Calendar of Events

New Location! The Point, 211 W. 5th Ave., Knoxville, TN 37917

Oct 9 at 5:30 pm
Oct 11, 17, 19 at 12 pm

Join us for the live tapings for Season 2 of Appalachia Sessions now hosted at The Point in Knoxville! Full schedule above.
Presented by The East Tennessee Historical Society (ETHS), “Appalachia Session Live” is a televised music series that debuted last fall. The series showcases music born out of the history of East Tennessee and Appalachian culture and features a diverse line-up of musicians and intimately focuses on the artists, their roots and the fundamentals of songwriting. The shows taped at LMU will be used for the first six episodes of season two. The series will air on WATE (ABC) in Knoxville, WJHL in the Tri-Cities, WWCW (CW) in Roanoke, Virginia and WDKY (Fox) in Lexington, Kentucky. The program will be syndicated nationally beginning in February.

For more information, visit www.Appysessions.com.

Save the date for the 8th annual Tennessee Medieval Faire in Harriman. Festival dates Oct 7-8, 14-15, 21-22, 2023.

Go back in time and LIVE THE AGE OF CHIVALRY!

A year after Arthur was crowned King of the Britons and allied with the Picts (circa 501 AD), Arthur and Guinevere are about to celebrate their first anniversary as man and wife. The kingdom is enjoying a time of relative peace, calm, and prosperity.

However, across the north sea, trouble brews. Nordic mercenaries, who used to be employed by various small kingdoms in northern Briton to hold back the Picts, find their services were no longer needed. This did not sit well with them, so they decided pay the “boy king” a visit.

FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS!

Come witness live jousting! Cheer on your favorite warrior in human combat chess, where the characters ARE the chess pieces and fight to take over the squares. Come dressed in costume if you wish and enter the costume contest to win a prize. Play medieval games, laugh with the comedy shows, shop for original crafts, eat delicious food, and drink hot and cold beverages (including beer, ages 21+) FIT FOR A KING!

Enjoy all day family fun. LIVE THE AGE OF CHIVARLY!

https://tmfaire.com/medieval-faire

They Sang What They Lived: The Story of Carl and Pearl Butler is the first retrospective exhibition of Carl and Pearl Butler, the iconic country music duo whose timeless lyrics and harmonious melodies left an indelible mark on country music. With a career spanning over four decades, Carl and Pearl Butler became celebrated figures in the world of country music. “Carl made scores of major-label records during the 1950s,” says Bradley E. Reeves, the exhibition’s guest curator and author of the new book Honky Tonkitis: On the Road with Carl Butler and Pearl. “These are some of the best bluegrass, gospel, and hard country records ever made, although none could be called a massive hit.” That honor would come in 1962, when Carl and Pearl recorded “Don’t Let Me Cross Over.” The song remains among the fastest ever to ascend to No. 1 on Billboard Hot Country Singles. Carl and Pearl’s unique “Knoxville sound,” along with heartfelt lyrics, earned them a dedicated fan base who supported them at performances across the United States and Canada through the 1970s. The exhibition offers visitors a rare glimpse into the lives of these music legends.

Key highlights of the exhibition include:
1. Rare Family Archives: Museum guests will have the opportunity to view the Allen “Junior” Butler Family Collection, which has been made publicly available for the first time and includes never-before-seen photographs, home movies, original instruments, and stage costumes that belonged to Carl and Pearl Butler. “I’m grateful to Allen Butler and his family for opening their home and archives to share with us,” says Reeves.
2. Musical Journey: Explore the duo's musical journey through a feature film, which transports visitors through various periods of their career and traces their unfiltered, raw singing style, one that derived from and advanced the “Knoxville sound.”
3. Behind-the-Scenes: Gain insight into the lives of Carl and Pearl Butler through never-before-seen family photographs and recently uncovered anecdotes from the family and fellow musicians, including Dolly Parton who viewed the Butlers as her “second parents.” “Despite their successes,” says Adam Alfrey, Assistant Director for Historical Services at Knox County Public Library, “Carl and Pearl faced personal and professional struggles, which are intimately documented through the family’s photographs.”
4. Interpretive Experience: Engage with the exhibition to understand how both Knoxville and Nashville played a role in the development of country music. Also, learn how chart-topping artists can quickly become all but forgotten, even in their hometown. “The Butlers somehow fell through the cracks,” reflects Reeves. “It’s my hope that this book and exhibition will contribute to a reappreciation of their great body of work.”
They Sang What They Lived: The Story of Carl and Pearl Butler promises to be a heartfelt educational experience for country music enthusiasts and fans of all ages. It serves as a testament to the enduring influence of Carl and Pearl Butler on the world of music.

At 5:00 pm, Friday, October 6, 2023, there will be an opening reception for They Sang What They Lived: The Story of Carl and Pearl Butler. The event will include a meet and greet with Carl and Pearl Butler’s family, a book signing by guest curator Bradley E. Reeves, and an exhibition of Appalachian musical pioneer paintings by artist Amy Campbell. At 7:00 pm, there will be a “Tribute to Carl and Pearl,” opened by a performance of the Paul Brewster and Friends Band, comprised of 14-year-old mandolin prodigy Wyatt Ellis and Grand Ole Opry performers Daniel Grindstaff, Kent Blanton, Stephen Burwell, and John Meador. A screening of 8mm home movies shot by the Butlers (watch for an appearance by 10-year-old Dolly Parton), as well as some of the Butlers’ rarest television appearances, will conclude the evening.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.eastTNhistory.org/lights-camera

The Frothy Monkey is hosting the Tennessee Artist’s Association’s show of “American Modernism” from October through January at the Frothy Monkey, 419, S. Gay St. Knoxville, TN 37902.

More than ten TAA artists will be represented at the exhibit, and many will be on hand for a meet and greet on Friday, October 6th from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

The Frothy Monkey is the perfect stop for coffee, conversation and community. The restaurant offers fresh baked goods, beer, wine & cocktails along with its coffee and tea selections. The Frothy Monkey seeks to provide a safe and welcoming environment that can nourish guests and build community relationships.

For more information, contact twiegenstein@gmail.com

The opening reception will be from 6-8pm on October 6th. This show is a collaborative exhibition of (family friendly) creepy, eerie, spine-tingling, and all around haunted art pieces from various local artists.

Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/4BKeJE4Gt

No Tricks; just treats as we kick off the Halloween season with the first ever "Haunted Art Show" curated by Esther Sitver. Come one come all to this family friendly event!

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Mon-Thu & Sat 11-6, Fri 11-8, Sun 11-5. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com or www.instagram.com/ShopRala

First Friday Reception: October 6th, 5:30 – 9:00 pm, with complimentary refreshments and music

Lisa Kurtz has a master’s degree in ceramics. She throws on the wheel and hand builds and combines both methods to create her wares. An award-winning ceramic artist, Lisa has taught ceramics, drawing and art history to college students. She has taught clay to adults at many local pottery studios in East Tennessee and in Kentucky. Currently, Lisa teaches functional pottery at the Oak Ridge Art Center. In 2015, she was awarded a grant to be a Master Artist in Tennessee Crafts’ Master Artist Apprentice Program. Her clay work has been featured and shown in galleries and juried fine arts and craft shows across the country and is in many private collections. Lisa’s pieces highlight the malleable qualities of clay. To highlight spontaneity in her work, she likes to experiment with many different types of atmospheric firing including wood, soda, pit firing and electric firing. Her functional work is all microwave and dishwasher safe.
website: www.lisakurtzhighlandpottery.weebly.com
Instagram: @lisakurtzhighlandpottery

Carol Quinn, an artist since the 1980s, exhibiting in the Southeast and New York City, draws inspiration from East Tennessee's natural beauty and explores the psychological processes behind it. A member of Knoxville's Art Market Gallery since 2018, she showcases her evolving art style. With a background in Human Ecology, she transitioned from watercolors to dynamic mixed media creations, focusing on abstract designs. Carole's work reflects a journey of self-discovery, driven by a passion for exploring color and texture. https://www.instagram.com/carolquinnartist

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, www.Facebook.com/ArtMarketGallery

Internationally Renowned Artist, Anna Razumovskaya, is visiting from Canada on Friday, October 6, from 5-7 pm and Saturday, October 7, 3-6 pm. We hope to see you there!

Pivot Point Gallery, 15 Emory Place, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-248-0050, www.pivotpointgallery.com

Friday, October 6th! 6pm-9pm

Mighty Mud Gallery is featuring the collaborative exhibition 'This Never Happened' by local horse girls Kyle Cottier + Vanessa Hartman. Kyle is currently working to receive his Masters in Sculpture at UT and Vanessa is a Studio Technician and Instructor at Mighty Mud.

Kyle Cottier (http://kylecottier.com) + Vanessa Hartman (https://www.vanessamhartman.com).

"This Never Happened" is an collaborative abstract exploration of our boundless capacity to shape the world around us. Materiality takes a backseat as the exhibition delves into the realms of process, experimentation, and the enigmatic interplay of nostalgia and forgetfulness. Kyle and Vanessa infuse play into the nuances of language, navigating the labyrinth of lost and found, and unveiling the intricate tapestry of nature's nurturing embrace. Amidst dreamlike visions of wild horses and joyous celebrations of hay, personal myths emerge from the shadows, ready to roam freely. In the realm where rules are defined by the horse, we discover that within nothing and something lies the genesis of everything.

@mightymudstudio
126 Jennings Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917

Opens First Friday, Oct. 6, 5:00-9:00

The 12 BSG artists present “Shiny Decay Ennui Dingbat” paintings, photography, mixed media and more (in the front gallery). Also, the BSG studio artists present works around the theme “Anxiety” (in the back gallery) .

Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Hours: By appointment, or when the "open" sign is illuminated. Information: 865-556-8676, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com and www.facebook.com/broadwaystudiosandgallery/

October is Architecture Month in Knoxville! Every year in Knoxville, AIA East Tennessee and partnered organizations host [Knoxville] By Design to highlight the significance of architecture and how design shapes our stories, lives, and communities. The event coincides with National Architecture Week and World Architecture Month, both celebrated in October. For information about events: including schedules, speakers, and registration details, you can find it here on the official [Knoxville] By Design website! https://www.knoxbydesign.org/#2023kbdevents

Art Salon with First Friday Gallery Opening - Friday, October 6, 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm @ Robin Easter Design
Join us for the First Friday gallery opening celebrating the vast range of original works of art created by architects and related professionals in East Tennessee. Art Salon has been a staple event for [Knoxville] By Design since the beginning and was envisioned to celebrate and showcase the vast range of original works of art created by architects, designers, emerging professionals, students, and allied professionals in the East Tennessee Region.

SIGHTS AND STORIES – Architectural Walking Tour - Saturday, October 7 10:00 am to Noon
Registration and more information coming soon!

DESIGN SLAM - Wednesday, October 18, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm @ Printshop Beer Co.
Design SLAM! Knoxville is a fast-paced, live competition focused on design thinking, urban design, and presentation. Each year, the event pits teams of Knoxville area designers against one another to solve a local design challenge.

KNOX BRICKS AND BREWS - Thursday, October 19, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm @ Hi-Wire Brewing
Join us for a one-night-only pop-up Brick Bar. Drink, chat, and play with LEGO in a fun, no-pressure atmosphere. For those that like a little competition, LEGO builds can be entered for judging in one of several fun categories for a nominal entry fee.

KNOX BRICKS AND BLOCKS - Saturday, October 21, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm @ L&N STEM Academy
We invite kids, ages 5-18, to work with architects and designers to create an architectural design for the future! (Project specifics coming soon!) Participants will be paired with a local design professional to walk through the programming phase to come up with their own design.

TRIVIA NIGHT - Tuesday, October 24, 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm @ Printshop Beer Co.
Join us for a fun night of trivia with trivia master, Brad Overton and put your pop-culture and regional architectural and design knowledge to the test.

Lecture: George Smart, HAIA - Thursday, October 26th, 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm @ Bijou Theatre
Join AIA East Tennessee & Knox Heritage for cocktails, conversation, and a presentation by George Smart, HAIA, founder & CEO of USModernist®, the world’s largest nonprofit educational archive dedicated to the documentation, preservation, and promotion of Modernist residential design. In this discussion, George Smart will explore the basic principles of Modernist design, why it’s important to our communities, and what participants can do about preservation, starting tomorrow. To read in more detail about this presentation, visit bit.ly/octoberdesignfeed.

Modernism Home Tour - Saturday, October 28, 10:00 AM – 4:00 pm - Start @ Mid Mod Collective
More info and ticket sales coming soon!

WordPlayers to produce Lauren Gunderson’s masterful and illuminating work, Silent Sky. Show dates of October 5, 6, 12, and 13 at 7:30pm, and October 8 and 15 at 2:30pm, in the auditorium of Erin Presbyterian Church, located at 200 Lockett Rd. Knoxville.

Though it is not a “church activity,” the WordPlayers will use the lovely, intimate auditorium of Erin Presbyterian Church in Bearden to produce an evening of theatrical magic with Lauren Gunderson’s Silent Sky .Tickets on sale now at www.wordplayers.org, and available at the door while seats last.

The true story of 19th century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and the earth.

“…sheer magic [is] in Lauren Gunderson’s SILENT SKY. …Gunderson [writes] economically and with bursts of smart, infectious humor."-San Francisco Chronicle

“Lauren Gunderson’s luminously beautiful play SILENT SKY is an intellectual epic told on an intimate scale.Bottom line: Heavenly.”-Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The WordPlayers, 865-539-2490
Website: wordplayers.org
Facebook: The WordPlayers
Twitter: @wordplayers
Instagram: wordplayers

Cherokee basketry and Southern Appalachian basket styles are on display now at Pellissippi State Community College’s Strawberry Plains Campus. The “All the Eggs in One Basket” exhibit curated by Art Professor Jeffrey Lockett is free and open to the public through the college’s Appalachian Heritage Project, which is housed in the Strawberry Plains Campus Library. Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Appalachian Heritage Project serves as a repository for regional literature, history and folklore and includes programming including exhibits, lectures and workshops. “Abundant river cane in the Southern Appalachians contributes to its widespread use in weaving and basketry,” Lockett said. “The known works of the 17th century Cherokee Indians introduced the unique combination of materials and weave patterns using this cane.”

In the 18th and 19th centuries, storage baskets were used for daily needs such as harvesting, transportation and food preparation, Lockett added. However, as mountain tourism and markets for mountain crafts grew into the 20th century, Cherokee basket makers responded by producing baskets for the tourist trade. Most baskets on display in the "All the Eggs in One Basket” exhibit were made by Jimmy Lawrence of Clinton, Tennessee. Lawrence, born in 1937 in Abington, Virginia, is a Virginia Tech-educated mechanical engineer with a lifelong fascination with Appalachian crafts. He and his wife, Gail, have a regionally known collection of Southern folk art, crafts and utilitarian ware at their home.

“Jimmy says his curiosity for Southern crafts together with his engineering background has allowed him to approach basketmaking and weaving as an artform as well as an achievement in engineering,” said Lockett, who named the exhibit in honor of the variety of Lawrence’s traditional egg baskets that are on display. "Jimmy takes traditional Appalachian styles as well as Cherokee weaving traditions and varies the materials to include slippery elm bark, native cane and white oak.” All works in the exhibit are from the collections of Lawrence or Lockett. The Strawberry Plains Campus Library is open 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday.

Pellissippi State | 865.694.6638 | marketing@pstcc.edu | www.pstcc.edu