Calendar of Events

6/28 • Pickin on Nature with Clinch River Ramblers and True Blue
6/28 • Moths and More: Ijams After Dark
6/29 • Summer Tree ID: Beginner Workshop
6/29 • Tiny Stage Comedy: Big Banana Comedy Show
6/29 • Evening Paddle
6/30 • Self-Care Sunday Yoga
7/2 • Big Fun Tuesday: Ride into Summer!
And more!

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Visitor Center open daily 10-6; grounds and trails open daily from 8 AM - dusk. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

APPALACHIAN EQUALITY CHORUS PRESENTS
THE RAINBOW RUNS OVER ME
TWO PERFORMANCES: JUNE 28 & 29

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

June 28-29: Cedar Bluff Branch Used Book Sale, 10:00-5:00

Since 1970 Friends has donated over $1M to the Knox County Public Library. Our used book shop and book sales raised nearly $98,000 in FY 2023. Some of the library programs currently receiving support from Friends of the Library include the new Storybook Trails program, the Children’s Festival of Reading, Summer Library Club, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Knox County.
https://www.knoxfriends.org/book-sales/

Join us the 4th Friday of every month from 5-7PM when Muse Knoxville at Chilhowee Park offers the public a FREE evening of play at our museum. These nights are all about community, so be sure to invite your family and friends!

IN ORDER TO MAKE YOUR FREE FAMILY NIGHT ENJOYABLE, PLEASE OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING:
Stay in close proximity to your children at all times.
Muse Knoxville has a set number of guests that can be allowed into the museum at any one time.
Please be respectful of museum exhibits, staff, and guests.
Shoes are required at all times.
Muse Knoxville reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone that poses a threat to the well-being of museum guests or property.

The Muse Knoxville, 516 N. Beaman Street, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: 865-594-1494, www.themuseknoxville.org

The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center (GSMHC) is excited to announce the 2024 Legends Concert Series! Described as "specialty" shows in recent years, this concert line-up provides a wealth of great music but also offers insight on our rich musical heritage. Whether its bluegrass, folk, rock, or country, these concerts allow us to see (and hear!) the common musical threads that run through the various genres.

Friday, June 28 - The Young Fables
Friday, July 12 - T.G. Sheppard
Friday, July 26 - On the Border: Ultimate Eagles Tribute
Friday, September 6 - Landslide: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac
Friday, September 20 - Linda Davis
Friday, October 4 - An Evening with Sean of the South

All concerts are scheduled to take place in the Heritage Center's covered, open-air amphitheater. Seating is provided, although all guests are welcome to bring a cushion, pillow, blanket, etc. as needed. Doors open 90 minutes prior to showtime, and concessions are available at that time as well. No outside food or drink is allowed into the amphitheater. For more information or to order tickets by phone, please call the office at 865-448-0044. https://gsmheritagecenter.org/ 

Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center | 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend, TN 37882

Reception 6:30-8 PM with awards announced at 7 PM

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

June 28, Doors open at 11:30am and our speaker begins at noon. Roberta (Bobby) Smashey is our guest speaker talking all things mandalas and pointillism.

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

A world premiere! A romantic comedy by Tom Eubanks
At St. Gregory the Great Auditorium, Knoxville Catholic High, 9245 Fox Lonas Rd
Thu-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM

Thespis Thinks looks at theater politics and the relationships that evolve and sometimes simmer in the theater soup. When two small California theater companies vie for the same arts foundation grant, Board members and production staffs go on the offensive. A smear-merchant subverts the narrative about Coastline Theater Company to affect the decision of the Foundation. Coastline’s newly-appointed Artistic Director, widower and Georgia transplant Davis Cotton, struggles to transform this traditional theater company. His associate, Hillary Hampshire, stands in the way of Davis's vision. Hillary is so entrenched in the theater life, she has left herself no room for experiencing love—until Davis Cotton plucks her heartstrings, one string at a time. But is the song he’s playing real? Narrator of this contemporary theater chaos is pundit, play-by-play color commentator and ancient Greek actor, Thespis of Icara.

Tickets are available for the play at www.theater23.org/tickets. For more information contact info@theater23.org or 865-257-9493.

Lion King Jr. brings the African savanna to life on stage with Simba, Rafiki and an unforgettable cast of characters as they journey from Pride Rock to the jungle and back again in this inspiring, coming-of-age tale based on the Broadway musical and Disney animated film.

Tickets are available for the following performances:
Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 2:00 PM
Friday, June 28, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Saturday, June 29, 2024 at 6:00 PM

Where: Bearden Middle School, 1000 Francis Rd., Knoxville, TN
Children 3 and under are free.
All sales final. Tickets are non-refundable.
https://my.cheddarup.com/c/lyt-lionking/

6/21 • Full Moon Paddle
6/21 • Full Moon Hike
6/22 • Summer Tree ID: Beginner Workshop
6/22 • Caving Trip
6/22 • Terror in the Woods
6/23 • Forest Bathing Workshop
6/23 • Self Care Sunday Yoga
6/23 • Paint and Plant with an Opossum Workshop
6/23 • Summer Tree ID: Beginner Workshop
6/23 • Evening Paddle
6/27 • Moths and More: Ijams After Dark
6/28 • Pickin' on Nature with Clinch River Ramblers and True Blue
6/28 • Moths and More: Ijams After Dark
And more!

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Visitor Center open daily 10-6; grounds and trails open daily from 8 AM - dusk. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Reception Friday, June 14, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.
Free and open to the public

“Indicia” is defined as indications, traces or evidence; something serving as a visible or tangible representation of a fact, quality or feeling. Mixed-media artists Emily Taylor and Jean Hess – long-time friends and colleagues -- make work about recollecting and reconsidering early memories, family history and chaotic life paths. They each gather and playfully experiment with found and natural materials along with traditional art media, aiming to surprise themselves and others.

Jean Hess’ work is in public collections including the Huntsville, Knoxville and Evansville museums of art as well as corporate and private collections. She writes about art, gives classes and opens her Knoxville studio and garden by appointment: www.jeanhess.com

Emily Taylor teaches studio art locally as an adjunct professor and in other workshop formats. She has shown her work locally, regionally and in group shows and private collections. Contact her to visit or come to an open studio in Bearden!
https://www.facebook.com/emilytaylorpaintings/
Instagram:@emilytaylor9515

Gallery hours: 9:30-4:30 Monday through Thursday, 9:00-1:00 Sunday
Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

A two-person show, Outta Time, featuring recent works by artists Joshua Bienko (Knoxville, TN) and Lester Merriweather (Memphis, TN). Curator: Brian R. Jobe.

A preview reception will be held on Friday, June 7, 2024 from 5:00—8:00 pm. Additionally, there will be an artists’ reception on Friday, July 19, 2024 from 5:00—8:00 pm (artists in attendance). There will be an artist talk by Bienko and Merriweather beforehand on July 19 at 3:30pm.

Joshua Bienko (b. 1978, NY) received his MFA from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia in 2008, and his BFA from the University of Buffalo in 2000. He has exhibited at NADA (NY), Dallas Contemporary (TX), Artpace (TX), Labor Ebertplatz (Köln), Vox Populi (PA), Big Medium (TX), OUTERSPACE (Facebook) and the Guggenheim Museum (in collaboration with YouTube Play Biennial). Most recently he has shown in New York, Portland, Baltimore, Brooklyn and Pittsburgh. He has also curated shows in Brooklyn, Queens, Seattle, and Gainesville and is one of the founding members of the artist-run space Ortega y Gasset Projects in Gowanus, and C for Courtside in Knoxville. He is a 2009 Tanne Foundation recipient, and a Hambidge Residency and V.C.C.A Fellow. Bienko is an Associate Professor in the School of Art at the University of Tennessee, where he teaches Drawing and Painting. “Who’s the G.O.A.T.? Jordan! Or maybe J.M.W. Turner. Yeah, Either Jordan or Turner.”

Lester Julian Merriweather (b. 1978) is a Memphis-based visual artist. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture. He holds an MFA from Memphis College of Art and a BA from Jackson State University. Merriweather has exhibited extensively throughout the U.S. at various venues such as the Studio Museum (New York, NY), CAM (St. Louis, MO), TOPS Gallery, Crosstown Arts, and Powerhouse (Memphis, TN), Diverseworks (Houston, TX), Stella Jones Gallery (New Orleans, LA), and Atlanta Contemporary (Atlanta, GA). He has also exhibited internationally at the Zacheta National Gallery (Warsaw, Poland). Merriweather served as the first Curatorial Director of the Jones Gallery & the Martha & Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art at the University of Memphis from 2010-2016. He worked on the Board of Directors for Number, Inc. independent journal where he created the Art of the South exhibition series. He is a founding member of the ArtsMemphis Artist Advisory Council and the artsAccelerator Grant Panel. He served as the Curatorial Consultant for the PPF Contemporary Art Collection (Memphis, TN). He is Emeritus for the Advisory Panel of TONE Memphis. Merriweather is participating in Multiplicity: Blackness in Contemporary American Collage. Originating at The Frist Art Museum (Nashville, TN), the exhibition travels to The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX) and The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.).

Tri-Star Arts at Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Drive, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-5. Information: https://tristararts.org/visit