Calendar of Events

Two shows!

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

DISNEY PRINCESS: THE CONCERT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 | 7:00PM

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com, www.ticketmaster.com

Songs and Stories from the Bird and the Book continues its ongoing series of concerts and conversations with another free show!

7 p.m. on Wednesday April 6, Songs and Stories from the Bird and the Book will welcome singer/songwriter Dan Israel for a free and exclusive East Tennessee engagement.

Dan Israel is a singer-songwriter currently based in Minneapolis. He won Song of the Year (for "Come to Me") in the 2005 Minnesota Music Awards. He led the folk-duo One Town Horse in Chicago in the late 1980s and early 1990s, went on to lead the more electrified folk-rockers Potter's Field in Austin, TX in the mid '90s (where he was named one of Austin's top 15 songwriters), and finally relocated to his hometown of Minneapolis in 1996, where he formed Dan Israel and the Cultivators and released several critically acclaimed CDs, both solo and with the Cultivators. His 2000 solo release Dan Who? received a 4-star review from music reviewer Jim Walsh (then at the St. Paul Pioneer Press), who summed up his outrage at the under-recognition of Israel's talent with these words: "Well, somebody buy a billboard, hire a blimp, and give this guy his due already. His name is Dan Israel, one of the mad ones, one of the strugglers, and he just made the record of his life.” Israel has been reviewed favorably in national magazines like Paste and No Depression and in major American newspapers such as the Chicago Sun-Times, has received extensive radio airplay both stateside and overseas. He has showcased multiple times at the prestigious South by Southwest Music Conference, and has opened for acts such as Morrissey, the Tragically Hip, Todd Snider, Iris DeMent, Peter Himmelman, the Honeydogs, Mason Jennings, Martin Zellar, Mary Lou Lord, Ike Reilly, Steve Poltz, the Silos, the Steve Miller Band, and many more.

Once again, the event will offer an opportunity to not only to share an intimate listening experience with the artists performing their songs in stripped down settings, but also to learn about the craft and creativity that goes into their music and performance.

As always, think “The Actor’s Studio,” but geared to musicians.

It’s an event not to be missed!

The Bird and the Book is one of Maryville’s newest venues for all kinds of entertainment. With a bar and food service, it’s the ideal place to gather with family and friends to enjoy an evening of informal entertainment. It’s located at 1509 E Broadway Ave, Maryville, TN, below Southland Books and Cafe.

Phone (865) 984-4847 or go to their website: https://southlandbooksandcafe.com/the-bird-and-the-book

Lee Zimmerman is the host for Songs and Stories from the Bird and the Book, which will take place the first Wednesday of every month from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 • 4-6PM
https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/AThTSRfMqjCo2fxzVXNyfA?t=1647212959186

Join Brittny Smith, who plays Diva Donna in the touring production of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical for a virtual vocal workshop on Zoom! Each registered participant will have 10 minutes to perform a brief song selection from the show and receive feedback from Brittny. This workshop is free, but participants must be registered ahead of time. Spaces are limited, so sign up soon! This workshop is open to students grades 6-12.

Participants can choose an excerpt from the following songs to perform:
Pandora's Box
I Remember Yesterday
Unconditional Love

Join our next Public Books Circle meeting with Rosalind Hackett.

Edna O’Brien’s novelis a harrowing portrayal of the young women abducted in 2014 by Boko Haram--one of the largest Islamist militant groups in Africa. Narrated by Maryam, one of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, and set in the deep countryside of northeast Nigeria, this is a brutal story of incarceration, horror, and hunger; a hair-raising escape into the manifold terrors of the forest; and a descent into the labyrinthine bureaucracy and hostility awaiting a victim who returns home with a child blighted by enemy blood. It is a work that resonates with O’Brien’s lifelong concern for women and girls in trouble, yet it also attracted criticism for cultural appropriation.

Our Public Books Circle meets online one Wednesday a month and is free and open to the public. Each of our sessions is led by a UT professor, and everyone is welcome to add their voice to the discussion!

Register for the book discussion meeting by clicking on the registration link (you'll be sent a confirmation email with your own unique link to the discussion)

Buy a copy of the book (Union Ave Books in downtown Knoxville will be happy to handle your order)

Read, enjoy, and join the book discussion online on the date of the event!
https://calendar.utk.edu/event/ut_humanities_center_public_books_circle_girl_by_edna_obrien#.YkstH-jMLct

MFA Thesis Exhibitions
April 5 – 12, 2022
Reception: Friday, April 8, 5-8pm

Amalia Mermingas, Tasha Lewis, Muriel Condon, and Nichole Schappert

In partial fulfillment of their graduation requirements, students pursuing the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree are required to mount a solo exhibition of work, and to defend their work during an oral examination in front of a faculty committee. Due to the number of graduate students enrolled in the UT School of Art, these exhibitions generally take the form of small groups of students presenting concurrent solo exhibitions in the gallery space.

Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: M-T-F 10-5, W-R 10-7:30, Su 1-4. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

During April, I will be doing a short reading every Monday at 7pm. I will also be issuing a writing challenge every day for NatPoWritMo.

https://www.rheacarmon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RheaSunshinePoetry

Award-winning wordsmith Rhea Carmon is a force that weaves passion, purpose, and power into poetry. She is a teacher, mentor, motivational poet, and inspiration to all that come in contact with her. Rhea's life lessons and stories create space for conversation and understanding. She will motivate and inspire students and adults to be the best form of themselves on a daily basis. She is the City of Knoxville's Poet Laureate.

JOIN US FOR A VIRTUAL CELEBRATION! The Orchids Awards have been presented to Knoxville and Knox County's most beautiful properties, public spaces, and public art since 1979. Throughout the month of April, Keep Knoxville Beautiful will host its annual Orchid Awards online via our Facebook page. Awards will be presented to winners in six different categories: New Architecture, Redesign/Reuse, Outdoor Space, Community Space, Public Art, and Regreening.

Join us in celebrating the architects, artist, developers and community members that are beautifying our dynamic city.

Stay tuned for information to support Keep Knoxville Beautiful Mural Fund, which will support Knoxville's next murals. Four generous sponsors will match your individual donations. Help us reach our goal of $9,500!
https://www.keepknoxvillebeautiful.org/orchid-awards
https://www.facebook.com/KeepKnoxvilleBeautiful

The Neutral Ground documents New Orleans’ fight over monuments and America’s troubled romance with the Lost Cause. In 2015, director CJ Hunt was filming the New Orleans City Council’s vote to remove four confederate monuments. But when that removal is halted by death threats, CJ sets out to understand why a losing army from 1865 still holds so much power in America.

April 3-6, 2022: Online screening followed by a conversation with the filmmaker(s).
Screening Partner: Clayton Center for the Arts - Maryville
https://www.southarts.org/events/neutral-ground-2022-04-03

Tennessee Division of Natural Areas will Celebrate Natural Areas Week 2022, beginning April 2nd and continuing through April 10th. The division’s experienced event leaders will be leading outings at designated State Natural Areas across Tennessee, from the escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau at Virgin Falls and across the cedar glades of the Nashville Basin, to the lowlands of the West at Big Cypress Tree, there is an event for everyone. Please join Tennessee Division of Natural Areas staff and partners as they explore, explain and celebrate the wonder of Tennessee State Natural Areas during the 2022 Natural Areas Week.

https://tnstateparks.com/about/special-events/natural-areas-week

The Printmaking Showcase Gallery on the second floor of the Art and Architecture Building features “The Great Experiment,” an exhibition of lithographs by Ericka Walker. The exhibition will be on view from April 1 – May 30, 2022. Born in Wisconsin, Walker received her MFA from UT Knoxville in 2010, and lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, where she is an Associate Professor at NSCAD University.

Art and Architecture Building, 2nd Floor Printmaking Aisle
1715 Volunteer Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37996
https://art.utk.edu/ericka-walker-lithographs-the-great-experiment-printmaking-showcase-gallery/

Opens FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2022 AT 6 PM – 8 PM

Rala presents The Fortune Teller's Sister & Other Portraits, a show by Cynthia Markert. All paintings are one of a kind originals.
Please join us for the show opening from 6 to 8pm. Visit our online gallery: https://shoprala.com/collections/art-originals

Cynthia Markert is a staple artist and local treasure within Knoxville's arts community and has long been creating timeless paintings of women on wooden panels. Due to the ongoing pandemic, we prefer that masks be worn inside the store. Thank you for helping us stay safe!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1611720295850859/

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-6, Su 11-5. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com or www.instagram.com/ShopRala