Calendar of Events

Saturday, September 28, 2024

16th Annual Scots Irish Festival

  • September 27, 2024 — September 28, 2024

Category: Festivals, special events, Free event, History, heritage, Kids, family and Music

The 2024 Scots Irish Festival in Downtown Dandridge, Tennessee, on Historic Main Street will open with a free concert: Friday, September 27, 2024 – 6:30 to 9:00 PM and the Festival will continue Saturday, September 28, 2024 – 9:00 AM to 9:30 PM. All activities are free to the public.

On Saturday, September 28th, outstanding Scottish & Irish Entertainers will vie for attention with the Bagpipe & Drum Band Challenge, which will take place along Main Street in Downtown Dandridge. The Color Guard from the Scottish American Military Society will lead the way for the combined pipe bands during the glorious parade at 12:00 noon. An Opening Ceremony will feature patriotic songs by the combined choirs of Dandridge Elementary School, Maury Middle School and Jefferson County High School.

Saturday’s experience will be a trip back in time to enjoy the heritage of the original Scots Irish who settled in East Tennessee ca. 1783, following the Revolutionary War. Visitors will experience Scottish & Irish music, Highland Dancing, Irish Step Dancing, Heritage organizations, Highland Clan booths, Highland Cattle & Black Faced sheep exhibits, Highland Athletic demonstrations, and Storytellers for both children and adults. Scottish & Irish Food, baked goods, meals, and treats will abound, as well as Scots & Irish merchandise vendors. Back by popular demand for 2023 is our fabulous Ale Garden featuring a selection of Scottish, Irish & Mountain ales from Highland Brewing.

The Highland (Main) Stage entertainment will feature bands House of Hamill and The Muckers. On the Lowland Stage, Trip Rogers and Celtic Conundrum will perform along with piper & harpist, Kelly Shipe. Demonstrations of Highland Dancing and Irish Step Dancing will also be presented on the Lowland Stage.

The Pipe & Drum Band Challenge Competition will include the Knoxville Pipes & Drums; the Appalachian Highlanders; and the Memphis Pipe Band. These bands will play twice each during the day, as well as marching in the Ceremonial Parade on Main Street at Noon and as Mass Bands on the Dike at 4:00 PM.

An old-time children’s playground returns this year with a variety of games and activities for the Lads & Lassies. Visitors to the event are welcome to bring leashed, well-behaved dogs to participate in the dog parade down Main Street, scheduled for 11:45 AM.

For more information about the festivities, visit www.ScotsIrishFestival.com or contact Chris Umberger at info.scotsirishfestival@gmail.com. We can also be found on Facebook @Dandridge Scots-Irish Festival, and you are invited to join our Facebook Public Group. The Dandridge Scots-Irish Festival is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Hispanic Film Festival: The Return

  • September 25, 2024 — October 1, 2024

Category: Film, Free event and Virtual

Join us for the fifth edition of the Hispanic Film Festival on the UT campus featuring independent award-winning films in Spanish with English subtitles! Two films are available online at https://pragda.com/sfc-event/university-of-tennessee-knoxville-2/
Username: SFC@UniversityofTennesseeKnoxville / Password: SFCUniversityofTennesseeFall2024

The Return (Costa Rica, 2012) a film by Hernán Jiménez [Available from September 25th to October 1st]
Un traductor (Cuba, 2018) a film by Rodrigo Barriuso and Sebastián Barriuso [Available from October 9th to October 15th]

Pictures courtesy of Pragda. Contact Betsabé Navarro (bnavarro@utk.edu). Website: https://tiny.utk.edu/filmfest

Nightfall Acres: Sunflower Fest

  • September 25, 2024 — September 29, 2024

Category: Festivals, special events, Kids, family and Science, nature

FLOWERS - HAYRIDES - PHOTO OPS - FLOWER MAZE - FARM ANIMALS - FOOD
Step into a world of vibrant fields filled with sunflowers and zinnias, perfect for capturing breathtaking photos. Stroll through the blooms, enjoy a scenic tractor-pulled hayride, and make unforgettable memories.
NEW FALL 2024: The zinnia field will be replaced with a charming small pumpkin patch to take beautiful photos with two large sunflower fields as a backdrop.
Create your own floral masterpieces by picking sunflowers and zinnias, then gather them in chic French Market Metal Flower Buckets or classic glass mason jars to bring a piece of this beauty home.
There's even more to enjoy! Visit the Snack Shack for a cool treat of Dippin' Dots Ice Cream, challenge your friends to a game of Corn Hole, or unwind by the creek.
NEW IN 2024: Experience more acres of farm fun with an added kids play area, friendly farm goats, and an enchanting sunflower maze. Cross our new walking bridge over the serene creek, perfect for selfies and family photos. Don't miss this explosion of color, fun, and photogenic bliss at Sunflower Fest, where every moment is a memory waiting to bloom!

Schulz Brau: Oktoberfest

  • September 21, 2024 — October 13, 2024

Category: Culinary arts, food, Meetup and Music

Willkommen to Schulz Brau! Oktoberfest is our biggest festival of the year here at our Brewery and Biergarten! Meticulous planning goes into creating this special 2-week celebration of Bavarian culture. We proudly follow Munich traditions to offer our guests an authentic and fun experience. Prost!

BARREL-TAPPING CEREMONY
21.SEPT – 5AM-9AM
TICKET SALES TBA

https://knoxvilleoktoberfest.com/

Discover Columbus' Ships

  • September 20, 2024 — October 6, 2024

Category: Festivals, special events, History, heritage, Kids, family and Science, nature

Welcome to Sanger Ships LLC and our two Columbus replica ships - our original Niña, the most historically accurate replica of a Columbus Ship ever built, and our newer Pinta.

The Niña is a replica of the ship on which Columbus sailed across the Atlantic on his three voyages of discovery to the new world beginning in 1492. Columbus sailed the tiny ship over 25,000 miles. That ship was last heard of in 1501, but the new Niña has a different mission. We are a floating museum, and we visit ports all over the Western Hemisphere.

Pinta was recently built in Brazil to accompany the Nina on all of her travels. She is a larger version of the archetypal caravel and offers larger deck space for walk-aboard tours and has a 40 ft air conditioned main cabin down below with seating. Pinta is available for private parties and charters.

Both The Niña and Pinta will be touring together as a new and enhanced ‘sailing museum’, for the purpose of educating the public and school children on the ‘caravel’, a Portuguese ship used by Columbus and many early explorers to discover the world.

http://www.ninapinta.org/schedule.html
At Calhoun's On The River, 400 Neyland Dr, Knoxville, TN 37902

Clarence Brown Theatre: Cry It Out

Category: Comedy and Theatre

BY MOLLY SMITH METZLER
THE LAB THEATRE

Acclaimed writer Molly Smith Metzler ('Shameless', 'Orange is the New Black', and 'Maid') brings us a new comedy about the challenges of parenthood. This heart-warming comedy finds divergent young mothers strike up a friendship during precious nap time. The comedy takes a sharp and honest look at the power of female friendship, the paradox of working motherhood, and the effects that economic and social class has on parenthood in America. 'Cry it Out' captures the audience with laughs, a little rage and the bonds of early parenthood.

Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information/tickets: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com

HoLa Hora Latina: Frutos Latinos at the Knoxville Museum of Art

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

Hola Hora Latina is proud to present Frutos Latinos, an art show competition celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and highlighting talented artists in our community. Local Hispanic/Latinx artists will showcase their artwork to celebrate their cultures and traditions. Top 3 winners will be announced at our gala event on September 17th.

For more information contact, enrique.cruz@holafestival.org

https://holahoralatina.org/current-exhibit/
https://www.facebook.com/share/cq3AHVaASuH33WFe/
HoLa Hora Latina: 865-335-3358

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tu-Sa 10-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Knoxville Children's Theatre: Magic Treehouse: Dinos Before Dark

Category: Kids, family and Theatre

Performed Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; and Sundays at 3 PM.

Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs before Dark is an adaptation of the first of Mary Pope Osborne's award-winning fantasy adventure books from the Magic Tree House book series, which has sold more than 100 million copies and is available in more than 100 countries around the world. Jack and Annie’s tree house transports them back in time to the age of the dinosaurs, where the siblings courageously learn that things are not always what they seem.

KCT is East Tennessee’s leading producer of plays for children and families.
Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

River & Rail Theatre Company: Our Town

Category: Theatre

Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize winning play - A story about the mystery of life and what we make it.

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

Dogwood Arts: Megan Lingerfelt

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

Reception: September 6th / 5-8PM
October 4th / 5-8PM
Details TBA

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

Art Market Gallery: Jack Retterer and Linda Sullivan

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event

First Friday Reception: September 6th, 5:30 - 9 pm

Linda Sullivan, Clay
Linda developed a special interest in glaze chemistry and development while receiving her Master of Fine Arts degree in Studio Ceramics at Northern Illinois University. She continues to experiment with glazes, including crystalline glazes, which are some of the most difficult for achieving successful results. Linda states that the process for creating crystalline work is challenging and requires exacting conditions to ensure that crystals form – appropriate clay body, refined forms, fluid glazes with specific chemical ingredients, correct thickness of glaze, and complex firing and cooling kiln cycles. After the kiln reaches peak temperature, a computerized schedule controls the specific points and durations at which the temperature is held steady to encourage crystal formation. Coloring oxides in the glaze determine the resulting colors. Just as in nature when all conditions are perfect, crystals develop and grow, resulting in uniquely glazed pieces that differ from one another and cannot be duplicated.

Jack Retterer, Photography
Jack Retterer is a photographer and poet in East Tennessee. His work has been on display in numerous venues including the Emporium Art Gallery in Knoxville, the “Arts in the Airport” exposition at the McGee Tyson airport, the Knoxville Mayor’s office and the Knox County Mayor’s office. He has taught photography at Benedictine University in Naperville, Illinois. He currently teaches “Fine Art Photography at the University of Tennessee, and has also served on the boards of artist and photography associations in Tennessee and Illinois. Jack’s present and past professional affiliations and memberships include: Professional Photographers of America, Professional Photographer of East Tennessee, Tennessee Artists Association, Knoxville Arts and Culture Alliance, Juried member of the Art Market Gallery, Art Guild of Fairfield Glade, Tellico Village Art Guild, Foothills Craft Guild, and The Tennessee Poetry Society.

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

Arts & Culture Alliance: David Gorley: Vanitas

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present six new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville opening on Friday, September 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM. As part of a special First Friday Block Party sponsored by the Alliance and City of Knoxville, the free gathering with exhibiting artists will also feature nearly 20 artist vendors and live music with Fountain City Ramblers along the 100 Block of Gay Street, which will be open to pedestrians only from 4-10 PM between Jackson and Vine avenues.

Based on seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish still life paintings, I took inspiration to update my artistic process by studying the past through the sub-genre of vanitas and memento mori paintings. Vanitas is a still life artwork which includes various symbolic objects designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the worthlessness of worldly goods and pleasures. A memento mori is an artwork designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the shortness and fragility of human life. Every aspect of the picture has symbolism and language, some evident and common, some obscure. These pictures are all studio still life setups, photographed digitally. The permanence of our ideas and identities, whether in art or in life, are a vanity of mind.

David Gorley is an East Tennessee artist with a BFA in Fine Arts from East Tennessee State University. He challenges himself to explore photography’s various techniques and styles to create cohesive, succinct showings of bodies of work. He has used various formats of film and digital cameras over the years. He loves to remind viewers of our rich history of art and how a particular genre in a particular time period can still be relevant to expand upon today. His work has shown throughout East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. www.davidgorley.com

The Emporium Center is located at 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Gallery hours are M-F 9-5 and Sat 10-1. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

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