ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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Food & Restaurants | Annual Festivals | Movies | History | Trivia
Peppermint treats – and prizes - come to Downtown Knoxville
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Experience a dazzling holiday getaway in Clarksville
CLARKSVILLE, TN – Need an extra dose of the holiday spirit? The Christmas glow you’ll find along Clarksville’s Riverwalk and downtown streets delivers a dazzling experience for all ages. From its Hallmark-worthy small-town charm to its beautiful scenery and array of activities, a getaway to Clarksville this holiday season is sure to create lifetime memories. |
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Christmas at Dolly Parton Stampede
It’s Christmas at Dolly Parton’s Stampede! During the holidays, the Stampede arena is magically transformed into a true fantasy land complete with twinkling lights, evergreens, poinsettias, old-fashioned holiday costumes, and familiar holiday music. |
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Knoxville glass artist inspires a violin concerto on PBS
Craft in America, the Peabody Award-winning series that explores America's creative spirit through the language and traditions of the handmade, announces a new episode. |
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Randy Travis and country riser Drew Parker release duet
NASHVILLE, TN - Country Music Hall of Fame member Randy Travis and rising country star Drew Parker teamed up to release a duet of the classic Christmas song “There’s A New Kid In Town” last week. |
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‘The Nutcracker’ brings magic to the Holidays for the 50th year
Get ready for visions of sugar plums, a mouse king and a sparkling snow scene, as The Appalachian Ballet Company proudly announces its 50th Anniversary of The Nutcracker. |
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Sevierville’s 59th annual Christmas Parade set for December 4
SEVIERVILLE, TN – The 59th Annual Sevierville Christmas Parade, sponsored by the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce, will wind through the streets of historic downtown on Saturday December 4, 2021. |
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UScellular surprises The Joy of Music School with holiday donation
KNOXVILLE – To celebrate the holiday season and the meaningful value of community, UScellular has made a donation toward equipment and gifts valued at $1,400 for the students of The Joy of Music School. |
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Alcatraz East Crime Museum announces winners of 3rd Annual Graffiti contest
PIGEON FORGE, TN – Alcatraz East Crime Museum has announced the winners of its 3rd Annual Graffiti Contest. The three winners will have their artwork put on display in the museum, shedding light on the controversial nature of graffiti, and how some cities are working with artists to provide an acceptable creative outlet. The winners received cash prizes and have their artwork on display in the museum. |
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Topgolf Knoxville set to open in 2022 as construction efforts tee off
KNOXVILLE - Topgolf Entertainment Group announced construction efforts for Topgolf Knoxville are underway as the company prepares to welcome the Knoxville-area communities in 2022 to its newest venue in Tennessee. |
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Sculpture exhibition aims to rewrite Appalachian narrative
KNOXVILLE – Brian Melton’s newest series, “Voices of Appalachia,” opened at the Dogwood Arts Gallery in downtown Knoxville. The exhibition offers a true glimpse into the heart of this region through the hands of someone whose Appalachian roots run deep |
• New Dolly Parton holiday comic book edition out this week
• Alcatraz East Crime Museum celebrates anniversary of the End of Prohibition
• Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville to receive $150,000 grant
• Pokeworks comes to Cedar Bluff
• Marble City Opera presents “A Season of American Opera”
• Storyville Gardens theme park coming to Middle Tennessee
Penny 4 Arts Events:
The following guidelines apply to every Penny4Arts event:
• Open to Knox and surrounding County residents (with a few exceptions).
• All children ages 5-15 must be accompanied by a paying adult (age 18 and older) in a ratio not to exceed three children per one adult.
• Proof of Knox and surrounding County residency may be required.
• At least one in a group of up to four students ages 16-18 must purchase a regular adult admission/ticket (if applicable) for the group to be able to participate in Penny4Arts
Blount Mansion: Free Admission & Tours
Tue-Fri 10 AM - 5 PM (last tour at 4 PM); Sat 10 AM - 2 PM (last tour at 1 PM)
200 W. Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902
Come join us at the top of each hour as we take you back into the founding of Knoxville and the state of Tennessee through a tour of the Governor’s house, office, and kitchen as well as the Hopkins Parker Garden. Walk-ins, call ahead, and reservations welcome. Please note, Blount Mansion is open in January & February by appointment only.
Contact: David Hearnes, 865-525-2375, info@blountmansion.org, www.blountmansion.org
East Tennessee Historical Society: Free Museum Admission
Mon-Fri 9 AM - 4 PM; Sat 10 AM - 4 PM; Sun 1-5 PM
601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902
Free admission to the Museum of East Tennessee History for one parent accompanying a participating child. Enjoy compelling stories, interesting artifacts, and colorful characters in the nationally recognized exhibition Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee, as well as regularly changing exhibits. Explore your own history and heritage in the premiere regional genealogy research library and the Knox County Archives. Browse the Museum Shop for gifts, books, and souvenirs. Please let the front desk associate at the East Tennessee History Center know that you are attending with the Penny4Arts deal to receive free museum admission.
Historic Ramsey House: Historic Home Tours
Wed-Sat 10 AM - 3 PM
2614 Thorn Grove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914
Ramsey House was built in 1797 by Knoxville’s first builder, Thomas Hope, for Francis Alexander Ramsey. The structure is significant for original interior and exterior architectural features and its period decorative art collection. The Ramsey Family was one of the first families to settle the Knoxville area. They played vital roles in developing civic, educational and cultural institutions.
Historic Ramsey House offers free tours to Knox, Jefferson and Sevier County students ages 17 and under with a student ID. All children ages 17 and under must be accompanied by a paying adult (age 18 and older) in a ratio not to exceed three children per one adult. We are open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 AM – 3 PM. Please check the “Events” tab on our website for the most up-to-date information on our House Tour times.
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES – Jefferson and Sevier
Historic Westwood: Free Tours
Tue-Thu 10 AM - 4 PM
3425 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
Bring the kids and let one of our wonderful docents tell the story of this special house.
Historic Westwood was built in 1890 as a “wedding promise” by John Edwin Lutz for his wife, Ann Adelia Armstrong Lutz, a prominent local artist and daughter of Robert Armstrong (Bleak House) and granddaughter of Drury Paine Armstrong (Crescent Bend). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, visitors enjoy free tours by trained volunteer docents and can experience grand Gilded Age architecture, a large collection of original art by Adelia Lutz, and beautiful gardens.
James White’s Fort: Tour the Fort
Mon-Fri 10 AM - 3 PM
205 East Hill Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915
Visit James White’s Fort to experience what life was like in East Tennessee more than 200 years ago! James White’s Fort is the home of James White who settled in Knoxville with a 1,000-acre land grant from the state of North Carolina. Includes White’s first home, furnished with original tools and artifacts from the period. Penny Performance students may enjoy a self-guided tour of the Fort for free with paid Adult admission. No groups.
Knoxville Museum of Art: Tours
Tue-Sat 10 AM - 5 PM; Sun 1-5 PM
1050 World's Fair Park, Knoxville, TN 37916
To schedule a tour please call the museum Monday through Friday at least three weeks in advance. Admission is FREE; one adult chaperone is required for every 15 students. The maximum number for each tour is 60, and larger groups will require two tour times. Last tour at 3:30 PM.
View the ongoing exhibitions: Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee; Currents: Recent Art from East Tennessee and Beyond, Cycle of Life glass and steel installation, Thorne Miniature Rooms, and Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass. Additional exhibitions include: Whistler & Company: The Etching Revival (Aug 23 – Nov 10), East TN Regional Student Art Exhibition (Nov 29 – Jan 12), Beauford Delaney and James Baldwin: Through the Unusual Door (Feb 7 – May 10), and Landfall Press 50th Anniversary Show (Jun 7 – Aug 2).
Advance reservations required? YES
Contact: DeLena Feliciano, 865-525-6101 ext. 227, dfeliciano@knoxart.org, www.knoxart.org
Mabry-Hazen House and Bethel Civil War Cemetery: Free Tours
Mon-Fri 11 AM - 5 PM; Sat 10 AM - 3 PM
Free tours are given of the Mabry-Hazen House (1711 Dandridge Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915) and Bethel Civil War Cemetery (1917 Bethel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37915).
These tours give an in-depth perspective into the lives of the families who occupied these homes and also detail the importance of these historical sites. Tours typically start at the top of each hour and are available Monday-Friday 11 AM – 5 PM, Saturday 10 AM – 3 PM, or by appointment.
Advance reservations required? Large groups only.
Open by appointment only in January & February. Contact: 865-522-8661, director@mabryhazen.com, www.mabryhazen.com
Marble Springs State Historic Site: Free Children’s Tours
Wednesdays, 2-4 PM (CLOSED January & February weekdays except by appointment)
1220 W. Governor John Sevier Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920
Marble Springs State Historic site is happy to offer free tours to children ages 5 to 18 from Knox, Blount, and Sevier Counties. Children must be accompanied by at least one paying adult. One paying adult is required for every three children. Visitors should register for their tour at the site cottage. Advance reservations are required for groups with more than six children.
Marble Springs State Historic Site is the last home and farm of John Sevier, Tennessee’ s first governor, who was elected in 1796. Sevier served six terms as Tennessee governor in Knoxville, the state’s first capital city. He also acted as the first and only governor of the short-lived state of Franklin. Sevier was a congressman from the Eastern District for four terms, a high-ranking officer in the North Carolina militia, and a hero at the 1780 battle of Kings Mountain against the British. Farmer, trader, land speculator, soldier, politician, husband, and father of 18 children, John Sevier embodied the pioneer spirit of the day. When he passed away in 1815, the approximate 350-acre Marble Springs had been the home he shared with second wife Catherine Sherrill, or “Bonny Kate”, and his youngest children for more than 15 years. Named for its picturesque and soothing springs and the Tennessee “pink marble” quarried nearby, the site features a period tavern, kitchen, cabin, loom house, and spring house that help interpret Tennessee’s late 18th and early 19th century history
Open to students outside of Knox County? YES – including Blount and Sevier
Advance reservations required? Only for groups of more than six children and in January-February
Contact: 865-573-5508, info@marblesprings.net, www.marblesprings.net
WDVX: Blue Plate Special
Mon-Sat at 12 PM
WDVX inside the Knoxville Visitor Center, 301 Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902
The WDVX Blue Plate Special is a free live music performance every Monday through Thursday and Saturday at noon at the WDVX studio inside the Knoxville Visitor Center (exceptions: Thanksgiving & Christmas). On Fridays, The Blue Plate Special becomes the Big Plate, taking place at Barley’s on Jackson Ave in the Old City. WDVX is a community radio station that plays a variety of music so you never know what you’ll hear or see at the Blue Plate Special. It could be Classical or Country, Blues or Bluegrass, Jazz or Old Time or something completely surprising. No need for reservations unless you have a big group, in which case, please contact the Knoxville Visitor Center at visitorcenter@knoxville.org. You can also tour the station by contacting 865-544-1029 or info@wdvx.com.
Advance reservations required? For large groups or studio tour.
Contact: Anne Williams, 865-544-1029, awilliams@wdvx.com, www.wdvx.com
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