BOWL FOR KIDS’ SAKE 2008 – visit BigBrothersBigSistersETN.org
Coming to an Alley Near You!
Have fun with coworkers, friends or family while also helping children. Bowl For Kids’ Sake benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee. Every dollar raised goes toward uniting at-risk children with caring adult mentors. It is a FUNtastic way to spend time together and help our community.

More details after the break...

Earth Day (Oak Ridge) Saturday, April 12 @ Bissell Park in Oak Ridge 12-5 PM.

Hector Qirko Band, R.B. Morris, Todd Steed and The Suns of Phere, Carl Snow's Summer of Love, Lonetones, BFT. For the younglings: Hominy Mammas, Sean McCullough and Phil Pollard, Nancy Brennan Strange and Joni Lovegrove.

Organic Foods, Educational Booths, Environmental Speakers and lots of activities for the younglings and their elders (animals, bugs, outdoor games, prizes).

Zero waste event. Check website for updates. Rain or shine

Link...

REMINDER: DEMOCRATS WILL GATHER TO WATCH PRIMARY VOTE

Please plan to join friends from the Democratic Party of Knox County on election night. That's Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at the Urban Bar and Corner Cafe, 109 North Central St, in the Old City. Come by anytime after 7:30, have a bite to eat, and watch the returns come in! (Ed. Note: Over 21)

Barack Obama Campaign:
Election Night Party
Barley's Pizza in the Old City - Upstairs
7:00 PM

Hillary Clinton Campaign:
Election Night Party
Calhoun's on Bearden Hill
7:00 PM

Annual Unity Day Campaigns Kick-off Set October 18, 2007

Knox County Democrats and Democratic candidates will gather at Beaver Brook Country Club to kickoff the election season on Thursday, October 18 at 6:00 p.m. Proceeds from the $25.00 per person celebration will be used to finance activities to increase visibility of the Democratic Party in Knox County including the upcoming 2008 local, state and national races. Local candidates have been invited to speak.

More details and contact info after the jump...

This Friday, Oct. 5th is the fourth anniversary of Knoxville's First Friday downtown event.

The Knoxville Symphony's Chamber Orchestra will perform on the Market Square stage at 6pm as part of the celebration.

More information and a schedule of other activities here.

The East Tennessee History Society and the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound are hosting Home Movie Day, Saturday August 11, 2007, 12PM to 4pm at the East Tennessee History Center, Knoxville, TN (on the corner of Gay St. and Clinch Avenue).

The event is free and open to the public. Participants are asked to bring along their own 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm films for screening. People without films are welcome to come along and watch. Information and advice on how to care for films will be available.

Read more about the national Home Movie Day project, and here's the press release from the ETHS and TAMIS.

The Blount County Democrats are having a hot dog picnic Saturday, July 21st, 3PM to 6PM at the pavilion at Pearson Springs Park (off Montvale Station Road).

The event is free and the public is invited. Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Gray Sasser is scheduled to attend, along with local Democratic Commissioners and Party officials.

Here's a map to Pearson Springs Park...

We noticed a bunch of Mini Coopers running around Alcoa last night, and wondered if there's some kind of club meet in town or something.

Sure enough, the Mini Meet East 2007 is in town.

They're set up at the Springbrook Corporate Center at the Jameson and Holiday Inn and Mainstay motels (near Texas Roadhouse, O'Charley's, SunBank, etc. off Hall Road).

The Maryville paper says there will be up to 200 Mini Coopers there. Looks like there will be a road rally on Saturday and an autocross on Sunday. Check the website for other goings on and more details.

Please come out this Saturday to support Ijams Nature Center.
IJAMS RUMMAGE SALE
Saturday June 9, 2007
8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Antiques, collectibles, tools, furniture, baby stuff, a great kayak, clothes, housewares, etc.
at Ijams Nature Center 2915 Island Home Avenue
Proceeds benefit Ijams Education programming!

The second annual Knoxville Poetry Festival is Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week at Lawson-McGhee Library downtown.

Thursday: series of readings at 2:30, 5:30 and 7:30 by young poets from the University of Tennessee's Creative Writing Program

Friday, 6:00 PM: Knoxville legend RB Morris

Saturday, 1:00 PM to 5 PM: Poets, performance artists and musicians, outdoors on the plaza behind Lawson-McGhee

Lots more details (Greek food!) in the press release, read more...

EarthFest 2007, tomorrow, Sat. Apr. 21, 11 AM to 7 PM, at the Worlds Fair Park in downtown Knoxville.

Celebrate Earth Day with great entertainment, food, and fun events for kids and the whole family. Admission is free. Al Gore approves.

WEATHER UPDATE: The approaching storms are breaking up a little and there are some patches of sky showing. Looks like there's a chance the rain will hold off long enough for the parade.

The weather forecast is not encouraging, but here are some Dogwood Arts Festival events lined up for Downtown Knoxville today:

Parade:

11 AM: Dogwood Arts Festival Parade and Band Competition, Gay Street, Downtown Knoxville. Floats, Helium Balloons, Bands, Equestrian and Llama units along with specialty entries.

Market Square:

11 AM - 10 PM: Arts and craft show, 60 artisans displaying painting, pottery, glass, jewelry,woodwork, metal, and various hand-made goods.

11 AM - 10 PM: Art in the Park with the Oak Ridge Art Center demonstrating pottery fired in the Raku method; and lost-cast jewelry using Salt, and other projects.

11:30 AM -7:30 PM: Kids Art Activities with the KMA, Knox County Library & ORNL FCU

Entertainment on Market Square:

Saturday, Main Stage
• 1-1:50 Danny Gammon and Toolebender – Old Time
• 2-2:50 Naughty Knots – Old Time
• 3-3:50 Jolt Wagon – Alt-country
• 4-4:50 Kyle Campbell and Jen Duke – Singer Songwriters
• 5-5:50 Maid Rite String Band – Old Time
• 6:10–7 Lonesome Coyotes – Western Swing
• 7:15-7:45 Gypsy Hands – Belly Dancing
• 8-10 VOCO – World Music

Saturday, Family Stage
• 12:30 Puppet Show
• 1:00 Suzuki Violins
• 1:30 Faye Wooten, storytelling
• 2:00 Puppet Show
• 2:30 Faye Wooten, storytelling
• 3-3:50 Sean McCullough and Phil Pollard – kids music
• 4-5:30 Poetry with local poets

SUNDAY on Market Square:

Noon to 5 PM: Dogwood Arts Festival Bluegrass Blowout. Alex Leach & Friends, Cumberland Gap Connection, Wade Hill & the Hillians, Jack Hatfield and more, sponsored by East Tennessee's Own WDVX. Plus arts and crafts show, kids activities, and more.

Ongoing:

Krutch Park: Art in Public Places: Big Art-Big Impact. Installation of 12 large-scale sculptures by artists Wayne Trapp, Richard Hallier, Mike Roig, Moema Furtado and Taylor Wallace.

Giovanni was born in Knoxville and chose to launch her new book here. "On My Journey Now: Looking at African-American History Through the Spirituals" honors the way slaves used gospels to give them hope and strength during the darkest of times. Giovanni's poems appear in almost every literary anthology focusing on modern writers. She's a veteran of the civil rights movement and has a strong sense of history. Her poetry is tough, often urban, and politically radical. Like her message or not, like Rap music or not, she sure has a way with words and she speaks for a lot of people.