Calendar of Events

Wendel Werner at The Birdhouse., 800 N 4th Ave.
Saturday, December 7, 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm.

No Disney, no Christmas Concert with Wendel Werner plus Anna Caroline Causey, Alison Werner, Emilee Jane Bradshaw and Betsy Sonewald.

FREE concert, but tips are welcome!

https://www.fourthandgill.org/birdhouse-neighborhood-center

K-Town Sound’s ‘3 Weeks Before Christmas’ will be presented on Saturday, December 7th at 3pm at Alice Bell Baptist Church, 3305 Alice Bell Road. Donations are welcome and can be made at www.ktownsound.org and at the door.

Featuring Tommy Spencer, Crystal Brooks, Masquerade Southern Sapphire, and a variety of other musical performers.

Saturday, December 7, 2024 1pm to 2:30pm

Step into a world where creativity knows no bounds! We invite you to a one-of-a-kind afternoon of improv at the McClung Museum. Bid farewell to our current exhibition, Coming into View, through the spontaneity of Improv Knoxville.

Let the colors, emotions, and stories of the paintings fill your day with laughter, unexpected twists, and pure imagination. Whether you’re an improv enthusiast or just curious to experience something new, this is your chance to see art come to life in the most fun and unpredictable ways. You can even choose to play too!

About the facilitator: Taylor Wingerter has been improvising since 2007 and instructing since 2010 in Denver at the Bovine Metropolis Theater (closed in 2020) and then Rise Comedy. She trained at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles, and is excited to start teaching improv in Knoxville. You can see her performing with Pretend Friends Improv and facilitating improv workshops for adults and children nationally. Owner of Manatee Vanity Improv

Frank H. McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture
1327 Circle Park, Knoxville, TN 37996
https://calendar.utk.edu/event/improv-with-a-view-improv-knoxville

Townsend Artisan Art Center, Gallery, Studios and Classroom
Holiday Sale and Reception

Meet the artists, find gifts for your friends and family — and one for yourself too. Enjoy unique locally created arts, and enjoy refreshments and treats. We have new art by our returning artists and also new artists are displaying in our Gallery. The original work of forty artists will be displayed and the working studios will be open. The work will include fine art and gifts of drawings, fiber arts, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, pottery, stained and fused glass, and woodworking.

The Sale is 10-6 and the Reception is 4-6.

Join us as the artists of the Townsend Artisan Guild display locally created arts and gifts on Saturday, December 7 at the Gallery and Studios.

Townsend Art Center, Gallery, Studios and Classroom
7719 East Lamar Alexander Parkway
Townsend, TN 37882

Information www.townsendartisanguild.org, Facebook or call 865-448-0859.

Saturday, December 7th | 2:00-6:00PM

Join us for a very special Holiday Marketplace and Open House on Arrowmont’s Gatlinburg Campus. Festivities kick-off at 2:00PM in the turner Building with a marketplace featuring regional and local artists – Get all your handmade holiday shopping done in one place! The marketplace will include a wide variety of handmade goods including ceramics, woodworking, brooms, art prints, and textiles. Featured local artists:
Dust to Dust Studio
Midnight Lighted Studio
Kelly Sullivan
Lynn Straka
Laura BeVille
Celeste Rudd

Arrowmont’s 2024-2025 Artists-in-Residence will also be showcasing work for sale:
Lela Arruza
Sam van Strien
Grant turner
Johnny McCaffrey
Breanna Ferriera

You may come for the shopping, but plan to stay for the hot cocoa and sweet treats being served. Plus, staff will be on hand to share all the amazing programming Arrowmont has planned for 2025. We’ll also be hosting a very special Hurricane Relief Art Raffle. Tickets will be on sale during the event, with 10-15 works of art up for grabs! All proceeds will go towards helping artists in East TN and Western NC, impacted by Hurricane Helene. Looking to make a day of it? Bring the whole family and sign-up for a Short Workshop ahead of the open house. Workshops run from 9AM-12PM and include a FREE lunch. Find Your Workshop. https://arrowmont.org/2024-holiday-marketplace-open-house/

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org

The Rocky Hill Business District is proud to announce the 10th Annual Christmas Parade and Festival!

The festival will begin at 3:30pm with a Christmas-themed market in the Rocky Hill Center parking lot (7513 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919). Local food trucks will be present offering warm drinks, snacks, and treats! Live music and interactive storytelling from the festival stage!
After the parade, there will be a tree lighting by none other than Santa Claus himself!
We are thrilled about continuing this holiday tradition in our community and encourage everyone to join in on the festivities! Check back here as the festival gets closer and follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates.

https://rockyhillchristmasparade.org/

First Friday Reception: December 6th, 5:30 - 9 pm
December Featured Artists

Claire Bodnaruk, Glass
A Native Tennessean, Claire Bodnaruk has lived in Australia, Florida, Minnesota and Chicago, before returning to her home state of Tennessee in 2019. Following a career in advertising, film & video production, she explored different creative outlets while raising her two daughters. Claire has been working in glass for over 20 years. Her journey in glass began with becoming proficient in metal fabrication, incorporating colorful glass into unique jewelry. During travels to London, France and Italy, she was inspired by the beautiful Venetian and stained glass art that led to exploring glass on a larger scale. Learning from recognized glass artists across the United States in glass blowing to glass fusing, Claire’s current focus is in kiln formed glass, the manipulation of shaping glass in a kiln with heat and gravity. The process to produce one piece may involve several firings with many hours in the cycle, multiple techniques and manipulations, and cold working for a quality finish. Her work is both functional and nonfunctional glass art.

Allen Monsarrat, Painting
Allen’s art education began with three years training in architecture, but finished with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a concentration in pottery at the Memphis College of Art. His first art career was as a studio potter in Friendsville, Tn for 25 years. That was followed by careers in decorative wall finishes, faux painting, cabinetry finishing and the occasional mural project. It was studying “trompe l’oiel” (fool the eye) imagery with French master craftsman Michel Nadai that nurtured his interest in creating representational art. “Creating a painting is always an exciting journey. I am never certain whether a painting will be as successful as I have envisioned it in my mind. I am more than a decade into developing my representational painting skills. I have honed my methodology into a procedure of how I develop a painting by breaking it into manageable steps. First choosing a subject with personal meaning based on my travels or a subject close to home here in East Tennessee. But the image must be a strong composition and contain a range of tonal values from darks to lights. This is worked out by doing an under painting by using only one color to establish a range of values. At this point I can concentrate on colors and brush application. Brush application refers to how apparent or not are the actual brush strokes. Slowly edging away from my original tendency toward photorealism, some of my new work has a more painterly feel to it. Yet, like a photograph, it retains a great deal of detail.
I have always been a student of art. The continuing passion I have for art is that I will never stop learning.”

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

Friday, December 6 from 6-8 Awaken Coffee will host an opening reception for Hannah Doss and Laura Woodson.

Hannah’s latest body of work reflects a renewed journey of learning and discovery, inspired by a fascination with resin techniques she encountered in a recent class. Hannah’s art predominantly explores wildlife, nature, and portraiture, inviting viewers to pause and savor the intricate beauty of life's small details.

In Laura’s recent work she has navigated her bold use of color with fine line drawings. She uses coffee filters as the foundation of her work and experiments with how color is affected by water. This process creates a watercolor effect that never creates the same pattern twice. Once she has created her vivid backgrounds, she creates fine line drawings of flowers to re-envision the nature we see in real life. She works to evoke joy in each new piece she produces.

Please join us for some amazing art and of course great coffee!

Awaken Coffee, 125 W Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Open daily. Information: 865-951-0427, www.instagram.com/awaken_coffee or www.facebook.com/awakencoffeeoldcity/

RED Gallery is proud to announce the opening of if only in my dreams … by Melissa N. Everett

A collection of quilts, sculptural pieces, soft mixed with rigid, color used to nurture and encourage you to "be a wildflower”.

"As a mother, I wish I could provide solace and refuge for you all. Instead, we must connect to our inner children and play in our communities. Let’s escape to our dreams—find comfort in our imaginations. As a female artist, woman, and caregiver in a society that undervalues my contributions, this is my expression of hope. These artworks are pieces of pretend worlds I create to escape, to connect to my younger self. When the roles of domesticity seem to dominate my daily life, I visit these worlds to remind myself of all my layers.”

The show will open on First Friday, December 6, 5 - 9pm and will run through the month of December.
RED Gallery, 131 W Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
robin@robineaster.com
IG: @redgallery.knox

Performed Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM; Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM; and Sundays at 3 PM and 6 PM.

In this hilarious Christmas classic, a couple struggling to put on a church Christmas pageant is faced with casting the Herdman kids: probably the most inventively awful kids in history! You won’t believe the mayhem – and the fun – when the Herdman’s collide with the Christmas story head on!

The play is performed by twenty-four talented young actors ages 8 to 16. The cast includes KCT veterans Vivienne Bullard as Imogene Herdman, Mason Cox as Leroy Herdman, Julian Daniel as Ollie Herdman, Desmond Gondo as Claude Herdman and Harper Monday as Gladys Herdman. Mother and Father will be played by Leeland Robbins and Quinton Stiffler respectively, while Luna Chavez will be playing Beth Bradley and Owen Bellamy will be playing Charlie Bradley. Joining them will be Connor Watters as Elmer and Rev. Hopkins, Lydia Komeshak as Mrs. Armstrong, and Chloe Beeler as Mrs. McCarthy. Also featured are KCT veterans Camila Herrera, Hogan Honeycutt, Saha Lau, Caroline Simmons, Sophia Stiffler, and Auden Tatler. Making their KCT debuts in this production are Luke Bounds, Laila Brown, Amelia Carroll, Lola Longmire, Julia Luehrs, and Camden Powell.

The show is directed by guest director Ashlee Latimer and designed by eleven student designers ages 10 to 16. 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

Bring the family and join us for an underground Christmas wonderland at Historic Cherokee Caverns! Enjoy themed scenes, photo ops, thousands of twinkling lights, festive music and lots of family fun along the stalagmites and stalactites! Get your photo with Santa or The Mean One! Shop the vendor booths for locally made gift items and sweet treats! Enjoy a craft for the kids or a kiddie ride! Grab dinner at The Grotto or enjoy a cup of hot cocoa by the campfire! Shop the vendor booths for locally made gifts and yummy treats. The cave path is stroller and wheelchair friendly, and the cave is a comfortable 58 degrees year-round.

Hours of operation:
Friday, December 6th - 5pm-8pm
Saturday, December 7th - 3pm-8pm
Sunday, December 8th - 3pm-8pm

Friday, December 13th – 5pm-8pm
Saturday, December 14th – 3pm-8pm
Sunday, December 15th – 3pm-8pm

Friday, December 20th – 5pm-8pm
Saturday, December 21st – 3pm-8pm
Sunday, December 22nd– 3pm-8pm

Admission is $15 per person for ages 4 & up. Children 3 & under are admitted free. Photos with Santa or The Mean One are sold separately. Purchase tickets in advance online or at the ticket booth. Cash and credit cards accepted. Parking is free. Historic Cherokee Caverns is located at 8524 Oak Ridge Highway in the Karns community.
https://www.historiccherokeecaverns.com/

The Arts & Culture Alliance proudly presents its 2024 Members Show, the largest annual exhibition of local artists in the Greater Knoxville area. The fresh mix of two- and three-dimensional works created within the last two years encompasses a wide variety of media such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, mixed media, photography, fine craft, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, and more from regional artists who are all individual members of the Arts & Culture Alliance, which serves and supports a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions. Membership is open to all, and information may be found at www.knoxalliance.com/join-renew.

A free celebration with the artists will take place on Friday, December 6, from 5:00-9:00 PM. The 51st Annual WIVK Christmas Parade starts at 7:00 PM along Gay Street and passes in front of the Emporium.

"What a wonderful collection of thought-inducing work from some of the Arts & Culture Alliance's thousands of members," says Liza Zenni, Executive Director of the Arts & Culture Alliance. "As Greater Knoxville's only Local Arts Agency and United Fund, we couldn't be prouder to support and serve this dynamic community of artists."

Individual members of the Alliance participate locally and regionally in gallery exhibitions, art festivals, sculpture trails, weekend shows, studio tours, and public murals. Some Alliance members are full-time artists, while others have day jobs and create on evenings and weekends. Some members include art professors with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Carson-Newman University, Maryville College, Pellissippi State, Roane State, and Walters State. Others are teachers within Knox and surrounding counties’ elementary, middle and high schools. Some Alliance members teach classes privately or through community classes with the Appalachian Arts Craft Center, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Fountain City Art Center, Knoxville Arts & Fine Crafts Center, Knoxville Museum of Art, Mighty Mud, and Oak Ridge Art Center. Many of the artists have working studios in their own homes, while some are part of studio collectives such as Broadway Studios & Gallery, The Emporium, Mighty Mud, Relay Ridge, Sunday Studios, and West Fifth Studios.

The 2024 Members Show will be on display throughout the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville from December 6-21, 2024. Most of the works will be for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition by visiting in person or via the online shop at www.knoxalliance.store. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed December 22-29 for the holidays. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.