Calendar of Events

WordStream: The Weekly Writer's Voice is a reading/performance series sponsored by WDVX-FM, held Fridays at noon at Visit Knoxville on the Blue Plate Special stage.

The series, coordinated by Linda Parsons and Stellasue Lee, features poetry, fiction, spoken word, play excerpts, and sometimes music. The podcast shines a light on our literary gems near and far.

Podcast site: https://wdvx.com/program/word-stream/.

WDVX, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-544-1029

Marilyn Kallet, City of Knoxville's Poet Laureate

*March 22, noon: Poetry reading for WDVX, inaugural show for the new series. Visit Knoxville, 301 South Gay Street, Knoxville.

*March 22 and 23, 7 p.m.: Discussion leader with Dawnie Steadman, Regal Cinemas, premiere of “To Dust,” featuring Matthew Broderick, set at the Body Farm.

March 28, 4 p.m., Poetry workshop, ETSU, hosted by Jesse Graves. GRAVESJ@mail.etsu.edu

*March 28, 6 p.m., Poetry reading and workshop, “Writing Praise Poems in Troubled Times,” Johnson City Public Library. 100 West Millard Street, Johnson City.

*April 4, 7 p.m. Poetry reading with Donna Doyle, Knoxville Writers’ Guild. Central United Methodist Church, 201 Third Avenue, Knoxville.

April 13. Reading for the Botanical Gardens, in Linda Parsons Marion’s garden! 11-1 p.m., 2909 Fountain Park Boulevard, Knoxville. lindaleeparsons@gmail.com (Fundraiser for the Knoxville Botanical Gardens).

April 21: 11:15-12:30, Reading with Patricia Clark and Alice Friman, North American Review poetry conference, Bartlett Hall, Room 1000. University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls.

April 26, noon, poem for the Mayor’s State of the City address.

April 27-May 5, residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar.

May 2nd, 6-8:30 p.m., Marilyn Kallet will be honored by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts at the Soirée, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard, Richmond. For tickets, contact VCCA Executive Director Joy Heyrman, jheyrman@vcca.com. (Fundraiser for the Virginia Center).

June 7-18, Mentor for “Writing the River” residency in Auvillar, France. Sponsored by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

Information: mkallet@utk.edu or http://marilynkallet.com/

Reception: Wednesday, April 24th 5:00-7:00 PM
"69th Annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Artist of the Year: Judy Lavoie"

The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is an annual five-day event in Great Smoky Mountains National Park offering professionally guided programs which explore the region’s rich wildflowers, wildlife, ecology, culture, and natural history through walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars. Each year, an artist is selected to be featured on the cover of the SWP brochure, T-shirt, and are honored with a solo exhibition at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. This year’s SWP Artist-of-the-Year is Judy Lavoie.

Lavoie’s artwork has won many awards, including Best Of Show in the prestigious 2018 Tennessee Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition. Today she is grateful for the opportunity to indulge in her passion for painting. Inspiration comes from her surroundings, a rural Tennessee community in the Appalachian foothills. In the forest surrounding her home, Judy has identified more than 100 wildflower varieties – an endless source of painting subjects. View her work and learn more on her website and art blog, at www.judy-lavoie-art.com.

GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Knoxville's own Dragonfly Aerial Arts Studio brings its 8th Annual Circus Extravaganza to Pellissippi State Community College next week in a show designed to appeal to all ages. Titled "Dominion" this year, the Circus Extravaganza will include about 40 performers - a mix of professionals, teachers and students - entertaining audiences through aerial arts, acrobatics, stilt walking and more.

"People love the shows," said Jake Weinstein, who is directing the Circus Extravaganza and is on the management team of Dragonfly Aerial Arts Studio. "It's very family-friendly, story-centered and thought-provoking. With spectacles, amazing feats and humor, there is something that appeals to everybody."

Four shows will be offered this year at Pellissippi State's Clayton Performing Arts Center on the college's Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road:
• 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 22 and 23; and
• 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 23 and 24.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for children and seniors. All proceeds benefit circus classes for at-risk youth.

"From the beginning, the Circus Extravaganza has supported our scholarship fund that helps at-risk youth and underserved groups attend circus classes and summer camps," Weinstein said. "We also do circus work in the community."

The Circus Extravaganza is part of The Arts at Pellissippi State. For more information on upcoming visual arts, theatre and music events, as well the Faculty Lecture Series, at Pellissippi State, visit www.pstcc.edu/arts.

To request accommodations for a disability for this event, call 865-539-7401 or email accommodations@pstcc.edu.

For more information about Dragonfly Aerial Arts Studio, visit www.dragonflyaerialartsstudio.com or contact Weinstein at 203-843-7444 or dfaas11@gmail.com.

This year HONEY will be on March 22nd and 23rd at Rothchild Catering & Conference Center, 8807 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37923.

https://honeyconvention.wixsite.com/honey?fbclid=IwAR2i13apkARZnWlh34KZ8nrDK4Qa9AeTUHUn5WXZkBsvSokTmoNXTfkebmk

Free Spirit Theatre presents a dinner theatre production of Neil Simon's comedy, Plaza Suite

Dinner & show, $30

For evening performances (Fri & Sat), dinner will be served from 6:00-7:00 PM with show beginning at 7:30 PM

For the matinee performance (Sat), lunch will be served from noon until 1:00 pm with show beginning at 1:30 PM

All tickets are general admission; doors open at 5:30 PM for evening shows and 11:30 AM for the matinee.

We are not selling advance tickets for show only, but tickets at the door will be available at 7:15 for $20.

​There will be a cash bar.

At Jubliee Banquet Facility, 6700 Jubilee Center Way, Knoxville, TN 37912
www.freespirittheatre.org

Instructor: Ellie Kotsianas

What a better way to spend your Friday night than drinking wine and hand throwing your own ceramic wine cup or rocks glass! Join Ellie Kotsianas for a messy night out with your friends or a fun date. We encourage you to bring any beverage that you like, along with any food or snack. All materials will be provided. During the class you will get a hands on experience in throwing your cups and choosing your glaze colors.

** Due to state regulations, we are no longer allowed to provide and serve alcoholic beverages to a ticketed event. PLEASE, bring and enjoy whatever beverages you choose… we will provide the drinking vessel… and please drink responsibly.

$45.00 - All Materials Provided

Mighty Mud, 127 Jennings Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Hours: Tu-F 11-6, Sat 9-5. Open studio time on Thu 6-9. Information: 865-595-1900, www.mightymudclay.com

On Friday March 22, 2019, independent recording artist T. Michael Branner performs live at the Historic "Bistro at the Bijou Restaurant", located in the fourth oldest building in Knoxville. The Bistro at the Bijou is known throughout the South for its culinary creations and live music.

Please come out to Knoxville's "hot spot" for Jazz as Independent recording artist T. Michael Branner performs live, celebrating the re-release of his Debut CD "Bianca Loves Javier", joined by Aaron Mastin, John Howard, and Evan Burnett!

Don't miss this free event! No cover charge. However, due to the size of the expected crowd, dinner reservations are strongly recommended. Limited bar seating is also available. 865-544-0537.

Art à la Carte, the Art Center’s brown bag luncheon and learning series, meets the fourth Friday in each month at 12 noon. While programs in the series may include artist or gallery talks, primarily we use films. Films focus on art history, museum collections, interviews with and/or demonstrations by various artists, and the creative muse or spirit. Programs are free and open to the public.

On March 22, we will view one of the “Artists of the 20th Century” series with Marc Chagall. The film is a biography of Chagall with ‘spectacular images of the artist’s greatest work.’ Chagall brought new ideas from irrational perception from legends, dreams, and visions into the realm of painting. The expressive power of his fantasy altered and enhanced color schemes was very different from those of his contemporaries. His use of the fantastic widened the thinking of artists around him making images of dreams and visions as important as those from the observable world. It was a totally new area of artistic expression and imagery.

We try to begin the films promptly at noon. Please join us and bring a friend.
The Art Center will provide coffee and/or tea. Participants are encouraged to
bring their lunch and enjoy it while we learn.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

Big Ears Festival continues to bring the world to Knoxville. This week, the Big Ears Festival returns for its 10th Anniversary – with people coming from 48 states and 21 countries (including Australia, Japan, Israel, Chile, and Serbia) – to attend the 4 day music and art (and now dance!) extravaganza. It opens Thursday evening and continues through Sunday, with nearly 150 jazz, rock, classical, bluegrass and folk concerts in venues ranging from the Tennessee and Bijou Theaters to St. John’s Cathedral and Church Street United Methodist Church, the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Standard, the Mill & Mine, the Square Room, Boyd’s Jig and Reel, and the Pilot Light. And the Emporium will be headquarters for the entire weekend, with information, tickets, all sorts of artist and festival merchandise, and maybe a surprise or two.

Some tickets are still available – including both full weekend and day pass – options, with single day options starting at $65. For full schedule and other details: www.bigearsfestival.org

Big Ears Founder and Executive Director Ashley Capps offered a few tips for those of us with time for only a couple of concerts – or simply for an entry into the overwhelming array of options. His recommendations:

LUCY NEGRO REDUX - Thursday, March 21 * Tennessee Theatre, 8 PM
First of all, go see “Lucy Negro Redux,” the Nashville Ballet’s remarkable collaboration with poet Caroline Randall Williams and musician Rhiannon Giddens, at the Tennessee Theatre. We added an extra, separately ticketed show on Wed but its also part of your Big Ears pass on Thursday. The New York Times: “A Nashville miracle... a beautifully choreographed ballet, but it was more than a ballet: It was also a spoken-word incantation and a showcase for the musical genius of Rhiannon Giddens.” Just go!

KIM KASHKASHIAN plays Bach and Kurtág - Friday, March 22 * St. John’s Cathedral, 6:00pm
On Friday, classical music fans will not want to miss violist Kim Kashkashian’s performance of Bach’s Cello Suites at St. John’s Cathedral. She’s simply one of the most gifted musicians of our time and seeing her in this setting will be unforgettable.

JACK DEJOHNETTE with RAVI COLTRANE & MATT GARRISON - Saturday, March 23 * Tennessee Theatre, 7:30pm
One of master jazz drummers of all time, DeJohnette is known for his work with Miles Davis and Keith Jarrett as well as his own ensembles. This band of jazz royalty is seldom heard live and this is sure to be a remarkable concert for those who love jazz.

RICHARD THOMPSON with The Knoxville Symphony Strings - Sunday, March 24 * Bijou Theatre, 2pm
The British master songwriter – and one of Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest guitar players of all time – will be heard here as never before, presenting his powerful World War I song cycle, commissioned by the WWI Centenary, followed by a program of his classic songs and some newly arranged covers, like the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.”

Keep in mind, I’ve left out the Punch Brothers, Bela Fleck, Spiritualized, Rhiannon Giddens & Francesco Turrisi, Carla Bley, and literally over 100 great shows – all of which were booked for a reason. There are also lots of panels and discussions and other fun events all weekend…And surprises abound! Visit www.bigearsfestival.org for full lineup, schedule and details!

Across three nights, ambient pioneer Harold Budd presents a career overview featuring new arrangements of many of his classics, as well as multiple world premieres of new works, with the support of his son Terrence, the ACME String Quartet, Knoxville-based experimental collaborative Nief-Norf, and composer Tim Story.

Alvin Lucier — another legendary composer, known for his musical inquiries into the very nature of sound — delivers his work across multiple days, including performances of his seminal I Am Sitting in a Room and Bird and Person Dyning. The Ever Present Orchestra, featuring Stephen O’Malley and Oren Ambarchi, plays more of Lucier’s work, as does Joan La Barbara, the inventor of multiple extended techniques for voice. In her own concert, dubbed Voice is the Original Instrument, La Barbara will present an overview of her own astonishing compositions. Speaking of innovative singers, Theo Bleckmann performs two unique programs: Hello Earth! The Music of Kate Bush and Berlin: Songs of Love and War, Peace and Exile.

Source: https://bigearsfestival.org/big-ears-festival-announces-a-bold-and-inventive-lineup-for-2019/

http://www.niefnorf.org/20182019-season/

Big Ears Festival at the Pilot Light (Thu-Sun)
For the sixth consecutive year, we are honored and excited to announce four completely FREE days of music at The Pilot Light, downtown Knoxville’s local and experimental music hub since 2000. These concerts—all booked by The Pilot Light’s Boardman—put our ideals about programming cutting-edge sound at play within the context of a thriving small club that happens to be, like the festival itself, a nonprofit enterprise. Mixing regional talent with several vital players from the United States’ musical frontiers, this year’s The Pilot Light programming is a compelling component. https://bigearsfestival.org/pilot-light/

WDVX Blue Plate Special: Big Ears comes to the Blue Plate!, Visitor Center - FREE
Thu Mar 21, Noon; Fri Mar 22, noon (at Barley’s Taproom); Sat Mar 23, noon

FREE Big Ears Festival Shows, Boyd’s Jig & Reel
Fri Mar 22, 11:00 AM – 1:00 AM; Sat Mar 23, 11:00 AM – 1:00 AM; Sun Mar 24, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

(UPDATED) Big Ears for Little Ears
Saturday morning at 10 AM in Visit Knoxville's Visit Center, featuring Leo Wadada Smith and his Trio, hosted by WDVX in collaboration with Kidstuff.
https://wdvx.com/event/big-ears-little-ears/

Art Market Gallery: On an Artistic Note reception - FREE
Sat Mar 23, 3-5 PM - The artists will be on-hand and ready to discuss their work with the public, and the gallery will provide wine and cheese. http://moretoknoxville.com/events/view/19265

Ampient Brunch
Fri, Sat, Sun 10 AM - noon
A popular Big Ears tradition since our debut in 2009 returns: During Ampient Brunch, a collective of local musicians explores their shared interest in ambient music at Old City Java, one of Knoxville’s essential coffee outposts. These musicians will share some mellow sounds as you sip your caffeine. These performances are FREE and open to the public.

Public Cinema Screenings
Big Ears and Knoxville microcinema masterminds Public Cinema are thrilled to announce the core of the film screenings at the 2019 festival, which will turn the University of Tennessee’s UT Downtown Gallery into a provocative movie house throughout the month of March. The works of four filmmakers with very different but equally compelling approaches to the screen get their own days in the Gallery, with their works shown as repeated loops or in enormous uninterrupted blocks. Like the music festival itself, the film component of Big Ears 2019 is honored to bring challenging, riveting, and rewarding work to Knoxville. http://www.publiccinema.org/bigears2019/ and https://bigearsfestival.org/public-cinemas-curated-screenings-at-big-ears-2019/

Visit https://bigearsfestival.org/about/experiences/ for more information!