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NEWS
KCS Faces Another Federal Investigation over Alleged Discrimination
JACK NEELY
The World-Renowned Olympian Who Brought His Orchestra to Town
MUSIC
Hello City Returns to Celebrate Knoxville’s Underground Rock Scene
ELEANOR SCOTT
Let’s Go Glamping: a Taste of the Rural Life at Camp Grits
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
August 11, 2016 Volume 02 / Issue 31 knoxmercury.com
CONTENTS
“Sooner or later, we’re either going to have to pay for journalism, or we’re all going to pay for it.” —John Oliver
14 Class Action COVER STORY
NEWS
Emerald Academy—Knoxville’s first charter school, aimed at inner-city students—began its second school year a few weeks ago. Privately run charter schools like Emerald are approved by local school boards or the state board of education as a free alternative to public schools, and school tax dollars pay at least part of their costs. It’s too soon to conclude whether Emerald’s educational model is more effective than the public schools’. Despite a few hiccups, many parents say they’re happy with Emerald’s rigorous and individualized teaching approach—but Emerald’s discipline has not set well with all families. S. Heather Duncan takes a close look at Emerald Academy’s lesson plans.
Top Knox 2016 Ballot It’s back: the best-of survey you can trust to give you the real skinny on what’s worthwhile in Knoxville. Take a look at the categories starting on page 23 and vote at topknox.knoxmercury.com
DEPARTMENTS
OPINION
A&E
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8
28
52
Letters to the Editor Howdy Start Here: Dumpster Dive, Public Affairs, Quote Factory PLUS: “Photo Recollection: Knoxville Streets,” a photo series by Holly Rainey. ’Bye Finish There: Sacred & Profane by Donna Johnson, Crooked Street Crossword by Ian Blackburn and Jack Neely, Spirit of the Staircase by Matthew Foltz-Gray
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Scruffy Citizen Jack Neely recalls several visits to Knoxville by one of the all-time great Olympians. Possum City Eleanor Scott gets away from it all at Camp Grits.
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12 School Issues The Johnson family has a beef with Knox County Schools, one they say they’ve been trying to resolve for years but keeps cropping up because of an ingrained culture of discrimination and prejudice. If those accusations hold true or not will be up to the federal Department of Education to decide, as Clay Duda reports. CALENDAR
Program Notes: The QED Comedy Lab takes a final bow. Shelf Life: Chris Barrett previews the Knox County Public Library’s screening of Gandhi. Music: Eric Dawson gives us the lowdown on the Hello City underground showcase. Movies: April Snellings gets animated over Phantom Boy.
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Spotlights: Gillian Welch, Karthick Iyer Live
FOOD & DRINK
48
Home Palate Dennis Perkins gets a preview of our next generation of chefs at a UT Culinary Program showdown.
OUTDOORS
50
Outside Insider Kim Trevathan profiles the 39-yearold Smoky Mountain Field School. August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 3
LETTERS Delivering Fine Journalism Since 2015
MORE (AND BETTER) CHOICES
It appears that the nation is a two-party system. It isn’t. As a voter, I want more choices, especially when the two offered up by the largest parties are so disliked and so distrusted by the majority of the electorate, including me. Americans have spoken time and time again. They made their voices heard. Here’s just some of what we say want: • A guaranteed job for all Americans, at living wages, with government providing them if need be. We’ve done it before during hard economic times, we can do it again. • Large-scale projects to repair damaged national infrastructure, from roads and bridges to dams and electric grids; projects to address the rampant pollution across the nation; expansion of broadband fiber networks to improve electric utilities and spread high-speed Internet throughout our local communities. • Tax reform to promote a more equitable distribution of wealth. • Antitrust action to break up the corrupt financial industries, from banks to investment and insurance companies. • New policies to counteract the corrosive, corrupt political infrastructure. • Increased investment in public education, equitably distributed to end the disparity among school districts. • Campaign finance reform • True Congressional oversight of our military. When a single “state-ofthe-art aircraft carrier” runs a tab of $13 billion and growing—and it doesn’t work—where’s Congress? When “advanced-technology” fighter aircraft can’t reliably take off and land, at a cost of $(who knows, the tab’s still running) billion, how safe do you feel? How financially secure? As a voter, I want to hear from Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. Their views are just as valid and deserving of a public hearing as any espoused by Hillary Clinton or Donald J. Trump, and they are just as qualified, if not more so, than the Donald. As a citizen, I have the right to hear from candidates willing to put 4
KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
themselves through the paces of a challenging campaign, unfiltered by the media, unobstructed by the RNC, the DNC, and their collaborative effort, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Many Americans think the commission is a creation of the federal government. It is not. It’s a unique collaboration between the two parties to keep any other contenders out of the system. In this year’s campaign, that’s Stein and Johnson. This “commission” is a 32 year fraud perpetrated on American voters. If any of the issues I listed above matter to you; if they affect your life, or the lives of your family, friends, and neighbors; if you want a better slate of candidates on the ballot in November, I urge you to: • Visit Jill Stein’s and Gary Johnson’s websites. • Visit their social media sites. • Contact local campaign organizations. • Contact your local and national media to demand their inclusion in upcoming debates. Remember, the rules excluding them were written by the RNC and DNC. • Write letters to the editor, post blog comments. This election is about you and me, and issues that matter to us, our families, our children and our nation. Don’t let others determine our future without your involvement. Joseph Malgeri Bean Station
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EDITORIAL EDITOR Coury Turczyn coury@knoxmercury.com SENIOR EDITOR Matthew Everett matthew@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jack Neely jack@knoxhistoryproject.org STAFF WRITERS S. Heather Duncan heather@knoxmercury.com Clay Duda clay@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTORS
BRING ON THE SEXY WITH OUR KNOXVILLE MERCURY T-SHIRT
You wear T-shirts, right? Many people do, too. But how many people wear locally produced Knoxville Mercury T-shirts? Not enough! That’s why we must remind you how easy it is to order them from our online store. Meanwhile, you can also shop for all of our Knoxville Mercury goods and services. We’ve got koozies, and amazingly enough, classified ads! And remember, all proceeds go to a worthy cause: keeping your favorite weekly paper in business. Go to: store.knoxmercury.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES
• Letter submissions should include a verifiable name, address, and phone number. We do not print anonymous letters. • We much prefer letters that address issues that pertain specifically to Knoxville or to stories we’ve published. • We don’t publish letters about personal disputes or how you didn’t like your waiter at that restaurant. • Letters are usually published in the order that we receive them. Send your letters to: Our Dear Editor, Knoxville Mercury 618 S. Gay St., Suite L2 Knoxville, TN 37902 Send an email to: editor@knoxmercury.com Or message us at: facebook.com/knoxmercury
Chris Barrett Ian Blackburn Brian Canever Patrice Cole Eric Dawson George Dodds Lee Gardner Mike Gibson Carey Hodges Nick Huinker Donna Johnson
Rose Kennedy Catherine Landis Dennis Perkins Stephanie Piper Ryan Reed Eleanor Scott Alan Sherrod April Snellings Joe Sullivan Kim Trevathan Chris Wohlwend
INTERN Josh Witt
DESIGN ART DIRECTOR Tricia Bateman tricia@knoxmercury.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Charlie Finch
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
David Luttrell Shawn Poynter Justin Fee Tyler Oxendine CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS
Ben Adams Matthew Foltz-Gray
ADVERTISING PUBLISHER & DIRECTOR OF SALES Charlie Vogel charlie@knoxmercury.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Scott Hamstead scott@knoxmercury.com Stacey Pastor stacey@knoxmercury.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Michael Tremoulis michael@knoxmercury.com
BUSINESS BUSINESS MANAGER Scott Dickey scott.dickey@knoxmercury.com
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 618 South Gay St., Suite L2, Knoxville, TN 37902 knoxmercury.com • 865-313-2059 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & PRESS RELEASES editor@knoxmercury.com CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS calendar@knoxmercury.com SALES QUERIES sales@knoxmercury.com DISTRIBUTION distribution@knoxmercury.com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terry Hummel Joe Sullivan Jack Neely Coury Turczyn Charlie Vogel The Knoxville Mercury is an independent weekly news magazine devoted to informing and connecting Knoxville’s many different communities. It is a taxable, not-for-profit company governed by the Knoxville History Project, a non-profit organization devoted to exploring, disseminating, and celebrating Knoxville’s unique cultural heritage. It publishes 25,000 copies per week, available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. © 2016 The Knoxville Mercury
August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 5
HOWDY DUMPSTER highlights DIVE Weekly from our blog Read more at knoxmercury.com/blog SOS COORDINATOR QUITS Jackie Clay resigned abruptly last Wednesday from her job as coordinator of Knoxville’s Save Our Sons initiative. The program attempts to stem the tide of violence among young black men from the inner city by addressing problems that contribute to the crisis. Clay declined to talk about why she resigned but said in an email, “I’m planning to spend some time volunteering with grassroots organizations while I start my own nonprofit consulting firm.”
A man walks across the Depot Ave and Central Street intersection near the Old City. PHOTO RECOLLECTION: KNOXVILLE STREETS by Holly Rainey (loveh865.com)
QUOTE FACTORY “ He’s now a convicted felon. I certainly intend to ask for a prison sentence.” —Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Atchley Jr. commenting to the News Sentinel on his next step in prosecuting state Rep. Joe Armstrong, who was convicted Monday of filing a false tax return. After 14 terms, Armstrong will be forced to leave the Legislature. His attorney, Gregory P. Isaacs, vows to appeal.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
8/11 PUBLIC MEETING: GREENWAYS PLAN 8/12 LONSDALE HOMES CAREER FAIR THURSDAY
5-7 p.m., John T. O’Connor Center (611 Winona St.). Free. Want to see Knoxville’s greenway system expand and become more connected? Then you need to learn about the city’s Greenway Corridor Feasibility and Assessment Project, which we wrote about last year. The plan will look at building connections in 13 different corridors to “create a true transportation network.”
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FRIDAY
10 a.m.-2 p.m., Lonsdale Homes (2020 Minnesota Ave.). Free. As part of the Save Our Sons initiative, this career fair targets low-income young people ages 16 to 24. It was created partly in response to the “Stop the Violence” community forum held earlier this year at Fulton High School following the death of Zaevion Dobson. Representatives from employment agencies will be on hand to coach and to interview.
8/13 EIGHTH OF AUGUST JUBILEE SATURDAY
10 a.m.-9 p.m., Chilhowee Park. Free. Knoxville’s week-long celebration of emancipation culminates in this day-long festival at Chilhowee Park, which marks the day (Aug. 8, 1863) that Gov. Andrew Johnson freed his slaves. The party kicks off with a parade on Magnolia Avenue and continues with musician Alvin Garrett and comedian Spanky Brown. Info: beckcenter.net.
MENTAL HEALTH DEPT. CITED Tennessee’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has failed to fix known issues first detailed in a 2013 audit report, a recent review has found. The department also did not note those issues on risk assessment reports, as required, according to the most recent audit of the agency. The Mercury filed a Tennessee Open Records Act request seeking the omitted information, a request that was promptly denied. CITY BUYS $22K LAWNMOWER The city’s newest weapon in its ongoing fight against grass is the TRX-44. This mammoth of a mower has a mind of its own–almost quite literally, though it’s controlled by a person with a joystick–and a price tag higher than the federal poverty level for a family of three.
8/18 WORKSHOP: PRESERVATION EASEMENT THURSDAY
Noon, Historic Westwood (3425 Kingston Pike). Free. If you own historic property and would like to have some peace of mind over its continued existence, then this is the workshop for you. Preservation easements protect historic properties that are not under the purview of local historic preservation laws. Ross M. Bradford from the National Trust for Historic Preservation lays it all out. RSVP: hcook@knoxheritage.org.
Emancipation Week The Back Story of the Eighth of August. This weekend, Knoxville celebrates Emancipation Day. Traditionally observed on August 8, it is recently celebrated on the second Saturday in August. This year, the holiday arrives as a week of events related to black culture.
often at Chilhowee Park. At least once, Emancipation Day witnessed an all-black automobile race. Held in 1929 at the Knoxville Motor Speedway, the race was won by Grant Haynes, driving a Chevrolet Special.
There are still mysteries about its origins, but Aug. 8 is believed to be the day Andrew Johnson freed his slaves. Johnson, most famous as the 17th president of the United States, lived in Greeneville, Tenn.
Emancipation Day was sometimes an occasion for a downtown parade, often involving local black physician Dr. J.H. Presnell, known as Knoxville’s “Bronze Mayor.” Once, in 1931, a Knoxville judge freed 13 blacks arrested for dancing and singing in the streets late at night, citing the upcoming Emancipation Day holiday.
His role in ending slavery is complicated. Many East Tennesseans opposed the Confederacy, but many of those Unionists did not yet oppose slavery. In fact, some Tennessee Unionists owned slaves, and among them was Andrew Johnson. He was nonetheless a fierce Unionist. In 1861, when Johnson attempted to speak at a pro-Union rally on Gay Street in Knoxville, armed Confederates broke up the gathering. Johnson worked to exempt his home state from the provisions of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, on that grounds that Tennessee was already part of the Union. However, he became more anti-slavery as the war progressed. According to tradition often cited in the early 20th century, the date Johnson freed his slaves was Aug. 8, 1862, before the Emancipation Proclamation. However, scholars today cite 1863 as the more likely year.
Setting for this Friday’s Illumination Tribute, Odd Fellows Cemetery in East Knoxville hosts more than 6,000 graves, spanning more than a century since the 1880s. Many of them are professionally carved, like that of businessman-philanthropist Cal Johnson, but some are imaginatively homemade, like this one made from concrete and broken bits of colored glass. The age of the grave, as well as the identity of the person memorialized, is unknown. Photo by Aaron Jay, from The Marble City (UT Press, 1999) by Jack Neely and Aaron Jay.
Johnson was military governor of Tennessee when he signed the documents freeing all the state’s slaves in October, 1864. More than a year later, Johnson was president in December, 1865, when Congress passed the 13th Amendment, formally ending slavery in all states. After that, Johnson resisted further civil-rights legislation. Soon after the end of the war, Aug. 8 was being celebrated as Emancipation Day in Greeneville. It was a holiday for blacks, with picnics and speeches. In 1871, former Johnson slave Sam Johnson promoted the observance, and former President Johnson himself attended. For years, Knoxville blacks boarded trains for the annual festivities in Greeneville. By the early 1900s, it was a major holiday in Knoxville, often an occasion for baseball and softball games, dances, and boxing matches, most
By the 1930s, Emancipation Day was the occasion for a big dance, sometimes featuring major performers. Louis Armstrong was there in 1937, just for Emancipation Day at Chilhowee Park. In years to come, the holiday would bring Tiny Bradshaw (1939), Amos Milburn (1950), Buddy Johnson (1951), Lloyd Price (1952), and Lionel Hampton (1953).
Some of Johnson’s former slaves settled in Knoxville, notably William Andrew Johnson, who for a time was hotel doorman at the then-new Andrew Johnson Hotel. He disliked the job, and later became a pastry chef at Weaver’s Cafe on Union Avenue.
A new event this year is an Illumination Tribute, a candle lighting at the historic black Odd Fellows Cemetery on Bethel Avenue. Founded around 1880, the graveyard is one of Knoxville’s oldest black cemeteries. Among its 6,000 graves are those of many former slaves, notably Cal Johnson, who was born a slave but became a prosperous businessman and served two terms as a city alderman in the 1880s. The ceremony will feature the new walkways, a collaborative effort between the University of Tennessee’s College of Architecture and Design and the Knoxville ReAnimation Coalition. The ceremony commences Friday, Aug. 12, at 7:30 p.m., and will include spiritual singing, a reading of names, and the lighting of hundreds of candles in the graveyard. The following day, Saturday, Aug. 13, Jubilee in the Park will be more of a party in the tradition of the scores of Emancipation Day holidays celebrated at Chilhowee Park over the years, with live entertainment. For more details, see beckcenter.net.
Source: Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection
The Knoxville History Project, a new nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of and education about the history of Knoxville, presents this page each week to raise awareness of the themes, personalities, and stories of our unique city. Learn more on www.facebook.com/knoxvillehistoryproject • email jack@knoxhistoryproject.org August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 7
SCRUFFY CITIZEN
The Fastest Bandleader in the World An Olympian brings his orchestra to town BY JACK NEELY
W
hen he arrived via Kingston Pike on a special bus that afternoon, the Knoxville Police met him at city limits in Bearden with a motorcycle escort. They led him to City Hall. Those who saw him get off the bus had to look twice. In 1937 he was one of the most famous people in the world, but nobody had seen him like this. A slim fellow with close-cropped hair, he wore a black hat and a sharp blue-striped suit and conservative tie. He looked a lot like a jazz bandleader. In fact, when he came to Knoxville, he was a jazz bandleader, with a 12-piece band of “Harlem all-stars.” He was ready to play a dance that evening at Chilhowee Park. When he became world-famous, the previous summer, he was wearing shorts. He was Ebony Antelope, the Buckeye Bullet, the Fastest Man in the World. He had proven it just eight months earlier, at the Olympics in Berlin, with the whole world and Adolf Hitler watching. His name was Jesse Owens. Waiting to greet him at City Hall was City Manager George Dempster, just then enjoying a bit of fame himself, for his invention called the Dumpster. After the formal handshaking, Jesse Owens was off to say a few words at all-black Austin High. Then he popped in at Knoxville College, where,
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
stepping in from backstage into a dramatic performance, he drew the cheers of an astonished room of collegiate theatergoers. He went in a motorcade to see Norris Dam, less than a year old. In 1937, Norris Dam was an obligatory part of any visit to Knoxville, so famous Owens had probably at least heard of it. It was the sort of day that would require the stamina of an athlete. When Lowell Blanchard, the popular host of the new country-music variety show Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round, heard that Jesse Owens was coming to town, he worked out a deal where the Olympian would perform an early-evening show onstage at the new auditorium on the 100 block of Gay Street. WNOX wouldn’t be allowed to broadcast the show. Owens’ contract with his agency, Consolidated Radio Artists, who were paying him a reported $100,000 for this tour, forbade it. But he could do interviews, as he did with local sportscaster Joe Epstein. Owens was gracious, but obviously tired of the question of the “Hitler snub.” Der Fuehrer didn’t greet Owens, as he did the Nordic gold medalists. In his reviewing stand, the author of the Nazis’ white supremacist doctrine looked distinctly unhappy that Owens was beating the Master Race at so many events. “After the 100-meter run, Hitler
waved at me, and I waved at him,” Owens said in Knoxville. “That was enough for me.” He later added, “I didn’t go to Germany to get the applause of Hitler and his gang.” It was a late-night show that was the real reason he came to Knoxville. At 10 p.m., he stepped before his orchestra at the Chilhowee Park Auditorium, the old exposition hall up on the hill. He held a baton, different from the one he’d carried in the 100-meter relay. It was a dance planned for an all-black crowd on the floor, but white “spectators” were allowed to observe on the mezzanine. We don’t know much about what he played, or how well, just that he led the band through some “hot numbers,” perhaps including “Pennies from Heaven,” a recent hit for Bing Crosby. He’d been singing lately, practicing that one. He also did some tap-dancing; he’d been working with Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. Like most dances of that era— Louis Armstrong would play the same venue a few weeks later—it went until 2 in the morning. He never got the hang of it. That two-month American tour was the extent of his experimentation with music. Just a few days after his Knoxville show, in Richmond, he came down with strep throat. That was excuse enough to give up the whole thing. A remark at Knoxville College suggests that he was already aware that the jazz life wasn’t working out for him. “This playing for dancing is a lot of fun and it’s all right for making money, but it’s no good socially,” he said. “It’s not doing my people any good.” That Knoxville quote made it into the 1986 biography, Jesse Owens: An
American Life, by William J. Baker. Education was the important thing, the 23-year-old runner told KC students, adding that he was determined to go back to Ohio State and get his degree, maybe go into coaching. He tried to do that, but didn’t succeed. He was able to buy his family nice things for a while, but it was the era before multi-million dollar endorsements and high-paid celebrity commentators. He had a hard time finding a good job. The next time Jesse Owens came to Knoxville, he was in his 30s, doing what he was most famous for. Being that there weren’t Olympics in 1940 or ’44 to demonstrate any contenders for the title, he may still have been the Fastest Man in the World. It was August 1944, and Jesse Owens was at Caswell Park racing the fastest runners from two Negro League baseball teams, the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Atlanta Black Crackers. He handicapped himself by including hurdles in his run. He won anyway. It was partly a war-bond drive. “I’m one of you, and I’m proud of it,” he told the predominantly black crowd. “But let us remember that, first, we’re Americans.” He returned to Caswell Park two summers later and raced a local horse and jockey on a 100-yard dash, and won by a length. A decade after he’d beaten the best of the Aryans, he got some criticism for racing animals. “People said it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse,” he recalled years later. “But what was I supposed to do? I had four gold medals, but you can’t eat four gold medals.” ◆
“After the 100-meter run, Hitler waved at me, and I waved at him. That was enough for me.” —JESSE OWENS
History of Knoxville Sundays, August 14, 21, and 28 Church Tours 1-2:30 p.m. Lectures 2:30-3:30 p.m.
900 Henley at Main Across from the Knoxville Convention Center 865-524-3048 www.churchstreetumc.org
Downtown's Leader in Residential Real Estate KnoxvilleDowntownRealty.com
KnoxvilleDowntownRealty.com
Kimberly Dixon Hamilton REALTOR® | Principal Broker
865.588.5535 Residential Sales and Leasing August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 9
POSSUM CITY
Glamping It Up A taste of the rural life at Camp Grits BY ELEANOR SCOTT
I
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
of unpainted wood sat in an overgrown clearing. The previous owner, a spirit-drum maker named Karen, built the house piecemeal throughout the 1990s and died of cancer before completion. It’s the kind of house that might send a lot of home-buyers screaming for the hills, but it spoke to a couple of make-do artists with a love for the rustic, handmade, and unusual. The couple needed a way to pay for the property they had just bought, and as there aren’t many job opportunities in Cosby, Primrose turned to what she knew. They put together some tiny structures on their land. Business took off when Camp Grits joined Airbnb, the peer-to-peer website for homeowners to rent out their property to vacationers. Some may remember the couple as operators of Bonanza Jelly Bean,
Photos by Eleanor Scott
n July, I spent a night at Camp Grits, an unusual Airbnb near Cosby, Tenn, owned and operated by my friends Jim Clark and Primrose Coke. City life was getting me down, and Jim and Primrose let me stay in the new cabin on their property, part of the “glamp ground” that is their livelihood. Glamping, a portmanteau of the words “glamorous” and “camping,” is “camping with luxuries,” says Jim. For some of Camp Grits’ guests, glamping is an introduction to camping in the woods. For others, it’s as far as they are willing to go down the path that leads away from electric lights and a soft bed. Guests can rent an 18-foottall canvas tipi set up by the creek, a vintage camper parked among the trees, or the hand-built cabin. The structures and grounds are furnished with thrift-store finds and handmade items: vintage metal camp dishes, bunting made from old shirts. The flavor is mid-century Americana “grandpa chic” married to a whimsical “beans-for-dinner” aesthetic. Glamping is a thing in England, where Primrose is from. Her aunt, an innkeeper in Dorset, was an early adopter, adding “gypsy caravans” and portable shepherds’ huts on the meadowland surrounding her traditional bed-and-breakfast. These primitive lodgings conjure up the romance of transient and glamorized lifestyles. In 2013 the couple bought 3 acres of inexpensive rural land along Dunn Creek. An eccentric, sprawling house
the red 1950s Shasta camper converted into a mobile art gallery/vintage shop. Now Bonanza Jelly Bean is retired to a small clearing with a fire pit. Inside is a bed, freshly made with vintage floral sheets. Jim and Primrose met in 2009 at an artists’ colony in Troy, N.Y., married three months later, and moved to Jim’s hometown of Newport, Tenn. Both hold degrees from art schools. They live and work at Camp Grits earning “the equivalent of one income,” says Primrose, with their 3-year-old son Kestrel, a full-time pirate captain. We are sitting around the camp fire when guests arrive—two women from the suburbs, who booked Bonanza Jelly Bean. The Camp Grits owners greet the guests and advise them of the extra linens and breakfast situation—fresh baked bread, local eggs, and goats’ milk. The women seem pleased and retreat to the camper for the night. Jim returns to staring into the fire. He says sometimes guests driving BMWs tell him he is living the dream. He finds it irritating. The charm and convenience of a guest’s stay at a mom-and-pop operation like Camp Grits is possible through backbreaking behind-the-scenes labor. They are on call all the time and trapped in an isolated place. Though naïve, even condescending, it’s easy to fetishize the simple romance of being poor and living in the country, when you’re fresh off the rat race of city life. The 150-square-foot cabin, painted black with a bright yellow door, is like a little chapel: small but monumental. It is the most glamorous rental option, built of local poplar and
decorated with Primrose’s small paintings. It inspires fantasies of stylish off-grid living: reading, writing, breathing the clean forest air, bathing in the stream. Romantic escapism at its finest. Outside the cabin, Primrose has built the most gorgeous outhouse in Tennessee, with yellow-painted floorboards and a stained-glass window from England. “The cabin makes me feel like I’m in Scandinavia somewhere and the loft with the balcony is incredible. Waking up to a rooster crowing, birds chirping, and leaves rustling was magical. The fact this was built by Rosie and Jim with their bare hands with love makes it that much more special,” wrote Andre from Lexington, Ky., June 10, 2016, in the Camp Grits Guest Book. On the evening I stay, the moon shines like a spotlight through the trees. When I wake up in the middle of the night, the cabin is dark—the kind of dark never experienced in the city. I do not panic as I grope my way to the most gorgeous outhouse, but the dark makes me a child again. I feel the eyes of the skunk ape watching from the woods. Located just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Camp Grits offers tourists an alternative to the McMansion cabins and consumerism of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Jim and Primrose— with very little money, but with a lot of gumption—built an inspiring place, both comfortable and wild, and it’s a testament to their skill that the result seems effortless. ◆ Eleanor Scott is a freelance writer and columnist living in East Knoxville. Possum City tells small stories of wildlife and people thriving on the edges of the city.
Your Downtown Experience Begins Here 612 Gay Street Make your new home in a stately and storied building with a colorful past, the old Mechanics Bank and Trust building, built in 1909 on or around the original Civil War-era edifice. Located in the heart of the historic theater district, steps from the Tennessee Theater, this historic landmark boasts a striking marble facade in the Beaux-Arts classical style with Corinthian columns. Each floor has been completely gutted and is ready for customization to your family's needs.
Full floor-size units available ranging from 3359-3489 sq ft each. This storied structure was the site of: The Mabry-O'Connor gunbattle of 1882—chronicled by Mark Twain in his book Life onthe Mississippi—that left two men dead. The headquarters of the committee that formed the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The first TV broadcast in East Tennessee. Dolly Parton's first TV performance. The teenaged Everly Brother's first broadcast. The private Old City Club where Knoxville's movers and shakers mingled.
Call today for an appointment! MELINDA GRIMAC | affiliate broker | o. 865.357.3232 | c. 865-356-4178 Melinda.Grimac@SothebysRealty.com | melindagrimac.alliancesothebysrealty.com
Jake Gyllenhall's first starring role, in the film October Sky, which was filmed here.
Each office is independently owned and operated
August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 11
Photo by Clay Duda
School Issues KCS faces another federal investigation over allegations of discrimination BY CLAY DUDA
T
he Johnson family has a beef with Knox County Schools, one they say they’ve been trying to resolve for years but keeps cropping up because of an ingrained culture of discrimination and prejudice. If those accusations hold true or not will be up to the federal Department of Education to decide. Sharlës Johnson and his wife, Rebekiah, have filed a complaint with the federal Office of Civil Rights against the school system—one of at least two pending against KCS. “They [school administrators] have the nerve to tell the community about disparities and how they’re going to improve, but we’re a multicultural family who have dealt with them behind closed doors, and it’s time to open those doors,” says Sharlës Johnson, who is black. His wife Rebekiah is white, their six children mixed. “We’re not used to having to deal
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
with this mindset and culture so much,” he says. “We’ve experienced discriminations and they’ve have refused to address them, or they just try to wait the parent out.” Sharlës Johnson says their issues with KCS date back more than five years, starting not long after the family relocated to West Knoxville from Illinois. But things came to a head in late 2015, prompting the family to file a civil rights complaint based on how their 8-year-old son was treated at Northshore Elementary. The Johnsons’ issues are numerous and somewhat nuanced, spread out over several years, and they’re still developing as the family works through the federal investigative process. Their complaint alleges their son was discriminated against based on his race and age because he was questioned about where he lived by an elementary school cafeteria worker. Sharlës says the family at the time was maintaining
two residences, a drawn-out move for personal reasons that allowed their children to attend different schools. An October letter from KCS Director for Elementary Education Julie Thompson explained that since one address was not zoned to attend Northshore Elementary, the district sought clarification. KCS spokesperson Abbey Harris declined to comment for this article, citing the district’s policy of not commenting during “ongoing litigation.” “Because a previous residence outside of the Northshore zone had been verified, it will be necessary for your new residence to be verified as well,” the letter reads. “It is important going forward that you follow Knox County Schools Board Policy BK Civility Code when interacting with students, faculty, and administrators at Northshore Elementary School.” It may sound like a minor exchange, but the Johnsons say it’s just a piece in the larger context of a continuing confrontation with KCS. It’s the basis for the federal civil rights complaint, though the Johnsons have also since filed a retaliation complaint, alleging Sharlës Johnson was served with a “no trespass” letter by the school system in February of this year that, at least in part, was due to his race and filing a complaint against the school district. The OCR is also investigating these allegations. In response to a records request from the Mercury, Knox County School spokesperson Melissa Tindell, who recently left her position with the district, said that since 2013 there have been more than 5,000 pages of emails between the Johnson family and top school system administrators, in addition to “numerous other
documents”—these are not parent-to-teacher contacts, but exchanges between the family and district’s “executive team” and “leadership team,” which includes top-level administrators and school principals. In all, Tindell estimated it would cost $500 and take several weeks to cull through the documents and redact any information that might not be releasable under state law. The Mercury filed a complaint with the Tennessee Open Record Council—a state agency tasked with reviewing Tennessee Open Record Act violations and helping state and local departments comply with the law—in an effort to elicit a timely response from the school system. (State law requires a response to record requests within seven business days. KCS finally responded to our request about 22 business days after it was filed with this rough estimate, a full calendar month.) The Mercury has filed a Federal Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Education for copies of the complaints and other documents, though it has not yet been fulfilled despite surpassing a 20-business-day deadline set by federal law. A spokesman for the department confirmed it was investigating the allegations. KCS is currently under investigation for a separate civil rights complaint focused on the construction of a new Gibbs Middle School. The complaint, brought by the Knoxville branch of the NAACP, alleges that the new school would essentially resegregate a portion of the county along racial lines. That complaint was filed the same month as the Johnsons’.◆
“They [school administrators] have the nerve to tell the community about disparities and how they’re going to improve, but we’re a multicultural family who have dealt with them behind closed doors...” —SHARLËS JOHNSON
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August 11, 2016
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
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hen the kindergarteners stream into Emerald Academy and head for their classrooms, the sign above the door doesn’t say something like “Mrs. Owen’s Owls.” It says, “Harvard University.” The tiny kids aren’t even referred to as students. They’re scholars. The administrators are deans. Five-year-olds don’t get smiley faces for good behavior—they earn “scholar dollars,” or lose them, based on their performance, just like an employee in the workplace. “We really try to emulate what the real world is like so children understand there are rewards for hard work and for following our core values,” says Renee Kelly, Emerald Academy’s dean of scholars. Students are pushed to speak in a loud, confident “college voice” and raise their “college hands” straight above their heads. In Brandi Kinkead’s Emerald Academy science classroom last week, sixth-graders learned practical applications for the scientific method. “One of you could be the person who fi nds the cure for cancer,” Kinkead tells them in a voice vibrating with excitement. There is actually an audible gasp in response. She continues, “I used to be
legally blind. Some amazing guy who was just like you—he sat in class, he paid attention—he used the scientific method to come up with a way to do just enough surgery for people like me to be able to see.” “Cool!” some of the kids exclaim, and one girl adds, “I want to be a scientist.” Emerald Academy, Knoxville’s first charter school, began its second school year a few weeks ago with two new grades—including sixth, its first foray into middle school. Privately-run charter schools like Emerald are approved by local school boards or the state board or education as a free alternative to public schools, and school tax dollars pay at least part of their costs. These schools, governed by charter, are given flexibility to try different teaching, testing, and discipline methods. While acknowledging that its first year with the two youngest grades was probably the easiest, Emerald Academy leaders express confidence about student growth. It’s too soon to conclude whether Emerald’s educational model is more effective than the public schools’. But despite a few hiccups, many parents say they’re happy with Emerald’s rigorous and individualized teaching approach. It’s a new model for Knox County,
which the school system is backing with millions in tax dollars in hopes of improving performance among children from inner-city neighborhoods with low-performing public schools. There are several key differences between Emerald and the standard Knoxville public school approach. To an extent, Emerald models itself on a Cleveland charter school chain called Breakthrough Schools. The resulting philosophy includes different tacks on discipline and curriculum, a longer school day and year with time for individual attention, and a less intense approach to grade-wide testing. Steve Diggs, president and CEO of Emerald Youth Foundation and president of the board of Emerald Charter Schools, says Breakthrough was chosen as a model because its schools made a big impact (although their testing data shows uneven progress), and its leaders were willing to share their experience. Many parents praise Emerald Academy’s academic challenges, strong structure, and family involvement. “I like that the kids are called scholars and not students,” says Tracey Roberts, whose daughter moved from Sarah Moore Greene
At left, Emerald Academy Director Jon Rysewyck and Dean of Specialized Services Sarah Shaver welcome students arriving at school with hugs and high-fives. Though donning a different title, Rysewyck, top-right, serves as the school’s principal. Renee Kelly, bottom-right, is Emerald’s dean of scholars, a position focused on family relationships and discipline. Elementary (where Roberts is PTA president) to Emerald for fi rst grade last year after boredom in kindergarten led her to get in trouble for doing fl ips in class. At Emerald, Roberts says, that energy was focused on school work that was more challenging than third graders at Greene, where her mother teaches. But Emerald’s discipline has not set well with all families. Choosing Emerald, and being chosen, is a lottery: there are winners and losers.
MIND THE (ACHIEVEMENT) GAP
Billing itself as Knoxville’s “fi rst college preparatory school,” Emerald Academy opened in the historic Moses School building in Mechanicsville last year with about 125 kindergarteners and fi rst graders. Two grades are being added each year (this year, second and sixth) until it eventually extends to eighth grade, with 540 students. The academy began as a project August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 15
Counselor Heidi Moles talks with a kindergartener in the halls at Emerald Academy during the second week of school. Each classroom is named after a university, as pictured above, and students are encouraged to speak in a confident “college voice” and raise their “college hands” in class. of the Emerald Youth Foundation, a Christian nonprofit that has run faith-based after-school programs in Knoxville’s inner-city neighborhoods for three decades. Although Diggs basically leads both the academy and the foundation, the academy answers to a separate Emerald Charter Schools board with different members. The academy contracts with the foundation for some administrative services, Diggs says. Nationally, Emerald is not unusual in this regard; state rules vary somewhat, but faith-based organizations can generally initiate charter-school projects as long as they establish a separate nonprofit to receive public funds and operate the school with a secular curriculum, hiring practices, and admissions. This has sometimes stirred debate about the separation of church and state, since in some states 20 to 40 percent of charter schools have been started by religious organizations—including Catholic schools that closed their doors only to re-open as secular charters, with the same staff. Amanda Henneghan, director of communications for the Tennessee Charter School Center, says it is not necessarily very common for faithbased organizations to initiate charter schools in Tennessee. However, there are several in metro Nashville that fit this profi le, including two started by the Martha O’Bryan Center and one started by Project Reflect. Although Knox County Schools has issued requests for charter proposals annually, Emerald’s was the fi rst to succeed. The request called for a focus on inner-city areas 16
KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
with a significant academic gap. Emerald appears to have successfully reached those families, with 92 percent of last year’s scholars coming from the target area, Diggs says. Four urban KCS schools are on the state’s priority list because their student achievement levels fall in the bottom 5 percent of Tennessee. Five more are state “focus schools” because they are among the 10 percent with the largest achievement gap between subgroups of students, such as students who speak English as a second language, students with special needs, and students of different races. In fact, until 2011, Tennessee law limited charter schools to serving at-risk students. The majority of students entering charter schools continue to come from this population, according to the Tennessee Charter School Center, a support organization for state charter schools. Its website lists four charter schools in Chattanooga, 29 in Nashville, and 64 in Memphis. However, the K-8 model is unusual in Tennessee; there were only three besides Emerald last year. In Tennessee, charter schools are overseen by a local public school system and are open to any students within the district for free. Students are chosen through a lottery. The Emerald Academy student slots have been in high demand. School director John Rysewyck says
the school received three times more applications than slots last year. This year, it had five times more. “We had a lot come to sixth grade this year who had a younger sibling at the school,” Rysewyck says. (After the fi rst year, siblings get fi rst dibs on open slots before the lottery.) “That tells us the parents are happy.” Chasity Quinones, who lives in the Beaumont Academy school zone, had sons in kindergarten and fi rst grade at Emerald last year. Her third son started kindergarten there this year. She says Emerald kindergarten teachers communicated much more than those at Beaumont. When her son started falling behind, his kindergarten teachers at Emerald noticed quickly and were able to turn it around, she says. Emerald Academy marketed itself within the inner city last year by sending parents letters that included the state report card scores for the KCS elementary school their child was zoned to attend. Emerald provided information in six different languages and now teaches children whose families are from Burundi, Iraq, and various Spanish-speaking countries, Rysewyck says. Tramaine Patterson, whose daughter was zoned for Lonsdale Elementary, was disturbed by its state report card scores when she read the Emerald letter. She considered sending her daughter to Beaumont
Academy’s honors magnet program but chose Emerald. Jen Mowrer, who lives in Karns, had the same debate about her son. Although his sister was in third grade at Beaumont, Mowrer decided Emerald would offer him more structure. “His name is Rowdy, and he is rowdy,” she says. “It’s kind of like military school, and that’s what he needed. There’s no horseplay.” But Mowrer, who just started as Emerald’s fi rst PTA president, was also impressed that Rowdy was writing stories in kindergarten and doing homework every night. She plans to move her daughter to Emerald for middle school. When she does, the girl’s per-student public school funding will follow her.
FOLLOW THE MONEY (AND THE TALENT)
The Emerald Academy budget for 2016-2017 is $2.8 million, 75 percent (or $2.1 million) of which is public funding, according to John Crooks, marketing and communications director for the Emerald Youth Foundation. Knox County schools data show that so far, the district has passed about $881,000 in state and local funding to Emerald Academy. Residents who fought the Knox County school board’s approval of the Emerald charter in 2014 argued that losing these student dollars—and highly-involved parents—would
further cripple the public schools left behind. When all grades are fi lled, Emerald will take an estimated $4.5 million from Knox County Schools’ budget, Emerald officials estimate. Diggs says that once the school is fi lled, it will be spending a comparable amount per-student to what KCS spends. The rest of the academy’s funding comes from contributions and grants. Its biggest donor has been United Way, which has pledged to give $125,000 annually over three years, says Diggs, who adds that the school is working toward a large-scale fundraising campaign. To steer the new charter, Emerald culled some of the best and the brightest from Knox County school leaders, many with multiple advanced degrees. Rysewyck, a former Fulton High School principal, was serving as executive director of innovation and school improvement for Knox County Schools. He has four degrees, including a bachelor’s in psychology and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis. Dean of Academics Jamie Snyder was hired away from her job as principal of Corryton Elementary School, and Kelly was principal of West Valley Middle School. As dean of scholars, Kelly focuses on family relationships and discipline. Kelly says people have asked her
why she’d leave a high-performing suburban school to help run an inner-city charter. The answer is that she came from the same background as many of the Emerald Academy scholars. “I guess I should be in East Knoxville working in a fast-food restaurant,” says Kelly, who was born to teenage parents before attending Sarah Moore Greene Elementary and later Fulton High, eventually building a career in marketing at Proctor & Gamble. “I feel like my life was one of really defying the odds, without even knowing it. What we’re doing here is teaching scholars so they don’t have to defy the odds.” Emerald Academy basically functions as one unit with its parent organization, Emerald Charter Schools, the secular nonprofit created by Emerald Youth Foundation. Emerald Charter Schools could apply to open more schools later, although Diggs says that’s not currently planned. Emerald Youth Foundation initially intended to open just a middle school, but shifted its focus after schools it consulted suggested intervention would be effective at younger ages, Diggs says. If Emerald Charter Schools adds another school, it would probably use the same K-8 model, he adds. “Knox County is continuing to give choices for high school, so our sense is that if we can give choices in
Teacher Moniqueca Hicks, top-right, leads a language arts class for sixth graders. This is the first academic year Emerald has added a middle school class, starting with sixth grade. It will add two new classes each year, eventually offering a complete K-8 lineup. K-8, that will align with choices in high school,” Diggs says. As part of charter requirements, Emerald Academy has been audited for compliance with federal education laws and KCS expects to release its fi rst annual report on the school’s performance in September. Emerald Academy must provide the state an annual report on progress toward the goals in its charter, but that’s not due until Sept. 1, says Ashley Ball, communications director for the Tennessee Department of Education. She says the state has received no complaints about the school.
MAKING THE GRADE
Emerald Academy relies on an unusual team-teaching approach and additional school hours to provide extra individual instruction. Elementary classes at Emerald Academy are about a third larger than in local public schools, with 30 students, but each class is led by two certified teachers. One can conduct a traditional large-group class while another works with rotating smaller groups. The team approach (borrowed from Breakthrough) also makes it unlikely that students will ever lose a
day of learning when a substitute is there, Roberts says. In addition, there’s a volunteer “grandma” in elementary classes most of the day, says mother Jen Mowrer. This year, the sixth-grade classes have around a dozen students each, providing an unusual amount of individual attention. Emerald Academy has a 192-day school year, and instructional days are eight hours long. The extra 90 minutes at the end of each day is used to provide enrichment or extra help in small groups; advanced students can even work with students from the grade ahead. Scholars also have a lot of access to technology, with 10 devices in every elementary school classroom and a Chromebook for every middle school student. But Rysewyck says he is most proud of the school’s curriculum being designed by its own teachers, based on the state standards. One of Emerald’s goals is to rank among the top 5 percent of schools in Tennessee. Third- through eighth-graders will take the same state tests used to measure student achievement and year-to-year growth in public schools. But with no students in those grades yet, last year Emerald used Northwest Evaluation Association Measures of Academic Progress tests. August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 17
Welcome to Princeton (the classroom)! Second-grade teacher Lauren Allen, above, leads a small work group of students in lessons of arithmetic.
These allowed Emerald to compare student knowledge at the beginning, middle, and end of the year with student performance at 3,000 other school districts in 50 states. “We want to see how our kids are competing nationally, not just at the state level,” Rysewyck says, adding that this was another piece of advice Emerald received from Breakthrough. Emerald wants 75 percent of its students on target for achievement, as well as for academic growth over time, Rysewyck says. It’s not there yet. About 65 percent of kindergarteners met achievement targets last year, Emerald reported to KCS. About 63 percent met growth goals in language arts, but only 56 percent in math. First-graders (who almost all attended kindergarten in KCS) fared worse: between 42 and 53 percent met achievement targets, and 55 to 58 percent showed target growth. Rysewyck notes that some of them started at a literacy level below entry-level kindergarten standards. But of 63 fi rst-graders, the number reading on grade level increased from six at the beginning of the year to 44 at the end, he says. Emerald parents learn test results in quarterly meetings and through a different type of report card that uses numbers 1 to 4 to indicate the level of mastery for each subject. The report card gives parents specific direction by listing any individual skills needing improvement, Patterson says. She likes that her kindergartener set personal achievement goals with the teacher’s help, so the child 18
KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
really cared whether she succeeded. “Our goal is to demystify grades,” Rysewyck says, adding, “We deal with a (parent) population where school was maybe a little intimidating or not a successful experience.” Rysewyck says the report card was such a hit with parents that he shared it with former KCS Superintendent Jim McIntyre and five Knox County public elementary schools. Although Emerald uses tests to measure itself against other schools, it avoids “testing blitz,” Rysewyck says. Teachers don’t even review beforehand. Kelly emphasizes, “We’re all here trying to get kids ready for their high school of choice so they’re ready for college, rather than being here to get kids to pass a standardized test.” Testing—and rigorous assessments of teachers, tied to test scores— has been controversial in Knoxville and the state. Tennessee signed a testing contract last month reducing standardized testing time in grades three through eight by 30 percent. And the state is in the process of revamping its approach to grading teachers and school districts in the wake of last year’s federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which gives states more flexibility in evaluations. Some teachers and parents complained that Knox County Schools’ emphasis on testing created adversarial relationships between
teachers and administration. The controversy led to McIntyre’s resignation as superintendent in January. KCS is searching for his replacement, and some have suggested Rysewyck as a candidate. He says he is happy at Emerald, and his excitement about its mission is palpable. But when pressed, he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of steering Knox County Schools. Unlike in public schools recently, Emerald teachers are evaluated twice a year but otherwise have a pretty free reign. “I fi rmly believe teachers are professionals,” Rysewyck says. “We give them space and autonomy.” Roberts says the impact on the school atmosphere is refreshing in contrast to Greene, which her older child attends, where she says, “I feel the tension, administration against teachers and teachers against students.” On the other hand, former Emerald parent Crystal Tippens questions why only three of the eight classroom teachers that opened Emerald have returned. Rysewyck says they all left voluntarily on good terms, two to take jobs with Knox County Schools and the rest for personal reasons like health or family relocation. He acknowledges that developing curriculum and setting up the physical space was a lot of work.
“Sometimes when you’re building something new, it’s challenging. Their contributions were great, and the staff this year was able to come and be a lot more settled,” he says. Many of the new teachers hail from out of state and have more experience, he says.
DISCIPLINE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Rysewyck calls the Emerald approach to behavior “a three-legged stool” that depends on the school, the parents, and the student taking responsibility. When students are enrolled, their families sign a contract about their role in discipline, homework, and reading to their kids. A family engagement coordinator can visit them at home to work on strategies for meeting the terms. “I like that they hold parents accountable,” says Roberts, who recalls her daughter’s public school kindergarten class being sidetracked daily by a child throwing chairs. Emerald Academy has no in-school suspension for misbehaving students, but it does remove them from the classroom immediately. They go to a “reflection room” where they are asked to think about their behavior and then fi ll out a form explaining how their actions strayed from the school’s five core values and how the situation could have been handled better. (An adult “behavior manager” is available to help them with the process.) When fi nished, they apolo-
Students at Emerald Academy have access to a lot of technology—there are 10 devices in each elementary classroom and a Chromebook for every middle school student.
gize to the class and ask to rejoin the learning. Rysewyck says, “The goal is to get them back in the classroom within 15 or 20 minutes,” without pulling classroom teachers away from their focus on teaching. Quinones says her eldest son, now in second grade, was very defiant and often ended up in the reflection room last year. His teachers “were so patient and good with him,” she says. “We came together and came up with so many different problem-solving techniques,” which they used both at home and at school. By the end of the year, her son was getting more of his schoolwork done, she says. For students who misbehave regularly, a parent, family member, or even a neighbor may come and sit in the office and work with the child, Rysewyck says. Emerald Academy administrators say they will use basically the same approach with middle school students. And all levels learn the same classroom behavior systems. For example, scholars use hand signals to indicate they are done with a task or need to use the restroom. Teachers use hand signals to direct when students should stand or gather their things. When someone speaks, the teacher says “track” and points to them, indicating other students should make eye contact with the speaker.
But the boundary-testing in middle school can be very different than in the lower grades. The second week of school, a sixth-grade social studies teacher was trying to guide the class through a note-taking method. One student was speaking out of turn and making wisecracks before moving on to drumming on his desk with pencils and openly snacking out of his pocket. The teacher did not intervene and couldn’t remember what the hand signal for the bathroom meant when the student used it. Discipline at Emerald is progressive, and the guidelines are written clearly so every child gets the same consequence for the same behavior. This is a point that a local Disparities Education Task Force has highlighted in Knox County Schools, where, as nationally, a disproportionate percentage of black, poor, and disabled students receive harsher discipline, such as suspensions and expulsions. The same groups that were overrepresented in suspensions were underrepresented in academic success, the task force indicated in a May report to the community. But not everyone likes Emerald’s alternate approach to discipline. Crystal Tippens transferred her daughter out of kindergarten at Emerald before the end of its fi rst semester after the girl was injured several times by another child. Tippens felt the school staff was not
being honest about what had happened and she was disturbed that Rysewyck knew nothing about it. Tippens says she was also upset by the discipline she saw when she substituted, such as a teacher making a child who couldn’t answer a question stand in front of the class grasping for an answer until he cried. “I saw teachers get down and scream in a child’s face like at boot camp,” she says. “I would have lost my mind if I had seen my daughter yelled at like that.” Tippens says she decided she couldn’t trust the school with her daughter’s safety and transferred her to Lonsdale. Of Emerald, Tippens says, “I prayed we would get accepted to that school, and then when we got there, I was just so dissatisfied and discouraged… I’m not saying it’s not a good school. It’s just not something I can tolerate with my kid.” Kelly says Emerald tries to be flexible in working with families. Meetings with parents will be scheduled at odd hours to accommodate shift work and public transit, especially since kids ride the bus to Emerald from across the county. The school holds “Parent Nights” once a month with topics like wellness, Internet safety, and family bonding. Many Emerald families are struggling with other issues at home. Rysewyck says last year a teacher realized that nine of 16 kids involved
in a reading group discussion had a parent in jail. “Kids may act up or cry for no reason, because they are coming from very unstable homes,” Rysewyck says. “There’s a lot of death, single parents, gang activity, staying with odd people over the weekend.” It can be a struggle to help kids refocus on Mondays. Although Emerald had planned to eventually hire a dean of scholars (to work with families and discipline) and a counselor, academy leaders had assumed those positions could wait until the school had more grades and older students, Diggs says. “It wasn’t projected those positions would be needed with kindergarten and fi rst grade,” Rysewyck says—but he discovered they were, and added them during the second semester. The school also replaced its family engagement coordinator during the year because the person “was not a good fit,” Rysewyck says. This year a counselor will work with small groups of students on anger management. Teachers will focus more on learning about student home life and working closely with parents, Rysewyck says. Some families say they are already changing as a result of their child’s experience at Emerald. “My daughter came home and said, ‘I want three degrees like Dean Snyder,’” says Roberts, who was young when her children were born and didn’t attend college. “That inspired me.” She is starting online college courses this fall. “We’re going to do our homework together,” Roberts says. ◆ August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 19
A&E
P rogram Notes
The Science of Comedy QED Comedy Lab’s two-year run comes to an end
F
or the last two years, on Monday nights, the QED Comedy Laboratory at Pilot Light has provided a safe place for Knoxville’s comics—veteran performers and rookies, improv specialists and stand-ups, as well as a handful of aspiring audience members—to test some of their farthest-out comedy ideas in front of an audience. The loose affiliation of comedy mad scientists has hosted fake political debates, fake news broadcasts, and fake talk shows. They’ve performed comedy sets dressed up like animals, professional wrestlers, and American presidents and others based on Star Wars, the economy, pop music, comic books, and advice columns. “Some of the shows work really well and are amazing and magical. Some of them are terrible—like, ridiculously bad ideas,” says QED
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Shelf Life: Gandhi
KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
co-founder Matt Chadourne. The show has been instrumental in attracting new performers and allowing experienced comics to refine their acts. But it’s coming to an end next week: The Aug. 15 QED show will be the comedy lab’s last. (It’s also, coincidentally, the show’s second anniversary—a remarkable run for Knoxville comedy.) Chadourne, who initially developed the idea for an experimental comedy show, is moving with his fiancée to Oxford, England, in September. In 2014, Chadourne was performing as a stand-up and also with the long-running local improv troupe Einstein Simplified. He enjoyed both kinds of performance and wanted to participate in a local show that incorporated elements from both of them. “It was annoying that there was no mix between the improv communi-
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Music: Hello City
ty and the stand-up community,” he says. “They don’t really overlap.” So he joined forces with Tyler Sonnichsen, Shane Rhyne, and Sean Simoneau—all stand-ups, and all active on the local scene—and a handful of others to get QED off the ground. “Everybody had these ideas— wouldn’t it be fun if we did a show where we did this? Or wouldn’t it be fun if we did a show like this?” Chadourne says. “But there was no space for that. In a bigger comedy scene you would see these themed shows—once a month there would be a show that does X or Y—so we thought we’d start a show where every week there’s a different theme, a different set of rules, a different experiment in comedy.” Knoxville’s comedy scene has taken giant steps in recent years—at the turn of the millennium, there wasn’t a comedy scene here at all. Now there are a handful of monthly events, Einstein Simplified’s weekly improv show at Scruffy City Hall, a weekly open mic at Preservation Pub, frequent club appearances by touring professionals, and the annual Scruffy City Comedy Festival, which will celebrate its third anniversary in November. But local comedy is still in the developmental stages, which means that a low-pressure, high-concept series like QED can be an essential
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incubator for both performers and fans. Chadourne’s colleagues will maintain a regular Monday comedy night at Pilot Light, but it won’t follow the same format. QED has been a group effort, but Chadourne has had an outsize influence on its creative direction; the show reflects Chadourne’s low-key, self-effacing, and sometimes absurdist approach to comedy. “It won’t be QED, because that’s Matt’s brand,” says Sonnichsen. The new show will mix stand-up with a variety-show format, he says; they’ll announce details at the final QED show on Monday. “What we’re focusing on now is the final QED, to make the anniversary show and Matt’s last show a big blowout and a celebration of all the QED shows that we’ve done.” QED could get pretty goofy, but Chadourne says the idea behind it was serious. “The name of the show, QED, is a Latin phrase, quod erat demonstrandum,” he says. “It’s used in science and math and means ‘proof through demonstration’—you prove something by demonstrating it. That was one of the central ideas of the show, that you can only prove that you’re funny by demonstrating it. We wanted to demonstrate it in as many and as varied ways as we can. It wasn’t just nonsense.” —Matthew Everett
Movies: Phantom Boy
Shelf Life
Bio Epic Knox County Public Library presents a free screening of Richard Attenborough’s 1982 epic Gandhi BY CHRIS BARRETT
I
once interviewed Fay Vincent, the former commissioner of Major League Baseball. The conversation involved matters ecclesiastical—Vincent had considered the priesthood as a young man, before becoming an executive at Columbia Pictures and going on to annoy countless baseball fans by kicking out popular players like Pete Rose and Steve Howe. Vincent told me about an audience he once had with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. Vincent had hoped to be acknowledged somewhat for his piety. But it became clear that he had been described to the pope, in Italian, mostly with regard to his Hollywood career. Through a translator, His Holiness told Vincent, “Thank you for making the
Gandhi film.” Vincent said he tried to communicate to the pontiff that Richard Attenborough was responsible for the film, but he was prompted to make way and move along. Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) organized and inspired a widespread and sustained movement of nonviolent noncooperation that ended the British rule of India. Attenborough’s 1982 biographical film of the Mahatma’s life is exceptional for numerous reasons. It seems unlikely that such a film—with a cast of hundreds of thousands, shot on locations around the world with the patronage and active cooperation of numerous governments, along with the invitation and consent of the vast ecumenical
culture of adherents that Gandhi has influenced—could be made during the 21st century. The screenplay and casting were in flux for nearly two decades. (Early candidates for the role that Ben Kingsley ultimately owned in every way included Alec Guinness and John Hurt.) It would not be unreasonable to say that Attenborough spent his entire career preparing for Gandhi. His British film peers David Lean and Michael Powell had, separately and unsuccessfully, pursued the notion of a Gandhi film. So had Otto Preminger. Attenborough had not yet directed a film in 1962, when he was contacted in secret by a Gandhi devotee and asked to consider leading the project. Most historical assessments give the film high marks for accuracy. The scenes of military violence throughout are directed without stylization. Being ordered to club people or being clubbed are simply terrible and tedious, and to turn those moments into action scenes would have diminished them. Kingsley’s Gandhi is given the line, “Poverty is the greatest violence.” That violence is also portrayed with all of its offensive, life-crushing force. Gandhi and his collaborators undid the British Empire mostly by
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being still, by praying and fasting. Kingsley—whose given name is actually Krishna Bhanji, and who descends from the same Indian ethnic group as Gandhi—inhabits the lead role with magnificent restraint. He makes it seem exquisitely believable that a slight man of some years, clad in homespun, could intimidate and humble military aristocrats and elicit from them fevered dispatches to parliament and the crown urging capitulation. Gandhi is a fantastic film, of a sort all too rare. Possibly the strongest recommendation to see or revisit the film is the fact that, since its making, the British government, demonized in the film by accurate portrayal, eventually made both Kingsley and Attenborough knights of the empire. And many thousands of people—more than a few administering major awards and accolades— have compensated for the pope’s error and have celebrated Attenborough himself for making the Gandhi film. On the eve of India’s Independence Day anniversary, Knox County Public Library will show this acclaimed biographical drama. Viren Lalka, organizer of the Knoxville group Namaste, Welcome to India, will introduce the film. ◆
WHAT
Gandhi
WHERE
Lawson McGhee Library (500 W. Church Ave.)
WHEN
Sunday, Aug. 14, from 1-5 p.m., with intermission
HOW MUCH Free
INFO
knoxlib.org
August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 21
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Music
Going Solo Hello City returns to celebrate Knoxville’s underground rock scene, with help from New York’s Oneida BY ERIC DAWSON
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
Oneida has a solid body of work represented on a dozen albums and numerous singles and EPs, but the group is perhaps at its best onstage. The band has performed seven memorable shows at Pilot Light. Like the Australian improv trio the Necks, Oneida has developed an unlikely rapport with Knoxville; the members have cited it as one of their favorite cities to play, and have named Pilot Light as one of their favorite venues. “I remember when we first played there in 2001,” says drummer Kid Millions, otherwise known as John
Colpitts is hesitant to give too much away about the upcoming performances—in fact, he and his bandmates were still planning the show last week. Friday night’s show at Pilot Light will likely be a more traditional rock show, but the special setting on Saturday, in KMA’s outdoor garden, might inspire a long-form experimental approach. I ask Colpitts if Oneida still performs the 2002 minimalist rock burner “Sheets of Easter,” a driving, repetitive piece that can stretch to almost half in hour in concert. “Of course,” he jokes. “We can’t let the fans down.” He explains the piece’s continuing popularity among fans. “Doing a Reich or Glass-style piece with a punk element seemed inevitable, but no one had really done it like that before,” he says. “Really, it’s such a simple piece, and people really respond to it. We realize we barely register with most people, but there is a small, stalwart group of people in the country who seem to really be into that piece and into what we do. And that’s all right.” ◆
WHAT
Hello City 4
WHERE
Pilot Light (106 E. Jackson Ave.) and Knoxville Museum of Art (1050 World’s Fair Park Drive)
WHEN
Friday, Aug. 12, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 13, at 7 p.m. Photo by Erica Fletcher/Jagjaguwar
uring several past Big Ears festivals, an “indigenous companion” event called Hello City was held at Pilot Light to showcase local and regional music. It didn’t happen this year, but Pilot Light’s Jason Boardman is keeping the concept going this weekend with the fourth installment of the festival, the first Hello City untethered from Big Ears. Theoretically, Boardman says, several of these special events might occur every year in venues besides Pilot Light. This weekend, Boardman is bringing in one of his favorite bands, Oneida, for two nights of music that will also feature an eclectic collection of Knoxville acts, including Black Atticus, Headface and the Congenitals, Royal Bangs, and Shriek Operator, as well as Asheville’s Nest Egg. The festivities will be split between Pilot Light, on Friday night, and the Knoxville Museum of Art, on Saturday. The Brooklyn-based rock band Oneida has been at it for two decades now. The group hasn’t been very active in the last few years—as with many bands who have kept it up this long, careers and families have gotten in the way of tours and recording sessions. But the members apparently have no plans to call it quits anytime soon; new studio and live albums are forthcoming. Original members Kid Millions, Bobby Matador, and Hanoi Jane are now joined by Barry London and Shahin Motia, aka Showtime, to continue the band’s always unpredictable brand of exploratory rock, drawing from psychedelia, krautrock, minimalism, drone, and, occasionally, pop music.
Colpitts. “We’re so used to an indifferent crowd—it can be hard to connect with people on the road with what we do, but it seemed to click immediately with Jason and the Pilot Light. I’d heard about it as a good place to play, and we tried it out, and it’s been a nice home away from home for us for many years.” Colpitts, who has worked with Laurie Anderson and Spiritualized, liked Knoxville so much that he asked Boardman’s band, White Gregg, to back him on a leg of his Man Forever tour, a project in which the drummer invited local bands to accompany him on a percussion piece. “I had this plan to play with different musicians in each town,” Colpitts says. “I thought anybody can pick this piece up and do it well, but once I played with them, I thought, ‘Wow, they really got inside it,’ and asked them to play several shows with me. We recorded, at Pilot Light, what I consider the definitive version of the piece and released it as a tape. My girlfriend is not always super into the crazy avant stuff I do, but she really connected with that recording and finds it very moving.”
HOW MUCH $8
INFO
thepilotlight.com
Movies
Phantom Menace French kids’ noir Phantom Boy offers modest thrills for fans of old-fashioned animation BY APRIL SNELLINGS
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n the realm of theatrically released animated features, New York-based distributor GKIDS has defined itself as something of an anti-Pixar. Its slate, culled from across the globe but generally focused on European and Asian releases, tends to favor modestly budgeted and often hand-drawn animated movies that don’t elicit the geysers of tears and snot that erupt in the wake of, say, Inside Out. I enjoy technical wizardry and emotional devastation as much as the next Pixar devotee, but there’s something to be said for the pleasures of old-fashioned animation and not being a weepy basket case when I leave a movie theater. Anyway, besides being the stateside portal for Studio Ghibli’s films, GKIDS has curated such an impressive lineup of art-house
animation that virtually anything under its banner is a must-see. Their latest release, the French import Phantom Boy, qualifies as one of the lesser entries in the label’s catalog, but it’s not without its virtues, including vibrant animation and frequently funny, kid-centric takes on film noir and crime-movie tropes. The story centers on Leo (the voice of Marcus D’Angelo in the English-dubbed version that’s screening locally), an 11-year-old boy who’s confined to a hospital while undergoing cancer treatment. For reasons that are never explained, his illness has a strange side effect: He can leave his body and flit about the city, unseen and unheard, as long as he doesn’t stay out of his body too long. Leo, who wants to be a police-
man when he grows up, uses his ability to perform small acts of kindness whenever he can. He’s a really nice kid and a likeable hero. When he meets up with Alex ( Jared Padalecki), a fellow patient who also happens to be a police detective, Leo is pressed into service to help the wheelchair-bound cop take down a criminal mastermind known as the Face (a blustery Vincent D’Onofrio). Mostly this involves serving as Alex’s eyes and ears as Leo drifts through a stylized Gotham nightscape of creepy parking garages and bad-guy hideouts, often tailing a fearless investigative reporter named Mary (Melissa Disney, in a role voiced by Audrey Tautou in the French version), who’s determined to be Alex’s girl Friday. Dropping a sixth-grader into a
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crime caper is a cheekily amusing concept, and filmmakers Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol have fun sending their young hero into classic film noir settings. (Alex insists that Leo keep his eyes closed while following a criminal through a strip club.) Leo’s ghostly excursions into a Dick Tracy-ish underworld are the highlights of the film, rendered so beautifully that they occasionally achieve a kind of visual poetry. The lo-fi animation, which is only sparingly tweaked by CG enhancements, won’t appeal to all viewers, but if the blocky design and impressionist style suits you, Phantom Boy is always a pleasure to look at. If only the script measured up to the style. It’s possible that Phantom Boy is at least partly undone by high expectations—the last collaboration between co-directors Gagnol and Felicioli was the terrific crime caper A Cat in Paris, which scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature in 2012. Cat generated real tension, though, which Phantom Boy never manages. Even though Leo’s illness puts him up against a threat that’s far scarier than the crooks who pursued Cat’s heroine, Phantom Boy’s heavies are such inept boobs that they undermine any sense of suspense or danger. Its story is also clumsier, revolving around a poorly defined plot to destroy New York City with a computer virus and never bothering to flesh out or adhere to its own internal logic. But maybe that’s all as it’s meant to be, since there’s some ambiguity as to whether Leo’s adventures are real or imagined. And while Phantom Boy is neither as riveting nor as thrilling as Cat, it’s got the same sense of humanism and compassion at its core, and it’s classy enough that it never exploits Leo’s sickness to manipulate its audience; it doesn’t shy away from the possibility that Leo might not survive his illness, but the underlying tone skews toward lightheartedness and whimsy. Adults may find their attention wandering early and often, but kids who are keen on old-school animation and fizzy adventure might find a lot to like. ◆ August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 23
THE MOUNTAINS ARE CALLING AND YOU MUST GO, RUN. Just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, awaits YOUR VERY OWN RACE COURSE. Each year, the Smoky Mountain Half Marathon is held on the Peaceful Side of the Smokies. Marathon miles unwind along pristine waters of Little River, and through the rolling hills of mist-lled mountain valleys; you’ll enjoy everything the Smokies has to offer. For more information, visit www.greatsmokymountainshalfmarathon.com to sign up, train and view the course. Join us on September 10, 2016 for the #GSMHalf. You’ll discover that you’re going to need a longer stay.
YOUR OWN OUTDOOR AMUSEMENT PARK . Discover the enchanting waterways along the Peaceful Side of the Smokies. Where visitors can embark on anything from stand-up paddle boarding, rafting and kayaking adventures to good old-fashioned canoeing trips. Our waterways are overrowing with opportunities for recreational and serious paddlers alike – from beautiful, yet varied paddling conditions on the lake at Louisville Point, to the ever popular tubing on Little R iver. The options for adventure are endless. You’ll discover that you’re going to need a longer stay.
For more information waterway adventures, visit: http://www.facebook.com/SMOC.townsend h t t p : / / w w w . l i t t l e r i v e r t r a d i n g c o . c o m
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
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sugarlandsdistilling.com August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 25
HANDMADE ITALIAN
“Quintessential Southern Food, Elevated” – Allan Benton
16 MARKET SQUARE, KNOXVILLE, TN 37902 865.313.2472 • emiliaknox.com
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Please call for special hours for UT home games 6838 CHAPMAN HIGHWAY (HIGHWAY 441) 5 miles south of the Henley Street bridge
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
VOTE LOCAL! WELCOME TO THE KNOXVILLE MERCURY’S READERS’ POLL! The ultimate survey of everything Knoxvillians love most about Knoxville Top Knox celebrates only local and regional businesses and institutions.
NO NATIONAL CHAINS. NOT EVER. It’s the one true guide to Knoxville’s best, by the smartest, savviest consumers in town: YOU!
Results will be published in the Oct. 20 edition of the Mercury.
2016 READER’S POLL
VOTING IS ONLINE ONLY: topknox.knoxmercury.com VOTING BEGINS: Thursday, Aug. 4 at 12:01 a.m. VOTING ENDS: Thursday, Sept. 5 at Midnight
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August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 27
TOP KNOX 2016 BALLOT
Community
the rules YOU CAN’T VOTE FOR NATIONAL CHAINS.
Sorry. Top Knox is all about the things that make our area unique—so vote for local and regionally owned businesses only.
YOU MUST FILL OUT AT LEAST 20 OF THE CATEGORIES.
You can manage that, right? Otherwise, your ballot won’t be counted. Show us you’re serious about this!
YOU CAN ONLY FILL OUT ONE BALLOT.
Voting is online only. (The print ballot is just for your information.) You will need to create a login for the ballot with your email address. You are only allowed to send in one electronic ballot for tabulation. Which brings us to…
YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO STUFF THE BALLOT BOX.
No! Don’t bother even trying to game the system—we’ll figure it out. We reserve the right to make final judgments in any categories where there appear to be voting irregularities. Any businesses involved in ballot stuffing risk being disqualified.
ALSO: VOTE FOR BUSINESSES THAT ARE STILL IN BUSINESS.
We may hold departed businesses dear in our hearts, but Top Knox is a celebration of the places we can enjoy now.
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
Top Knoxvillian Top Neighborhood Association Top New Thing In Knoxville Top Nonprofit Community Group Top Secret About Knoxville
Food Top Appetizers Top Asian Top Bakery Top BBQ Top Breakfast Top Brunch Top Chef Top Coffeehouse Top Comfort Food Top Deli/Sandwich/Sub Shop Top Desserts Top Food Truck Top French Top Hamburger Top Hot Dog Top Ice Cream/Frozen Treats Top Indian Top Italian Top Juice / Smoothie Joint Top Lunch Spot Top Meal That’s A Steal Top Mexican/South American Top Middle-Eastern Top New Restaurant
Top Outdoor Dining Top Pizza Top Ribs Top Romantic Dining Top Salads Top Seafood Top Steaks Top Sushi Top Taco Top Vegetarian/Vegan Menu Top Waterfront Restaurant Top Wings
Drink Top Bar Top Beer Selection (Restaurant) Top Beer Market/Taproom Top Cocktails Top Dive Bar Top Happy Hour Top Craft Brewery Top Liquor Store Top Moonshine/Distillery Top Sports Bar Top Wine Bar Top Wine List (Restaurant) Top Wine Store
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Top Americana Band Top Blues Band Top Club DJ Top Comedian Top Cover Band Top Dance Club Top Hip-Hop/R&B Group Top Jazz Band Top Karaoke Top LGBT Club Top Live Comedy Venue Top Performance Venue Top Rock Band Top Rock Club
Top Auto Service Top Bank/Credit Union Top Catering Service Top Dry Cleaner Top Florist Top Framery Top Insurance Agent Top Lawyer Top Pet Service Top Professional Photographer Top Realtor Top Tattoo Studio Top Special-Event Venue Top Veterinarian
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August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 29
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
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August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 31
MUSIC
Thursday, Aug. 11 ROY BOOK BINDER WITH OUTLAW RITUAL • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE HOT SUMMER NIGHTS CONCERT SERIES • Blount County Public Library • 7PM • Thursdays in August, sponsored by the Blount County Friends of the Library. The performers will be 12-year-old Madisonville country singer Emi Sunshine (Aug. 4); jazz duo Wendel Werner and Alan Eleazer (Aug. 11); Nashville vocal family band Spencer’s Own (Aug. 18); Nashville country duo the Young Fables (Aug. 25); and Knoxville Opera’s preview of the 2016-17 season (Sept. 1). • FREE THE GRAND OLE UPROAR • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE MADBALL WITH HOMEWRECKER, COLDSIDE, AND WILL TO DIE • The Concourse • 7:30PM • Ask any two people to describe what Hardcore is all about, especially in 2014, and the volume of responses will blow your head clear off of your shoulders. Neither Ian MacKaye; nor Mike Muir, nor any member of the Bad Brains would even want to try to explain it. This scene of ours is misunderstood to the nth degree, and all too often, the wrong party is left trying to school the uninitiated as to its characteristics. Attempting to put New York Hardcore into its proper context may be even tougher. Regardless, most will agree that the NYHC sound - the one most often associated with its scene - begins with Agnostic Front, and if you don’t already know the kinship between Madball and AF, you should probably do the knowledge. All ages. • $12-$15 CHRIS WEST • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM THE WHISKEY SHIVERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM QUARTJAR • Scruffy City Hall • 6PM • Part of Wayne Bledsoe’s 6 O’Clock Swerve series, broadcast live on WDVX. • FREE NAUGHTY SCOTTY • Wild Wing Cafe • 8:30PM • FREE VIETJAM • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM THE CRUMBSNATCHERS WITH BEHOLD THE BRAVE, WATERFALL WASH, AND GROUNDHOG • Pilot Light • 9:30PM • On its long-delayed and much anticipated debut album, Big House, Knoxville’s premier indie/punk/art pop party band shows that it takes more than a lot of energy and a goofy sense of humor to establish a reputation for unbridled, reckless, full-throttle fun. Big House showcases the band in all its frenzied, multidimensional glory, with bursts of furious hardcore aggression, dense instrumental workouts, passages of laid-back cocktail rock and Zappa-esque fusion jams, and plenty of sunny summertime sing-along pop choruses. 18 and up. • $5 THE DOWNRIGHT BAND • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $3 Friday, Aug. 12 MICHAEL RENO HARRELL WITH UNSPOKEN TRADITION • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE CAROLINA STORY • Campbell Station Park • 6PM • Part of the Lawn Chair Concert series. • FREE ALIVE AFTER FIVE: ORI NAFTALY AND SOUTHERN AVENUE • Knoxville Museum of Art • 6PM • Based in Memphis, Ori Naftaly and Southern Avenue brings infectious rhythms, 32
KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
soulful guitar sounds, and soulful vocals to the stage. • $15 BRIDGES • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE THE MILL CREEK MULESKINNERS • Seymour Public Library • 7PM • Old-time bluegrass. • FREE 10 YEARS WITH FINGER ELEVEN AND EVAN STONE • The International • 8PM • There are few noises as powerful as the sound of confidence. After a decade of trials and tribulations, hit singles and music industry politics, 10 Years have emerged stronger than ever, freed by their own independence (both creatively and professionally), with a hard rock sound as steadfastly resilient as the salt-of-the-Earth fans relentlessly packing clubs to see them play. A 10 Years album is a celebration of strength through adversity. All ages. • $22-$50 FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE LIL WYTE WITH MARK JAMES • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • Independence is the name of the game for veteran rapper Lil Wyte. After more than a decade in the spotlight, the Memphis songwriter has amassed legions of fans worldwide, and consistently attracts new listeners from his catalog of intense solo and collaborative albums. • $15 COLT FORD • Cotton Eyed Joe • 9PM • Answer to No One: The Colt Ford Classics collects 13 tracks from those five – and one from the 2010 Mud Digger compilation – for the most complete collection yet of his revolutionary mash-up of good old boy country and the rhythms of hip-hop, a groundbreaking combination. • $10 REBEL MOUNTAIN • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM KUKULY AND THE GYPSY FUEGO • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE PROJECT WOLFPACK • Swifty’s Atomic Bar and Grill (Oak Ridge) • 9PM • FREE JOE KAPLOW • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 9PM STATE STREET RHYTHM SECTION • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM SHIFFTY AND THE HEADMASTERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Covering the gamut of classic mid ‘70s to ‘80s rock, you can expect to hear a wide spectrum of indelible music including: Van Halen, Steely Dan, Styx, Rick James, Journey, and the like. • $5 UNSPOKEN TRADITION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE HELLO CITY VOL. 4 • Pilot Light • 8PM • What started in 2009 as an “indigenous companion” to the Big Ears festival is now, in its fourth iteration, a stand-alone summer festival of its own, spread over two days and two venues (at Pilot Light on Friday, Aug. 12, and the Knoxville Museum of Art on Saturday, Aug. 13) and headlined both nights by the great New York psych/ drone-rock band Oneida. Also featuring Nest Egg, Headface and the Congenitals, Royal Bangs, Shriek Operator, Black Atticus, and more. 18 and up on Friday; all ages on Saturday. • $8 • See Music story on page 30. CHELSEA STEPP • Wild Wing Cafe • 6PM • FREE RICKEY MITCHELL • Jimmy’s Place • 7PM • FREE THE WOODY PINES • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 21 and up. • FREE JOCELYN AND CHRIS ARNDT • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM THE POP ROX • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • FREE THE BURNIN’ HERMANS AND THE DEAD RINGERS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $5 Saturday, Aug. 13 KARTHICK IYER • Bijou Theatre • 5PM • What is it about good music that strikes such a deep chord with us - no
matter where it comes from? Is it the genre, the beat, the instruments, the notes, the voice or something else? Exploring answers to this question has been a rewarding 20-plus year journey for Karthick Iyer, culminating in the creation of his own unique style of music called IndoSoul. • $25 • See Spotlight on page 42. KITTY WAMPUS • Concord Park • 6PM • Part of Knox County’s Second Saturday Concerts series at the Cover at Concord Park. • FREE UNKNOWN HINSON • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson ( Maryville) • 6PM • Psychobilly meets surf, country, classic rock and Universal horror monsters.
• $20 CLARK PATERSON • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE U CAN’T TOUCH THIS: ROCK HITS OF THE ‘90S • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 7:30PM • The summer show for Knoxville’s School of Rock features performances by the school’s Rock 101 group and students from the performance program. They’ll be playing songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Cranberries, Smashing Pumpkins, Black Crowes, and more. All ages. • $8-$10 THE TEMPER EVANS BAND • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM
Photo by Mark Seliger
CALENDAR
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
GILLIAN WELCH The Mill and Mine (227 W. Depot Ave.) • Wednesday, Aug. 17 • 8 p.m. • $30/$32 day of the show • themillandmine.com or gillianwelch.com
Gillian Welch will be crooning at the new Mill and Mine in her first recent Knoxville appearance as the main act—last year, at the Tennessee Theatre, she harmonized with her constant partner in the Dave Rawlings Machine. This time her material will take center stage, although, as always, Rawlings will offer his ghostly, almost-not-there harmony. Welch’s stripped-down Americana/folk/country always seems to offer a Depression-era moonscape of characters who seem numbed by the effort of restraining their raw emotion. (Hard to believe she grew up in Los Angeles and attended Berklee School of Music.) The Welch/ Rawlings duet is a perfect demonstration of the power of restraint, the fact that pauses and silences are a powerful part of the music. Welch’s most recent album with Rawlings, The Harrow and the Harvest, from 2011, includes a song named after our fair state which it’s a good bet will be played Wednesday: “It’s beef steak when I’m working/Whiskey when I’m dry/Sweet heaven when I die.” That’s Tennessee for you, all right. (S. Heather Duncan)
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Spotlight: Karthick Iyer Live
CALENDAR THE CHUCK MULLICAN JAZZ BONANZA • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE THE GRAND OLE UPROAR • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 9PM FEW MILES ON • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM MICHAELA ANNE • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE SAME AS IT EVER WAS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Knoxville’s best—and only—Talking Heads tribute band. • $5 THE COVERALLS • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM • Knoxville’s long-running bar/wedding/special event favorites are masters of mood—they know what an audience wants, whether it’s Top 40 hits, Motown, classic rock, or jazz standards, and they deliver, on time, every time. HELLO CITY VOL. 4 • Knoxville Museum of Art • 7PM • What started in 2009 as an “indigenous companion” to the Big Ears festival is now, in its fourth iteration, a stand-alone summer festival of its own, spread over two days and two venues (at Pilot Light on Friday, Aug. 12, and the Knoxville Museum of Art on Saturday, Aug. 13) and headlined both nights by the great New York psych/ drone-rock band Oneida. Also featuring Nest Egg, Headface and the Congenitals, Royal Bangs, Shriek Operator, Black Atticus, and more. 18 and up on Friday; all ages on Saturday. • $8 • See Music story on page 30. JORDAN BENNETT • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE CHRIS ELLIS AND THE WEEKENDERS • Jimmy’s Place • 7PM • FREE PALE ROOT • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • Aaron Freeman’s taste for contemporary songwriters like Ryan Adams and Darrel Scott provides a balance to Jordan Burris’ penchant for bluegrass and traditional folk. As Pale Root, they’ve quietly settled into their own spot in Knoxville’s crowded Americana scene—intimate, confessional music grounded in tradition. At various times, the duo’s music recalls Neil Young, Jackson Browne, the Everly Brothers, and the Avett Brothers. It’s a surprisingly full and mature sound from just two people. • FREE TY BATES • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • FREE LADY D AND SOUL JAM WITH INTEL RHYTHM ECLECTIC • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $5 Sunday, Aug. 14 SHIFFLETT’S JAZZ BENEDICT • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz. • FREE SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH • Downtown Grill and Brewery • 12:45PM • Knoxville’s coolest jazz artists perform every Sunday. • FREE JASON D. THOMPSON • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • With a voice of a possessed preacher, and a beat up old guitar, Jason is known to captivate audiences with his unique blend of Punk & Country Blues. He is a true storyteller and songwriter carrying on a family tradition passed down to him during his childhood, growing up in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. • FREE THIEVES OF SUNRISE • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $3 J. LUKE • Wild Wing Cafe • 6PM • FREE Monday, Aug. 15 KELCY MAE WITH VAL AND THE SOUTHERN LINE • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-aweek lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE GANGSTAGRASS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM •
Gangstagrass is a dirty fightin’, gator wrestlin’, foot stompin’ bluegrass-hip-hop project of Brooklyn based producer Rench, who has spent the last decade making gritty, soulful country hip-hop music that you will actually like. • FREE BELLADONNA WITH THE KELCY MAE TRIO • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • FREE BEN SHUSTER • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • FREE Tuesday, Aug. 16 GUS MOON WITH TIM PEPPER • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE THE LOST FIDDLE STRING BAND • Wild Wing Cafe • 5:30PM • FREE LIZ FRAME AND THE KICKERS • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE MARBLE CITY 5 • Market Square • 8PM • Live jazz every Tuesday from May 3-Aug. 30. • FREE JACOB WHITESIDES • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • “Landing in Europe for the first time was one of the coolest moments of my life,” says 17-year-old singer-songwriter Jacob Whitesides. “Coming into Copenhagen airport, I was surrounded by all these fans who had been supporting me for so long. There were girls passing out. It was insane!”Jacob’s first overseas trip was a world away from what you’d expect from a common teenage rite-of-passage. But then Jacob is hardly your typical teenager. For this is a young artist with a social media following of over 5 million people, and who went straight to #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart with the release of his debut EP A Piece of Me. Already in scintillating form, he then topped the charts in the UK, Canada, Portugal, Australia, Brazil and France. What’s more, he’s done it all on his own terms. • $17.50-$20 GRIZZLY GOAT • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Creatively infusing a Mumford and Sons, bluegrass flavor and a rock ‘n’ roll vibe, the band Grizzly Goat has created a new music genre in their own right. • FREE TWO COW GARAGE • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $3 Wednesday, Aug. 17 RENSHAW DAVIES WITH LIZ AND THE FRAME KICKERS • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 6:30PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE GRIZZLY GOAT • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE THE DANIEL RYAN TRIO • The Bistro at the Bijou • 7PM • Live jazz. • FREE TENNESSEE SHINES: ALEX LEACH • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7PM • East Tennessee’s own Alex Leach brings his band to play songs from his brand-new CD, New Traditional, as heard on WDVX. The young man who began his career at age 9 as a host on WDVX is now an accomplished bluegrass picker and singer, spending much of the year on the road performing with Ralph Stanley II. • $10 GILLIAN WELCH • The Mill and Mine • 8PM • The Harrow and the Harvest, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawling’s new record, is the product of two people who have become so entwined in one another that the songs and the singing and the playing on this record seems to exude from a single voice. This is the sound of two people in a room, playing to one another, with one another. • $30-$32 • See
Single Tickets On Sale Now!
VIOLET
Music by Jeanine Tesori Book & Lyrics by Brian Crawley Based on The Ugliest Pilgrim by Doris Betts AUG. 31 - SEPT. 18
THE CRUCIBLE
By Arthur Miller SEPT. 28 - OCT. 16
THIS IS OUR YOUTH By Kenneth Lonergan OCT. 26 - NOV. 13
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Adapted by Edward Morgan & Joseph Hanreddy NOV. 23 - DEC. 18
OUTSIDE MULLINGAR By John Patrick Shanley FEB. 1 - 19
THE BUSY BODY: A COMEDY By Susanna Centlivre FEB. 22 - MAR. 12
TOP GIRLS
By Caryl Churchill
MAR. 29 - APR. 16
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Adapted by Mark Brown From the Novel by Jules Verne APR. 19 - MAY 7
August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 33
CALENDAR Spotlight on page 32. BURN HALO WITH AMERICAN EVIL • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • All ages. • $8-$10 JOE THE SHOW • Wild Wing Cafe • 8:30PM • FREE THE HARMED BROTHERS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $3 Thursday, Aug. 18 GRIZZLY GOAT WITH ERISA REI • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE TED NUGENT • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (Maryville) • 6PM • The hard-rock loudmouth of the reactionary right might have made some good music a long time ago—”Stranglehold,” “Cat Scratch Fever,” “Journey to the Center of the Mind”—but his abominable politics and even worse personality have made the Motor City Madman hard to stomach these days. • $30 THE MARK BOLING TRIO • Scruffy City Hall • 6PM • Part of Wayne Bledsoe’s 6 O’Clock Swerve series, broadcast live on WDVX. • FREE MAE BETH HARRIS WITH THE BLUE JAYS • New Harvest Park • 6:30PM • Part of Knox County’s Third Thursday concert series. • FREE HOT SUMMER NIGHTS CONCERT SERIES • Blount County Public Library • 7PM • Thursdays in August, sponsored by the Blount County Friends of the Library. The performers will be 12-year-old Madisonville country singer Emi Sunshine (Aug. 4); jazz duo Wendel Werner and Alan Eleazer (Aug. 11); Nashville vocal family band Spencer’s
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
Own (Aug. 18); Nashville country duo the Young Fables (Aug. 25); and Knoxville Opera’s preview of the 2016-17 season (Sept. 1). • FREE THE GOOD BAD KIDS • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE THE GREG HORNE BAND • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM • Affable, unassuming, self-deprecating almost to a fault, it’s easy to see why guitar ace Greg Horne is a sideman of choice for local luminaries like Jay Clark, R.B. Morris, and Tim Lee, yet uncomfortable with the notion of stepping into the spotlight himself. But Horne is also a first-class player, a versatile stringman who can pick up a fiddle or a mandolin or even a ukulele without thinking twice, or who can craft the kind of guitar solo—marked by facile chops and impeccable taste—that only a truly mature, accomplished player can deliver. VALLIE NOLES WITH STEVEN SWICEGOOD • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • Vallie Noles is a singer/ songwriter from Knoxville. Vallie realized at a young age she had the talent for taking words and thoughts and turning them to songs. Many notebooks later, at the age of 11, she decided to pursue a singing and songwriting career. Armed with a written list of goals, she acted on each with the attitude that hard work always produced results. Joining with Manager and Director Cylk Cozart, she created the music video, 5 Seconds, in December 2014. With determination, a second goal is being achieved as she is currently in the studio recording her new album. All ages. • $8-$10 TALL PAUL • Wild Wing Cafe • 8:30PM • FREE PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG • The Concourse • 9PM •
Funk, rock, electric energy: These four Pigeons bring it every night. Based out of Baltimore, Md., Pigeons Playing Ping Pong has an undeniably unique and versatile live sound that ascends peaks of musical ecstasy. Their evolving arrangement of original compositions, psychedelic improvisational jams, and contagious smiles have the Flock– their self-identifying fanbase that stretches from coast-to-coast– coming back for more. 18 and up. • $10-$12 OUTLAW RITUAL • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $3 THE BROADCAST • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • A soulful americana rock band bursting at the seams- The Broadcast is fronted by explosive vocalist Caitlin Krisko taking cue from early 70s classic rock. Friday, Aug. 19 KYLE NACHTIGAL WITH CHRIS STALCUP AND THE RANGE • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE MONTU • Preservation Pub • 6PM • Based out of Norman, Okla., Montu is an electronic jam band that blends a multitude of influences into an unforgettable live experience full of high energy and good times. 21 and up. MELLIFLUX • Wild Wing Cafe • 6PM • FREE AMYTHYST KIAH • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • Amythyst Kiah is a Southern Gothic, alt-country blues singer/songwriter based out of Johnson City, TN, which has been her permanent residence for nearly a
decade. She has been performing in what is known as the Tri-Cities (Bristol, TN/VA, Johnson City, TN, Kingsport, TN) and in various parts of Southwest Virginia. • FREE LARRY GOODWIN • Jimmy’s Place • 7PM • FREE CALEB MILLER • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • FREE UMPHREY’S MCGEE • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • After 17-plus years of performing more than 100 concerts annually, releasing eight studio albums and selling more than 3.5 million tracks online, Umphrey’s McGee might be forgiven if they chose to rest on their laurels. But then that wouldn’t be consistent with the work ethic demonstrated by the band, which consistently attempts to raise the bar, setting and achieving new goals since forming on the Notre Dame campus in South Bend, IN, in 1997. After releasing their eighth studio album, Similar Skin, the first for their own indie label, the group continue to push the envelope and test the limits. Their brand-new studio album, The London Session, was a dream come true for the members having been recorded at the legendary Studio Two at historic Abbey Road. The stealth recording session yielded 10 tracks in a single day, proving once again, the prolific UM waits for no one. • $30-$35 FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE KITTY WAMPUS • AC Band • 8PM • Classic rock, blues, and R&B. SUPER BOB WITH BRIDGE TO GRACE, SOMETHING WICKED, HELLAPHANT, AND TRANSPARENT SOUL • Open Chord
Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • Super Bob’s live show is more than overblown hype; it’s a fun, energetic, captivating, physical expression of music with an energy and presence beyond the words that can be written in a bio. Super Bob is a new sound in rock and roll, with an old fashioned rock and roll attitude. They’re familiar, yet completely different. • $8-$12 CHRIS ELLIS AND THE WEEKENDERS • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM MIKE BAGGETTA • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • New York avant-garde jazz guitarist Mike Baggetta and his colleagues mix hallucinatory soundscapes with intricate improvisational workouts. Comparisons to Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot make sense, but Baggetta’s career so far suggests that he’ll emerge from those shadows sooner rather than later and establish himself as a significant new jazz explorer. • FREE THE STEEL CITY JUG SLAMMERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 9PM JOSHUA POWELL AND THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE WAVY TRAIN • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. • $5 THE BURNIN’ HERMANS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM GLASS • Pilot Light • 10PM • 18 and up. • $5 TRIAL BY FIRE • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • A tribute to Journey. • FREE THE CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT BAND • The Concourse • 11PM • Classic elements of jam, rock, and R&B with a heavy emphasis on visuals, humor, and eroticism. Jazz rock punk funk glam jam the way you never heard it. 18 and up. • FREE KEVIN COSTNER AND MODERN WEST • Cotton Eyed Joe • 9PM • Yes, that Kevin Costner—he’s leading his country band into Far West Knoxville for a boot-scootin’ good time. • $25 Saturday, Aug. 20 8TH ANNUAL SMOKIN’ DAY FESTIVAL • Sweet P’s Barbecue and Soul House • 2PM • Sweet P’s Barbeque & Soul House is hosting its 8th annual Smokin’ Day Festival, a free day of live music at its South Knoxville location. Throughout the day, regional blues, folks and soul musicians will play inside and outside the restaurant. A FEW MILES ON WITH THE WEST KING STRING BAND • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE WHISKEY MYERS • The Shed at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson (Maryville) • 6PM • Texas rockers Whiskey Myers, whose tireless touring and escaped chain gang chemistry has earned them a place as one of the leading lights of Southern rock, are releasing their new album, Mud, on Sept. 9 via Thirty Tigers. Recorded with producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell), Mud is a reclamation of the swagger of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Sabbath-style riffage, buoyed by flourishes of shivering gospel organ, exuberant brass, and fiery fiddles. • $20 THE STEEL CITY JUG SLAMMERS • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE SAMANTHA GRAY AND THE SOUL PROVIDERS • Jimmy’s Place • 7PM • FREE BRYAN PIXA • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • FREE THE STEELDRIVERS • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • Gary Nichols and the SteelDrivers speak in their own accent, one that charms and sears and beguiles. This is a band like no other, by inclination but not by calculation. • $27
Photo by Emily Joyce
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
CALENDAR
DWIGHT YOAKAM at Back Porch on the Creek on Saturday, Aug. 27. See the Long View on page 46. TIM HALPERIN • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • With his distinctive voice, soulful piano vibe and acumen for writing original songs that tell a story, Tim Halperin has emerged as one of the brightest young singer/ songwriters in the United States. Stylistically blending an infectious mix of pop and rock with a hint of jazz, Halperins trademark catchy melodies, pure vocal tonality and rhythmic piano style have struck a chord with audiences from coast to coast. • $10-$15 CHALAXY WITH SATURN VALLEY AND PIANO • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM THE JAILHOUSE REVIEW • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM HAROLD NAGGE AND ALAN WYATT • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE TENN PAN ALLEY • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 9PM DEMON WAFFLE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Ska-Rock w/ flavors of funk, punk, and hip-hop. • FREE BIRDCLOUD • Pilot Light • 10PM • Birdcloud is Jasmin Kaset and Makenzie Green, a pair who met in a place called Murfreesboro and who, since 2009, have used things like booze and sacrilege to make very modern country music. The duo write songs about what Sarah Palin deemed “the real America,” that unsung republic of countrified interstices stretching from coast to coast between cities. Kaset and Green’s America is a nation of indulgent reprobates and boastful imbeciles, laughing maniacs and horny high school dropouts— the desperate, absurd place we all inhabit in one way or another. • $8 THE ANDALYN LEWIS BAND • Wild Wing Cafe • 10PM • FREE Sunday, Aug. 21 SHIFFLETT’S JAZZ BENEDICT • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz. • FREE SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH • Downtown Grill and Brewery • 12:45PM • Knoxville’s coolest jazz artists perform every Sunday. • FREE A FEW MILES ON • Star of Knoxville Riverboat • 4PM • Come join the Smoky Mountain Blues Society as they present some of the best known regional Blues Music artists performing on specialty cruises on the Tennessee River. From April through October, blues lovers will convene to celebrate this truly American art-form during a 3 hour Sunday afternoon cruise on the Star of Knoxville Tennessee Riverboat. Visit smokymountainblues.org. • $16-$20
J. LUKE • Wild Wing Cafe • 6PM • FREE HARD WORKING AMERICANS • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • Let me explain what it’s like to summarize Rest in Chaos. What you have here is, in the first place, the book of Genesis as deftly reconceived by Todd Snider who has been inhabited by a spirit resembling Philip K. Dick. The rest of the Hard Working Americans are under the direction (or perhaps in the thrall) of an older wiser Jimi Hendrix and a Frank Zappa no less exacting than he was when he departed. It is rock’n’roll music, past, present and future, and that’s no dream, it’s just a fact. There are moments here when the walls of Babel might be falling, there are moments when they are reinvented and every time you try to pin it down, it shows you something else. Hard Working Americans combines the talents of Todd Snider, Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools and Duane Trucks, Chris Robinson Brotherhood’s Neal Casal, Great American Taxi’s Chad Staehly, and Jesse Aycock. • $27-$30 ARC AND STONES WITH VINYL THIEF AND SHILOH HILL • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 21 and up. • $3 THE JON WHITLOCK TRIO • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM
OPEN MIC AND SONGWRITER NIGHTS
Thursday, Aug. 11 SCOTTISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. • FREE Friday, Aug. 12 TIME WARP TEA ROOM OPEN SONGWRITER NIGHT • Time Warp Tea Room • 7PM • Songwriter Night at Time Warp Tea Room runs on the second and fourth Friday of every month. Show up around 7 p.m. with your instrument in tow and sign up to share a couple of original songs with a community of friends down in Happy Holler. • FREE Sunday, Aug. 14 EPWORTH MONTHLY OLD HARP SHAPE NOTE SINGING • Laurel Theater • 6:30PM • Visit jubileearts.org. • FREE SING OUT KNOXVILLE • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7PM • A folk singing circle open to August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 35
CALENDAR everyone. • FREE Tuesday, Aug. 16 PRESERVATION PUB SINGER/SONGWRITER NIGHT • Preservation Pub • 7PM OLD-TIME JAM SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Hosted by Sarah Pirkle. • FREE Wednesday, Aug. 17 TIME WARP TEA ROOM OLD-TIME JAM • Time Warp Tea Room • 7PM • Regular speed old-time/fiddle jam every Wednesday. All instruments and skill levels welcome. BRACKINS BLUES JAM • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM • A weekly open session hosted by Tommie John. • FREE Thursday, Aug. 18 IRISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the first and third Thursdays of each month. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 20 OLD-TIME SLOW JAM • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 4PM • A monthly old-time music session, held on the third Saturday of each month. • FREE Sunday, Aug. 21 FAMILY FRIENDLY DRUM CIRCLE • Ijams Nature Center • 3:30PM • Drumming for kids of all ages on the third Sunday of the month. Bring a drum or share one of ours. Bring a blanket or chair. Open to drummers of all ages and levels. Free and fun. • FREE
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
DJ AND DANCE NIGHTS Friday, Aug. 12 HOMIE HOEDOWN • El Pulpo Loco • 9PM • Featuring DJs Cheers, B2B, PDoddy, Snazzy, and Stinky Igloo. 18 and up. • $5 Sunday, Aug. 14 LAYOVER SUNDAY BRUNCH • The Concourse • 12PM • Enjoy good eats, refreshing libations, and the most appropriate afternoon tunes in the company of this city’s most dedicated loafers. We’ll be serving our normal brunch in all it’s glory, courtesy of Localmotive. Musical accompaniment by the likes of Slow Nasty, Psychonaut, and a rotating list of special guests. All ages. • FREE Friday, Aug. 19 TEKNOX V28 • The Birdhouse • 10PM • A night of Detroit sludge dance music, showcasing the How to Kill Records label artists Marshall Applewhite, the Friend, and Shady P. 21 and up. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 20 TEMPLE DANCE NIGHT • The Concourse • 9PM • Knoxville’s long-running alternative once night. 18 and up. • $5 Sunday, Aug. 21 LAYOVER SUNDAY BRUNCH • The Concourse • 12PM • Enjoy
Spend the day with an expert exploring and learning more about our beloved Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our affordable courses offer something for mountain lovers of all ages.
Visit smfs.utk.edu for complete course descriptions and to register. facebook.com/SmokyMountainFieldSchool
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
@SmokyMountainFS
good eats, refreshing libations, and the most appropriate afternoon tunes in the company of this city’s most dedicated loafers. We’ll be serving our normal brunch in all it’s glory, courtesy of Localmotive. Musical accompaniment by the likes of Slow Nasty, Psychonaut, and a rotating list of special guests. All ages. • FREE
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Saturday, Aug. 20 LILY AFSHAR • Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan • 7PM • Acclaimed as “one of the world’s foremost classical guitarists” according to Public Radio International, Lily Afshar is a virtuosa who brings passion to her performance. Her unique life story finds expression in her art. The Washington Post has described her onstage performance as “remarkable, impeccable.” She is the only classical guitarist in the world who blends excellent formal training in the United States and Europe with the rich cultural heritage of Persia to bring audiences an extraordinary musical experience. Visit knoxvilleguitar.org. • $20
THEATER AND DANCE
Thursday, Aug. 11 SHAKESPEARE ON THE SQUARE • Market Square • 7PM • Shakespeare on the Square annually features two of the magnificent plays of Williams Shakespeare, comedies, tragedies and histories, rotated nightly Thursdays through
Sundays outdoors on Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. This year, Shakespeare on the Square presents The Merry Wives of Windsor, featuring one of Shakespeare’s funniest and most unique characters, the dissolute knight Sir John Falstaff, in what may be the original situational comedy, as Falstaff attempts to court two women at the same time behind their husbands’ backs; and King Lear, the classic tragedy of an aging and weary British king who divides his kingdom among his three daughters and realizes—all too late—that love is found in actions, not in words. Visit tennesseestage.com. • FREE-$15 Friday, Aug. 12 SHAKESPEARE ON THE SQUARE • Market Square • 7PM • Shakespeare on the Square annually features two of the magnificent plays of Williams Shakespeare, comedies, tragedies and histories, rotated nightly Thursdays through Sundays outdoors on Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. July 14-Aug. 14. Visit tennesseestage.com. • FREE-$15 Saturday, Aug. 13 SHAKESPEARE ON THE SQUARE • Market Square • 7PM • Shakespeare on the Square annually features two of the magnificent plays of Williams Shakespeare, comedies, tragedies and histories, rotated nightly Thursdays through Sundays outdoors on Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. July 14-Aug. 14. Visit tennesseestage.com. • FREE-$15 Sunday, Aug. 14
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
SHAKESPEARE ON THE SQUARE • Market Square • 7PM • Shakespeare on the Square annually features two of the magnificent plays of Williams Shakespeare, comedies, tragedies and histories, rotated nightly Thursdays through Sundays outdoors on Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. July 14-Aug. 14. Visit tennesseestage.com. • FREE-$15 Friday, Aug. 19 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • To fulfill his dream of becoming a soldier, young d’Artagnan heads for Paris and into romance, intrigue and adventure. On the way, he meets a secret agent, confronts a mysterious swordsman, rescues the beautiful Constance, and ultimately joins The Three Musketeers in their fight against an evil Cardinal. Aug. 19-Sept. 4. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 Saturday, Aug. 20 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 1PM and 5PM • Aug. 19-Sept. 4. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 Sunday, Aug. 21 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE THREE MUSKETEERS’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 3PM • Aug. 19-Sept. 4. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12
COMEDY AND SPOKEN WORD
Thursday, Aug. 11 PIZZA HAS • Pizza Hoss • 8PM • On the second Thursday of the month, Pizza Hoss in Powell hosts a showcase featuring sets from some of the best comedians in East Tennessee along with selected up-and-coming talent. Each month one of the hosts of Rain/Shine Event productions (Shane Rhyne, Matt Chadourne, Tyler Sonnichsen, and Sean Simoneau) serves as your guide to introduce you the best of our region’s comedy scene. • FREE Friday, Aug. 12 JIM GAFFIGAN • Knoxville Civic Auditorium • 7PM • In 2015, Jim became one of only ten comedians in history to sell out the famed Madison Square Garden arena for the finale of his “Contagious” tour, he opened for Pope Francis in front of one million+ people in Philadelphia, and his television show, “The Jim Gaffigan Show,” debuted on TV Land to enormous ratings and reviews - with season two slated to premiere this summer. • $48-$58 SMOKY MOUNTAIN STORYTELLERS • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • FREE Sunday, Aug. 14 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic. Monday, Aug. 15 QED COMEDY LABORATORY • Pilot Light • 7:30PM • QED ComedyLaboratory is a weekly show with different theme every week that combines stand-up, improv, sketch, music and other types of performance and features some of the funniest people in Knoxville and parts unknown. It’s weird and experimental. There is no comedy experience in town that is anything like this and it’s also a ton of fun. Pay what you want. Free, but donations are accepted. • FREE • See Program Notes on page 28. Tuesday, Aug. 16
CALENDAR
EINSTEIN SIMPLIFIED • Scruffy City Hall • 8PM • Einstein Simplified Comedy performs live comedy improv at Scruffy City Hall. It’s just like Whose Line Is It Anyway, but you get to make the suggestions. Show starts at 8:15, get there early for the best seats. No cover. • FREE OPEN MIC STAND-UP COMEDY • Longbranch Saloon • 8PM • Come laugh until you cry at the Longbranch every Tuesday night. Doors open at 8:30, first comic at 9. No cover charge, all are welcome. Aspiring or experienced comics interested in joining in the fun can email us at longbranch.info@gmail.com to learn more, or simply come to the show a few minutes early. • FREE Thursday, Aug. 18 THIRD THURSDAY COMEDY OPEN MIC • Big Fatty’s Catering Kitchen • 7:30PM • We will showcase local and touring talent in a curated open mic of 6 to 8 comics. The event starts at 7:30, and there is no charge for admission. The kitchen will be open as well as their full bar. • FREE Friday, Aug. 19 THE FIFTH WOMAN POETRY SLAM • The Birdhouse • 6:30PM • The 5th Woman Poetry slam is place where all poets can come and share their words of love, respect, passion, and expression. It is not dedicated solely women but is a place where women poets are celebrated and honored. Check out our Facebook pages for the challenge of the month and focus for our poetry every month. Saturday, Aug. 20 MARBLE CITY PERFORMANCE COMPANY: BOYS VS. GIRLS VARIETÉ SHOWCASE • The Bowery • 9:30PM • Only $10 for a night of entertainment that is just a bit outside of the norm, brought to you by Marble City Performance Company of Knoxville. Visit MarbleCityPerformers.com. • $10 Sunday, Aug. 21 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic.
FESTIVALS
Saturday, Aug. 13 EIGHTH OF AUGUST JUBILEE • Chilhowee Park • 10AM • The week of Eighth of August events will conclude with the Jubilee at Chilhowee Park. The celebration will kick-off at 10 a.m. with a parade reminiscent of days of old in which participants paraded into the park. The parade will include vintage vehicles, dancers, music, community groups and much more and will be a visual and audible display of community spirit. The parade will commence on Magnolia Avenue and stroll into the park where the Opening Celebration will begin. There will be a full day of activities for the entire family including food vendors, merchandise vendors and games. The Jubilee will conclude with an exciting Closing Explosion of entertainment, comedy, music, fashion stomping and much more including a multi-generational soul train line. • FREE IRISH FEST ON THE HILL • Immaculate Conception Catholic Church • 4PM • Join us downtown for Irish Fest on the Hill. This year we’ll have even more authentic Irish food (corned beef and cabbage, reubens, bangers, Irish grilled cheese), more authentic Irish beer and lots more Irish music from great local bands on two stages with Red Haired Mary, Red Willies, Four Leaf Peat, Joseph Sobol, Knoxville Pipe and Drums and Nancy Brennan Strange and the Tom Billies. We’ll also have the Tennessee Irish Dancers, the Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club, tours of the
historic church, delicious Irish desserts, a silent auction and activities for kids. We’re off Summit Hill, so any of the public parking lots near Market Square are close. Admission is $5, but kids and dogs are free. • $5 Saturday, Aug. 20 CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH OF BEARDEN PASTA AND BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL • Central Baptist Church Bearden • 5PM • Central Baptist Church of Bearden will host the annual community Pasta and Bluegrass Festival benefiting Family Promise of Knoxville. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at eventbrite.com. Family Promise is a shelter program for homeless families with children. Family Promise works in partnership with the faith community to provide shelter and support. At the Pasta and Bluegrass Festival, you will have the opportunity to sample specialty pasta creations, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, and vote for your favorite. While enjoying your pasta, you can tap your feet to the bluegrass tunes of the Early Morning String Dusters and Larry Anderson. There will be a children’s carnival featuring inflatables, face painting, balloon animals, cotton candy, and snow cones. Pasta will be served until 7p.m. EAST TENNESSEE HISTORY FAIR • Downtown Knoxville • 10AM • The 2016 East Tennessee History Fair will celebrate the region’s history with reenactments, activities, and tours. Presented by the East Tennessee Historical Society, along with dozens of businesses, historical organizations, museums, musicians, and individuals from across the region, the East Tennessee History Fair features fun and educational activities highlighting the people, places, stories, and events that comprise the shared history of our 35-county region. The event is free and open to the public. For more information on the History Fair, please visit easttnhistory.org/ historyfair or call 865-215-8824. • FREE EMORY PLACE BLOCK PARTY • Emory Place • 2PM • The second annual Emory Place Block Party has been organized to help bring attention to the historic Emory Place area. The goal of the block party is to create an opportunity for locals to get out and meet one another while experiencing what the area has to offer. The event is free to the public and everyone is welcome to join in the fun. The 2016 Emory Place Block Party will have a more music centered focus with multiple acts preforming at various venues around Emory Place. All of the acts are Knoxville locals and the music is sure to please with a range including reggae, folk, indie-rock, jazz and more. A full line up, including performances by local dance groups, will be released in the coming weeks. • FREE 8TH ANNUAL SMOKIN’ DAY FESTIVAL • Sweet P’s Barbecue and Soul House • 2PM • Sweet P’s Barbeque & Soul House is hosting its 8th annual Smokin’ Day Festival, a free day of live music at its South Knoxville location. Throughout the day, regional blues, folks and soul musicians will play inside and outside the restaurant.
FILM SCREENINGS
Friday, Aug. 12 SUMMER MOVIE MAGIC: ‘PSYCHO’ • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • Alfred Hitchcock’s landmark masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as the troubled Norman Bates, whose old dark house and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. No one knows that better than Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), the ill-fated traveler whose journey ends in the notorious “shower August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 37
CALENDAR scene.” First a private detective, then Marion’s sister (Vera Miles) searches for her, and the horror and suspense mount to a terrifying climax where the mysterious killer is finally revealed. • $9 JAMS FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT: DISNEY’S ROBIN HOOD • Ijams Nature Center • 7PM • Don’t let the start of school get you down. Pack up your kids and your favorite blanket and join us on the lawn for our family movie night. It will be a terrific way to squeeze in a little more summer with your family. Let the kids run their energy off in Jo’s Grove while you enjoy lounging on the lawn. The movie for August will be Disney’s Robin Hood and will begin once it gets dark. Doors open at 7pm. The fee for this program is $5 per person or $15 per family. • $5-$15 Sunday, Aug. 14 GANDHI • Lawson McGee Public Library • 1PM • On the eve of India’s Independence Day anniversary on Aug. 15, we will show this acclaimed biographical drama which presents major events in the life of Mohandas Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), the beloved Indian leader who stood against British rule over his country. Viren Lalka, organizer of the Knoxville group “Namaste, Welcome to India,” will introduce the film. • FREE SUMMER MOVIE MAGIC: ‘PSYCHO’ • Tennessee Theatre • 2PM • Alfred Hitchcock’s landmark masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as the troubled Norman Bates, whose old dark house and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. No one knows that better than Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), the ill-fated traveler whose journey ends in the notorious “shower
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
scene.” First a private detective, then Marion’s sister (Vera Miles) searches for her, and the horror and suspense mount to a terrifying climax where the mysterious killer is finally revealed. • $9 Monday, Aug. 15 THE BIRDHOUSE WALK-IN THEATER • The Birdhouse • 8:15PM • A weekly free movie screening. • FREE
SPORTS AND RECREATION
Thursday, Aug. 11 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES THURSDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10AM • cycologybicycles.com. • FREE CLIMBING AT IJAMS CRAG • Ijams Nature Center • 5PM • Come top rope with us at Ijams Crag. Monday and Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Cost is $10 per person. Gear will be included (we provide helmet, harness, rope). Please wear appropriate shoes, comfortable stretchy climbing apparel and bring water. Pre-registration is advised. You can register online or by calling 865-673-4687. riversportsoutfitters.com/events/. • $10 BILLY LUSH BOARD SHOP SUP AND SUDS • Billy Lush Board Shop • 5:30PM • Each Thursday at 5:30 p.m. May through August. Join us for your choice of a group paddle or SUP yoga class followed by cold beer from our taps at the shop. We will launch from the dock for a one-hour group
paddle or yoga class then meet back in the shop for suds. Rentals are $19 for the group paddle and $25 for the yoga class and includes a complimentary beer. Those who join the group paddle with their own board get $1 off pints till close. • $19-$25 FLEET FEET GROUP RUN/WALK • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville • 6PM • Join us every Thursday night at our store for a fun group run/walk. We have all levels come out, so no matter what your speed you’ll have someone to keep you company. Our 30 - 60 minute route varies week by week in the various neighborhoods and greenways around the store, so be sure to show up on time so you can join up with the group. All levels welcome. fleetfeetknoxville. com. • FREE NORTH KNOXVILLE BEER RUNNERS • Central Flats and Taps • 6PM • Meet us at Central Flats and Taps every Thursday night for a fun and easy run leading us right through Saw Works for a midway beer. • FREE BEARDEN BIKE AND TRAIL LAPS ON CHEROKEE BOULEVARD • Bearden Bike and Trail • 6PM • Join us every Thursday evening at 6 p.m. to ride laps on Cherokee Boulevard. Pace is at 14-18 mph - divides into groups. Leaves the store promptly at 6:30 p.m. Visit beardenbikeandtrail.com. • $0 FOUNTAIN CITY PEDALER THIRSTY THURSDAY ROAD RIDE • Fountain City Pedaler • 6PM • This no-drop Thursday evening ride utilizes a 25-mile loop on scenic North Knoxville back roads and rolls east towards House Mountain. Ride starts at 6 p.m. from the shop. Road bikes with front and rear lights are recommended. Other bikes such as cyclocross, touring, fast hybrids, or mtb’s with
high pressure street tires are also acceptable. This ride is not a race and Luke will ride “sweep” behind the groups to make sure no one gets left behind. Post ride: Bring a camping chair, something to cook on the grill, and beverage(s) of choice. The Grill & Chill is a social gathering at the shop after the ride. Visit facebook.com/ Fountain-City-Pedaler-Bike-Shop. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES BEGINNER ROAD RIDE • Sequoyah Park • 6:20PM • Join us every Thursday evening at Sequoyah Park for a beginner’s no-drop ride. Riders can ride at their own pace on Cherokee Boulevard and do as many laps as they choose. Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES THURSDAY NIGHT RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:20PM • Join Cedar Bluff Cycles for their Thursday evening road ride. The Thursday night ride is made up of a combination of the A and B riders from Tuesday night. This is a great opportunity for less experienced riders to push their limits a bit. A lot of the A riders are getting a last ride in before the weekend race. Their goal is to keep an even paced ride at a good tempo. This helps the less experienced rider to become familiar with road etiquette. The average speed for this ride is 19-22 mph depending on group dynamic. Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE Friday, Aug. 12 RIVER SPORTS FRIDAY NIGHT GREENWAY RUN • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Greenway run from the store every Friday evening. Work up a thirst then join us for $2 pints in the store afterwards. riversportsoutfitters.com. •
Lisa Hall McKee Director
• Ballet • Tap / Jazz • Modern • Contemporary • Adult Ballet Fit Class • Musical Theatre • Mommy & Me Classes
1234 Rocky Hill Rd. Knoxville, TN 37919 www.studioartsfordancers.net
(865) 539-2475 38
KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
FREE YMCA SOCIAL RUN • Lindsay Young Downtown YMCA • 6:30PM • Weekly social run meeting in the lobby of the downtown YMCA. We will be running through downtown and greenways, ending at Sugar Mama’s with $2 off of the first craft beer for runners. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 13 BIKE ZOO SATURDAY MORNING RIDE • The Bike Zoo • 9AM • Join us every Saturday for a three-hour ride of 50 miles or more, usually at a fast pace of 18-20 mph. Visit bikezoo.com. • FREE KTC HAW RIDGE TRAIL RACE • Haw Ridge Park • 5:30PM • Since its inception the race has been contested at 5:30pm on the hottest Friday afternoon of the summer (TGIF!) but in 2013, for the first time, we changed that. No, not the 5:30 part, but the Friday part. so we moved to Saturday and — voila! — still tons of fun! Plan on maximum trail fun! A one mile Kids Trail Race will precede the adult race. The course will traverse a clockwise “loop” through the park and offer the youngsters a taste of the fun the grownups will be having thirty minutes later. Postrace festivities typically last till dusk, with plentiful food and drink available. Sunday, Aug. 14 SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: CHARLIE’S BUNION • 8AM • This is a classic club hike along an iconic stretch of the Appalachian Trail. The hike starts at Newfound Gap parking lot, a high elevation, making this an ideal August hike. The hike includes an approximate 1,100 ft. elevation gain with several nice views. Hike: 8 miles, rated moderate. Meet at Alcoa Food City, 121 North Hall Road, at 8:00 am, or at Newfound Gap at the AT Trailhead at 9:00 am. Leader: Pete Berntsen, peteberntsen@gmail.com. • FREE Monday, Aug. 15 CLIMBING AT IJAMS CRAG • Ijams Nature Center • 5PM • Come top rope with us at Ijams Crag. Monday and Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Cost is $10 per person. Gear will be included (we provide helmet, harness, rope). Please wear appropriate shoes, comfortable stretchy climbing apparel and bring water. Pre-registration is advised. You can register online or by calling 865-673-4687. riversportsoutfitters.com/events/. • $10 KTC GROUP RUN • Mellow Mushroom • 6PM • Join Knoxville Track Club every Monday evening for a group run starting at the Mellow Mushroom on the Cumberland Avenue strip on the University of Tennessee campus. Visit ktc.org. • FREE TVB MONDAY NIGHT ROAD RIDE • Tennessee Valley Bikes • 6PM • The soon to be famous Monday night road ride happens every Monday. We usually split into two groups according to speed. Both groups are no-drop groups. The faster group averages over 17 mph and the B group averages around 14 mph. • FREE BEARDEN BEER MARKET FUN RUN • Bearden Beer Market • 6:30PM • Come run with us. Every Monday year round we do a group fun run through the neighborhood. Open to all levels of walkers and runners. Everyone who participates earns $1 off their beer. Visit beardenbeermarket.com. • FREE Tuesday, Aug. 16 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES TUESDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10:30AM • Join Cycology Bicycles every Tuesday morning at 10:30 am for a road ride with two group options. Weather permitting. Visit cycologybicycles.com. • FREE
CALENDAR
SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: NORTH BOUNDARY AREA • 5:30PM • Join us Tuesday evening for a nice stroll through the woods in the North Boundary area in west Oak Ridge. We’ll hike about 5 miles in a loop. Meet at the west guard shack on the Oak Ridge Turnpike at 5:30 pm. Leader: Tim Bigelow, bigelowt2@mindspring.com. • FREE HARD KNOX TUESDAY FUN RUN • Hard Knox Pizzeria • 6:30PM • Join Hard Knox Pizzeria every Tuesday evening (rain or shine) for a 2-3 mile fun run. Burn calories. Devour pizza. Quench thirst. Follow us on Facebook. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES TUESDAY GREENWAY RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:30PM • Join us every Tuesday evening for a greenway ride at an intermediate pace of 14-15 mph. Must have lights. Weather permitting. cedarbluffcycles. net. • FREE Wednesday, Aug. 17 KTC GROUP RUN • Runner’s Market • 5:30PM • If you are visiting Knoxville, new to town, new to the club, or just looking to get more involved, this is the place to start. A festive and relaxed group get-together occurs every Wednesday afternoon at 5:30 pm at Runners Market. Visit ktc.org. • FREE TVB EASY RIDER MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE • Ijams Nature Center • 6PM • On Wednesday nights we hit the local trails for an easy-paced mountain bike ride. Riders of all skill levels are welcome, and if you would like to demo a mountain bike from our shop this is a great opportunity to do so. Rides are weather permitting. If the trails are too wet, we do not ride. Check out our Facebook page or give us a call at 865-540-9979 for more info. We meet near Mead’s Quarry. • FREE Thursday, Aug. 18 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES THURSDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10AM • Join Cycology Bicycles every Thursday morning for a road ride with two group options. A Group does a 2 to 3 hour ride at 20+ mph pace; B group does an intermediate ride at 15/18 mph average. Weather permitting. cycologybicycles.com. • FREE CLIMBING AT IJAMS CRAG • Ijams Nature Center • 5PM • Come top rope with us at Ijams Crag. Monday and Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Cost is $10 per person. Gear will be included (we provide helmet, harness, rope). Please wear appropriate shoes, comfortable stretchy climbing apparel and bring water. Pre-registration is advised. You can register online or by calling 865-673-4687. riversportsoutfitters.com/events/. • $10 BILLY LUSH BOARD SHOP SUP AND SUDS • Billy Lush Board Shop • 5:30PM • Each Thursday at 5:30 p.m. May through August. Join us for your choice of a group paddle or SUP yoga class followed by cold beer from our taps at the shop. We will launch from the dock for a one-hour group paddle or yoga class then meet back in the shop for suds. Rentals are $19 for the group paddle and $25 for the yoga class and includes a complimentary beer. Those who join the group paddle with their own board get $1 off pints till close. • $19-$25 NORTH KNOXVILLE BEER RUNNERS • Central Flats and Taps • 6PM • Meet us at Central Flats and Taps every Thursday night for a fun and easy run leading us right through Saw Works for a midway beer. • FREE FLEET FEET GROUP RUN/WALK • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville • 6PM • Join us every Thursday night at our store for a fun group run/walk. We have all levels come out, so no matter what your speed you’ll have someone to keep you company. Our 30 - 60 minute route varies week by week in the various neighborhoods and greenways around the
store, so be sure to show up on time so you can join up with the group. All levels welcome. fleetfeetknoxville. com. • FREE BEARDEN BIKE AND TRAIL LAPS ON CHEROKEE BOULEVARD • Bearden Bike and Trail • 6PM • Join us every Thursday evening at 6 p.m. to ride laps on Cherokee Boulevard. Pace is at 14-18 mph - divides into groups. Leaves the store promptly at 6:30 p.m. Visit beardenbikeandtrail.com. • $0 FOUNTAIN CITY PEDALER THIRSTY THURSDAY ROAD RIDE • Fountain City Pedaler • 6PM • This no-drop Thursday evening ride utilizes a 25-mile loop on scenic North Knoxville back roads and rolls east towards House Mountain. Ride starts at 6 p.m. from the shop. Road bikes with front and rear lights are recommended. Other bikes such as cyclocross, touring, fast hybrids, or mtb’s with high pressure street tires are also acceptable. This ride is not a race and Luke will ride “sweep” behind the groups to make sure no one gets left behind.Post ride: Bring a camping chair, something to cook on the grill, and beverage(s) of choice. The Grill & Chill is a social gathering at the shop after the ride. Visit facebook.com/ Fountain-City-Pedaler-Bike-Shop. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES BEGINNER ROAD RIDE • Sequoyah Park • 6:20PM • Join us every Thursday evening at Sequoyah Park for a beginner’s no-drop ride. Riders can ride at their own pace on Cherokee Boulevard and do as many laps as they choose. Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES THURSDAY NIGHT RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:20PM • Join Cedar Bluff Cycles for their Thursday evening road ride. The Thursday night ride is made up of a combination of the A and B riders from Tuesday night. This is a great opportunity for less experienced riders to push their limits a bit. A lot of the A riders are getting a last ride in before the weekend race. Their goal is to keep an even paced ride at a good tempo. This helps the less experienced rider to become familiar with road etiquette. The average speed for this ride is 19-22 mph depending on group dynamic. Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE Friday, Aug. 19 RIVER SPORTS FRIDAY NIGHT GREENWAY RUN • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Greenway run from the store every Friday evening. Work up a thirst then join us for $2 pints in the store afterwards. riversportsoutfitters.com. • FREE YMCA SOCIAL RUN • Lindsay Young Downtown YMCA • 6:30PM • Weekly social run meeting in the lobby of the downtown YMCA. We will be running through downtown and greenways, ending at Sugar Mama’s with $2 off of the first craft beer for runners. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 20 KTC CADES COVE RUN AND POTLUCK BRUNCH • Unnamed Venue • 7AM • We’ll start at 7 a.m., meeting at the bicycle rental area. Run any of the loops—4, 7, or 11 miles. Potluck brunch in the picnic area to follow. Dates are May 21, June 25, July 23, and Aug. 20. • FREE SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: ROCKY TOP • 7:30AM • This challenging hike will take us from the summer heat of the valley to the premier summit of Thunderhead Mountain known as Rocky Top. We will begin at the Lead Cove Trail off Laurel Creek Road and work our way up to the Bote Mountain Trail and on to the AT. This 13-mile RT hike is rated DIFFICULT with an elevation gain of 3,665 ft. Meet at Alcoa Food City, 121 North Hall Road, at 7:30 AM. Leader: Cindy Spangler, spangler@utk.edu. • FREE BIKE ZOO SATURDAY MORNING RIDE • The Bike Zoo • 9AM •
Knoxville’s BEST live music venue 6 nights a week!
Happy Hour 4pm - 8pm | mon - fri Huge selection of Craft, Import & Local beer Locally roasted coffee
thurs aug. 11 • 8pm gypsy jazz Jam free • all ages ( jazz )
fri aug. 12 • 8pm
lil wyte, w/ mark james, too much & replayy $15 • 16+ ( hip hop )
sat Aug. 13 • 2 shows
School of rock Knoxville summer seasonal show U CAn't TOUCH THIS: ROCK HITS OF THE 90's Matinee 12pm • $7 90’s themed lunch menu Late show 7:30pm $8 ADv. | $10 day of All Ages ( rock )
tues aug. 16 • 8pm open mic night solo performers & bands welcome free • all ages ( open mic )
"Coolest venue in town! Not too big, not too small. Great sound system and audio engineers. Lights show, good food, cold beer and a music store in the back. Oh, and they give lessons, too. Seriously? I still can't believe this place is real." -Austin Hall of Sam Killed The Bear
Knoxville’s Best Musical Instrument Store
8502 KINGSTON PIKE • (865) 281-5874 openchordmusic.com
August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 39
CALENDAR
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
AUG. 19: University of Tennessee MFA Exhibition.
LAKE STREET DRIVE at the Mill and Mine on Wednesday, Sept. 28. See the Long View on page 46.
Knoxville Arts and Fine Crafts Center 1127B Broadway AUG. 1-OCT. 31: Whimsical Creatures, paintings and photographs by Lela E. Buis. A reception will be held on Friday, Aug. 19, from 5:30-8 p.m. Knoxville Museum of Art 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive AUG. 7-SEPT. 4: Artwork by the Knoxville Watercolor Society. ONGOING: Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in Tennessee; Currents: Recent Art From East Tennessee and Beyond; and Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass. Photo by Danny Clinch
Join us every Saturday for a three-hour ride of 50 miles or more, usually at a fast pace of 18-20 mph. Visit bikezoo.com. • FREE Sunday, Aug. 21 SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: GRAYSVILLE MOUNTAIN • 8AM • The Graysville Mountain segment of the Cumberland Trail has recently been extended and offers several nice views of the valley below the Walden Ridge escarpment. The trail begins at the Roaring Creek parking area and follows Roaring Creek past falls and impressive cliffs, and up to the first overlook. A second short hike will be to Stinging Fork falls which is a few miles back north. A nice swimming area may be enjoyed at the falls for those interested in cooling off from the afternoon August heat. Hike: about 10 miles total with 900 ft. elevation gain, rated moderate. Meet at ORNL Credit Union in Kingston at 8:00 am. Leader: Tim Bigelow, bigelowt2@ mindspring.com. • FREE TENNESSEE ASSOCIATION OF VINTAGE BASE BALL • Historic Ramsey House • 12PM • Vintage base ball, played according to the rules and customs of 1864, returns to Tennessee for its fourth season, offering 55 regular season matches in 2016. Since its inaugural season in 2013, the Tennessee Association of Vintage Base Ball has grown to include 10 vintage base ball clubs in Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. As revived iterations of Tennessee’s historic base ball teams, TAOVBB member clubs combine living history with sport, organizing barehanded, Civil War-era base ball games to educate and entertain their communities. • FREE
ART
A1 Lab Arts23 Emory Place FRIDAY, AUG. 20: Intersection Art Competition Exhibition. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts 556 Parkway (Gatlinburg) MAY 21-AUG. 20: Arrowmont’s annual instructor exhibit. Art Market Gallery 422 S. Gay St. AUG. 2-28: Paintings by Kate McCullough, glass art by Johnny Glass, and Who, What, Where, a member exhibit focused on East Tennessee people and places. 40
KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
Broadway Studios and Gallery 1127 N. Broadway AUG. 5-27: Mixed-media artwork by Renee Suich. Central Collective 923 N. Central St. THROUGH AUGUST: Double Take, a collection of Instagram images by Jason Brown. The District Gallery 5113 Kingston Pike AUG. 19-SEPT. 10: Terra Madre: Women in Clay, an exhibit of work by Knoxville-area ceramic artists. An opening reception will be held on Friday, Aug. 19, from 5-8 p.m. Downtown Gallery 106 S. Gay St. JUNE 3-AUG. 19: Through the Lens of Ed Westcott, an exhibition of photos taken by the official photographer for the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge. AUG. 19: University of Tennessee MFA Exhibition. East Tennessee History Center 601 S. Gay St. APRIL 16-OCT. 30: Come to Make Records, a selection of artifacts, audio and video recordings, and photographs celebrating Knoxville’s music heritage and the 1929-30 St. James Hotel recording sessions. Emporium Center for Arts and Culture 100 S. Gay St. AUG. 5-26: A Plen Air Show, featuring paintings made outdoors by the Tuesday Painters group; Expressions, abstract paintings and urban landscapes by Terina Gilette; The Wonder of Birds, featuring photos by Melinda Adams and woodcarvings by Marjorie Holbert; A Gathering of Goddesses, mixed-media artwork by Sheryl Sallie; and Glasslike Surfaces, glass art by Yvonne Hosey. Ewing Gallery 1715 Volunteer Boulevard JULY 15-AUG. 28: Encore, an exhibit of artwork by 11 University of Tennessee graduates living in Nashville. Gallery 1010 113 S. Gay St.
McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture 1327 Circle Park Drive JUNE 4-AUG. 28: Dinosaur Discoveries: Ancient Fossils, New Ideas. JULY 12-OCT. 19: Land, Sea, and Spirit: Alaska Native Art From the 19th and 20th Centuries. ONGOING: The Flora and Fauna of Catesby, Mason, and Audubon and Life on the Roman Frontier. Westminster Presbyterian Church 6500 Northshore Drive JULY 1-AUG. 31: An exhibit of contemporary quilts by Melissa Everett.
FAMILY AND KIDS’ EVENTS
Thursday, Aug. 11 LITTLE LEARNERS • Blount County Public Library • 10:30AM • Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m., “Little Learners,” recommended for ages 3-5. Interactive sessions focus on language acquisition and pre-literacy skills incorporating stories, music, motion, play, crafts and more. • FREE CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 1PM • For middle and high school students, with coach Tom Jobe. Visit blountlibrary.org. • FREE LEGO CLUB • Blount County Public Library • 4PM • LEGO Club will take place in the children’s library. Kids will complete different-themed and timed LEGO Challenges, as well as have some time for free building. The library will provide the LEGOs, so all you have to bring is your imagination. • FREE Friday, Aug. 12 S.T.E.A.M. KIDS • Blount County Public Library • 4PM • For grades K-5. Every week will be a different adventure, from science experiments to art projects and everything in between. Materials will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. • FREE JAMS FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT: DISNEY’S ROBIN HOOD • Ijams Nature Center • 7PM • Don’t let the start of school get you down. Pack up your kids and your favorite blanket and join us on the lawn for our family movie night. It will be a terrific way to squeeze in a little more summer with your family. Let the kids run their energy off in Jo’s Grove while you enjoy lounging on the lawn. The movie for August will be Disney’s Robin Hood and will begin once it gets dark. Doors open at 7pm. The fee for this program is $5 per person or $15 per family. • $5-$15 Saturday, Aug. 13 CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library •
10AM • For middle and high school students, with coach Tom Jobe. Visit blountlibrary.org. • FREE BLOUNT COUNTY NERD GROUP • Blount County Public Library • 3PM • Starting this summer, students can learn the basic principles of computer programming, also known as coding. By participating in the newly-formed Blount County Nerd Group, students seventh grade and up can learn skills such as making simple games, developing professional websites and creating mobile apps. Participating students are encouraged to bring their own technologies including a laptop. However, students who do not have adequate technology will be provided a laptop by the library when necessary. • FREE Sunday, Aug. 14 KMA ART ACTIVITY DAY • Knoxville Museum of Art • 1PM • Every second Sunday of each month, the KMA will host free drop-in art activities for families. A local artist will be on-site to lead hands-on art activities between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. • FREE Monday, Aug. 15 MCCLUNG MUSEUM STROLLER TOUR: STORIES FROM THE CAVE • McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture • 10AM • Join us for a morning out as our museum educator leads engaging gallery tours for parents and caregivers and their young ones. Crying and wiggly babies welcome. This month we investigate ancient cave art. The event is free, but limited, and all attendees must register to attend online. Registration opens a month in advance and closes the day before the tour. Eventbrite registration page: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mcclung-museum-free-stroller-tours-2016-17-registration-20728646941. • FREE Tuesday, Aug. 16 LITTLE LEARNERS • Blount County Public Library • 10:30AM • Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m., “Little Learners,” recommended for ages 3-5. Interactive sessions focus on language acquisition and pre-literacy skills incorporating stories, music, motion, play, crafts and more. • FREE Wednesday, Aug. 17 BABY AND ME • Blount County Public Library • 10:30AM • Recommended for ages 2 and under. These lapsit sessions for baby and caregiver feature short stories, action rhymes, music and pre-literacy tips and tricks for caregivers. It is also a great time for caregivers and babies to socialize. • FREE Thursday, Aug. 18 LITTLE LEARNERS • Blount County Public Library • 10:30AM • Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m., “Little Learners,” recommended for ages 3-5. Interactive sessions focus on language acquisition and pre-literacy skills incorporating stories, music, motion, play, crafts and more. • FREE CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 1PM • For middle and high school students, with coach Tom Jobe. Visit blountlibrary.org. • FREE LEGO CLUB • Blount County Public Library • 4PM • LEGO Club will take place in the children’s library. Kids will complete different-themed and timed LEGO Challenges, as well as have some time for free building. The library will provide the LEGOs, so all you have to bring is your imagination. • FREE Friday, Aug. 19 S.T.E.A.M. KIDS • Blount County Public Library • 4PM • For grades K-5. Every week will be a different adventure, from science experiments to art projects and everything in between. Materials will be limited and available on a
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
first-come, first-served basis. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 20 CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 10AM • For middle and high school students, with coach Tom Jobe. Visit blountlibrary.org. • FREE BLOUNT COUNTY NERD GROUP • Blount County Public Library • 3PM • Starting this summer, students can learn the basic principles of computer programming, also known as coding. By participating in the newly-formed Blount County Nerd Group, students seventh grade and up can learn skills such as making simple games, developing professional websites and creating mobile apps. Participating students are encouraged to bring their own technologies including a laptop. However, students who do not have adequate technology will be provided a laptop by the library when necessary. • FREE EAST TENNESSEE HISTORY FAIR • Downtown Knoxville • 10AM • The 2016 East Tennessee History Fair will celebrate the region’s history with reenactments, activities, and tours. Presented by the East Tennessee Historical Society, along with dozens of businesses, historical organizations, museums, musicians, and individuals from across the region, the East Tennessee History Fair features fun and educational activities highlighting the people, places, stories, and events that comprise the shared history of our 35-county region. The event is free and open to the public. For more information on the History Fair, please visit easttnhistory.org/ historyfair or call 865-215-8824. • FREE
LECTURES, READINGS, AND BOOK SIGNINGS
Sunday, Aug. 14 JUDITH DUVALL: ‘UNRATIONED HOPE’ • Union Ave Books • 2PM • Book signing Judith Duvall reading from her new collection of poems, Unrationed Hope. • FREE Wednesday, Aug. 17 ADAM O’FALLON: ‘GRAND TOUR’ • Union Ave Books • 6PM • Book signing with former Knoxvillian Adam O’ Fallon Price reading from his debut novel, Grand Tour. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 20 KNOXVILLE COLLEGE FUNDRAISING EVENTS • Barnes & Noble • 9:30AM • Barnes & Noble Knoxville and Knoxville College have partnered together to celebrate Knoxville College past, present, and future. Starting off at 9:30 am we will be hosting Breakfast with the Mayor. Mayor Madeline Rogero will be on hand to enjoy a delicious scone or muffin and to discuss the importance of Knoxville College on our community. At 11 am Knoxville College will host a special storytime reading of The Bot That Scott Built and Mira Forecasts the Future followed by an activity. At noon Knoxville College invites you to grab lunch from our cafe and join in a discussion led by Beck Center Director, Renee Kesler. Lastly at 2pm the talented historian Bob Booker will present the history of Knoxville College through the lens of his book And Then There Was Light! 120 Year History of Knoxville College,
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Knoxville Tennessee 1875-1995 as well as other alumni titles. In addition to the day of activities a portion of every purchase made in name of Knoxville College will be donated back to the school. These funds will be used for the improvement and continuation of classes which are hoped to start back in 2016. • FREE
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
Thursday, Aug. 11 AARP SMART DRIVER DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Karns Senior Center • 11:30AM • Call 382-5822. GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted. KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: HOW TO CULTIVATE IRISES IN EAST TENNESSEE • Humana Guidance Center • 3:15PM • Join Master Gardener Christine Jessel to learn all about irises: growing, dividing, common pests, etc. Call 865-329-8892. • FREE KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • This class is an hour of student-led training and review of Capoeira skills and exercises. Come prepared to sweat. Visit knoxvillecapoeira.org. • $10 SIX-WEEK STRENGTH AND BALANCE WORKSHOP • Ijams Nature Center • 6PM • Join Erik Andelman and Stephanie Leyland, certified Onnit instructors with South Knox
Healing Arts, for a six-week course featuring bodyweight workouts combining yoga, calisthenics, flexibility training and traditional exercise forms from around the world. All ages and levels of fitness are welcome. Join us for an hour every Thursday evening from Aug. 11-Sept. 15. $100 for the full course or $20 for drop-in students. • $20-$100 THIRSTY (FOR KNOWLEDGE) THURSDAY • Old City Wine Bar • 6:30PM • Join our sommelier, Matt Burke, every Thursday in the cellar of the Old City Wine Bar for our ongoing wine education series. Free to listen and only $20-$25 to partake in the libations. • $20-$25 BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 PORTRAIT AND LIFE DRAWING SESSIONS • Historic Candoro Marble Company • 12:30PM • Portrait and life drawing practice at Candoro Art & Heritage Center. $10. Call Brad Selph for more information (865-573-0709). • $10 SUP YOGA • Concord Park • 6PM • Yoga on a SUP board? Come join us every Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Cove. We will meet at the River Sports Outfitters building. Cost is $25 and includes board, paddle and PFD. Register at barrebelleyoga.com/class-schedule. • $25 SUP YOGA • Ijams Nature Center • 6PM • Yoga on a paddleboard! Meet us at the Meads Quarry every Thursday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. Cost is $25 and includes board and PFD. Personal boards are not permitted on the quarry. Get a great core workout and expand your flexibility. Register at barrebelleyoga.com/ class-schedule. • $25 MOUNTAIN BIKING EAST TENNESSEE AND WESTERN NORTH
Where great gift ideas are grown! Flowers, plants and gift baskets for all occasions.
East Tennessee’s wine cellar since 1970
Locally owned and operated in Knoxville for over 100 years. Three convenient locations:
2314 N. Broadway 865-523-5121 700 S. Gay St. 865-522-4825 8205 Chapman Hwy. 865-573-0137 www.knoxvilleflowerpot.com
Vote for Us For Top Wine & Liquor Store! 4534 Old Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919 (865) 584-3341 • asheswines.com M-Th: 9AM - 9:30PM | Fr-Sat: 9AM-10PM Sunday: Closed email: thad@asheswines.com
August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 41
CALENDAR CAROLINA • REI • 7PM • New to the area? Looking for the best mountain biking trails? Join an REI expert on a virtual trip through some of the East Tennessee mountain biking highlights. Visit rei.com/stores/knoxville. • FREE Friday, Aug. 12 AARP SMART DRIVER DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Karns Senior Center • 11:30AM • Call 382-5822. Saturday, Aug. 13 YOGA AT NARROW RIDGE • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 9:30AM • Narrow Ridge invites you to join us every Saturday morning for yoga instruction from Angela Gibson. This class can be tailored to each individual’s ability level. For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@narrowridge.org. • FREE KNOX HERITAGE PRESERVATION NETWORK • Knox Heritage • 10AM • Preservation Network is a series of free workshops held once every month on the second Saturday. The monthly workshops feature guest speakers who are specialists in windows, flooring, roofing, stained glass, tile, plumbing, electrical, and more. Other guest speakers have included those in real estate sales and appraisals, or city codes and zoning officials discussing historic overlays and building requirements. Knox Heritage preserves, restores and transforms historic places. For everyone. Forever. The nonprofit organization was
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
founded in 1974 and now serves the entire 16-county Knoxville region. For more information visit www. knoxheritage.org. • FREE IMPROV COMEDY CLASS • The Birdhouse • 10:30AM • A weekly improv comedy class. • FREE KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: HOW TO CULTIVATE IRISES IN EAST TENNESSEE • Bearden Branch Public Library • 1:30PM • Join Master Gardener Christine Jessel to learn all about irises: growing, dividing, common pests, etc. Call 865- 588-8813 or visit knoxlib.org. • FREE BEARDSLEY COMMUNITY FARM WORKDAYS AND GARDEN CLASSES • Beardsley Community Farm • 9AM • CAC Beardsley Community Farm Saturday Workdays are from 9 a.m.-noon, followed by a garden class from 12:15-1:30 p.m. The upcoming schedule includes “Beat the Bugs … With Bugs” (July 23); “organic Disease Control” (Aug. 13); “Preserving the Harvest” (Sept. 10); and “Green Manure: Build Your Soil With Cover Crops” (Oct. 8). For more information visit beardsleyfarm.org, email beardsleyfarm@gmail.com or call 865-546-8446. • FREE SUP YOGA • Ijams Nature Center • 9AM • Yoga on a paddleboard! Meet us at the Meads Quarry every Thursday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. Cost is $25 and includes board and PFD. Personal boards are not permitted on the quarry. Get a great core workout and expand your flexibility. Register at barrebelleyoga.com/
KARTHICK IYER LIVE Bijou Theatre (803 S. Gay St.) • Saturday, Aug. 13 • 5 p.m. • $25 • knoxbijou.com or karthickiyer.com
To keep it simple, you might say Karthick Iyer’s music is worldly, though limiting his creations to just one genre—even one that spans many cultures and sounds—may be selling it a bit short. Iyer has made a career of defying expectations, plotting a path that has led him from composing Bollywood jingles to defining a class of music he has dubbed “Indosoul.” Together with four other musicians, he formed the Karthick Iyer Live band, featuring an electric violin, a mridangam (a type of double-ended drum), an acoustic guitar, bass, and drums to weave together a tapestry of atmospheric Carnatic compositions that bridge the gap between classical Indian music and modern-day Western pop in a pleasant and surprisingly natural way. Onstage, they offer a sonic journey full of surprises, one that may help hone your musical palate without ever taking you too far out of your comfort zone. (Clay Duda)
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
class-schedule. • $25 SUP 101 • Outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center • 10AM • We cover all the basics of standup paddleboarding in this introductory class. No experience required. We will teach you: equipment overview, safety and awareness of the conditions, balancing, correct stance, four different paddle strokes, steering and turning, proper paddling form and more. All instructors are PaddleFit and WPA (World Paddle Association) certified. Classes are offered every Saturday at 10 a.m. through September. • $45 Sunday, Aug. 14 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE BALLET BARRE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 1PM • This open-level barre class is designed to help students build and maintain strength, flexibility, and coordination for ballet technique. This is a great class for beginning and experienced students alike. Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL MODERN TECHNIQUE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 2PM • This class is open to all. Teachers cover basic technique and vocabulary for modern and contemporary dance. The class includes floor and standing work to build proficiency in alignment, balance, initiation and articulation of movement, weight shift, elevation and landing, and fall and recovery. Instruction is adjusted to meet the experience and ability of those in attendance. Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE IMPROVISATION CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 3:30PM • Our improv classes offer an introduction to dance improvisation as a movement practice, performance technique, and a tool for creating choreography. Class involves both structured and free improvisations aimed at developing creativity, spontaneous decision-making, freedom of movement, and confidence in performance. No dance experience is necessary—only the desire to move. Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 BEGINNING BRIDGE LESSONS • Knoxville Bridge Center • 1:30PM • The Knoxville Association of Bridge Clubs is offering an in-depth, 17-week course on duplicate bridge, with a focus on learning the modern two over one bridge system. Taught by certified instructors, these lessons are a fun and informative way to learn the basics of modern bridge. The cost is $5 per lesson (the first 2 lessons are free).Two class sessions are offered. The first begins Sunday, July 17 at 1:30 p.m. The second begins Tuesday, July 18 at 6 p.m. Bring a partner or we can provide one for you. Contact Jo Anne Newby at (865} 539-4150 or email KnoxvilleBridge@gmail.com. • $5 Monday, Aug. 15 KNOX COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS: COVER CROPS • Davis Family YMCA • 1PM • Join Master Gardener Marsha Lehman to learn the benefits of cover crops, as well as what to plant to enhance your garden soil during the winter months. Call 865-777-9622. • FREE GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 5:30PM • Call 865-5772021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted. Tuesday, Aug. 16 AARP SMART DRIVER DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Larry Cox Senior Center • 12AM • Call 382-5822. GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted. CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY NUTRITION AMMUNITION • Cancer Support Community • 12PM • Call (865) 546-4611.
All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer. GENERATIONS GENEALOGY RESEARCH GROUP • Beck Cultural Exchange Center • 5:30PM • Generations Genealogy Research Group is open to people of all ages interested in genealogy and family history. KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • Capoeira originated in Brazil and is a dynamic expression of Afro-Brazilian culture. It is an art form that encompasses martial arts, dance, and acrobatic movements as well as its own philosophy, history, culture, music, and songs. Visit capoeiraknoxville.org. • $10 ACROYOGA • Dragonfly Aerial Arts Studio • 6PM • Fly with us! Each class is beginner friendly, incorporating intermediate options for more experienced fliers. New content is explored each week while reviewing components taught in previous classes, providing a space for students to form strong foundational skills in flying, basing, and spotting. Each session ends with therapeutics or Thai massage. Please bring a mat, close fitting long pants, and water. No partner needed. • $15 BEGINNING BRIDGE LESSONS • Knoxville Bridge Center • 6PM • The Knoxville Association of Bridge Clubs is offering an in-depth, 17-week course on duplicate bridge, with a focus on learning the modern two over one bridge system. Taught by certified instructors, these lessons are a fun and informative way to learn the basics of modern bridge. The cost is $5 per lesson (the first 2 lessons are free).Two class sessions are offered. The first begins Sunday, July 17 at 1:30 p.m. The second begins Tuesday, July 18 at 6 p.m. Bring a partner or we can provide one for you. Contact Jo Anne Newby at (865} 539-4150 or email KnoxvilleBridge@gmail.com. • $5 Wednesday, Aug. 17 AARP SMART DRIVER DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Larry Cox Senior Center • 12AM • Call 382-5822. CIRCLE MODERN DANCE INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED MODERN TECHNIQUE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • A rotation of core members and guest artists of Circle Modern Dance teach this class. They present a variety of modern and contemporary styles, including Bartenieff and release-based techniques. This class is primarily designed for students with a basic knowledge of modern dance technique and vocabulary, but is open to any mover who is willing to be challenged. Visit circlemoderndance.com. CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL BALLET CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 7:30PM • This is a basic ballet class open to students of all levels of experience and ability. Students will learn new steps, build coordination and flexibility, and learn choreography. Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 Thursday, Aug. 18 AARP SMART DRIVER DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • East Tennessee Medical Group • 8AM • Call 382-5822. GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted. PORTRAIT AND LIFE DRAWING SESSIONS • Historic Candoro Marble Company • 12:30PM • Portrait and life drawing practice at Candoro Art and Heritage Center. $10. Call Brad Selph for more information (865-573-0709). • $10 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: KNIT YOUR WAY TO WELLNESS • Cancer Support Community • 1PM • Whether you are a novice knitter or an old pro, you are invited to bring your own project or join others in learning a new one. Special attention will be provided to beginners
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
interested in learning how to knit and experience the meditative quality of knitting. Supplies provided. Call 865-546-4661. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer. KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • This class is an hour of student-led training and review of Capoeira skills and exercises. Come prepared to sweat. Visit knoxvillecapoeira.org. • $10 SIX-WEEK STRENGTH AND BALANCE WORKSHOP • Ijams Nature Center • 6PM • Join Erik Andelman and Stephanie Leyland, certified Onnit instructors with South Knox Healing Arts, for a six-week course featuring bodyweight workouts combining yoga, calisthenics, flexibility training and traditional exercise forms from around the world. All ages and levels of fitness are welcome. Join us for an hour every Thursday evening from Aug. 11-Sept. 15. $100 for the full course or $20 for drop-in students. • $20-$100 THIRSTY (FOR KNOWLEDGE) THURSDAY • Old City Wine Bar • 6:30PM • Join our sommelier, Matt Burke, every Thursday in the cellar of the Old City Wine Bar for our ongoing wine education series. Free to listen and only $20-$25 to partake in the libations. • $20-$25 BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 STANDUP PADDLEBOARDING 101 • Sequoyah Park • 6PM • Have you been wondering where you can get a few tips on how to stay standing on one of those “surf board things”? We have you covered. Come learn to paddle with us every other Thursday at 6 p.m. We meet at Sequoyah
Hills Boat Ramp. Cost is $35. Paddle board is included. Just show up and learn. You’ll be paddling around in no time. You must register for this event so we know to bring you a board. Visit riversportsoutfitters.com. • $35 SUP YOGA • Concord Park • 6PM • Yoga on a SUP board? Come join us every Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Cove. We will meet at the River Sports Outfitters building. Cost is $25 and includes board, paddle and PFD. Register at barrebelleyoga.com/class-schedule. • $25 SUP YOGA • Ijams Nature Center • 6PM • Yoga on a paddleboard! Meet us at the Meads Quarry every Thursday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. Cost is $25 and includes board and PFD. Personal boards are not permitted on the quarry. Get a great core workout and expand your flexibility. Register at barrebelleyoga.com/ class-schedule. • $25 Saturday, Aug. 20 YOGA AT NARROW RIDGE • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 9:30AM • Narrow Ridge invites you to join us every Saturday morning for yoga instruction from Angela Gibson. This class can be tailored to each individual’s ability level. For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@narrowridge.org. • FREE IMPROV COMEDY CLASS • The Birdhouse • 10:30AM • A weekly improv comedy class. • FREE CAITLIN HAMILTON SUMMIE: “MARKETING FOR SMALL PRESS AND SELF-PUBLISHED AUTHORS” • Central United Methodist Church • 1PM • Publishing marketer Caitlin Hamilton Summie will speak to writers about the basics of creating a marketing plan for their works. Other topics
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will include assessing resources, developing an elevator pitch, considering sales and distribution issues, and more. Cost of the workshop is $50, with Knoxville Writers’ Guild members receiving a 40 percent discount and student members a 50 percent discount. You can join the nonprofit KWG at the time of registration for discounts on this and future workshops. To register, visit knoxvillewritersguild.org or send a check to KWG Workshops, P.O. Box 10326, Knoxville, TN, 37939-0326. • $50 SUP YOGA • Ijams Nature Center • 9AM • Yoga on a paddleboard! Meet us at the Meads Quarry every Thursday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. Cost is $25 and includes board and PFD. Personal boards are not permitted on the quarry. Get a great core workout and expand your flexibility. Register at barrebelleyoga.com/ class-schedule. • $25 SUP 101 • Outdoor Knoxville Adventure Center • 10AM • We cover all the basics of standup paddleboarding in this introductory class. No experience required. We will teach you: equipment overview, safety and awareness of the conditions, balancing, correct stance, four different paddle strokes, steering and turning, proper paddling form and more. All instructors are PaddleFit and WPA (World Paddle Association) certified. Classes are offered every Saturday at 10 a.m. through September. • $45 Sunday, Aug. 21 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE BALLET BARRE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 1PM • This open-level barre class is designed to help students build and maintain strength, flexibility, and coordination for ballet technique.
This is a great class for beginning and experienced students alike. Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL MODERN TECHNIQUE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 2PM • This class is open to all. Teachers cover basic technique and vocabulary for modern and contemporary dance. The class includes floor and standing work to build proficiency in alignment, balance, initiation and articulation of movement, weight shift, elevation and landing, and fall and recovery. Instruction is adjusted to meet the experience and ability of those in attendance. Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE IMPROVISATION CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 3:30PM • Our improv classes offer an introduction to dance improvisation as a movement practice, performance technique, and a tool for creating choreography. Class involves both structured and free improvisations aimed at developing creativity, spontaneous decision-making, freedom of movement, and confidence in performance. No dance experience is necessary—only the desire to move. Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 BEGINNING BRIDGE LESSONS • Knoxville Bridge Center • 1:30PM • The Knoxville Association of Bridge Clubs is offering an in-depth, 17-week course on duplicate bridge, with a focus on learning the modern two over one bridge system. Taught by certified instructors, these lessons are a fun and informative way to learn the basics of modern bridge. The cost is $5 per lesson (the first 2 lessons are free).Two class sessions are offered. The first begins Sunday, July 17 at 1:30 p.m. The second begins Tuesday,
Please vote
Historic Ramsey House (presents)
A GATHERING OF ANCIENT SOUNDS;
Knnville’s TT
Celtic & Appalachian Rhythms
Saturday September 3, 2016 10am - 6pm
Resale Clothing Since 1996
Admission: $10 Members • $15 Non-Members (Children 12 & under free) Great Music performances by:
Liza Jane Alexander & Fiddlin' Cyrley Cottrell Good Thyme Ceilidh Band • The Grass Roots Gringos Sigean • Knox County Jug Stompers • Fire in the Kitchen The Traveling Caudells • Four Leaf Peat
Thank you Knoxville for voting us Top Knox in 2015.
Also great food and period demonstrations.
NEW MENU EXPANDED DINING AREA For 2016 your vote will tell us you like what we are doing. Thank you for your support!
Historic Ramsey House 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914 www.ramseyhouse.org
LUNCH & DINNER Mon-Fri 11am-9pm CATERING AVAILABLE 865-387-8275 yassin’s falafel house
706 Walnut St, Knoxville, TN August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 43
CALENDAR
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer. THE SOUTHERN LITERATURE BOOK CLUB • Union Ave Books • 6PM • Union Ave Books’ monthly discussion group about Southern books and writers. Visit unionavebooks.com. • FREE ORION ASTRONOMY CLUB • The Grove Theater (Oak Ridge) • 7PM • ORION is an amateur science and astronomy club centered in Oak Ridge that was founded in April 1974 by a group of scientists at the United States Department of Energy facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. We serve Oak Ridge, Knoxville, and the counties of Anderson, Knox, and Roane.We meet on the third Wednesday of each month for coffee and conversation, and our program begins 15 minutes thereafter. • FREE
LEON BRIDGES at the Tennessee Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 4. See the Long View on page 46. July 18 at 6 p.m. Bring a partner or we can provide one for you. Contact Jo Anne Newby at (865} 539-4150 or email KnoxvilleBridge@gmail.com. • $5
MEETINGS
hursday, Aug. 11 T CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY LEUKEMIA, LYMPHOMA, AND MYELOMA NETWORKER • Cancer Support Community • 6PM • This drop-in group is open for those with leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and myeloproliferative disorders and their support persons. Participants will be able to exchange information, discuss concerns and share experiences. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer. ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS • The Birdhouse • 6PM • A meeting group for adults who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes. The group aims to bring emotional healing to those who have been or who are in these situations and have experienced any level of trauma or abuse as a result. Led by Laura Moll, the class is free to attend. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 13 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY PROSTATE CANCER NETWORKER • Cancer Support Community • 10AM • This drop-in group is an opportunity for men to network with other men about their experiences with prostate cancer. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer. AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Al-Anon’s purpose is to help families and friends of alcoholics recover from the effects of living with the problem drinking of a relative or friend. Visit our local website at farragutalanon.org or email us at FindHope@ Farragutalanon.org. • FREE NARROW RIDGE SILENT MEDITATION GATHERING • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • Narrow Ridge invites you to join us for our Silent Meditation Gathering. The gatherings are intended to be inclusive of people of all faiths as well as those who do not align themselves with a particular religious denomination. For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@narrowridge.org. • FREE 44
KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
Sunday, Aug. 14 SKEPTIC BOOK CLUB • Books-A-Million • 2PM • The book club of the Rationalists of East Tennessee meets on the second Sunday of every month. Visit rationalists.org. • FREE THREE RIVERS! EARTH FIRST! • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 7PM • Three Rivers! Earth First! is the local dirt worshiping, tree hugging, anarchist collective that meets every Sunday night on the second floor of Barley’s in the back room (when its available) to organize against strip mining, counter protest the KKK and Nazis, to clean up Third Creek and to fight evil corporations in general. Open meeting, rotating facilitation, collective model. Y’all come. Call (865) 257-4029 for more information. • FREE REFUGE RECOVERY • Losel Shedrup Ling • 8:30PM • A peerled weekly group gathering to supplement your dedicated practice (AA, NA, Smart Recovery, etc.) for recovery from addictions of all kinds. Buddhism recognizes a non-theistic approach to spiritual practice. The Refuge Recovery program does not ask anyone to believe anything, only to trust the process and do the hard work of recovery. All are welcome to join us in investigating the practices of mindfulness, compassion, forgiveness, and generosity to heal the pain addiction has caused in our lives and the lives of others. Contact David at 865-306-0279 for any further questions. • FREE Monday, Aug. 15 GAY MEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7:30PM • We hold facilitated discussions on topics and issues relevant to local gay men in a safe and open environment. Visit gaygroupknoxville.org. Tuesday, Aug. 16 ATHEISTS SOCIETY OF KNOXVILLE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 5:30PM • Weekly atheists meetup and happy hour. Come join us for food, drink and great conversation. Everyone welcome. • FREE Wednesday, Aug. 17 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY WOMEN WITH ADVANCED CANCER NETWORKER • Cancer Support Community • 1:30PM • Join other women who are living with cancer as a chronic illness to discuss feelings and experiences that are unique to women with advanced cancer. Please call before your first visit. Call 865-546- 4661 for more info.
Thursday, Aug. 18 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT GROUP • Cancer Support Community • 4:30PM • CSC is committed to providing bereavement services to those who have lost a loved one to cancer. Please contact our clinical staff before attending. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer. ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS • The Birdhouse • 6PM • A meeting group for adults who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes. The group aims to bring emotional healing to those who have been or who are in these situations and have experienced any level of trauma or abuse as a result. Led by Laura Moll, the class is free to attend. • FREE TRANSGENDER DISCUSSION GROUP • Maryville College • 6:30PM • Join us for fellowship and conversation and help guide a new dialog within the LGBT community of Blount County by sharing your story with friends and allies. This group will meet biweekly June 23-Aug. 18 at the Clayton Center lobby at Maryville College. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 20 100 BLACK MEN OF GREATER KNOXVILLE • Beck Cultural Exchange Center • 10AM • The 100 Black Men of Greater Knoxville’s purpose is to serve as a catalyst to empower African-American and other minority youth to individually and collectively reach their full potential through maximizing their resources that foster and enhance achievement in education and community and economic development. To accomplish this objective, we partner with primary and secondary schools and community organizations engaged in similar activities. AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Al-Anon’s purpose is to help families and friends of alcoholics recover from the effects of living with the problem drinking of a relative or friend. Visit our local website at farragutalanon.org or email us at FindHope@ Farragutalanon.org. • FREE NARROW RIDGE SILENT MEDITATION GATHERING • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • Narrow Ridge invites you to join us for our Silent Meditation Gathering. The gatherings are intended to be inclusive of people of all faiths as well as those who do not align themselves with a particular religious denomination. For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@narrowridge.org. • FREE Sunday, Aug. 21 RATIONALISTS OF EAST TENNESSEE • Pellissippi State Community College • 10:30AM • The Rationalists of East Tennessee focus on the real or natural universe. The group exists so that we can benefit emotionally and intellectually through meeting together to expand our
awareness and understanding through shared experience, knowledge, and ideas as well as enrich our lives and the lives of others. The Rationalists do not endorse or condemn members’ thoughts or actions. Rather it hopefully encourages honest dialogue, analytic discussion, and responsible action based on reason, compassion, and factual accuracy. Visit rationalists.org. • FREE THREE RIVERS! EARTH FIRST! • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 7PM • Three Rivers! Earth First! is the local dirt worshipping, tree hugging, anarchist collective that meets every Sunday night on the second floor of Barley’s in the back room (when its available) to organize against strip mining, counter protest the KKK and Nazis, to clean up Third Creek and to fight evil corporations in general. Open meeting, rotating facilitation, collective model. Y’all come. Call (865) 257-4029 for more information. • FREE REFUGE RECOVERY • Losel Shedrup Ling • 8:30PM • A peerled weekly group gathering to supplement your dedicated practice (AA, NA, Smart Recovery, etc.) for recovery from addictions of all kinds. Buddhism recognizes a non-theistic approach to spiritual practice. The Refuge Recovery program does not ask anyone to believe anything, only to trust the process and do the hard work of recovery. All are welcome to join us in investigating the practices of mindfulness, compassion, forgiveness, and generosity to heal the pain addiction has caused in our lives and the lives of others. Contact David at 865-306-0279 for any further questions. • FREE
ETC.
Thursday, Aug. 11 MARBLE SPRINGS SHOPPING AT THE FARM FARMER’S MARKET • Marble Springs State Historic Site • 3PM • Marble Springs State Historic Site is proud to present the sixtth season of Shopping at the Farm, the Marble Springs Farmer’s Market for our South Knoxville community. The market will be held Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. beginning on May 19 and continuing weekly through Sept. 22. All vendors will be selling fresh, locally-produced products, and artisan crafts. This year we will be allowing the addition of antiques vendors. • FREE KNOXVILLE SQUARE DANCE • Laurel Theater • 8PM • Jubilee Community Arts presents Knoxville Square Dance with live old-time music by The Helgramites and calling by Stan Sharp, Ruth Simmons and Leo Collins. No experience or partner is necessary and the atmosphere is casual. (No taps, please.) • $7 Friday, Aug. 12 LAKESHORE PARK FARMERS MARKET • Lakeshore Park • 3PM • Offering a wide variety of hand-picked produce, artisan breads, grass-fed beef, natural pork and chicken, farm fresh eggs and farm-based crafts. • FREE EMANCIPATION DAY CANDLELIGHT TRIBUTE • 7:30PM • To commemorate Emancipation Day and honor the slavery-era men and women buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery, the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design and the Knoxville ReAnimation Coalition will co-host an Illumination Tribute in the cemetery. Odd Fellows Cemetery, located at 2001 Bethel Ave., is one of Knoxville’s first dedicated African-American burial grounds. The tribute will include lighting of candles, a Negro spiritual, a reading of the names and a short narrative about the rich history of the cemetery. The Illumination Tribute is part of the second annual Eighth of August Jubilee, a week-long celebration of Emancipation in Knoxville coordinated by Beck Cultural Exchange
Thursday, Aug. 11 - Sunday, Aug. 21
Center. To volunteer at the tribute, email Katherine Ambroziak at aambrozi@utk.edu or call 865-456-1435. • FREE Saturday, Aug. 13 SEYMOUR FARMERS MARKET • First Baptist Church Seymour • 8AM • Open from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday from June to the second Saturday in October. Locally grown fruits, vegetables, eggs, honey, baked goods and crafts sold by the person who produced it. • FREE OAK RIDGE FARMERS MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 8AM • The market offers seasonal vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries, honey, artisan bread and cheese, grass-fed beef and naturally raised chicken, pork and lamb, farm-based crafts, flowers and potted plants. • FREE MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 9AM • The MSFM, a project of Nourish Knoxville, is an open-air farmers’ market located on historic Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. Visit marketsquarefarmersmarket.org. • FREE Tuesday, Aug. 16 EBENEZER ROAD FARMERS MARKET • Ebenezer United Methodist Church • 3PM • The market offers hand-picked produce in season, artisan breads and cheese, grass-fed meat and farm fresh eggs. • FREE Wednesday, Aug. 17 MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 11AM • The MSFM, a project of Nourish Knoxville, is an
open-air farmers’ market located on historic Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. We are a producer only market – everything is either made, grown or raised by our vendors all within a 150 mile radius of the MSFM. Products vary by the season and include ornamental plants, vegetable and herb starts, produce, dairy, eggs, honey, meats, baked goods, jams/jellies, coffee, and artisan crafts. Every Wednesday from 11a.m. to 2p.m. and Saturday from 9a.m. to 2p.m., May 4-Nov. 19. Visit marketsquarefarmersmarket.org. • FREE OAK RIDGE FARMERS MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 3PM • The market offers seasonal vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries, honey, artisan bread and cheese, grass-fed beef and naturally raised chicken, pork and lamb, farm-based crafts, flowers and potted plants. • FREE UT FARMERS MARKET • University of Tennessee • 4PM • Since 2010, the UT Farmers Market has provided a venue for area producers to sell healthful, local food to the greater Knoxville area. This year the market is expanding its community offerings. The UT Farmers Market is free and open to the public every Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. in the UT Gardens off Neyland Drive. Market activities will be scheduled through Oct. 19. For more information about the UT Farmers’ Market you can visit the market website: vegetables.tennessee.edu/utfm.html or find it on Facebook. • FREE Thursday, Aug. 18 MARBLE SPRINGS SHOPPING AT THE FARM FARMER’S MARKET • Marble Springs State Historic Site • 3PM •
CALENDAR
Marble Springs State Historic Site is proud to present the sixtth season of Shopping at the Farm, the Marble Springs Farmer’s Market for our South Knoxville community. The market will be held Thursdays from 3-6 p.m. beginning on May 19 and continuing weekly through Sept. 22. All vendors will be selling fresh, locally-produced products, and artisan crafts. This year we will be allowing the addition of antiques vendors. • FREE
producer only market – everything is either made, grown or raised by our vendors all within a 150 mile radius of the MSFM. Products vary by the season and include ornamental plants, vegetable and herb starts, produce, dairy, eggs, honey, meats, baked goods, jams/jellies, coffee, and artisan crafts. Every Wednesday from 11a.m. to 2p.m. and Saturday from 9a.m. to 2p.m., May 4-Nov. 19. Visit marketsquarefarmersmarket.org. • FREE
Friday, Aug. 19 LAKESHORE PARK FARMERS MARKET • Lakeshore Park • 3PM • Offering a wide variety of hand-picked produce, artisan breads, grass-fed beef, natural pork and chicken, farm fresh eggs and farm-based crafts. • FREE
Send your events to calendar@knoxmercury.com
Saturday, Aug. 20 SEYMOUR FARMERS MARKET • First Baptist Church Seymour • 8AM • Open from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday from June to the second Saturday in October. Locally grown fruits, vegetables, eggs, honey, baked goods and crafts sold by the person who produced it. • FREE OAK RIDGE FARMERS MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 8AM • The market offers seasonal vegetables, herbs, fruits and berries, honey, artisan bread and cheese, grass-fed beef and naturally raised chicken, pork and lamb, farm-based crafts, flowers and potted plants. • FREE MARKET SQUARE FARMERS’ MARKET • Market Square • 9AM • The MSFM, a project of Nourish Knoxville, is an open-air farmers’ market located on historic Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. We are a Allen Tate 865-300-2537 a.tate@comcast.net 2010 1 (One) -
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A guide to upcoming major concerts. SATURDAY, AUG. 27 DWIGHT YOAKAM • Back Porch on the Creek • 7 p.m. • $40-$160
TUESDAY, OCT. 11 M83 WITH SHURA • The Mill and Mine • 8 p.m. • $40 • 18 and up
TUESDAY, SEPT. 6 MIKE POSNER • The Mill and Mine • 7:30 p.m. • $20
SUNDAY, OCT. 16 BEN RECTOR • Tennessee Theatre • 8 p.m. • $29.50$39.50
THURSDAY, SEPT. 8 CHERUB WITH FRENSHIP AND BOO SEEKA • The International • 9 p.m. • $23-$43 • 18 and up FRIDAY, SEPT. 9 SYLVAN ESSO • The Mill and Mine • 8 p.m. • $22 • 18 and up WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 14 MAROON 5 • Thompson-Boling Arena • 7:30 p.m. • $30.50-$126 FRIDAY, SEPT. 16 SCOTT MILLER AND THE COMMONWEALTH WITH PARKER MILLSAP • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $20 THURSDAY, SEPT. 22 NEIL MICHAEL HAGERTY AND THE HOWLING HEX • Pilot Light • 9:30 p.m. • $8 • 18 and up SUNDAY, SEPT. 25 NEEDTOBREATHE WITH MAT KEARNEY, JOHN MARK MCMILLAN, AND WELSHLY ARMS • Knoxville Civic Coliseum • 7 p.m. • $29-$50 MONDAY, SEPT. 26 AMOS LEE • Tennessee Theatre • 8 p.m. • $44-$59 WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28 LAKE STREET DRIVE • The Mill and Mine • 8 p.m. • $22 • 18 and up RAILROAD EARTH WITH THE SCOTT PEMBERTON TRIO • Bijou Theatre • 7:30 p.m. • $21.50/$25 day of the show THURSDAY, SEPT. 29 DENZEL CURRY WITH BOOGIE • The Concourse • 8 p.m. • $15 • All ages SHOVELS AND ROPE WITH MATTHEW LOGAN VASQUEZ • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $25 FRIDAY, SEPT. 30 CEREUS BRIGHT • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $18.50 SATURDAY, OCT. 1 JUNIOR BOYS WITH EGYPTRIXX AND BORYS • Pilot Light • 9:30 p.m. • $12-$15 • 18 and up SUNDAY, OCT. 2 BLITZEN TRAPPER AND REAL ESTATE WITH KACY AND CLAYTON • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $22 TUESDAY, OCT. 4 COHEED AND CAMBRIA WITH SAVES THE DAY AND POLYPHIA • The Mill and Mine • 7 p.m. • $28 LEON BRIDGES • Tennessee Theatre • 8 p.m. • $35-$49 THURSDAY, OCT. 6 DESTROYER WITH ZACHARY CALE • Pilot Light • 9 p.m. • $12-$15 • 18 and up 46
KNOXVILLE MERCURY March 12, 2015
MONDAY, OCT. 17 HATEBREED WITH DEVILDRIVER AND THE DEVIL YOU KNOW • The International • 7 p.m. • $20 • All ages FRIDAY, OCT. 21 BAND OF HORSES WITH THE SHELTERS • The Mill and Mine • 8 p.m. • $35 • 18 and up SATURDAY, OCT. 22 NICK LOWE WITH JOSH ROUSE • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $35 TUESDAY, OCT. 25 BONNIE RAITT • Tennessee Theatre • 7:30 p.m. • $69.50-$99.50 THURSDAY, OCT. 27 MANDOLIN ORANGE • The Concourse • 8 p.m. • $15 • All ages SUNDAY, OCT. 30 PHANTOGRAM • The Mill and Mine • 9 p.m. • $26 • 18 and up WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2 JACKIE GREENE AND JILL ANDREWS • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $18.50/$20.50 days of the show PURITY RING WITH HEALTH • The Mill and Mine • 9 p.m. • $22 • 18 and up THURSDAY, NOV. 3 THE DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS WITH KYLE CRAFT • The Mill and Mine • 8 p.m. • $25 • 18 and up TUESDAY, NOV. 8 JOHNNYSWIM • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $27 WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9 BOB DYLAN • Tennessee Theatre • 8 p.m. • $59.50$129.50 THURSDAY, NOV. 10 ZZ TOP • Tennessee Theatre • 8 p.m. • $79.50-$99.50 FRIDAY, NOV. 11 KELSEA BALLERINI • Tennessee Theatre • 8 p.m. • $25-$49 FRIDAY, NOV. 18 DARRELL SCOTT WITH BOY NAMED BANJO • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $25 FRIDAY, JAN. 13 THE STEEP CANYON RANGERS • Bijou Theatre • 8 p.m. • $23
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FOOD
Home Palate
Kitchen Stadium Jr. Previewing new talent at the UT Culinary Program’s student challenges BY DENNIS PERKINS
I
f you’ve had any restaurant experience, then you’ll know that hosting 40 to 60 people for dinner at roughly the same time is a challenge. In restaurant argot, that puts a kitchen instantly “in the weeds.” And yet that’s just what happens when students in the University of Tennessee Culinary Program face their catered function challenge. Last Friday night at the UT Conference Center, I attended the most recent of these culinary trials by fire, mastered by student chef Brandon Hill. It offered an inside look at one aspect of our rapidly evolving food scene that’s becoming ever more critical: education. Will Knoxville’s next generation of chefs be able to
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
hack it? Unlike a standard restaurant experience, the menu at these challenges are prix fixe, with each diner selecting from two choices for each of the three courses. Still, assembling simultaneous service for even a single table of eight presents certain challenges for anyone new to the demands of a commercial kitchen. But in these events, there’s no telling how many guests will actually turn up nor when they will sit down—and there’s no host adding buffer time to the seating: guests walk in, pick a seat, and wait to eat. Friday night’s theme was “The Latin Feast” and diners chose between pupusa and ceviche for the
starter. The main course featured a choice between pork belly tacos with charro beans or a beer-mopped strip steak served with Mexican street corn. Finally, guests picked either dulce de leche cheesecake or pineapple rum empanadas for dessert. Hill, of course, wasn’t alone back there in the kitchen. He led a team of his peers assigned to various stations based on his assessment of their strengths. They’ve all been in this 12-week program together for seven weeks—now they had to work together to test some of what they’ve learned. Each of them will eventually take a turn leading their own catered function like Hill’s. UT’s Culinary Program—the only
program in Tennessee certified by the American Culinary Federation—is an $8,500 full-time, 400-hour course of study. Students learn everything from knife skills to the mathematics of ordering food for a function with varied menu choices. The course is helmed by chef Greg Eisele who leads a team of area professionals, including local luminary chef David Hume Pinckney of Cherokee Country Club, who teaches a broad range of courses to give students experience at each station of the professional kitchen. The catered event is education in the hot zone. Students study in kitchens, they work there, but when the dining room’s full, the space takes on a different charge. Hill says that
The catered event is education in the hot zone. Students study in kitchens, they work there, but when the dining room’s full, the space takes on a different charge.
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choosing to serve a steak presents an extra level of challenge. “That was something that caught me off guard at first—the volume of different temp items. If you have grilled chicken, it’s gonna be grilled chicken at all times. But a steak is a hard task to handle,” he says. “That was one of the lessons that we learned really quick tonight. When the ticket runners come that’s when it becomes real confusing and you really have to hone down and use the knowledge that you’ve gained to make sure that you’re sending out a medium or medium rare steak by look, by feel, by temperature.” The number of specific orders coming in for fulfillment is a new experience, but, according to Hill, the team gets training while working in volume. “The most important thing we’ve learned is called mis-en-place—everything in its place—and they drive that into us six hours a day, every day. If you have a true mis-en-place you can do anything you want. If we have all of our prep done, all our food ordered it’s all just a puzzle from there, it’s all a matter of making sure that your tickets are ready to go. We were all well prepared.” Hill’s classmate, Rob Petrone,
was responsible for the pupusa, a cheese-stuffed corn tortilla. He says he felt primed after seven weeks of classes in technique and basic skills, but that the competition day helps in terms of handling stress. “But it’s not like what you see on TV—the instructors are really looking at your mis-enplace and skills and creativity, too,” Petrone says. “It’s not like we’re in kitchen stadium.” It was in fact a pleasant dining experience—for the record, my steak was beautifully done. The meal itself was a success with bold flavors, balanced seasoning, and attention to textural variation. There was certainly evidence of the team’s training in the menu itself with a thoughtful mix of levels of service difficulty—a balance of items that required immediate cooking with things that could either be finished easily or quickly plated. Although the entire meal was nice, there was one thrilling moment for those of us who chose cheesecake for our last course. It was a lovely presentation that featured an exceptional salted pecan crust, but what made it so very nice was a light garnish of Mexican oregano—its light citrusy tinge gave the sweetness a lift, and the meal a very nice finale. ◆
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August 11, 2016
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 49
Photo courtesy of Kathy Zachry
Expert Education Smoky Mountain Field School prepares you for the great outdoors BY KIM TREVATHAN
Y
ou’re wandering around in the woods, off trail, and you start to get a little hungry. Those red berries look delicious, but you’re not sure if they are safe to eat. You stop to ponder your surroundings. Thunder rolls to the west. At least you think it’s the west. You’re not sure which way you came in, and you think you hear something big rustling in the bushes up above you on the ridge. Something grunts like the bear that mauled DiCaprio in The Revenant. If only you had taken a few of the 80-plus courses that the Smoky Mountain Field School offers, you might be better prepared for your outdoor adventure. Part of the Univer-
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
sity of Tennessee’s Department of Conferences and Non-Credit Programs, the field school, in its 39th season, partners with the Great Smoky Mountain National Park as an outreach program for lifelong learners. Since this is the park’s 100th anniversary, Kathy and Joel Zachry, who direct the field school, are particularly excited about enabling people to learn about the extraordinary resources and beauty of the park in a compelling and fun way. The school introduced 10 new classes this year, five of which are upcoming this fall. Kathy says the curriculum is designed for people interested in learning more about the Smokies
Photo courtesy of Joel Zachry
OUTDOORS
Out side Insider
firsthand with an expert along to teach them about subjects such as geology, edible plants, compass and map reading, bear behavior, and many others. The course schedule runs from early March to early November, and the courses, most of which have a fee of $79, usually take place on Saturdays. Exceptions are the Mount LeConte Hike & Overnight at the Lodge and the Backpacking with Confidence Course, which take place over two days and cost a bit more. One course that has returned after a hiatus is High Elevation Hiking: Experience the Geology of the Great Smoky Mountains (offered on Sept. 17). Dr. Gray Dean, a lecturer at UT, will lead students along the Appalachian Trail from Newfound Gap to Charlies Bunion, a hike that he chose for its “spectacular beauty,” its rock exposures, the high elevation that “allows for good views of macro geologic features,” and its demonstration of “mountain building processes.” Dean says that while you can bring rock samples into a classroom for a conventional course, “in the field, you can actually see the context and relationships of rocks as well as their
Left: Smoky Mountain Field School instructor Joel Zachry (middle) teaches a group of students about the flora of the national park. Right: Instructor Jeff Wadley teaches kids in Junior Naturalist Certification Program about aquatic life by collecting water samples trailside at Ijams Nature Center and having the kids identify all the living things in it. relationships to other processes such as ecology, hydrology, weather…[and also] how the rock weathers and breaks down, how it controls the shape of the landscape and subsequently the plants and animals, too.” Joel, who along with Kathy, has taught in the field school since the early 1980s, says that the course offerings have become more diverse over the years. At first, he says, the courses were more researched-based, focused on pure science, but now the overall approach emphasizes “having fun while learning from an expert.” In addition to more scientifically oriented courses on geology, tree identification, and edible and poisonous fungi, for example, people can take an art course (photography, watercolor, sketching), a music course (Smoky Mountain Fiddle Tunes), nature photography, fly fishing, and courses
OUTDOORS At first, the courses were more researched-based, focused on pure science—but now the overall approach emphasizes “having fun while learning from an expert.”
on culture and history, such as the Cherokee Heritage Adventure. Kathy says that the Mount LeConte Hike & Overnight at the Lodge, offered three times each year, usually fills up each time. She also says that the Bear U. curriculum attracts much interest. Coy Blair, who is the curator for Appalachian Bear Rescue, based in Townsend, will be teaching his course, Care and Release of Orphaned and Injured Black Bear Cubs, for the fourth time this August. Blair, a Maryville College alum, says it is not only more fun for people to learn about bears outside on a hike, but they also remember what he shows them if they see it in the field. For example, on Chestnut Top trail, he was able to show students the wild grapes that are a food source for bears and point out the scat that indicated evidence of a bear’s having consumed the grapes. Farther up the trail, he showed students a bear den in a tree with claw marks on it. Though enrollees tend to be between the ages 30 to 80, often professionals, the field school piloted a course for middle schoolers in 2015 to create future stewards for a national park about to turn 100. The Junior Naturalist Certification Program engages students in a five-day course that teaches them about outdoor safety and preparedness, the history and culture of the park, the plants and animals and landscape, while getting them moving around outside in the fresh air and unplugging them from the instant gratification of electronic devices. The program, now in its second year, culminates in the presentation of the kids’ certificates by park Superin-
tendent Cassius Cash and Chief of Resource Education Elizabeth DuPree. Lilly Atchley, 11, who has taken the junior naturalist class twice, says it was “super fun,” in particular the hike with Cash this year. “We got to see what he was really like on the inside: funny, nice, kind, caring and a wonderful teacher. It was really cool to get to hang out with him,” she says. Dr. Rosalind Hackett (head of UT’s Department of Religious Studies) has taken several courses in the field school and says she not only appreciates the expertise of instructors in a given field, but also their holistic approach to the outings. Hackett says that the field school has “enriched her experiences in the Smokies” and “given her a greater appreciation and a sense of pride about the region we live in.” Founded in 1978 by Dr. Gayle Cooper, who would become its first director, and park Assistant Chief of Interpretation Don Defoe, the field school now has more than 700 participants per year. Despite the popularity of the school, classes are kept small, maximizing students’ access to instructors’ expertise. Among well-known past and current field school faculty are Bill Landry, Sam Venable, black bear management expert Kim Delozier, and Jeff Wadley, with 30 years’ experience in search and rescue with the Civil Air Patrol. More info can be found at: outreach.utk.edu/smoky. ◆ A writing instructor at Maryville College, Kim Trevathan is the author of Paddling the Tennessee River: A Voyage on East Water and Coldhearted River: A Canoe Odyssey Down the Cumberland.
town to trail
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY 51
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Sacred & P rofane
Ophelia in the Rain Amid the dark of night, a sudden rescue mission BY DONNA JOHNSON
I
stir to the sound of Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” outside my window. It takes about two full verses before I am completely awake. “Ophelia!” I think, and clamber over to the window to find rain pouring down and Ophelia standing in a yellow slicker, her blonde curls hanging wet from under her hat. Beneath a purple, yellow, and orange flowered umbrella, she has arrived from another dimension to take me home, I am certain. “Ophelia,” I exclaim. “Come on in!” I open the window and a soggy Ophelia climbs in, soaking the handmade quilt she had given me. Glancing over at the clock, I see that it is almost 3 in the morning. Both of us are nocturnal creatures—Ophelia and I live at night. The only reason I was asleep was because I was recovering from a nasty bout of bronchitis. She goes into my kitchen and puts the kettle on to boil. Within minutes the kettle starts to sing and Ophelia brings me a steaming mug of hot tea with honey, then takes my foot and begins to paint my toenails blue. She paints hers bright red. “Aren’t we wonderful?” she exclaims. “But of course!” I reply. I always agree with everything Ophelia says, for even when she is wrong it seems like she is right—and who cares about such things anyway? Ophelia is the brightest, most exciting friend I have ever known. Being with her is like being with Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden and every day is a new adventure. Suddenly, Ophelia’s face darkens. “I’ve got a serious issue at hand,”
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she says, her green eyes clouding over with dismay. “You know that awful neighbor of mine that never feeds his animals? That revolting creature, Joel.” “Well, of course, how could I forget?” Ophelia and I have been feeding his two cats and Labrador retriever for months, because he doesn’t. “He left almost a week ago, and I’ve been feeding Mittens and Reagan, but I haven’t seen Monica.” She gazes out the window at the tall pine trees of North Hills swaying back and forth in the wind. “What should we do?” I asked, alarmed now myself. Ophelia lights two cigarettes and hands me one. All at once lightning rages across the sky and the lights go out, leaving Ophelia staring into the single candle as though it were a crystal ball. She might have come straight out of one of George de La Tour’s paintings. She looks at me with that direct gaze of hers and says, “Well, I’ve already talked to the landlord and he will not let me in. I know that poor dog is in there suffering and we can wait no longer. We’re going to have to break into the house and get that dog.” “Well, of course,” I reply, putting on a yellow slicker and hiking boots. Throwing water on my face, I walk out the door with Ophelia close behind, a hammer in her hand. Up and down Kennilworth Lane we trudge in the rain, huddling close together under the umbrella, like two orphans in the woods. The trees sway above us and there’s a large crack as one of them is struck by lightning.
“Lord, lord,” Ophelia says. “We’re liable to be next.” “We’ll be fine,” I say, my senses heightened by danger. “When we save that dog, it will all have been worth it.” “I know we’re too late,” Ophelia wails. “We should have come sooner. I don’t know why I didn’t.” “Quiet, Ophelia,” I whisper as we arrive at Joel’s two-story house. I go up the steps and try the door. Locked. All the windows on the first story are also locked, with double-pane glass. Going round to the back I spy a single light on, with the window ever so marginally cracked. “We’re in!” I shout. “Shhh!” whispers Ophelia. Getting in is no easy matter, but I’ve been a tree climber from the time I could walk. With Ophelia cupping her hands together, I climb onto the frail branch of a baby pine tree, praying it won’t break underneath my weight. I crawl along the limb until I can just reach the ledge of the window. I hold on tightly and try the window. There is no barking or moaning dog, nor any sign of life at all inside the lit room. “Throw me the hammer,” I say. Miraculously I catch the hammer while still hanging on, and at last I climb in the window. I don’t know what to expect. A dead dog, a sick dog, or no dog at all and we could be hauled off to jail or an insane asylum. Inside is a bathroom. Praying mightily, I open the door, and there, huddled in the corner, is Monica. She looks up at me with large beseeching eyes. This magnificent animal is now practically a skeleton, having had no food or water for days. The monster
that had abandoned her there had not even left the toilet seat up so she could drink water. I pick her up and carry her out the front door to where Ophelia stands wringing her hands. She weeps all the way to the Fountain City Animal Hospital, where Dr. Kalsa checks her out and puts her on a diet of small meals until she is strong enough to be taken to a new home. Though I wanted to keep Monica myself, I could not, having a jealous dog who would not tolerate another in the home. Her reward was to be great, however. I took her to two friends of mine, Eve and Loraine, a couple who had lost their collie a few weeks before. They took one look at Monica and cried for joy. Taking her inside, they introduced her room by room around their home. Not only did they have ample means to take care of her, but they also had woods behind their house, and, best of all, a large swimming pool where they could swim with Monica. Before I left, I knelt down by Monica and embraced her. She held up one paw and gazed into my eyes as if to say, “Thank you.” I got into the car next to Ophelia and we gave each other a high-five. Another job well done. But not quite. I went back and got the two cats, Mittens and Reagan, and they gave me 16 years of joy. I ran into the monster, Joel, only once after that. “I know you have my cats,” he said. “That’s right,” I replied. “I do.” And he never said another word. ◆
I always agree with everything Ophelia says, for even when she is wrong it seems like she is right— and who cares about such things anyway?
BY IAN BLACKBURN AND JACK NEELY
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Spir it of the Staircase
BY MATTHEW FOLTZ-GRAY
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY August 11, 2016
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