Calendar of Events

Looking for a reason to get out to the park more? Volunteer with the Friends! We plan on helping with many fun and rewarding events at the park and in the community this year, including:

• September 26, National Public Lands Day Hike
• November 27, After Thanksgiving Hike

Volunteers will be needed to sign in participants, share info about the park, help with hikes, and more. http://www.friendsofsevenislands.com/

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is pleased to announce the 10th Annual Mountain Strong Golf Tournament. Board member Margit Worsham hosts the tournament September 26, 2020, at the Gatlinburg Golf Course.

Individual boxed lunches by Chef's Catering and drinks are provided at 11:30 am, and a shotgun start opens the tournament at 12:30 pm. The event benefits Arrowmont's children's classes and community programming and has raised over $360,000 in the past decade. In addition to cash prizes awarded to the top four teams, the first place team each receive a Golden Bear hat personally signed by Jack Nicklaus.

https://www.arrowmont.org/visit/events/golf-tournament/

The annual Louie Bluie Music & Arts Festival scheduled for September 26 is going virtual!

While we’re still determining the final date, we know it will not be held live at Cove Lake State Park, Caryville, TN as originally planned for 2020. We’re very excited about a virtual Louie Bluie Festival — a festival without borders. Not only will this be accessible at your convenience, but it will allow us to really dig into what the festival is about — Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong and his impact on the community. You’ll be able to watch it on any of your devices, from any location! Interact with your community on social media as you watch the show.

The Virtual Louie Bluie Festival will be available on the festival website www.louiebluie.org, and other internet sources. Featuring live performances (filmed under COVID-19 safety conditions) and a mix of material from the festival's vast archives, the virtual festival will launch this Fall. Follow & interact with the festival on FaceBook, www.louiebluie.org, and check your favorite media references for the launch date!

Additional festival information is available at LouieBluie.org. For information about the Campbell Culture Coalition, visit www.campbellculturecoalition.org.

Join us for a day of Art & Community Fun at the Sidewalk 'Chalk It Up' Art Challenge !
Saturday, September 26 from 8AM to 3PM

We will be in every City in the County!
Help us transform the sidewalks at the Monroe County Courthouse, Sweetwater Depot & Visitors Center,
Vonore City Hall, Madisonville City Hall, and The Cherohala Skyway Visitors Center, in Tellico Plains.

Sponsored by: MACA, SVCA, Monroe County Tourism Dept, Monroe County, Madisonville City Hall, Vonore City Hall, Sweetwater Mainstreet, Monroe County Schools, and Sweetwater City Schools.

Limited spaces available due to social distancing.
Reserve your spot early at 423-442-3210
More info: www.monroearts.com

n honor of National Public Lands Day, Tennessee State Parks, Friends Groups and Tennessee State Natural Areas are hosting a variety of volunteer stewardship projects, hikes and interpretive programs for all ages. Last year, more than 600 people participated in this day of service. This year, we have a variety of events and service projects planned, including litter clean-ups, trail maintenance, hikes, and even a few canoe floats. Events are being held at different times throughout the day and some parks are having multiple events. This is also an excellent opportunity for TN Promise Scholars to bank volunteer hours. Find a park near you and join us!

https://tnstateparks.com/about/special-events/national-public-lands-day-hikes/

SATURDAY AT 10:30 AM EDT – 3 PM EDT
11 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902

Join Brittany Ivey Designs in-store from 10:30AM-3:00PM for a custom calligraphy pop-up. She’ll be giving guests FREE personalized mini pumpkins and taking pre-orders on her gorgeous custom jackets! Bring your own or pick-up the Vow’d jacket and have Brittany personalize it for the big day.

https://www.facebook.com/events/258381828516000/

We're thrilled to have our gallery graced by the work of 14 innovative American craft artists. Stop by for a chance to make one of these pieces part of your own collection!

THOMAS RENAUD & NOEL HENNESSY
CALIFORNIA
lighting, home accents, vessels

STEVE & RAENETTE PALMER
MICHIGAN
sculpture

STACEY LEE WEBBER
PHILADELPHIA
art objects, jewelry

SETH MICHAEL
CHICAGO
jewelry

JANNA UGONE
MASSACHUSETTS
lighting design

CHRISTINA GOODMAN
LOUISIANA
hand-painted jewelry

PAUL SUMNER
NORTH CAROLINA
wood sculpture

Bennett, 5308 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919-5027
Hours of Operation: Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5:30pm
865-584-6791 or http://www.bennettgalleries.com/

Fall is always a wonderful time for planting as it gives your plants time to establish great root systems for the spring. If you want to buy plants to enhance your garden this fall, but want to avoid crowds, visit the UT Arboretum Society’s Annual Fall Plant Sale which will be held online only from September 25th to October 10th. Our plant sales are some of our biggest fundraisers of the year and help support the arboretum’s community education, trail improvements such as our Nature Book Trail, and children’s programs.

For two weeks, you can browse the selections of perennials, trees, and shrubs available from our vendors Tennessee Naturescapes, Riverdale Nursery and East Fork Nursery of Sevierville. The three vendors offer a wonderful selection of plants including dogwoods, unique conifers, both evergreen and native azaleas, hydrangeas, milkweed, beauty berry, and a wide variety of pollinator plants to name just a few! Quantities are limited so we suggest early shopping! Beginning September 25th, log on to https://utas-plant-sale.square.site/ to shop and make payment. All payments must be made by credit card online in advance. No sales on the pick-up days are possible.

Upon ordering, you will be provided a link to choose a pick-up time on either Friday, October 16th from 1:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. or Saturday, October 17th, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the UT Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. Arboretum Society members will have your plant orders ready for pick-up. This is a no contact pick-up system. When you arrive at your scheduled time, you will come to designated pick up spots and your order will be brought to your car.

This is an amazing opportunity which allows the public to shop for an extended period of time without gathering in large groups on one day. People will also have access to a wonderful selection of plants from three outstanding nurseries all at one online site. To learn more about the Arboretum Society, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org. For more information on the plant sale, contact mcampani@utk.edu.

Virtual productions are now the reality in theatre. At least for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, we have the goal of providing you - our patrons - with as similar an experience as you could get if we were all gathered in the Paul Ebert Auditorium at the Playhouse.

As a result, we're putting together our first fully realized stage production while maintaining safety precautions related to COVID-19. You're still going to get a full-blown show. Scenery, costumes, lighting, the works. But streamed in your home.

The show must go on, as they say. So, join us for our first virtual play, ALABAMA STORY, as we strive to continue to provide you with top notch entertainment.

Streaming online select dates: September 25-October 4

The passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery are enflamed when a gentle children’s picture book about the marriage of two bunny rabbits finds its way into the public consciousness, just as the Civil Rights movement is flowering. Simultaneously, another story of childhood friends – an African-American man and a white woman, reunited in adulthood that same year – provides a private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s storyteller inhabit an unforgettable Deep South of the imagination brimming with humor, heart, and humanity.

TICKETS GO ON SALE September 7
http://www.orplayhouse.com/alabama-story
Oak Ridge Playhouse - Po Box 5705, Oak Ridge, TN, (865) 482-9999

Kundalini Yoga is a Celebration of Spirit
The 5th annual Bliss Fest (formerly "Kundalini Rising Yoga Fest) will take place at Buckeye Farm in Lenoir City, TN, just 10 minutes outside of Knoxville.

The Bliss Fest brings community together to practice Kundalini Yoga and Meditation in nature. In order to thrive and persevere through these tumultuous times, we need to step away from our day to day and create a new way of living, a new paradigm of peace on earth. Now is the time, to awaken our group consciousness and to pool our energies and intentions to uplift ourselves, our community and our planet.

Led by teachers in the​ 3HO and IKYTA​ traditions, ​this ​specially curated ​and intimate ​yoga festival ​is family friendly and ​features gifted practitioners, ​master healing artists, musicians and ​a focus on cleansing and bringing the community ​together in ​health, ​joy, ​and celebration.

Featuring Legacy Kundalini Teacher Rai Kaur Khalsa and Kirtan musician, Harnam

For more information and registration: www.BlissYogaFest.com

An installation by Wes Roden
Reception Sep 25 via Zoom
Open hours by appointment only on the weekends.

Gallery 1010, 1150 McCalla Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: https://gallery1010.utk.edu/ and www.instagram.com/gallery.1010

SEPTEMBER 25 and 26 at 8PM

The Bijou Theatre is best known for two things: amazing concerts and lots of ghosts! Over the last 200 years, the Bijou has served as a hotel, tavern, civil war hospital, and even a brothel. If the walls could talk, they would tell tales of the thousands of people who lived and died here, making the Bijou one of the most haunted buildings in Knoxville.

Don’t believe it? Come experience it for yourself! We’re excited to present a ghostly evening of paranormal investigation with the Tennessee Wraith Chasers, stars of Travel Channel’s Haunted Towns.’ Your evening will begin with a Meet & Greet, Photo Op, and Q&A Session followed by a lights-out ghost hunt with Chris, Mike and Brannon. This is a very rare opportunity with extremely limited availably that you won’t want to miss! If you’re a ghost hunter, a fan of the Tennessee Wraith Chasers or anything paranormal, you won’t leave disappointed!

** Please note the ghost hunt may require you to climb several flights of stairs, enter tight spaces, and is best suited for mature audiences. Participants will be required to wear a face mask while inside the Theatre. **

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