most intriguing and challenging of finishes to perfect and reproduce.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Th & Sa 11-6, Fri 11-9, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

“BeDazzled”—a special show featuring the Art Market Gallery’s five jewelry artisans—will be on display in the Art Market Gallery throughout October. This show is being held in conjunction with Tennessee Craft Week (October 5th–14th), celebrating our local craft artists. Please join us for this special event; you will “be dazzled” by the work of Roger Kroll, Jennifer Lindsay, Nancy Rowland-Engle, Lynn Straka, and Kristine Taylor.

Roger Kroll: The intention of Roger’s jewelry and metal art is to create a functional art form. His goal is to continually explore form, shape, color and texture, incorporating the vast pallet of techniques and materials available to the precious metal artist.

Jennifer Lindsay: Jennifer gets her inspiration from everywhere-architecture, gardens and historical customs. She fashions one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces using various beading techniques, imported seed beads, focal beads, semi-precious stones, or crystals.

Nancy Rowland-Engle: Nancy is a metalsmith who enjoys the creative process of designing and producing jewelry using silver, copper, and brass. Her work incorporates organic forms and geometric shapes. Most pieces have an industrial feel but come to look the way they do naturally. The shapes, the elements, and the organic forms all come from nature.

Lynn Straka: Lynn wants to bring joy to the wearer with her mixed-media jewelry. She uses sterling silver, copper and bronze with semi-precious stone accents. Her designs are influenced by nature, and may evoke a memory, affirm a belief, or be an extension of the wearer’s personality.

Kristine Taylor: Kristine is inspired by good design and beautiful color, using polymer clay and traditional jewelry materials, such as metal, fibers, stones and pearls, to create unique and limited edition pieces of jewelry. Her current work blends contemporary and ancient forms with abstract images.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Th & Sa 11-6, Fri 11-9, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

The District Gallery is pleased to present Clark Stewart: Aquamata, opening Friday, October 5.

Following his 2015 automobile series, Automata, Clark Stewart returns with Aquamata: a series of sculptural art boats inspired by a century of speed boating and the evolution of its vessels. Like the cars which were intended as maquetes for full-scale vehicles to cruise urban boulevards for the pleasure of onlookers, the boats are similarly conceived to cruise urban waterfronts for the pleasure of viewers. After many years of maintaining his own antique wooden cabin cruiser here on the Tennessee lakes, Stewart brings his restoration and woodworking skills together with a captivating aesthetic imagination and thorough investigation of classic yachts, speed boats, and racing hydroplanes.

Please join us for a special evening of fun and fantasy boats on Friday, October 5 from 5-8 p.m. Meet the artist and enjoy connecting with fellow boating enthusiasts. The show will be on display in the gallery through October 27.

The District Gallery, 5113 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-F 10-5:30, Sa 10-4. Information: 865-200-4452, www.TheDistrictGallery.com

Broadway Studios and Gallery presents the art exhibition ‘Beautiful and Delicious’ opening 5-9pm Friday, October 5.

‘Beautiful and Delicious’ displays the talent of artist Yvonne Bartholomew Thomas (Seymour). Yvonne studied commercial art at MTSU before discovering a love of oil painting. Her work in ‘Beautiful and Delicious” is the combination of two things she loves: beautiful flowers and delicious hamburgers. After being called the “hamburger lady” after an exhibit at Fountain City Art Center, she decided that she liked the moniker. Her impasto, much larger than life hamburger paintings are deceptively realistic. Her paintings of flowers envelope the viewer’s field of vision, radiating beautiful rich colors. For more information for Yvonne Bartholomew-Thomas please visit: https://www.bartholomew-thomas.com

Earlier this year Yvonne’s mother passed away after a battle with cancer and Yvonne is dedicating this show to her. A portion of the proceeds of the sale of her work will be given to the American Cancer Society. Donations are welcome.

BSG is a co-op of 10 artists working in studios under one roof. They hold monthly exhibits, operate a retail store and offer private lessons.

Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Hours: Fri-Sat, 10-6, by appointment, or when the "open" sign is illuminated. Information: 865-851-2824, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com

First Friday Reception: Friday, October 5th, 5-9PM

The UT Downtown Gallery is pleased to present a selection of prints and sculptures by Chakaia Booker.
Sculptor Chakaia Booker fuses ecological concerns with explorations of racial and economic difference, globalization, and gender by recycling discarded tires into complex assemblages.

Booker began to integrate discarded construction materials into large, outdoor sculptures in the early 1990s. Tires resonate with her for their versatility and rich range of historical and cultural associations. Booker slices, twists, weaves, and rivets this medium into radically new forms and textures, which easily withstand outdoor environments.

Booker received a B.A. in sociology from Rutgers University in 1976, and an M.F.A. from the City College of New York in 1993. She gained international acclaim at the 2000 Whitney Biennial with It’s So Hard to Be Green (2000), her 12.5 x 21 foot wall-hung tire sculpture. Booker received the Pollock-Krasner Grant in 2002 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005. She has exhibited in group and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally.

Booker's exhibition is in conjunction with the Mid South Sculpture Alliance Conference, taking place this year in Knoxville. Booker is one of the conference's keynote speakers. Her talk will be on Friday, October 5th at the Knoxville Museum of Art at 3PM. This event is open to the public.

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