Calendar of Events

Interested in learning more about Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley? Join us for a Behind the Blue Doors Tour at our Regal Teen Center Club, 967 Irwin Street, Knoxville.

Upcoming dates (from 4 – 5pm):
Monday, May 2
Tuesday, May 10
Wednesday, May 18
Tuesday, June 7
Wednesday, June 15
Thursday, June 23

RSVP to bjones@bgctnv.org. Information: https://bgctnv.org

AT 12:00PM (DOORS OPEN AT 11:30AM)

We are pleased to welcome you to the Theatre to enjoy a LIVE concert featuring House Organist Freddie Brabson on the Tennessee Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer. He will be joined on stage by Blesser Heart. After years of making music and mischief in the alto section of the Knoxville Choral Society, singers Ruth Brown, Cindy Hassil, and Vicki Heidle joined forces with singer/songwriter Sarah Motes Ashley to form Blesser Heart (with the help of bass superstar Harold Nagge). These women share a background in, well, everything: musical theatre, vocal and a cappella jazz, classical choral music, anything with harmonies. The Blesser Heart recipe is thick rich harmonies, good songs, and great friends.

Share with your friends and family, and save the date - we hope to see you there!

Please note that we will not be providing lunch, but concessions will be available for purchase.

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

The Lee Trio, faculty members of Lee University in Cleveland Tennessee, will present a recital on May 2, 7:30 PM at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, 110 Sugarwood Drive in Farragut.

The classical trio of violin, piano, and cello will present works including the Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, op. 32 by Anton Arensky. Admission is free.

For more information contact Xiaoqing Yu, Associate Professor of Violin, Director, Lee University Chamber Strings, School of Music, Lee University: 423-614-8663 or xyu@leeuniversity.edu

Ashe Lecture with Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, including a signing of her new book, “Lessons from the Edge: A Memoir”. Yovanovitch was the last Senate-confirmed ambassador to Ukraine. Yovanovitch also was ambassador to Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

UT Student Union, Pilot Company Ballroom A (272A), 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
The public is invited. Arrive early, limited seating.

Paintings by Michelle Barillaro and Jewelry by Charles Osten

Westminister Presbyterian Church, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4, Fri 9-12. Information: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

Gary White is back to lead a 2 weekend quilting course, April 30 & May 7, designed for beginners & experts alike. Participants will explore the history of string quilts, the importance of quilting within the African American/Southern experience, and created unique string quilt pieces to take home. Free to attend & participate - RSVP HERE! https://www.thebottomknox.com/events-1/strips-strings-part-2-string-quilting-workshops-2022-04-30-14-00

The Bottom, 2340 E Magnolia Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: thebottomknox@gmail.com, 865-444-5915 or www.thebottomknox.com/

For the past thirteen years, the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville and the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (McGhee Tyson Airport) have partnered to present a biannual exhibition entitled “Arts in the Airport”. This juried exhibition was developed to allow regional artists to compete and display work in the most visited site in the area. The selected art features contemporary 2- and 3-dimensional artwork by:

Cosima Aryee, Kate Aubrey, Sally Brogden, Jan Burleson, Gino Castellanos, Elle Colquitt, Barbara Bolton Cornett, Denise Cumming, Yvonne Dalschen, Vincent Drake, Melissa N. Everett, Diana Ferguson, Alan Finch, Elena Ganusova, Carl Gombert, Brian Horais, Anthony TungNing Huang, Kathleen A. Janke, Siobian Jones, Gretchen Kaplan, Anne W. Kinggard, Andreas Koschan, Judy Lavoie, William M. Long, Allison Meriwether, Anders V. Nienstaedt, Tom Owens, Dennis Sabo, Phil Savage, Baxter Stults, Kelli L. Thompson, Chloe Wack, Carl Whitten, Douglas Wielfaert, Marianne Woodside, and Museum of Infinite Outcomes.

View and purchase artworks at https://www.knoxalliance.store/product-category/airport

www.knoxalliance.com/arts-in-the-airport

Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, SWEAT tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. When layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat.

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Lynn Nottage’s SWEAT examines the impact of a national economic shift on a local, tight-knit community in Reading, Pennsylvania. In the year 2000, layoffs and lockouts threaten their factory floor jobs, thrusting them into a bitter fight for survival. Produced across the country to critical and popular acclaim, SWEAT considers the effects of America’s economic decline and deindustrialization alongside a heart-wrenching examination of friendship, race, class, and trust within this community of family and friends.

River & Rail Theatre, 111 State Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-407-0727, www.riverandrailtheatre.com

Flying Anvil Theatre shares Knoxville stories. A new play captures the real-life stories of a diverse group of Knoxvillians in Flying Anvil Theatre’s The Knoxville Covid Story Project, opening April 28. Using interviews compiled over the past two years, the show covers the gamut of pandemic experiences from teachers, students, front line workers, engineers, artists and more. Each audience will get the chance to share their Covid stories as well. Director Jayne Morgan says the play is an interactive experience. “In addition to hearing the moving and funny stories we’ve gathered through interviews, audiences can share what they’ve learned, what aggravated them and what challenges they faced. But we’ve learned that people also talk about surprising benefits that came out of this time. About how they’ve grown, the sublime and the ridiculous. Sharing these stories is really cathartic and healing.”

The Knoxville Covid Story Project interviews were conducted by Linda Parsons, Jayne Morgan, Summer Awad, Brandi Augustus, Jazmin Witherspoon and Ginger Lyvere Peck, beginning in 2020. “We originally had the show planned for last year,” Parsons says. “But the continuing pandemic made that impossible. The blessing was that the cancellation allowed us to continue interviewing people as conditions changed. The result is an overview of the past two years in local people’s lives, a tapestry of their journeys both individually and in community.”

Parsons and Morgan compiled the final script, which will include new stories from the audience each night. The stories will be read by actors Josh Brandon, Brandi Augustus, Carolyn Corley and Barbara Kistler-Martin. Jade Hurst is stage manager, set design by David Hutto and lighting by Adam Baranowski.

The show is partly underwritten by a grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission. Tickets for The Knoxville Covid Story Project are available at flyinganviltheatre.com or on the theatre’s Facebook page.

Following CDC guidance, the theatre no longer requires masks, but they are highly recommended.

Flying Anvil Theatre, 1300 Rocky Hill Road, Knoxville. Information: 865-357-1309, www.flyinganviltheatre.com. Facebook and Instagram @flyinganviltheatre

Free!
Mondays-Fridays, April 25-May 13, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

Created and originally directed by Ted Swindley – Based on a true story
Directed by Lianne Kressin

April 20 – May 15 | CBT MainStage

Crazy good!

Back by popular demand after a sold-out run in 2003, this fabulous musical is based on the true story of Patsy’s long friendship with fan, Louise Seger, and features 27 classic songs including Crazy, Walkin’ After Midnight, She’s Got You, Sweet Dreams, and Back in Baby’s Arms.

Single tickets on sale March 31. https://clarencebrowntheatre.com/2021-2022-season/

Reception: Friday, April 29, 2022, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
Artists’ Talks: 6:30 p.m.

"THE PROMISE OF THE HEART" in Exhibition Hall B
I believe that the power of art can inspire and affect change in one's self and others. This exhibit is an expression of a joyful heart that flows from a spirit that is nourished by understanding one's emotions, character, and passions. It features thirty-six original works of art by Suzanne Jack.

Photography by David Liles Exhibition Hall A
I seek to create art through photographic imagery. Inspiration often comes from the natural world. Great material is everywhere & seeing it is limited only by opportunity and imagination. My eyes are trained to look for textures, patterns, contrasts, and plays of color in everything I experience on a daily basis. My imagery is often an abstraction, a departure from the normal “snapshot” type photograph. I use mostly digital photography with cropping and image enhancements of color saturation, tone, and contrast, but no additions. The computer is my darkroom, via software tools of digital manipulation.

Gallery Hours: Mondays 10 am - 4 pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10 am - 3 pm. Other times are by appointment only. Sign-in and masks are required. At Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: 865-523-4176 x101, www.tvuuc.org