Calendar of Events
Sunday, August 25, 2019
6th Annual Knox Asian Festival
Category: Culinary arts, food, Dance, movement, Festivals, special events, Free event, History, heritage, Kids, family and Music
At the World’s Fair Park. Similar to previous years, the 2019 Asian Festival features authentic traditional food vendors representing Asian countries and areas such as Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Korea, China, Japan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
Asian Cultural Parade starts at 10:45AM at water fountain on the park lawn and ends at 11:15AM at Amphitheater stage.
We are especially proud of the featured performance art that includes traditional Chinese, Korean, Taiwan, Vietnamese, Thai, Indian, Indonesia Japan and Philippine dance & music. For the first time, Balinese Indonesia traditional dance will be performed. We also showcase various martial arts demonstrations, K-Pop and J-Pop performances, Kimono Show, Chinese acrobat & opera from Las Vegas & NY, a bonsai exhibition, a cosplay contest, Japanese tea ceremony, and Japanese drummers Taiko from Disney World. Many of our artists travel to Knoxville from all over the country and from various Asian countries to participate in this year’s festival. 1,250 seats will be available under the Amphitheater tent for the big stage performances.
The Asian Festival also includes a strong educational component. We recently implemented “Asian World,” where visitors travel through various booths that are named after Asian cultural interactive activities and featuring traditional foods and art for each one. Children and adults will receive a stamp on their festival passport for each cultural booth visited. Everyone is encouraged to visit all cultural booths to learn about the diversity of cultural traditions.
Please visit www.knoxasianfestival.com or https://www.facebook.com/knoxasianfestival/ for more information.
South Knoxville Sunday Market
Category: Classes, workshops, Culinary arts, food, Exhibitions, visual art, Festivals, special events and Free event
SUN, AUG 25, 1:00 PM
Landing House, 1147 Sevier Ave, Knoxville, Tennessee 37920
The last Sunday of the month, April through August, local businesses in South Knoxville will be featuring different vendors, and artists. There will be drink and food specials, as well as workshops and demonstrations to participate in. This unique market will take place at Trailhead, Printshop, Alliance, and Landing House from 1pm to 4pm. Landing House will be hosting yoga that afternoon from 12pm to 1pm for an $8 entrance fee. $10 will include yoga and either a sparkler (mimosa!) or a draft beer.
https://www.facebook.com/events/806939006347111/
Tennessee Theatre: Summer Movie Magic - The Iron Giant
Category: Film and Kids, family
There’s something for everyone in the 21st Summer Movie Magic lineup! Movie-goers will travel back in time and see these classics, as they should be: in a historic theater surrounded by other movie-lovers, enjoying some popcorn and a cold drink. Come experience some of your favorite classics on the big screen! Prior to each screening, hear the Mighty Wurlitzer organ fill the auditorium with magnificent music by House Organist Freddie Brabson.
SUNDAY MATINEE SCREENINGS
The Iron Giant August 25 • 3pm
Tickets can be purchasedat the Tennessee Theatre box office, www.Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 865-684-1200. The ticket price for each movie is $9.00 for adults, $7.00 for children under 12 and seniors 65 and over; and a six-entry punch card is $45.00 for adults and $36.00 for children and seniors.
604 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville: https://www.tennesseetheatre.com/tickets/movies-at-the-tennessee/
Knoxville Museum of Art: Whistler & Company: The Etching Revival
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Whistler & Company includes nearly a dozen works by Whistler accompanied by more than 50 etchings by some of his most accomplished American and European contemporaries. Whistler’s gritty images of the River Thames, views of Venice, and Parisian scenes are among works featured in the exhibition. Other artists who participated in the etching revival include Francis Seymour Haden, James McBey, Edwin Edwards, David Young Cameron, Muirhead Bone, Mortimer Menpes, Charles Meryon, Maxime Lalanne, Joseph Pennell, and Frank Duveneck, among others.
Although best known for innovative paintings such as Arrangements in Gray and Black No. 1 (popularly known as “Whistler’s Mother”), Whistler was a talented printmaker. The exhibition Whistler & Company examines the artist’s influential role in the etching revival of the 19th and early 20th centuries. This revival took hold in France, England and the United States. Artists set out to reestablish etching—the art of incising lines with an etching needle into a thin copper plate which was then inked and pressed into paper with the help of a printing press to create impressions—as an art form that could stand on its own. Inspired by Rembrandt, and the old masters, practitioners created remarkable original and expressive compositions that gained popularity with refined collectors and the broader public.
The legacy of expatriate American artist, James Abbott McNeill Whistler (Lowell, Massachusetts 1834-1903 London) was far-reaching, and his sphere of influence included early 20th-century East Tennessee. The Nicholson Art League, for instance, Knoxville’s leading art group of the period, dedicated its entire December 1, 1911 program to Whistler. Led by noted impressionist Catherine Wiley, the gathering featured presentations including “Whistler’s Influence on American Art,” and Whistler, His Life and Work.”
All of the works in in the exhibition are drawn from the Reading Public Museum’s permanent collection of works on paper, which numbers more than 10,000. Whistler & Company: The Etching Revival is organized by the Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania.
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
Oak Ridge Playhouse: Blithe Spirit
Category: Theatre
Showtimes
Fri Aug 23, 2019 | 8:00PM
Sat Aug 24, 2019 | 8:00PM
Sun Aug 25, 2019 | 2:00PM
Thu Aug 29, 2019 | 8:00PM
Fri Aug 30, 2019 | 8:00PM
Sat Aug 31, 2019 | 8:00PM
Sun Sep 1, 2019 | 2:00PM
A skeptical novelist invites an eccentric psychic medium to his placid country home as research for his latest book and is surprised to find that a séance summons the spirit of his long-dead first wife. Now that she is back, she’s not going away and soon poor Charles has more on his hands than he ever bargained for.
FOR GENERAL AUDIENCES
Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com
Knoxville Walking Tours benefiting Knoxville History Project
Category: History, heritage and Kids, family
KNOXVILLE WALKING TOURS – THE CIVIL WAR IN KNOXVILLE
AUGUST 23, 2019 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
It’s been over 150 years since the battle of Knoxville, one of the most sharply divided cities during the civil war. Occupied by both sides with recruiting offices set up on Gay Street on the same day, Knoxville was home to spies, street fights, and family feuds that outlasted the war.
Visit the downtown sites and then get an overview of the battles and fortifications from the observation deck of the Sunsphere.
Meet on the porch of the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street. Tours last approximately 90 minutes.
Adults: $25. Children 6-12: $17 (Group rate available). For more information or to book your tour, please visit the Knoxville Walking Tours Website
*Proceeds from this tour help to support the Knoxville History Project
KNOXVILLE WALKING TOURS – SHADOW SIDE
AUGUST 23, 2019 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Hanged killers, tragic fires, reanimated corpses, cold-blooded murder, and sweet revenge. It all happened in Knoxville and restless spirits still haunt the city streets.
If you enjoy a chill in the evening, walk with us to Knoxville’s shadow side. The city’s history echoes with the sound of gunfire and restless spirits are rumored to walk the streets. Visit their haunts and shiver as
Meet in front of The Phoenix Pharmacy and Fountain, 418 S. Gay St. Tours last approximately 90 minutes.
Adults: $20. Children 6-12: $14 (Group rate available). For more information or to book your tour, please visit the Knoxville Walking Tours Website
*Proceeds from this tour help to support the Knoxville History Project
KNOXVILLE WALKING TOURS – KNOXVILLE’S MUSICAL HISTORY
AUGUST 24, 2019 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Knoxville’s story has always been set to music, from the time when the poetic rhythms of the native Cherokee tribes still echoed in the hills and the ballads of the Scots-Irish settlers were sung around campfires on the riverbanks. Immigrants from all over the world brought new instruments and tunes to enliven the song and East Tennessee became known as a home to musicians of every genre, whether classical, jazz, R&B, rock-n-roll, Americana, or the avant-garde sounds of ska, techno, and whatever’s unveiled at this year’s Big Ears Festival.
Meet in the Knoxville Visitor Center, 301 S. Gay Street. Tours last approximately 90 minutes.
Adults: $20. Children 6-12: $14(Group rate available). For more information or to book your tour, please visit the Knoxville Walking Tours Website
*Proceeds from this tour help to support the Knoxville History Project
KNOXVILLE WALKING TOURS – SHADOW SIDE 2
AUGUST 24, 2019 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
The lively entertainment section now known as the Old City wasn’t always so friendly. The neighborhood has a history of dark times and dark deeds, and the remnants aren’t just in the architecture. Formerly known as the Bowery, the district was home to saloons, dance halls, pool rooms, and bars, where famous gunmen, thieves, ladies of the evening, and troublemakers of all kinds bumped elbows with naïve travelers and honest working folk. Life here was violent—and often short.
Meet in front of The Phoenix Pharmacy and Fountain, 418 S. Gay Street. Tours last approximately 90 minutes.
Adults: $20. Children 6-12: $14 (Group rate available). For more information or to book your tour, please visit the Knoxville Walking Tours Website
*Proceeds from this tour help to support the Knoxville History Project
KNOXVILLE WALKING TOURS – SHADOW SIDE 3: SIDE STREET SHADOWS
AUGUST 25, 2019 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Hear more tales of ghostly history as you follow storyteller Laura Still on the Side Street Shadows tour. Find out who haunts the Farragut, how a gunfight on Cumberland nearly started a war, and where you might meet the courteous spirit of a scholar or the grumpy ghost of a violent rebel.
Meet on the porch of the The French Market Crêperie, 412 W Clinch Ave. Tours last approximately 90 minutes.
Adults: $15. Children 6-12: $10 (Group rate available). For more information or to book your tour, please visit the Knoxville Walking Tours Website
*Proceeds from this tour help to support the Knoxville History Project
Ewing Gallery: Angle / Edge / Plane
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
The Ewing Gallery is excited to kick off the fall semester with an exhibition of works by American sculptor, Ronald Bladen.
Angle / Edge / Plane features a collection of models, drawings, and photographs from the Estate of Ronald Bladen and the Loretta Howard Gallery.
Ronald Bladen (1918 – 1988) was a Minimalist best known for his large-scale sculptures. He is often credited with influencing fellow Minimalists Carl Andre, Donald Judd, and Sol LeWitt. Sculptures by Ronald Bladen have been featured in exhibitions at important public institutions including at the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Detroit Institute of Arts, Documenta 4, Kassel, Germany, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Jewish Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Philadelphia Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, Vancouver Art Museum, The Walker Art Center, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York among others.
Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu
Knoxville Children's Theatre: Robin Hood & His Merry Men

Category: Kids, family and Theatre
ROBIN HOOD & HIS MERRY MEN
August 16 - September 1
The Sheriff of Nottingham will stop at nothing to see Prince John ascend to the English throne. But Little John, Will Scarlet, Friar Tuck, and Maid Marian team up with the daring Robin Hood to see justice return to London.
Performances are typically Thursday-Sunday, and tickets are $12 per Adult, $10 per child. Reservations are strongly recommended. Group rates are available for groups of 12 or more by making advance reservations by phone. Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com
TVUUC Gallery: Art by David Denton and Allen Monsarrat
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Reception Friday, August 16, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.
Free and open to the public
David Denton
This work is the byproduct of exploration into the potential for artistic expression using the new technologies of the Virtual World and digital photography. Denton said, “I finally made my peace with the rigidity of the computer and went into partnership with it to explore ways to stumble onto appealing images.” The images are the result of manipulating photographs mostly taken with a smart phone and altered in Photoshop. Denton subjects them to a series of random commands, frequently with no idea of what might result. His primary role as the artist is mostly deciding what to keep. “The greatest benefit for me has been learning to view the real world through the photographer’s eye,” he said, “focusing on the interesting and appealing and ignoring the ugly and banal, making the visual aspect of life far more enjoyable.”
Allen Monsarrat
Monsarrat’s artwork begins with his own photography. “This allows me to carefully design my composition and include as much detailed information as I choose,” he said. “More important, as my reference source, it allows me to study the nuances of color, light and reflection and how they change across a seemingly uniformly colored surface.” Using translucent layers of paint, he is able to build depth unachievable with ink on paper. “To counter my tendency toward too much realism,” he said, “I began working in pastels in 2018. It is still representational work, but much more graphic, as the pastel pigments lie on top of the paper and on top of one another. They don’t mix like paint. It is the eye and brain that do the blending.”
Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: M-Th 10-5, Su 10-1. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org
Art Market Gallery: Featuring Mary Saylor and Lynnda Tenpenny
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
August Featured Artists - First Friday Reception: August 2, 5:30 – 9 p.m.
Mary Saylor has been fascinated by all sorts of artistic endeavors from her childhood and was raised by parents who themselves were creative individuals. Mary obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ohio University with a minor in Sculpture and over the years, she has dabbled in various creative outlets including drawing, quilting, painting, woodcarving and clay, but recently has focused on paper mache sculptures. Mary has a profound love and appreciation of all animals, great and small, and this devotion is clearly seen in her whimsical, humorous animal sculptures. She thoroughly enjoys the process of creating each and every piece and hopes they bring nearly as much happiness and joy to everyone who views them.
Bio: Lynnda Tenpenny is an award-winning artist, a native East Tennessean, and a UT grad. She is a member of the Art Market Gallery and Foothills Craft Guild, and has served on boards of both and as President of both. Lynnda has art in several regional collections, including Park West Hospital, UT Hospital, Women’s Contemporary Health, and others.
Statement: I love paint, papers, patterns, colors, and layers; I love experimenting with various materials to com-bine these elements into something fun and interesting. The glimpses of things “hidden” under previous layers or partially visible letters and numbers lets the viewer create their own story. We recently moved to a house (and new studio) where we see the most beautiful sunsets every evening. Apparently I never saw sunsets before!! I’ve tried to incorporate the delicate colors and nuances of the clouds into my work; it’s a goal in progress and as with all art, it’s evolving. Lynnda Tenpenny www.LtenArt.com. Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LynndaTenpennyArt.
Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-6, Su 1-6. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net
Rala: August First Friday with Jon Pemberton
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Opens August 2nd 6-9PM (Will be on display the entire month)
https://www.facebook.com/events/2289928674655767/
Please join us for the show openings and to meet the artist!
Jon Pemberton is a Special Education teacher, and during the summers he creates his pop-art paintings. He went to art school in Denver, where he first felt free to explore his love of materials, process, and color.
"Every piece is special to me in some way. The subject matter of each piece is something that I enjoy to a point where it has become a part of who I am. Regardless of the seriousness, or lack there of, of these pieces, they represent aspects of myself that I take very seriously. I nerd out to Miyazaki movies, such as Spirited Away. I got into reading as a kid through comic books. Now, I teach reading to students, still using comic books to spark interest. The Stan Lee piece is special to me because of that. What can I say about Beyoncé. She is the queen. I mean, have you heard Formation? It is a perfect song. Long live the queen."
Rala, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902
PH: (865) 525-7888
Instagram: @ShopRala
Awaken Coffee: Artwork by Kimberlee Rose Smith
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Awaken Coffee will host artist Kimberlee Rose Smith for First Friday, Aug. 2 from 6-9 pm.
Kimberlee Rose Smith is a local artist who seeks to bring hope, joy, and peace by reflecting the beauty around us.
She explains her inspiration, “Anytime I go outside, I see a consistent yet ever-changing work of art- the sky. I’m also inspired by the natural beauty of water. My paintings reflect the majestic, mysterious, and vast open sky and open water. I hope my paintings encourage the viewer to appreciate the beauty of creation always surrounding us.”
Awaken Coffee is a live music venue, espresso bar, craft beer & wine bar and organic restaurant in the heart of downtown. Awaken Coffee, 125 W Jackson Ave, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902