Calendar of Events
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Gallery 1010: Cross Currents curated by Kai Mote
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Gallery 1010, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 114, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Reception Fri 5-9 PM, Sat 10 AM – 1 PM, or by appointment. Information: https://gallery1010.utk.edu/
Gallery 1010 is a contemporary art exhibition space located at 100 S. Gay Street in Suite 114 of the Emporium Center of downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. As one of three University of Tennessee School of Art galleries, Gallery 1010 is the only fully student-run, non-profit, off-campus exhibition space in the state of Tennessee. The mission of Gallery 1010 is to provide space for the School of Art students of the University of Tennessee to experiment and develop new ideas while gaining educational gallery experience in professional standards and practices.
UT Gardens Knoxville: Spring Plant Sale
Category: Free event and Science, nature
UT Gardens Knoxville is thrilled to celebrate the arrival of spring with a Spectacular Spring Plant Sale filled with beautiful, functional plants for gardeners to enhance their green spaces. Visit the garden, located at 2518 Jacob Drive, on Saturday, April 5, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. to shop from an expertly curated selection of perennial flowers, houseplants, ornamental trees and shrubs of all shapes and sizes. From the nectar filled blossoms of native perennial flowers to the bold tropical foliage of fashionable house plants, this sale truly has something for everyone.
As always, customers are invited to bring their garden questions for helpful advice from UT Gardens’ staff and Tennessee Master Gardeners who will be available throughout the event.
A preview sale will be held on Friday, April 4 from 4-7pm. UT Gardens’ members, active UT Gardens’ volunteers, and UT employees are welcome to attend. Non-members who wish to attend will be able to purchase membership onsite during the sale. Garden members also receive a 10% discount on their plant purchases (at either the preview sale on Friday or the public sale on Saturday). All proceeds benefit UT Gardens, Knoxville.
An inventory list of plants that will be available at the sale will be posted here as the sale draws closer. List is subject to change and will be added to as sale draws closer. If printing list, note that it is sized for legal paper.
https://utgardens.tennessee.edu/locations/knoxville/special-events-knoxville/spring-fall-plant-sales/
UT Gardens, 2518 Jacob Dr, Knoxville, TN 37996
Marble City Opera: The Human Voice
Marble City Opera will present an immersive, site-specific production of The Human Voice on April 3, 4, and 5, 2025 at Historic Westwood, 3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville.
The Human Voice was composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. It is a one-act monodrama based on a play by Jean Cocteau. Marble City Opera’s production will be sung in English. The only character is a woman on the phone with her former lover who abandoned her for another woman.
Historic Westwood is a Queen Anne style home completed in 1890. It was the residence and studio of artist Adelia Armstrong Lutz and her husband John. Westwood has served as the headquarters for Knox Heritage since 2013.
Soprano Kathryn Frady will sing the part of Elle, accompanied by Brandon Coffer on piano. Marya Barry will be the stage director for the production.
Marble City Opera: 865-226-9756, www.marblecityopera.com
Tennessee Mountain Writers: 36th Annual Conference
Category: Classes, workshops and Literature, spoken word, writing
TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN WRITERS PRESENTS THE 36TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE,
April 3-5, 2025, at the Double Tree Hotel, Oak Ridge, TN
The conference will include Workshops, Networking, Publishers, Book Signings, Bookstore, Vendors and Manuscript Evaluations!
Deadline for MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION ENTRIES is MARCH 1, 2025.
Workshop Leaders include JANISSE RAY - Banquet Speaker and Nonfiction; CHARLES DODD WHITE - Fiction and General Session; CAMERON L. MITCHELL - Poetry; KRISTIN O’DONNELL TUBB - Young People’s Literature.
Specialty Sessions include JENNIE IVEY – Inspirational Writing; KELLE JOLLY – Writing a Blues Song; TERRY SHAW, JENNIE IVEY, KRISTIN O’DONNELL TUBB – Fitting a Writing Practice Into Your Busy Life; KEITH STEWART – Humor Writing; LARRY D. THACKER – Writing Short Stories.
Early Conference Registration Rate ends March 21, 2025.
For complete information on all of this and to register, go to our website, tmwi.org
TennGreen Land Conservancy: Hike-a-Thon
Category: Festivals, special events, Free event, Health, wellness and Science, nature
It's fun, free, and easy! The Hike-a-Thon is free to register and you can participate from anywhere in the world. This month-long competition in April supports the protection of our lands and waters—where people and nature can thrive. https://campaigns.tenngreen.org/event/hike-a-thon2025/
TennGreen Land Conservancy empowers landowners and communities to protect large, connected natural areas that support diversity of life, inspire appreciation of nature, and spark action to protect the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the land that sustains us all. To learn more, visit tenngreen.org.
Dogwood Arts: Open Trails
Category: Festivals, special events, Free event and Science, nature
2025 Featured Dogwood Trails: Holston Hills & Morningside. The Dogwood Trails are open annually from April 1-30th, just in time to showcase the beauty of spring in East Tennessee! Knoxville’s iconic Dogwood Trails date back to 1955 and today cover more than 90 miles in 13 neighborhoods throughout the city. Take a drive, a walk, or a bike ride and enjoy the scenic natural beauty of our region.
No RSVP required. Please email vbaumgartner@dogwoodarts.com or call (865) 637-4561 with questions or concerns.
Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com
O’Connor Senior Center Artist Trading Card Exhibit
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
The O’Connor Senior Center Artist Trading Card group will be exhibiting recent artwork by its members and other artists at the Fountain City Branch Library from Tuesday, April 1st through Wednesday, April 30th during regular library hours.
Artist Trading Cards are small works of art (2 1/2” X 3 1/2”) of any medium. ATCs began in Switzerland in the 90’s by artist Vanci Stirnman and have become a popular genre of art. ATC groups meet around the world online and in person. The goal is to have fun, create something and connect with others by trading and sharing cards. The O’Connor group meets on the fourth Monday of the month from 1:00 - 2:00 pm. The small exhibit of ATCs can be seen at the Fountain City Branch Library, 5300 Stanton Rd, Knoxville, TN 37918.
Tim Wiegenstein, Creative Aging Teaching Artist, provides instruction, materials, prompts and creative ideas at the O’Connor Center. No age requirements apply for this program; ATCs are for any age, and intergenerational events are encouraged.
The O’Connor Center is located at 611 Winona Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. For more information, call 865) 523-1135, or email info@oconnorcenter.org
East Tennessee History Center: Home Runs & Home Teams
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and History, heritage
Home Runs & Home Teams - A History of the National Pastime in Tennessee
Rogers-Claussen Feature Gallery
As Tennesseeans, baseball is in our DNA, and although the game is common to us, it has never remained the same during anyone’s lifetime. Who were among the first to play baseball in Tennessee? How did 31 Tennessee towns come to host a MiLB team? What makes a day at a Tennessee ballpark an iconic experience? Home Runs & Home Teams provides an overview of the national pastime as it has played out in the Volunteer State. For every story included in the exhibition, there are hundreds more–from players to pennants, from bat makers to bat boys–that could have been shared. So as you “round the bases,” think about your connections to the game, your ties to the past. What does baseball mean to you and to your community? What baseball stories should libraries and museums preserve to share with future Tennesseans? Let’s play ball!
601 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902
https://www.easttnhistory.org/exhibitions/home-runs-home-teams/
Clarence Brown Theatre: Failure: A Love Story
BY PHILIP DAWKINS
LAB THEATRE
A magical fable with music. This exciting new play tells the story of the Fail family and their seemingly difficult challenge to just stay alive around blunt objects, disappearances and the odd case of consumption. Sometimes you just never see death coming. In this upbeat, tuneful, magical fable you can either worry about the ever-impending death or you can live, love, and sing some songs along the way.
Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information/tickets: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com
Dogwood Arts: 7 Decades in Bloom: Celebrating the Legacy of Dogwood Arts
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event and History, heritage
First Friday, 5-8 PM on March 7
Seven Decades in Bloom reflects on the 70-year journey of Dogwood Arts, with an immersive retrospective honoring our rich history, evolution, and impact on the region.
123 W. Jackson Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
Regular Gallery Hours: M-F | 10AM-5PM
UT Downtown Gallery: Roberto Carlos Lange & Kristi Sword: Kite Symphony
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event and Music
KITE SYMPHONY: a multidisciplinary exhibition by Roberto Carlos Lange + Kristi Sword
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE BIG EARS FESTIVAL | FIRST FRIDAYS: MARCH 7 + APRIL 4 | 5-9PM
EXTENDED BIG EARS HOURS: MARCH 27, 28, 29 | 12-9PM and MARCH 30 | 12-6PM and SPECIAL PERFORMANCES | STAR SCORES
Each day of the festival, a unique ensemble – featuring Lange, Rob Frye, and a cast of special friends and guests – will perform four experimental compositions alongside and impressionistic film exploring the forces shaping the West Texas landscape and Appalachian skies.
Thursday | March 27, 7:30PM | Performers: Rob Frye, Roberto Carlos Lange, and Darian Donovan Thomas
Friday | March 28, 1PM | Performers: Roberto Carlos Lange
Saturday | March 29, 1PM | Performers: Rob Frye and Roberto Carlos Lange
Sunday | March 30, 1PM | Performers: Rob Frye, Roberto Carlos Lange, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Kalia Vandever
Kite Symphony is a multidisciplinary exhibition by Roberto Carlos Lange and Kristi Sword. The project features a series of drawings called Radio Telescope. Two films, one experimental piece called Star Scores, will be scored live during the Big Ears festival, and a film documenting sculptural interventions during their time in Marfa, Texas. Sound is the throughline between these diverse elements of this long-term project. Lange is a musician (widely known as Helado Negro), Sword is a visual artist, and Kite Symphony is an extension of their collaborative practice where they create work at the intersection of music, performance, and visual art. Parts of the film were originally commissioned by Ballroom Marfa and organized by Sarah Melendez.
“Lange, better known as Helado Negro, teams with the visual artist Kristi Sword for a sprawling and inspired project paying tribute to the Marfa, Texas sky.” – Pitchfork
UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sa 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, https://downtown.utk.edu
Digital Motif: Violins of Hope: Strings of the Holocaust
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event, History, heritage and Music
Presented by The Standford Eisenberg Knoxville Jewish Day School
Violins of Hope is a collection of over 50 violins that survived the Holocaust, played by Jewish musicians in ghettos, concentration camps, and even as symbols of resistance. Each violin, lovingly restored by Israeli master violin maker Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom, carries a powerful story of resilience and survival. These instruments bear witness to the indomitable spirit of their owners, whose music defied the darkness of one of history’s most tragic periods. The Violins of Hope project will feature performances, exhibitions, and educational programs that celebrate the enduring power of music and the human spirit. Through these events, communities will come together to reflect on the past and inspire a future rooted in hope, acceptance, and unity. Join us as we honor these extraordinary instruments and the stories they tell.
*A Big Ears 2025 Exhibition (one of four very special exhibitions of visual art on display during the festival weekend (Mar 27-30) and during the month leading up to it. Extended hours TBA.
Digital Motif, 108 S Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. (865) 214-6367 or https://digitalmotif.com/