Calendar of Events

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Friends of the Library: Halls Branch Used Book Sale

  • May 31, 2025

Category: Festivals, special events, Free event, Kids, family and Literature, spoken word, writing

May 31: Halls Branch Used Book Sale, 10:00-5:00

https://www.knoxfriends.org/book-sales/

Town of Farragut: Chalk the Plaza

  • May 31, 2025

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Festivals, special events, Fine Crafts, Free event and Kids, family

1-6pm at the Mayor Ralph McGill Plaza in Farragut. The event will showcase a competition of up to 21 amateur artists (individuals and groups) creating chalk art canvases, and we will also have a kids’ zone, yard games, food trucks, and a mini art market that features vendors selling paintings, pottery, stained glass, handmade jewelry, embroidery/apparel/textiles, and other art-based goods.

https://visitfarragut.org/event/chalk-the-plaza/

TOWN OF FARRAGUT | 239 Jamestowne Blvd., Farragut, TN 37934
visitfarragut.org | Office: 865.218.3376

Blount Mansion: Statehood Day Celebration

Category: Free event, History, heritage and Kids, family

Statehood Day Celebration! Open House - Tennessee will be 229 years old!

Blount Mansion, 200 W. Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-2375, www.blountmansion.org

Oak Ridge Reservation: Aquatic and Terrestrial Insects and Other Creepy Crawlies

  • May 31, 2025

Category: Free event, Health, wellness, Kids, family and Science, nature

On the Oak Ridge Reservation, located in east Tennessee, over 1100 vascular plants, 72 fish, 34 mammals and over 200 bird species have been observed. The public is invited to nature walks designed to highlight not only the rich flora and fauna diversity of the reservation, but also to demonstrate the work being done to sustainably manage and conserve this resource. Walks will take place on several locations across the Oak Ridge Reservation beginning in late winter through late summer. Reservations must be made in advance by noon the Thursday prior to each walk by contacting Nick Oldham 865-341-3670 (oldhamnv@ornl.gov). More information about these walks is available by contacting Trent Jett at 865-574-9188 (jettrt@ornl.gov).

Date: Saturday, May 31
Location: Oak Ridge Reservation- TBD
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Leader: Nikki Jones and Nick Oldham (ORNL)
Limit: 20 (children are allowed)
Recommendations: We will visit areas of the Oak Ridge Reservation where we will learn about local insects in a variety of habitats, including streams. Techniques for collection of insects will be demonstrated, and participants will have an opportunity to try it out themselves. Dress in layers, wear sturdy shoes, and bring bug spray and water. Be mindful of stinging and biting insects. Wear older shoes or rubber boots if you would like to get in the creek and help! No pets please.

Marble Springs State Historic Site: Statehood Day Festival

Category: Culinary arts, food, Festivals, special events, Free event, History, heritage, Kids, family and Meetup

This free public event celebrates Tennessee’s admission to the Union with a day of family-friendly heritage experiences, historic demonstrations, and Appalachian flavor. Held at the historic home of Tennessee’s first governor, John Sevier, the festival features a variety of hands-on activities and programs for all ages. This year’s highlights will include a Cornbread Cook-Off, Rising Appalachia’s cornbread tasting station and food offerings, craft demonstrations, living history interpreters, and special activities presented by rangers from Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The event will be held at Marble Springs State Historic Site, 1220 W. Governor John Sevier Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37920. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.marblesprings.net or call (865) 573-5508 during operating hours.

Broadway at the Tennessee Theatre: Back to the Future: The Musical

Category: Dance, movement, Music and Theatre

Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information/tickets: 865-684-1200, www.tennesseetheatre.com

Knoxville Museum of Art: Electricity for All

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event and Kids, family

Electricity for All examines the complex relationship between technology, information, and power through the historical framework of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a key New Deal initiative from the 1930s that introduced electricity to the Tennessee River Valley. The featured artists provide diverse perspectives on the social implications of technological advances, questioning the histories that were lost and the new narratives that emerged. Organized by the KMA.

For additional information and updates, follow the Knoxville Museum of Art on social media:
Facebook: Knoxville Museum of Art, Instagram: @knoxvillemuseumofart, X: @knoxart

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. Admission and parking are free.

Nourish Knoxville: Market Square Farmers Market

  • May 3, 2025 — November 22, 2025

Category: Culinary arts, food, Exhibitions, visual art, Festivals, special events, Fine Crafts, Free event, Health, wellness, Kids, family and Meetup

The Market Square Farmers Market is an open-air, producer-only farmers market managed by Nourish Knoxville and held every Wednesday and Saturday, May through mid-November in the heart of downtown Knoxville. Everything at the Market Square Farmers Market is grown, raised, and/or made by our vendors within a 150-mile radius of Knoxville, TN. Products vary by season and include fresh fruits & vegetables, eggs, honey, pasture-raised meats, edible & ornamental plants, cut flowers, bread & baked goods, jams & jellies, coffee, artisan crafts, and more! We offer SNAP & SNAP Doubling services each market day, Nourish Moves – a free walking incentive program – every Wednesday, and Nourish Kids – a free kids activity – on the 2nd Saturday of each month.

Every Wednesday, May 7 – November 19, 2025, 10 AM – 1 PM
Every Saturday, May 3 – November 22, 2025, 9 AM – 1 PM
*** NO MARKET on Saturday, November 29, 2025.

https://www.nourishknoxville.org/market-square-farmers-market

Art Market Gallery: Kimberly Collins

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

First Friday Reception: May 2nd, 5:30 - 9 pm
May Featured Artist

Kimberly Collins, Photography
Kimberly is a storyteller. Whether she’s weaving a tale of fiction or exploring the world through the camera lens, story is the ultimate goal. Kimberly’s photography covers many areas across the country, but her favorite subjects make their home in Appalachia
—wild horses in West Virginia, a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains, an ancient magnolia tree, or the delicate blooms on a dogwood. She hopes to share the magic and wonder of Appalachia through her photography. Kimberly is board member of the Art Market Gallery in Knoxville, Tennessee (2025). Kimberly is also a published author and her latest historical fiction series, Mingo Chronicles (Blood Creek and The Massacre), depicts the coal mine wars in West Virginia. Set in the early 1900s, this pivotal labor struggle includes one of the largest armed insurrections in the history of the United States. Kimberly is a writer, a photographer, a dreamer—creating worlds with the magic of words and images.

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

Tri-Star Arts: Featuring Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi & Meg White

  • April 4, 2025 — June 14, 2025

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

MAIN GALLERY
A solo show, Injury: Thirteen Studies, featuring recent work by artist Thenjiwe Niki Nkosi (Johannesburg, South Africa)

PROJECT SPACE
From Dark To Blue by Meg White (Milwaukee, WI)

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

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/

McClung Museum: X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event and Science, nature

The Smithsonian’s National Collection of Fishes X-rays represent more than 70 percent of the world’s fish specimens and is the largest and most diverse collection of its kind in the world. Although the X-rays featured in the national collection were made for research purposes, the strikingly elegant images demonstrate the natural union of science and art and are a visual retelling of the evolution of fish. X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out, an exhibition from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), showcases these dramatic prints exposing the inner workings of the fish.

The exhibition features 32 black-and-white digital prints of different species of fish. Arranged in evolutionary sequence, these X-rays give a tour through the long stream of fish evolution. The X-rays have allowed Smithsonian and other scientists to study the skeleton of a fish without altering the specimen, making it easier for scientists to build a comprehensive picture of fish diversity.

The exhibition also includes specimens from the collections of the McClung Museum, the Etnier Ichthyological Collection, and the Vertebrate Osteology Collection to highlight research happening with fish specimens at the University of Tennessee.

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/

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