Random Acts of Flowers

OVER THE COURSE of 48 hours, as many as 20 floral donations from weddings, events, memorial services, and grocery stores will be transformed into more than 150 beautiful bouquets. These bouquets will be delivered to individuals in area hospitals, assisted living facilities, hospice care centers, and community health organizations. The swift journey from donation to delivery is achieved due to the efforts of the dedicated, hard-working, and fun-loving Random Acts of Flowers volunteers. The bouquets created by their efforts spread joy not only to the recipients, but also to their families, their healthcare providers, and to the Random Acts of Flowers volunteers, too!

There are many ways to get involved with Random Acts of Flowers. Volunteers can pick up floral and vase donations, deconstruct donated floral arrangements, create beautiful bouquets, assist with workshop organization, process donated vases, deliver the re-purposed bouquets, and assist at special events.

“The volunteers are the heart of this organization,” said Mick Reed, Executive Director. “Each volunteer plays an important role in enabling us to achieve our mission of improving the emotional health and well-being of individuals in healthcare facilities by delivering re-purposed flowers and a personal moment of kindness. I am very proud of our volunteers and humbled by their positive attitudes and consistent efforts so that those in healthcare facilities can receive a random act of kindness and a smile.”

During this season of giving, we hope you find a way to get involved with RAF’s mission – and share with others. Random Acts of Flowers’ volunteers have put in more than 80,000 volunteer hours and have delivered more than 147,000 bouquets in Knoxville, and each delivery is a special, unexpected moment of happiness for the recipient.

“As a volunteer at Random Acts of Flowers, I thought I would only be ‘delivering’ kindness, which is a reward in itself, but I have also been the recipient of kindness from the staff and the other volunteers,” said Anetha Grant. “We really care about one another and the mission - what a bonus to spend time with so many smiling volunteers!”

If you want to make an impact with Random Acts of Flowers by volunteering or making a donation, call us at 865-633-9082, email us at info@RAFKnoxville.org, or visit www.RAFKnoxville.org.

RAF volunteers with completed bouquets! Donated flowers prepped and ready!

Dropping off bouquets to LeConte Medical Center.

The volunteers are the heart of this organization

Christmas at Biltmore and Van Gogh Alive

Van Gogh Digital Art Exhibition Enhances Estate’s Holiday Celebration

DURING CHRISTMAS at Biltmore, guests are invited to enjoy the enchantment of the holidays, inspired by the first Christmas at Biltmore House more than 125 years ago. Unique this year is the opportunity to also experience Van Gogh Alive, the first of three multi-sensory digital art exhibitions in a year-long series.

Christmas at Biltmore Daytime

Celebration through January 9

A daytime visit is a feast for the senses, featuring wreaths, garlands, and the sparkle of ornaments. From Biltmore House, to the Winery and Antler Hill Village (appearances from Santa on weekends until the 23rd), to Van Gogh Alive, guests will want to linger on the estate to experience all that Christmas at Biltmore has to offer. Biltmore House alone includes 62 Christmas trees, more than 14,000 ornaments, 45,000 holiday lights, 250 candles, 1,000 feet of garland, and 175 traditional poinsettias. The estate’s winter gardens and miles of peaceful trails are also available for exploring.

Candlelight Christmas Evenings

through January 8

Biltmore House glows with candlelight and firelight during the nighttime tour, allowing guests an experience reminiscent of the Vanderbilt’s first Christmas there in 1895. Musicians throughout the house perform seasonal favorites. Setting the scene is a 55-foot Norway spruce sparkling on the front lawn. Two hundred and fifty hand-lit luminaries line the walkway. Arrive early to experience all the estate has to offer, from holiday menus to the Winery to Antler Hill Village and Van Gogh Alive. Holiday packages with overnight accommodations are offered.

“Van Gogh Alive” Digital Art Exhibition

Part one of a year-long digital art series at Biltmore, Legends of Art & Innovation, aligns with the holiday season with the opening of Van Gogh Alive. Hosted in Biltmore’s event center, Amherst at Deerpark, and running through March 5, 2022, this multi-sensory

Photo courtesy of MAAG Photo courtesy of The Biltmore Company

experience is an immersion into the remarkable life of Vincent van Gogh through light, color, sound, and scent. Highlights include savoring the wonders of Van Gogh’s Starry Night and other masterpieces beamed through up to 40 high-definition projectors with cinema-quality surround sound. Advance timed tickets are required for entry and are included with either the estate’s Audio-Guided Visit Plus or Expert-Guided Plus admission.

Visitor Information

Biltmore’s health and safety measures will be maintained in all operations while sharing the joy and the magic of the season with guests. For more information about visiting the estate and to purchase admission tickets, please visit www.biltmore.com/christmas.

CHUCK LEAVELL

BY RANDY PATTERSON, BOOMEROCITY.COM

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS Band. Eric Clapton. Dion. The Black Crowes. Don McLean. The Fabulous Thunderbirds. What do they have in common? Legendary keyboardist Chuck Leavell has worked with them all and many more. Most notably, of course, is Chuck’s nearly 40-year tenure with the Rolling Stones.

All the areas of Chuck’s charmed life are covered in an incredible documentary titled Chuck Leavell: The Tree Man - from his part in the groundbreaking Clapton “Unplugged” on MTV, to the fateful day he met the love of his life and wife of more than 47 years, Rose Lane, to becoming an expert in tree conservation. It was about that documentary that Chuck and I connected to chat. The call took place while he was in Pittsburgh with the Rolling Stones, so we began our conversation by discussing the current tour.

When asked how the tour was going with the recent passing of the band’s only drummer (until now), Charlie Watts, Chuck said, “Well, of course we’re all stinging from the loss. Very, very sad. For some of us, it was quite unexpected. We knew he was in the hospital. We knew he had issues. But we were basically told to expect a full recovery in time. I was actually halfway to the airport, checking my emails, when I read the email that he had actually passed. It was just a very difficult thing to process. I had to hide my face in the airport when I was there, because I just kept breaking up. But look, Charlie would never want to be the reason this band would stop, so we’re carrying on largely in his honor to celebrate him. I’m sure you’ve read and seen maybe a little bit on some clips about the tribute that we do to Charlie before the show starts, during the show, and at the end of the show. I think it’s an appropriate way to celebrate him.”

Fans can still expect a phenomenal show by the Stones due to the selection of Steve Jordan (blessed by Charlie himself) to take Charlie’s place. Chuck shared:

“Steve Jordan’s doing a fantastic job. We’ve worked with Steve in the past as you know. Of course he worked with Keith (Richards) extensively with (his band) the X-Pensive Winos. I worked with Steve going as far back as with Chuck Berry in the Hail! Hail! Rock ‘n’ Roll movie. So there’s a lot of familiarity there, and Steve pretty much knew the book coming in. But he did a tremendous amount of homework. He was amazing at rehearsals. I think he’s doing an amazing job of honoring Charlie’s parts, but at the same time being his own man, which is as it has to be. So in some ways, there are certain songs that he’s really pushing us and inspiring us and making us take a little bit different approach on certain things. So in terms of the music, it’s been a very positive process.”

Shifting the conversation to the subject of the documentary about him, Chuck remarked that with the pandemic there were not a lot of the “normal” promotional opportunities but that he felt it had done very well under the current circumstances. “The release is, as you know, on virtually every streaming service except Netflix. That may come later, but Gravitas Ventures made the deals with Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Hulu, and to every other streaming service out there. So it’s had decent exposure. The reviews have been stellar. We won the People’s Choice Award in the Sedona Film Festival. When Allen (Farst, filmmaker) released it, we entered several other film festivals that did very well that weren’t giving out awards, but they were just presenting these films. I just wish we didn’t have the challenge of Covid to keep people away from theaters and to make the world a little confusing in terms of entertainment.”

Chuck added about the documentary, “There are three themes: There’s a musical side, the environmental side, and a love story. And I thought Allen did a marvelous job of threading all of those three things in together - not going too far on one or too far on the other, but balancing it out very nicely. Very pleased with the outcome.”

Were there any surprises for Chuck that came out of the documentary?

“The ones that stand out that were so touching to me - John Mayer, who elaborated greatly and said some very sweet, glowing things... that was exciting for me, and I’m very grateful for it. Having all the Stones participate. Keith Richards at the end there is so brilliant with his comment. Those were very, very pleasant surprises.”

Chuck Leavell and I covered much more in this interview - his own band Sea Level, the many notable people he has worked with in the music business and beyond, the reopening of the legendary Capricorn Records, and the importance of encouraging the next generation of musicians. Watch it in its entirety on www.Boomerocity.com.

Randy’s first interview was at the tender age of 13 with none other than Col. Tom Parker. Thirty-six years later he founded the webzine, Boomerocity.com, and has conducted close to 200 interviews with some of the most interesting people in music.