Calendar of Events

Chamber Classics Series
Sunday, January 26, 2025, at 2:30 p.m.
Bijou Theatre

KSO’s principal second violinist, Edward Pulgar, takes the podium in January to present a refreshing afternoon concert as he conducts and performs Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto.

Edward Pulgar, violin/conductor

FIRST HALF: chamber music selections by KSO musicians
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Violin Concerto No. 3

Knoxville Symphony Orchestra: 865-291-3310, www.knoxvillesymphony.com

Japanese New Year Celebration! $5/person, 6+ under free
Join us to celebrate! from 1:30-3:30 PM at East TN History Center, 601 S. Gay St
Activities:

1. Nashville Taiko Performance
Taiko (太鼓) refers to Japanese drums, with "wadaiko" (和太鼓) specifically highlighting traditional Japanese drums. Outside Japan, taiko is often associated with kumi-daiko (組太鼓), ensemble drumming. The process of crafting taiko drums is intricate, with preparation sometimes taking years. The performance will take place on the Market Square stage at 1:30 PM, offering an exciting and cultural rhythmic experience.

2. Japanese Harp, Shamisen, and Traditional Dance
Attendees will enjoy traditional Japanese songs and dances that celebrate the spirit of the New Year.

3. Kids’ Japanese Song Workshop
Children can learn and sing Japanese New Year songs in Japanese, adding an interactive and educational element to the event.

4. Mochi Tsuki (Rice Ball Pounding)
Mochi tsuki is a cherished New Year tradition in Japanese culture. It involves soaking and steaming special mochi rice, then pounding it into a paste with an usu (bowl) and kine (mallet). The event will showcase how mochi is made and its cultural significance, including ozoni (mochi soup) and kagami mochi (decorative rice cakes). Guests can also taste three kinds of mochi.

5. Taiko Drumming Trial
Attendees will have the opportunity to try taiko drumming themselves in a hands-on session.

6. Sake Tasting
Adults can enjoy a sake tasting experience, sampling a variety of sake to explore this integral part of Japanese culture. This activity is for ages 21 and older, and IDs will be checked at the event.

Tickets can be purchased online, and space is limited to 250 people. https://www.knoxasianfestival.com/japanese-happy-new-year-event-2025/

On January 26, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, the Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association will return to Ijams Nature Center for a special event, "Winter Tales." This event will showcase a variety of storytelling styles, with members sharing their personal favorite stories to warm the heart. The stories will span a range of genres, including traditional Appalachian tales, classical stories from foreign lands, contemporary fiction, and personal narratives, making it a diverse and exciting experience for all.

The doors will open at 1:30 PM, and the storytelling will begin promptly at 2:00 PM. Tickets for this event are $10 for adults and $5 for children aged 5-12. The event is suitable for all ages, so bring the whole family along to enjoy the magic of storytelling.
The event will take place in the large events room at the Ijams Visitor Center. Please note that dogs are not allowed at this event.
Come enjoy a cozy and captivating afternoon of stories with the Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association at Ijams Nature Center!

https://www.ijams.org/event-details/special-event-winter-tales-with-the-smoky-mountain-storytellers-2025

The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, announces a new exhibition, “Homelands: Connecting to Mounds Through Native Art,” opening to the public on January 25, 2025. The project sets a new standard for collaborative exhibition practices at the McClung and represents the museum's most significant renovation in more than 20 years.

"‘Homelands’ is a defining moment for the McClung Museum. It’s the largest project we’ve undertaken in over two decades, but its impact goes far beyond its scale,” said Claudio Gómez, Jefferson Chapman Executive Director of the museum. “This exhibition has challenged us to rethink how we collaborate, bringing in new perspectives and allowing us to honor Native voices in ways that are both respectful and forward-thinking.”

“Homelands” showcases contemporary art by 17 Native artists to emphasize the enduring ties between Native Nations and Knox County. As a result of the exhibition, the museum has acquired 22 new works for its permanent collection.

https://news.utk.edu/2025/01/07/mcclung-museum-to-open-exhibition-centering-native-voices-and-contemporary-art/

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Tu-Sa 9-5, Sun 12-4. Information: 865-974-2144, https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/

1/24 • Family Owl Prowl
1/25 • Becoming a Survivalist: Beginner Outdoor Skills
1/25 • Nonprofits 101: Behind the Scenes at Ijams
1/25 • CREATIVE SERIES: Herbal Infusions Workshop
1/25 • Family Owl Prowl
1/26 • Reset, Renew, Rejuvenate Workshop
1/26 • Winter Tales with the Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association
1/31 • Nature Nerd Trivia
2/2 • SoundBath Meditation
2/2 • Reset, Renew, Rejuvenate Workshop

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 | Thursday, January 23, 5-7pm with awards at 6pm
Begun in 1947 by C. Kermit Ewing, founder of The University of Tennessee School of Art, the annual student exhibition has become one of the oldest competitions in the country and one of the highlights of the Ewing Gallery’s exhibition season. This competition has been an outlet for UT’s talented students for 78 years.
This year’s exhibition was juried by William Downs.

https://ewing-gallery.utk.edu/78th-annual-student-art-competition/

Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: M-F 10-5, Sun 1-4. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

Artwork created over twenty years at The State Botanical Garden of Tennessee in Knoxville
January 20 - March 2, 2025 • Tomato Head @ 12 Market Square
Greet the Artist: Tuesday, January 28, 2025 from 4:30-5:30pm

Tomato Head Market Square hours are: M-R 11am-9pm; F 11am-10pm, Sat 10:30-10pm, Sun 10:30am-9pm

Artist Statement: Since co-founding COMMA Art Group in 2004, I have been going weekly each summer for "plein air" art creation at the University of Tennessee Gardens. Our group has had art shows over the years at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, the Phoenix Building, Fountain City Art Center and Ijams Nature Center, as well as exhibiting individually. We celebrated our 20th anniversary this past summer. This retrospective is a sample of work created over the years. Typically, each year I would choose a theme for that summer’s work, which might include media, techniques and subject matter. UT Gardens offers a wide variety of subjects and has changed over the years, so it’s always an adventure to see what each summer offers.

Bio: Cheri Jorgenson has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alabama and a Masters of Science in Art Education from the University of Tennessee. She originally was a graphic designer, working for the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, Tennessee Valley Authority, and in her own design firm, among others. She was an art educator for Knox County Schools for 20 years, and retired from the L&N STEM Academy in 2020. She was the 2012 Tennessee Art Educator of the Year, the 2020 Tennessee National Art Honor Society Sponsor of the Year, and was the 2021 National Sponsor. In 2004, she co-founded COMMA, a plein air group that meets weekly at UT Gardens, with shows in The Phoenix Building, Fountain City Art Center, Ijams Nature Center and TVUUC Gallery. She also shows her work in local competitions and shows. Ms. Jorgenson lives in South Knoxville with her husband in a very old farmhouse surrounded by natural habitat captured in another series.

Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) in Knoxville. https://thetomatohead.com/

James Henry Trotter lives with his cruel aunts Spiker and Sponge until one day the barren, old peach tree in their yard produces a single peach that grows to nearly the size of a house. When James takes a closer look at the enormous fruit, he discovers a tunnel that leads him to the peach pit where he meets a rag-tag band of human-sized, talking invertebrates: an old green grasshopper, a centipede, an earthworm, a spider, a ladybird, a glowworm, and a silkworm. These bugs become James’ companions on an adventure that will take them over land and sea! And as they travel James learns important lessons about courage, friendship. and seagulls.

https://knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com/tc-events/james-and-the-giant-peach/

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

1/17 @ 6 pm - Family Owl Prowl
1/18 @ 2 pm - Tracks and Scat! Animal Activity in Winter
1/18 @ 3 pm - Reading the Landscape: Geology
1/19 @ 1 pm - Reset, Renew, Rejuvenate Workshop
1/19 @ 2 pm - Monthly Bluegrass Jam
1/24 • Family Owl Prowl
1/25 • CREATIVE SERIES: Herbal Infusions Workshop
1/25 • Family Owl Prowl
1/26 • Self-Care Sunday Yoga
1/26 • Winter Tales with the Smoky Mountain Storytellers Association

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

Spring Semester
Sundays

Beginner Ballet 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Open Level Ballet 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Open Level Modern 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM

Classes are held at the Tennessee Conservatory of Fine Arts, 2906 Tazewell Pike, #A, Knoxville, TN 37918.
https://www.circlemoderndance.com/

By Brian Friel
Directed by Barry Wallace

This extraordinary play is the story of five unmarried sisters eking out their lives in a small village in Ireland in 1936. We meet them at the time of the festival of Lughnasa, which celebrates the pagan god of the harvest with drunken revelry and dancing. Their spare existence is interrupted by brief, colorful bursts of music from the radio, their only link to the romance and hope of the world at large. The action of the play is told through the memory of the illegitimate son of one of the sisters as he remembers the five women who raised him: his mother and four maiden aunts. He is only seven in 1936, the year his elderly uncle, a priest, returns after serving for twenty-five years as a missionary in a Ugandan leper colony. For the young boy, two other disturbances occur that summer. The sisters acquire their first radio, whose music transforms them from correct Catholic women to shrieking, stomping banshees in their own kitchen. And he meets his father for the first time, a charming Welsh drifter who strolls up the lane and sweeps his mother away in an elegant dance across the fields. From these small events spring the cracks that destroy the foundation of the family forever. Widely regarded as Brian Friel’s masterpiece, this haunting play is Friel’s tribute to the spirit and valor of the past.

Performances are Thu-Sat 7:30 PM and Sun 3 PM

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 800 S. Central Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

Patsy White's exhibit celebrates Knoxville’s vibrant arts scene through her stunning acrylic-on-canvas portraits and figurative works. The subjects of her paintings include a remarkable lineup of Knoxville’s prominent artists, musicians, and cultural figures, each carefully rendered to honor their contributions to the community.
This exclusive reception offers media attendees the unique opportunity to preview the exhibit and engage directly with Patsy White to explore the inspirations and stories behind her artwork.

The exhibit includes portraits of the following notable Knoxville figures:
• Kelsey Bentley – French horn, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (@kelshbentley)
• Suzanne Cada & Liza Zenni – Arts and Culture Alliance (@artsandculturealliance)
• Chih-Long Hu – Master pianist, University of Tennessee
• Evelyn Jack – Vocalist (@evelynjack681)
• Cynthia Markert – Visual artist/painter (@cynthiamarkert)
• Brian K. McQuain – Photographer (@briankmcquain)
• Nick Moran – Tattoo artist (@nickjmoran)
• Dana Plasencia Nies – Filmmaker (@dplasencia @think_draft)
• Charlie Pogue – Visual artist/painter
• Aaron White – Stylist, fashion director, runway producer (@theaaronwhiteproject)

Patsy Ferrell White is a self-taught fine art painter based in Knoxville, TN. Her unique process—freehand without digital aids or tracing—imbues her works with authenticity and emotion. Each painting reflects her passion for portraiture and her commitment to exploring personal and social themes. Patsy’s work has earned recognition in regional and international shows, including being a finalist in the Art Elevated competition in Manhattan, NYC. Her art has been featured in Artist Closeup, an international art magazine. Learn more about Patsy Ferrell White at ferrellwhitecreative.com or follow her on Instagram at @ferrellwhitecreative.

This exhibit will be available for viewing by Bijou Theatre patrons during its run.

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