Vol. 2, Issue 42 Oct. 27, 2016

OCTOBER 27, 2016 KNOXMERCURY.COM

IT’S AN (EXTRA) SCARY ISSUE V.

2 / N.42

er. Why? v e n a th r la u p o p scape is more n e t s u m u o y y Mike Gibso m b o ro a in d e Paying to be lock

NEWS

Would a New Stadium in the Old City Be a Wise Public Investment?

JACK NEELY

The Trouble at Number 309: an East Knoxville Ghost Story

INSIDE THE VAULT

Before TV, Local Filmmakers Documented Tennessee Football

JOE SULLIVAN

The School Board’s Fight Against Using Student Assessment Data

Living History This week, celebrate three ways Knoxville’s past thrives in the present Considered an Old World holiday, Halloween was hardly celebrated in Knoxville until the 1890s.

Before that, Oct. 31 had a different meaning in Knoxville. It was the birthday of Peter Kern (1835-1907), one of the most popular guys in town. His life is like a fairy tale.

“The Man Who Lives Here is Loony,” went the graffiti scrawled on the door of a Brooklyn apartment in the 1930s, and it’s the title of an unusual play being presented this weekend and next at the Knoxville Museum of Art. The Man in question is none other than James Agee, the Knoxville-born journalist, novelist, critic, and screenwriter, presented in this play near the end of his short life. He died in New York at age 45. Agee spent most of his adult life in New York, but during his last 20 years was often preoccupied by his memories of Knoxville, as depicted in his unusual essay, “Knoxville: Summer 1915.”

He was born in Zwingenberg, Germany, a tiny town near Heidelberg. After the revolutions of 1848, life in the Grandy Duchy of Baden was unstable, and many young men were being forced into serving the nobility. Peter’s mother gave him money to come to America.

First he lived in New York, but found it too cold. He tried Charleston, but fled during a yellow-fever epidemic. Philadelphia was too cold, too. He came south again, and finally settled in Georgia, where he found work as a cobbler.

Local singer-songwriter R.B. Morris, recently honored as Knoxville’s first poet laureate, wrote this play several years ago, based heavily on Agee’s own writings, especially his personal letters published long after his When the Civil War came along, he joined Photo by Charlie Finch death. Morris has performed the role himself his neighbors and enlisted with the Confederaon a few rare occasions, and is directing this cy. Wounded in the early months of the war, he production, but this time the role of Agee is being performed by actor Joe was sent home to convalesce. As he was dutifully returning to the Virginia Casterline. front on a northbound train, he arrived in Knoxville just before the city was Fountain City’s gorgeous Adair Oak, about to turn, in a photo taken this week. Believed to date back to the American Revolution, it was recently named a historic tree by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council.

occupied by General Burnside’s Union troops. Briefly jailed, he was forced to spend the balance of the war in an unfamiliar city. Befriending some local Germans, he learned the trade of baking, and sold molasses cakes to the Union troop trains.

Kern became Knoxville’s most successful baker, and built his permanent headquarters, a large three-story building at 1 Market Square, in 1876.

Kern’s bread was familiar in local groceries for decades. (The Kern’s brand still exists, but is no longer based here.) At 1 Market Square Kern also manufactured candy, and claimed to be the biggest candy factory in the South. Kern served a wide variety of soft drinks, including the brand-new nectar from Atlanta called Coca-Cola. He sold toys and, until they were banned, fireworks.

On the second floor, his “ice-cream saloon,” a fancy place with marble-top tables, open every night until midnight. Kern was culturally influential, promoting holidays previously little observed in Tennessee, especially Christmas. Kern’s advertisements introduced Knoxville newspaper readers to their first image of Santa Claus.

In 1890, 27 years after he arrived as a lonely stranger, Kern became Knoxville’s mayor, probably the city’s last mayor ever to have a foreign accent.

Today, he’s honored at the Oliver’s hotel bar, known as Peter Kern’s Library.

For those who have read Agee’s work, the play offers fresh insight. For those who haven’t, it can serve as a good introduction. It shows four times, Oct. 27 and 30, and Nov. 3 and 6, with Thursday shows at 7, Sunday shows at 3. For more, see rbmorris.com/the-man-who-lives-here-is-loony.

Last week, Fountain City got an unusual distinction, announced at historian Jim Tumblin’s book talk at the East Tennessee History Center. The Tennessee Urban Forestry Council designated the Adair Oak as a “Tennessee Historic Tree.” The large white oak, located in Lynnhurst Cemetery, just behind the Food City on Broadway, is believed to have been growing there since about 1777. It was there when Irish immigrant John Adair (1732-1827) arrived. Adair helped the Revolutionary patriots at the Battle of King’s Mountain, and later became one of the first permanent settlers of Knox County, and a delegate to the constitutional convention that founded the state of Tennessee. He’s buried at the base of the Adair Oak. Dr. Tumblin has been rooting for the tree for years, but received help in convincing the state authorities from longtime arborist Jim Cortese, who determined its likely date. It’s the 29th tree to get statewide historic designation, but only the third in Knox County. For more, see tufc.com.

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 2

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

Oct. 27, 2016 Volume 02 / Issue 42 knoxmercury.com

CONTENTS

“They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” —Edgar Allan Poe

NEWS

9 Elections: District 15 East Knoxville lost a political lion and well-connected advocate when Rep. Joe Armstrong resigned his seat this summer following conviction on felony tax-evasion charges. Democrat Rick Staples—and his Independent opponent, former state Rep. Pete Drew—know the district’s next representative will have a steep learning curve in effectively replacing Armstrong, who was elected 14 times to the seat he first won in 1988.

Thomas Fraser reports on each candidate’s plans.

12 G et Out COVER STORY

11 South Knox

Want to add an extra challenge to your Halloween scares this weekend? Try an escape room. Players enter theme-based locked rooms—prison-escape games are popular, as are “killer’s lair” scenarios—and solve various puzzles, searching for clues that will enable them to get out of the room in less than an hour’s time. And, as many discover, the struggle to escape is addictive. Escape games have become so popular that Knoxville hosts five different outlets. Mike Gibson gets locked up.

With a couple of big project announcements, South Knoxville is suddenly hopping. The decrepit South Knox High building has a new owner, as does the former Sevier Heights Baptist Church campus. What are their plans? Thomas Fraser finds out.

Developments

Correction In last week’s Top Knox winners issue, we ran the wrong ad for the Tennessee School of Beauty.

You will find the correct ad on this week’s back cover.

DEPARTMENTS

OPINION

A&E

5 Howdy

7 Scruffy Citizen

17 Program Notes: The Tim Lee 3

Start Here: By the Numbers, Public Affairs, and PechaKucha Knoxville—each week, we run a slide from an interesting local presentation.

8

30 ’Bye

Finish There: At This Point by Stephanie Piper. Plus Crooked Street Crossword by Ian Blackburn and Jack Neely and Spirit of the Staircase by Matthew Foltz-Gray

.

Jack Neely conjures up a ghost story from 1920s East Knoxville.

Perspectives Joe Sullivan looks at a Knox County school board resolution that opposes use of the state’s student assessment data for teacher evaluations.

CALENDAR announce disappointing news, and R.B. Morris cranks up a new production of The Man Who Lives Here Is Loony.

21 Spotlights: Bloody Bloody

Andrew Jackson, Drive-By Truckers, This Is Our Youth, plus Halloween goings-on.

18 Inside the Vault: Eric Dawson

recounts the filmmakers who documented the Vols before the TV era.

20 Classical Music: Alan Sherrod

reviews Knox Opera’s The Pirates of Penzance.

October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 3

Your Downtown Experience Begins Here

SATURDAY,

OCTOBER 29

N aturally, our agents possess an intimate

Rocky Horror Picture Show 11:59PM HPER Gym

SUNDAY,

OCTOBER 30 5k 9AM Pedestrian Walkway Chalk Ped Walk 1PM Pedestrian Walkway

THURSDAY,

Anything Goes 2PM TRECS Fields

NOVEMBER 3

Barnwarmin’ 3-6PM Fiji Island

URHC Car Smash!

8AM-5PM Presidential Courtyard

Smokey’s Howl Preliminaries 7PM Cox Auditorium

Flag Football Tournament 3-6PM TRECS Fields

MONDAY,

Paint the Town Orange Judging 5:30PM Downtown

OCTOBER 31 Early Voting thru November 3rd 8AM-8PM Howard Baker Jr. Center Carnival 11AM-2PM Pedestrian Walkway Dyeing Europa the Bull Fountain Orange 2PM McClung Tower + Clarence Brown Theatre Plaza Vol Navy Boat Races 4-6PM Aquatic Center Pool Office Decorating Contest Judging 3PM Various Locations Comedy Show 7PM AMB 210

TUESDAY,

NOVEMBER 1 Banner Drop Noon Neyland Stadium Day of Service 1-4:30PM Various Locations 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament 5-10PM The Bubble Mossman Lecture ft. Alan Alda 6:30PM Cox Auditorium

WEDNESDAY,

NOVEMBER 2 Breakfast on Ped Walk 8-10AM Pedestrian Walkway Rocky Top Royalty Meet & Greet 10AM-2PM Pedestrian Walkway Tower of Cans 4-6PM Brehm Arena, Ag Campus Mr. and Miss Freshman Pageant 7PM Cox Auditorium

4

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

Smokey’s Howl Finals 6PM Cox Auditorium Basketball Game 7PM Thompson-Boling Arena

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FRIDAY,

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NOVEMBER 4 UT History Walking Tour with Jack Neely Noon Campus Parade 4PM Fiji Island Post-Parade Celebration 5-6PM Fiji Island

Stanley’s Greenhouse Our business is growing!

Little Vols at the Ballpark Following Parade Baseball Stadium 17th Annual Southeastern Stomp Fest 6:30PM Cox Auditorium Bonfire & Pep Rally 9:45PM Fiji Island

SATURDAY,

NOVEMBER 5 Party in the Park & Rocky Top Tailgate 1PM Circle Park

time e h t 's Now nt trees, a to pl s, bulbs b shru ansies p and ring. p for s

Annual Frieson Black Cultural Center Homecoming Tailgate 12-3PM FBCC Football Game vs. Tennessee Tech 4PM Neyland Stadium Competition Trophy + Rocky Top Royalty Presentation Halftime Neyland Stadium Concert ft. Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors with Special Guest Cereus Bright 8PM Market Square

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HOWDY

BY THE NUMBERS

Knoxville, According to WalletHub Just about every week, personal-finance website WalletHub issues carefully researched and thoroughly vetted (we assume) rankings of cities in an attempt to get some free publicity. Here’s how Knoxville has placed in its various surveys over the past couple years.

11th: 35th: 39th: 40th:

Best city to get married.

Best city for return on investment on police spending

Photo by Chad Becker

PECHA KUCHA NIGHT KNOXVILLE RESTORATION FROM THE RUBBLE - MEDIC SAMARITAN | Chad Becker | Presented May 12, 2016 In this presentation Chad Becker discusses the efforts of Medic Samiratan, which was established to offer medical support in Haiti for mission teams and the residents they served following the catastrophic earthquake in January 2010 which devastated the already impoverished Third World country.

Evolving from its founding objective, Medic Samaritan now enters into healthcare concentrated endeavors that facilitate access to shelter, education, and clean water within the rural mountainous communities of Beloc, Camatin, and Decouze, Haiti. The Medic Samaritan SEWing Sustainability model (Shelter, Education/Engagement, Water), focuses on empowering Haitians through projects that promote long-term, community health development and sustainability. | Watch the 6-minute presentation at pechakucha.org/cities/knoxville

Best metro area for STEM professionals

Best foodie city, with a ranking of 121 for affordability and 32 for diversity, accessibility, and quality.

69th: 75th: 133rd: 207th:

Best city for singles

Best city to work for a small business Cities for people with disabilities.

Fastest growing cities.

—Coury Turczyn Source wallethub.com

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

10/28 WANTON PUMPKIN DESTRUCTION 10/29 INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL 10/30 MEETING: EAST KNOX COUNTY COMMUNITY PLAN FRIDAY

4 p.m., UT’s McClung Plaza, beside the Humanities and Social Sciences Building. Free.

UT’s Society of Physics Students will demonstrate the properties of gravity by dropping pumpkins from 60 feet high. And, fulfilling the dream of every fourth-grade boy, they will freeze the pumpkins in liquid nitrogen before dispatching them. The results should be fascinating. A costume contest begins at 5 p.m., immediately followed by the pumpkin drop at 5:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

11 a.m. to 5 p.m., World’s Fair Park. Free.

The Annoor Academy of Knoxville is bringing its 15-year-old food festival to World’s Fair Park for the first time, emphasizing the cuisine of the Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa.

There will also be a shopping bazaar, a kids’ corner, and cooking demonstrations. Food tickets are $1 each.

SUNDAY

1:30-3 p.m., Seven Islands State Birding Park’s Boat Launching Ramp (2809 Kelly Ln., Kodak). Free.

The Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission will present its plan for East Knox County, which addresses residents’ concerns about keeping its rural character intact.

How does that big ol’ Midway Business Park concept fit in?

Find out! RSVP at liz.albertson@knoxmpc.org.

11/1 MEETING: BROADWAY CORRIDOR PLAN TUESDAY

5:15 p.m., St. James Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall (1101 N. Broadway). Free.

Downtown Knoxville’s main corridor to Fountain City could use a makeover—and the Broadway Corridor Task Force has been working on just such a plan in conjunction with the East Tennessee Community Design Center. Find out what sort of concepts they’ve come up with at this meeting intended for public comment and input.

October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 5

FEATURING :

a CELEBRATION of southern spirits and gourmet grub

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FEATURING : BLACKBERRY FARM & BLACKBERRY FARM BREWERY BLUETICK BREWERY

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DANCING BEAR

SUGARLANDS DISTILLING CO.

APPALACHIAN BISTRO

THUNDER ROAD DISTILLERY

LI MISS LILY’S.

H CLARK DISTILLERY

OLD MILL POTTERY HOUSE

SPEAKEASY SPIRITS DISTILLERY

FLATS & TAPS CADES COVE CELLARS

NELSON’S GREENBRIER DISTILLERY

AND MANY MORE TN FAVORITES

CORSAIR DISTILLERY COR

LIVE MUSIC & ACTIVITIES

CHATTANOOGA WHISKEY PYRAMID PREMUIM VODKA

LOCATED ON THE PEACEFUL SIDE OF THE SMOKIES

SHORT MOUNTAIN DISTILLERY JUG CREEK DISTILLERY

TOWNSEND, TN

LEIPER’S FORK DISTILLERY

November 5, 2016, 5-9pm

BOOTLEGGERS DISTILLERY BO KNOX WHISKEY WORKS TENNESSEE LEGEND DISTILLERY

The Townsend Grains & Grits Festival is a celebration of southern spirits and gourmet grub. We have created a unique opportunity for you to experience our thriving craft spirits and gourmet food community, while discovering some of the region’s legendary distillers and blenders, taking place in the Peaceful Side of the Smokies.

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LEARN MORE You’re invited to attend a free information session at the UT Conference Center in downtown Knoxville. Please call 865-974-3181, e-mail utnoncredit@utk.edu, or go online to make your reservation.

Tuesday, November 1, 6-7 p.m.

Course # 16FACULIN-2

www.utculinary.com Financing & flexible payment options available.

For Questions call or text: 865-315-VOTE(8683)

6

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

SCRUFFY CITIZEN

In Walked Mr. Ghost The trouble at number 309

the kitchen. It ignored questions. If you stayed quiet, it would “tarry and grin.” Sometimes it would wake up Mr. Stiles by grabbing him by the shoulders and grinning into his face.

When Howard’s older sister Hazel saw it at 2 a.m. she was “scared speechless.” She fainted, as her family tried to rouse her. After that, she was able to speak only in a whisper.

According to the story, the Stiles family tolerated the ghost until it appeared in their kitchen while they were eating some watermelon. “In walked Mr. Ghost wearing his haunting grin.” Mrs. Stiles said that was it. She took her children out of the house and never went back.

BY JACK NEELY

I

n late summer, as Republicans were reeling from the unexpected death of President Harding, East Knoxville was abuzz about the Ghost. At least 150 people congregated around the house at the corner of East Cumberland and McKee. Only the boldest among them peered into the old-fashioned windows, reporting what they saw.

It was a peculiar neighborhood even on a sunny day—working people, black and white, some of them immigrants, living close together, but also a piano school and artist Robert Lindsay Mason’s studio, where he taught classes in painting. It was quiet, most of the time, even though it was just a couple of blocks from the Bowery, the old saloon district that Prohibition never completely tamed.

Most houses were rentals, and many neighbors, on their way up or down, didn’t stay around long. The neighborhood’s landmark, recognized by fewer and fewer as years passed, was Parson Brownlow’s house. The scathing Unionist pundit, hanged in effigy throughout the South and sometimes shot at, the governor who forced Tennessee back into the Union, had lived in that old frame house at 211 East Cumberland.

For almost 40 years after his death, his widow had maintained the house as a shrine to her husband and Unionism. Once advertised among Knoxville’s main tourist attractions, it received dutiful visits for tea from a succession of Republican presidents.

Since Eliza had died there nine years ago, though, the Brownlow house, never a pretty thing, had deteriorated.

By 1923 it was often vacant. Soon it would be gone.

Just a few doors to the east of the Brownlow house was the odd, old double-house at 309 East Cumberland. Two small antebellum houses linked by a vestibule. Carpenter John Stiles and his wife Alice, lived there for two years, but had unwelcome company. Suddenly they moved their family out.

Sixteen-year-old Howard Stiles did most of the talking. “I only saw it twice, but that was enough,” he said.

“It looked to me like the mist of a man,” just like in the movies, he said.

The silent movie The Ghost Breaker had been a sensation at the Riviera a few months before. “His teeth protruded out front.” Everyone mentioned the teeth. One reporter described a “hideously grinning ghost in gray.”

The problem started with some strange noises. “We children used to hear noises in the night when we first moved in, and we would call Papa.”

At first, Mr. Stiles assured them it was no ghost. “Go to sleep,” he said. “It was just rats running around the floor.”

It was little consolation. “He knew then what it was,” Howard said of his father. “But he didn’t want to scare us. Then we began to see it.”

It arose from the basement. It sometimes made a crashing sound in

John Stiles said the ghost looked like the late Sproul Thompson. He was the brother of the late Mel Thompson, who’d been mayor back in the 1890s. Sproul Thompson was a semi-retired real-estate developer and horseman of 66, who died unexpectedly more than a year ago, as the result of a fall.

But then other people came forward, claiming the house had always been haunted, even before Thompson’s death. It sometimes played piano. A few years before, a neighbor, intolerant of nocturnal piano playing, pulled out the piano and chopped it up.

As the Stiles family left, biracial crowds swarmed the now-empty house every evening until midnight, gazing into the narrow old windows, hoping to catch a glimpse of something uncanny. The owner of the house, Austrian immigrant Joseph Ahler, lived one block north of the trouble, at McKee and Church.

Disturbed by the nightly crowds, he called the police to keep an eye on things. They arrested one 30-year-old man for trespassing.

A boilermaker at the L&N Railroad, a practical man, liked the house. “I don’t believe in haunts,” said Thad Farley, an easygoing guy who moved his family in the same week the Stiles family left. Ahler warned him about the stories. Farley said he didn’t mind. “If I was to see one I’d try to find out what it was,” he said. “If there are such things, they can’t hurt you. It’s only a flesh-andblood haunt that will do you harm.”

The story unfolded just like it’s supposed to in the movies. Unbelievers proposed alternate theories—automobile headlights refracting weirdly though the ancient, irregular windows. Reporters offering to stay there overnight. Knoxville News reporter Bob Wilson befriended Farley, and brought a pallet to spend the night there. Nothing happened.

The hubbub expired.

Five months later, Farley’s father, a man of 67, died in the house. Surely it was a coincidence.

But the Farleys moved out soon afterward.

For years, 309 East Cumberland was a high-turnover address, often vacant. Its last tenant was probably its longest, a black man named John Garrett who was a waiter at Bearden’s Highland Grill.

Owner Joseph Ahler died in 1957, at age 90. He collapsed during negotiations to sell some of his land to the city to build the Civic Coliseum.

The house at 309 was one of hundreds demolished with urban renewal in 1959. It’s impossible to point to the site. It was somewhere along James White Parkway, about where the late-afternoon shadow of Plaza Tower falls. ◆

At first, Mr. Stiles assured them it was no ghost.

“Go to sleep,” he said. “It was just rats running around the floor.”

October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 7

PERSPECTIVES

Acid Test Will this be a school board of, by, and for teachers?

BY JOE SULLIVAN

N

ext week’s meeting of the Knox County school board figures to provide an acid test of whether it has morphed into a body that is of, by, and for teachers.

At issue is a resolution sponsored by board member Amber Rountree that gives the back of the hand to the state Department of Education. Specifically, it opposes the use of the state’s student assessment data “for any percentage of teacher evaluations and student grades for school year 2016-2017 and urges the General Assembly and the State Board of Education to provide a one year waiver” on such use.

Rountree and the board’s newly elected chair, Patti Bounds, have been the board’s harshest critics of what they’ve deemed to be excessive emphasis on standardized testing. And they have championed the cause of teachers who have rebelled against the use of data derived from these tests in evaluating teacher performance.

Now, they are joined on the nine-member board by three newly elected members (Susan Horn, Tony Norman, and Jennifer Owen) who are also former teachers and were aligned with them in opposition to the assertedly oppressive administration of former Superintendent Jim McIntyre.

Only the two remaining members who don’t come from the teacher ranks (Gloria Deathridge and Lynne Fugate) were supportive of McIntyre while the other two holdovers (Terry Hill and 8

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

Mike McMillan) usually opposed him.

Interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas attempted to derail Rountree’s resolution when it was first considered at the board’s monthly meeting in early October.

In an email to board members, Thomas asserted that, “We need a good standardized test each year to tell us how we are doing compared to others across the state and the nation.

We will achieve greatness not by shying away from this accountability but by embracing it.” And he fretted that, “This resolution puts that at risk.

In short, it will divide us. Once again we could find ourselves in two disputing camps. The pro-achievement folks on the one side and the pro-teacher folks on the other.”

But some of Thomas’ reasoning didn’t resonate well with many board members. For starters, he asserted that, “The politics are wrong”—claiming the resolution would offend state legislators, especially the Chairman of the House Education Committee, Knoxville’s Harry Brooks. To which Bounds retorted, “Since when have we let politics dictate what is good for our children?”

Thomas also stumbled when he claimed that Tennessee has met all of the American Educational Research Association’s criteria for deriving teacher “value-added” scores from their student achievement gains from year to year relative to a norm.

In fact, an AERA report cited by Rountree on the use of value-added measures of teacher performance admonishes that, “VAM scores must only be calculated from scores on tests that are comparable over time. Many states are currently transitioning to new assessment systems and adopting new or revised performance standards that pose a threat to the validity of VAM scores when these scores are compared before, across, and after the transition.”

Of course, that’s exactly what’s happening in Tennessee as totally new TNReady tests are being introduced in grades 3-8 this school year to succeed the former TCAP tests that were due to be replaced last year. Compounding the problem, all testing in these grades was suspended in 2016 when the supplier of the new tests failed to deliver them on time.

This debacle not only precluded calculation of teacher value-added scores for that school year, but also eliminated the baseline that would have been used to measure gains for inclusion in this year’s teacher evaluations.

When asked how these determinations will be made, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education acknowledges that a different methodology will have to be employed and says that, “we are still working with various statisticians and experts to determine the exact methodology we will use this year.”

In light of all the vagaries, I see merit to Rountree’s quest for a waiver from inclusion of 2016-17 teacher value-added scores in their evaluations, at least in grades 3-8. On the other hand, I believe her resolution is misguided in calling for test scores to be excluded from student grades, especially with respect to the high school end of course exams that are administered each semester. These EOC exams are also on an established footing where teacher value-added

scoring is concerned.

As Fugate brought out at the October board meeting and several teachers attested at a workshop, such tests become meaningless—and students treat them as a joke—if they don’t count for anything. I’m less clear whether TNReady scores should be factored into student grades for younger kids as state law now provides.

But this point is academic for the 2016-17 school year because grade 3-8 scores for the first year of the new test won’t be available until next fall.

(Thereafter, the due date is by the end of the school year.)

When it appeared at the October board meeting that Rountree’s sweeping resolution (as opposed to a more nuanced one) was going to prevail, Deathridge invoked what is any board member’s “personal privilege” to defer action for a month. If Rountree continues to pursue it and a board majority now comprised of former teachers lend support, it will send a strong signal that the board is marching to the teachers’ drum.

However, there is one former teacher on the board who wants to avoid any such perception and could be influential in swaying others. He is Tony Norman who, since his retirement as a high school biology teacher, has also served on County Commission, including a stint as its chairman.

While his animus toward McIntyre had a lot to do with his decision to run for school board, and he remains opposed to use of what he considers specious value-added scores in teacher evaluations, he is wary of the Rountree resolution.

“We’ve got to be sensitive that we have all these former teachers on the board, and we can’t look like we’re here to represent teachers,” he opines.

“I believe there is a parallel between the interests of teachers and students, but we’ve got to make it clear that we’re putting the students first.”

One can only hope so. ◆

“I believe there is a parallel between the interests of teachers and students, but we’ve got to make it clear that we’re putting the students first.” —Tony Norman

Payoff Pitch Would a new stadium in the Old City be a wise public investment?

Postcard

BY S. HEATHER DUNCAN

Bill Meyer Stadium, seen here in a postcard, was demolished in 2003, four years after the Knoxville Smokies moved to Sevierville.

L

ocal governments used to love the hackneyed baseball-movie mantra: “If you build it, they will come.” Economic development officials claimed having a sports arena or stadium would provide a boost to the local economy. While that idea has been pretty much universally debunked—it just moves local entertainment spending and jobs around, rather than creating new ones—cities today justify subsidizing sports venues as a way to revitalize distressed urban neighborhoods.

But will it turn around a struggling area?

“Some communities have managed to do that successfully, but it has to be planned very carefully, and it does not always work,” says David Swindell, director of the Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University.

Knoxville may need to figure this out within the next 10 years. A series of

property purchases by Knoxville business magnate Randy Boyd, which culminated in early September, led to the revelation that he is considering moving his Tennessee Smokies baseball team back to Knoxville from Kodak when its current lease runs out in 2025.

Boyd said on WBIR’s Inside Tennessee program that he had talked with Sevier County officials about replacing the Smokies with another team in Kodak, but since they weren’t interested, the Smokies will remain at least until 2025.

He also told WATE that he’d be announcing some other types of development on his roughly 11 acres of property at the edge of the Old City in the next six months. Through a spokesperson, he declined to speak with the Mercury about the type of development he’d like to see in the area.

Boyd, who is also the state economic development commissioner, has

repeatedly denied having a specific plan for the property. But emails among Boyd, Laurens Tullock of the Cornerstone Foundation, and top city officials indicate Boyd has been in preliminary talks with Knoxville leaders about the possibility of moving the Smokies to that specific area.

Boyd referred all questions to Smokies CEO Doug Kirchhofer.

Kirchhofer provided only a copy of Boyd’s previously released public statement, which ended vaguely with: “Whether the Knox Rail Salvage site becomes a new commercial or residential development, a public park for Old City residents and pet lovers, or a new sports complex, I hope it will be a terrific new addition to Knoxville and the Old City.”

Emails obtained through an open-records request show the Cornerstone Foundation, a nonprofit founded

by Tullock to help the city “achieve its full potential,” arranged an assessment of two possible sites for a baseball stadium at the edge of the Old City.

An August 2014 email from Tullock to Craig Meyer, a “senior principal” and urban designer for the design firm Populous, discussed a visit from a Populous team to study the specific sites and to meet with Boyd, Smokies players, Realtor Don Parnell, and Knoxville’s chief policy officer Bill Lyons. One of the study sites overlaps Boyd’s subsequent land purchases this spring and summer.

Populous, which has more than 15 offices worldwide, has designed many big-league baseball parks as well as AA parks in Montgomery, Tulsa, and Akron, and AAA parks in Memphis, Nashville, and Durham.

Tullock explained to Meyer that Populous would be expected to deliver a “full work up” on the two potential stadium sites “to complement the exact kind of work product that was developed in the original site study in 1996.”

Boyd, Kirchhofer, and Tullock declined to answer questions about the outcome of this study, or the geographic focus of the referenced 1996 study conducted before a previous team owner moved the Smokies to Kodak.

That move occurred when the team became dissatisfied with its historic home in Bill Meyer Stadium just east of downtown. It considered other sites in Knox County, but landed on a site just

NEWS

off the interstate exit for Dollywood. (The Smokies’ first game there was a victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts, who had just moved their new stadium into downtown.)

Other than Boyd’s long-term interest in boosting Knoxville’s Old City, why would he be looking to move the team?

Fans turn out for the games in Kodak.

During the Smokies’ first year there, attendance was 256,149, an increase from the 119,571 people who saw games in Knoxville the previous year, the News Sentinel reported. Attendance has remained strong, with the Smokies ranking 63rd in average attendance among the top 371 affiliated, independent, and summer-collegiate baseball teams in the United States, according to the annual tabulation by Ballpark Digest.

This year, 293,694 fans have turned out for games, putting the Smokies only slightly behind the Memphis Redbirds (#56) and well ahead of the Chattanooga Lookouts (#104) and the Johnson City Cardinals (#180)—the latter of which is, incidentally, managed by Boyd.

The Smokies are also on par with teams in other metropolitan areas with about the same population, such as Greenville, S.C., whose team ranked 53rd, and the Tri-City area of New York, whose team ranked 67th.

However, attendance alone is not the only way to measure success. The Sports Business Journal releases its own annual ranking of minor league sports markets each year based on not only attendance but also local population, total personal income of that population, unemployment, and how long the team has existed at its current location—all factors that affect whether residents shell out for baseball tickets. By this standard, the Smokies lag far behind Chattanooga and even Johnson City (which was in the top 20).

The biggest factor in making a team successful is the size of the population, Swindell says. Teams need a majority of spectators to be locals because they depend on income from the club houses and high-end season rentals, buys that are only made by people or companies that plan to come to lots of games. This may be a hurdle in Sevier County.

Although it’s a popular tourist destination during baseball season, it has a smaller local population than Knoxville.

Continued on page 11.

October 27, 2016 KNOXVILLE MERCURY 9

coming Thursday, November 3

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LEVERAGE

I

NEWS

s the trend toward moving teams to the ’burbs, or downtown? And who benefits?

Urban development and design experts say that moving downtown is slightly more common, often to “downtown edge” areas that need turning around.

“Sports has always been about leveraging,” says Mark Rosentraub, director of the Center for Sport and Policy at the University of Michigan and author of Major League Winners: Using Sports and Cultural Centers as Tools for Economic Development. “The Cincinnati Redwings were created to sell beer.

Now we’re in a phase where we use sports to leverage real estate.”

But experts say certain factors make the effort more likely to succeed.

First, the city needs to see the project as more than a ballpark. Tim Chapin, professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Interim Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University, says a stadium project needs to be part of an “ongoing narrative or initiative” for a geographic area, with the city making concurrent investments, rebranding the district, and considering low-cost leases or other incentives.

Another approach working for downtown baseball stadium projects in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio is folding them into a larger entertainment district or mixed-use redevelopment plan that includes commercial, office, residential, and even light manufacturing. The mix should encourage activity day and night, instead of creating a ghost town that comes alive only for games, Rosentraub says.

(Similarly, the Chattanooga Lookouts moved downtown to an existing waterfront entertainment district that included the Tennessee Aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum.)

Chapin says one of the top struggles for downtown stadiums is parking.

Cities that do it best spread it out, even allowing the community to provide some of it by charging for parking in empty business lots and yards.

“It’s not a success if you build a big deck next door with a sky bridge to the stadium, because then people come and leave,” he says. “Try as best you can to let the community help you with parking

solutions.” But he added, “Teams hate it, in part because they like the parking revenue.”

Spreading out the parking encourages walking, which brings visitors to other restaurants and businesses. But this works only when the transition between the ball field and the surrounding area is smooth. In places like Chicago, both visitors and residents can see exactly where the ball park investment stops, Chapin says. Once you cross that line, lighting, sidewalks and other infrastructure obviously worsen, which neither encourages visitors to wander nor makes the community feel that it is sharing in the benefits.

On the upside, baseball projects are often more successful at this than other sports venues, Chapin says. That’s because baseball is a more leisurely, family-oriented sport than football or

frankly isn’t a very good investment economically.”

Stadium projects are more likely to be winners if they incorporate private investment, Chapin says. In San Diego, that came from the team owner, who developed a variety of commercial and residential elements around the baseball stadium, he says. In most cities, more complicated multi-partner deals are needed, and the public sector needs to lead the way.

Buzz Goss, who has himself received a payment in lieu of taxes incentive from Knoxville and Knox County for developing the Marble Alley apartments and mixed-use complex downtown, says he thinks the city should offer incentives to bring the Smokies there, too.

“I think the benefit to the city by making that happen is dramatic

“Once they spend those dollars on a baseball stadium, they will not be spending it on new cops or new teachers.”

—David Swindell, director of the Center for Urban Innovation at Arizona State University

basketball, so fans are more likely to explore the neighborhood. Baseball stadiums also tend to offer more of a sense of place than other sports venues, building fan loyalty.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

K

noxville officials have said only that they are eager to bring the Smokies back, but specific talks about incentives and funding have not taken place.

“Teams are still good about playing communities off each other,” says Tim Chapin, professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Interim Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University. “It only takes one sucker to give the team an absolutely great deal. There’s prestige wrapped up in this, all sorts of issues of self-image, so cities often get in an arms race to invest in something that

increases in property values in that area,” he says. “That benefits everybody because you also get higher tax revenues.”

Chapin and Swindell, who both have research expertise on how sports venues can affect redevelopment, say cities need to weigh such public investments cautiously. Swindell calls it a philosophical question: “Would you build a building for Walmart to come to town? Is it appropriate for your taxpayer dollars to be spent on a private entertainment endeavor?” He cautions, “Once they spend those dollars on a baseball stadium, they will not be spending it on new cops or new teachers.” He recommends creating a tax district around a stadium, capturing a portion of its revenue to cover the city’s investment.

Unlike some team owners elsewhere, Boyd is personally invested in the future of Knoxville’s downtown. In addition to his recent land purchases, he

owns the Jig and Reel pub in the Old City and has provided land for gardens and parks there. This might mean the city doesn’t need to offer as many enticements to “attract” his stadium.

But another question is whether development already extending from the Old City, such as apartments at the renovated White Lily building and renovation of the Regas complex, is already so active that a ballpark wouldn’t help—and might even hurt by reducing the land available for privately financed projects.

“If the private market is already doing the job of redevelopment for you, why would you invest your limited public dollars in an area that’s already healing, so to speak?” Swindell says. “Wouldn’t you want to put that in an area that isn’t getting the attention from private investment?”

Although Goss says he thinks the Old City and Downtown North are progressing fine without public help, a stadium could be a perfect bridge to East Knoxville, where redevelopment has been slow to spread.

“As you try to go east out Magnolia and connect to the Morningside area, we don’t have anything that could act as a good catalyst for that,” Goss says. Retail, restaurants, and bars that could cater to baseball stadium visitors would also expand opportunities to people living on the East Side, which lacks diverse businesses in these categories.

Developer Jeffrey Nash, whose company has done three downtown condo developments as well as the Crown & Goose building on Gay Street, agreed a baseball stadium would complement rather than compete with other private projects. “I think it would be probably one of the best things that could ever happen, not just for the Old City but for Knoxville generally” because of the downtown foot traffic and potential boost to property values and tax income from surrounding properties, he says.

Nash, whose upcoming projects include the Hubris Building on Gay Street’s 100 Block, added that the property Boyd purchased is in an area that’s “in great need of some tender loving care and some new things to happen to widen the whole aspect of downtown Knoxville.” ◆ October 27, 2016 KNOXVILLE MERCURY 11

Escape Game Knoxville

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

Paying to be locked in a room you must escape is more popular than ever. Why?

BY MIKE GIBSON PHOTOS BY DAVID LUTTRELL

T

wo men, Mike and Dave, are led blindfolded and stumbling into a small room. The door shuts and clicks behind them. Pulling off their blindfolds, they don’t like what they see, or at least, what little they can see.

Trapped in what appears to be a tiny cellar, the only light coming from an undersized purple bulb in the corner. The room is dank, musty, and the ambiance falls somewhere on the far side of chilling.

“Have fun, my dumplings,” says a creepy voice from an unseen loudspeaker. “But do hurry. Your time is short.” The last syllable, “short,” is punctuated by a long, low scream—the scream of a woman in the throes of a nameless agony, emanating from God-knows-where.

Frantically, the two men set to rummaging through the oddments scattered around the room, searching for clues. There are a series of locked boxes and chests of varying sizes, stowed away in each corner; some small wicker baskets and a couple of old workshop tins, with yet more oddments inside.

In one of the tins, Dave finds a tiny flashlight.

Over the course of an hour, the two men work through what proves to be a series of puzzles, numerical cyphers that open locked boxes; the cyphers are unraveled from bits of doggerel, crude poems scrawled on dirty paper hidden in unexpected places.

Every so often, the creepy voice returns, threatening, taunting, teasing at clues.

“We are so dead,” Mike wails, despairing as the end of the hour-long count-

down draws near.

“Stop that,” Dave spits through teeth clenched on the butt of his flashlight, lodged in his mouth as his fingers work feverishly at the combination lock on a large chest. “Get your head back in the game. We’re going to get out of this.”

The lock on the chest is seemingly the last puzzle, the final secret in a room full of dangerous little mysteries. But whether the entrapped duo have divined the right combination is still a matter of terrible uncertainty.

Dave’s fingers falter—“…six, five, four…”

For Dave and Mike, the end is nigh.

You’ve no doubt gathered that Dave and Mike are not, nor were they ever, going to die at the hands of a Riddler-esque cretin in the bowels of a killer’s lair.

Instead, they were fumbling about in something called Underneath, one of two escape rooms on offer at EscapeWorks Knoxville, located on the northern end of Central Avenue Pike and just one of several such places in the area.

Locally owned establishments EscapeWorks Knoxville, Which Way Out, and Escape Game Knoxville all opened around June of 2015, joined by franchise escape ventures Breakout and Key Quest, and now it’s impossible to listen to a local radio station without hearing one of their spots.

So what is an escape room, and why has the concept suddenly gained so much traction hereabouts? The short answer is that an overseas phenomenon finally caught up to us.

The first room, Real Escape Game, was the product of the Japanese company October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 13

At Escape Game Knoxville, owner Dustin Wyrick (below right) has constructed three high-pressure scenarios to escape from: Villain’s Lair, with a bomb that must be disarmed; MIK Ultra, in which a government mind-control conspiracy must be exposed; and Close Quarters, where players are chained together—in separate rooms.

SCRAP in 2007. The notion spread rapidly in Asian countries, then caught on in Europe through the efforts of Hungarian franchise Parapark.

Then SCRAP came to San Francisco in 2012. Now, according to a EscapeRoomDirectory.com, a website that tracks escape games, there are close to 4,000 rooms worldwide in more than 60 countries. Growth from 2014 to 2015 was an astonishing 3,900 percent.

In essence, these are video and role-playing games come to life, inspired by RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons, early computer adventure games such as Myst (a popular video adventure-puzzle game, set on a mysterious island, released in 1993), and the trapped-in-a-room horror film series Saw. Players enter theme-based locked rooms—prison-escape games are popular, as are “killer’s lair” scenarios like the aforementioned Underneath, but those are just two of too many to name—and solve various puzzles, searching for clues that will enable them to get out of the room in less than an hour’s time. And, as many discover, the struggle to escape is addictive.

S

o what kind of person opens an escape room? EscapeWorks Knoxville owner Rob Knolton was certainly a viable candidate.

A self-described techie nerd with a love for horror and Halloween, Knolton opened the FrightWorks Haunted House in Powell back in 1999. Of course, operating a haunted house is a quintessentially seasonal endeavor— Knolton did IT work in the down months—so when word of the burgeoning escape-room craze caught his attention, it seemed like a natural fit.

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KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

“Escape rooms are pretty popular for haunted attraction owners,” Knolton says. “We’re always looking for things to do in the off-season.

So in summer of 2015, we tested the concept with a room in our haunted house. It went over very well.”

Knolton’s friendly rival over at the downtown-area Escape Game Knoxville, Dustin Wyrick, was just a tech-savvy former music major looking for something to do. When a friend in Wisconsin opened an escape room there two years ago, it set Wyrick off.

“I’m your typical 33 year old male,” Wyrick says. “I’ve played plenty of RPGs, video games, card games.

“After I learned about escape rooms, It took eight or nine months of work and research to get this up and running. I’m still not sure how I ended up doing something like this. But I know I’ve never had a problem thinking up puzzles and games.”

Wyrick’s three rooms are all rooted in classic tropes. There’s Villain’s Lair, another trapped-in-the-killer’s-hideout themed outing in which players have to disarm a bomb set by a Joker-like villain. MIK Ultra is a spy thriller, with players taking on the role of entrapped journalists uncovering a government mind-control conspiracy.

Close Quarters is Saw redux, with four players chained one to another through the walls of four closely adjoining little rooms. The players begin the game blindfolded, and Wyrick says the “solve” rate for Close Quarters is a mere 10 percent.

But if the themes are well-worn, the props and puzzles designed by Wyrick and his assistants are ingenious, like a hobbit-sized trap door, or an animated magic mirror, or a table that opens up a secret box when players water a potted plant.

Wyrick shows off a gadget he’s only just finished, constructed from a handful

At Which Way Out, a group of veteran players tackle Casino Heist (from left, Charles and Nan Lambrecht, Ann Mitchell, Michael Gilbert, and Cindy Metzger).

of special parts he ordered from China. “It’s a static charge ‘plasma ball,’” he says. “It’s gonna be locked behind a secret door. When you reach in and touch the ball, it’ll release a magnet and drop a clue through a hole in a tree.”

All of which will be part of Escape Game Knoxville’s forthcoming Once Upon a Time, four adjoining rooms, hosting up to 14 players, featuring an Enchanted Forest/fantasy theme.

“One person wears a magic bracelet that gives them special abilities,” Wyrick enthuses. “And the players will have to move that person around to different rooms to solve the puzzles. It’s going to be the most ambitious room we’ve built yet.”

A

cross town at Which Way Out off Kingston Pike, owner Karen Ray’s concepts are less grounded in fantasy, perhaps by design. A longtime event-planning professional, Ray founded Corporate Events in 1991 with her husband, and that morphed into Fantasy Casino Events just a few years later, an enterprise that specializes in casino-themed events and parties.

“I’m always looking at what’s new in the industry,” Ray says. “And two years ago, I saw on Facebook where whole groups of people were going traveling to Atlanta to play escape games there.

“It intrigued me. So I did some research. We already done a lot of team-building types of events in the past. Escape rooms seemed like a really good idea for us.”

Small wonder that one of two WWO escape rooms is dubbed “Casino Heist.”

Based on actual events—the 1992 heist of a the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas by an employee named Bill Brennan—the game sees players locked in

casino office room, searching for clues as to where Brennan might have hidden the missing money. (According to reports, Brennan made off with $500,000, although some believed the he may have hidden, yet never retrieved, the missing cash.)

Who plays these games? There’s no one short answer to that question, although Ray’s business model offers at least a partial clue. Coming from an event-planning background, Ray had plenty of business and industry contacts, and now close to 65 percent of her traffic comes from businesses looking to escape games as corporate team-building exercises.

Wyrick and Knolton also say that a significant, albeit somewhat lesser percentage of their traffic comes from corporate clients. “It’s really great for team building, and I think for a lot of rooms, that’s what they’re geared for,” Wyrick says. “You’re getting out of the office and working together in ways that you would not ordinarily.”

Knolton tells that in some instances, supervisors with corporate groups choose not to play the games themselves, opting instead to sit in the control room alongside the “game master” and watch their charges work together via camera feed. “Some of them take it very seriously as an exercise,” he says with a chuckle.

As for the other members of the escape room clientele—the just-for-funsies folks, if you will—the games often become something of an addiction.

“We get people where this is their hobby,” says Which Way Out Game Master Sara Givens, a Hardin Valley Academy student who works for Ray in her spare time. “We’ve had people come in, do it on road trips where that’s all they’re doing, looking for rooms to play. One guy said ours was the 67th room he’d played.”

Watching a game of Casino Heist unfold on a Friday afternoon, it’s intriguing to see the cogs and wheels of group dynamics laid bare. A group of eight expandOctober 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 15

At EscapeWorks, first-time player Jermaine Marsh (above) attempts to decipher a message, while (at right) Randa Salem and Josh Morgan (a 12-time player) discover a clue. Owner Rob Knolton (below) originally opened Frightworks Haunted House in 1999, where he tested the escape-room concept last year.

ed family members—Givens notes that larger groups usually perform better—take on the challenge of the Casino Heist, exhibiting by turns the perils of too many cooks, and the benefits of having more minds in the game.

“They’re on the verge of something; they may need a hint,” says Game Master Givens. The Game Master—a monitor stationed in another room, watching the game unfold on video—claims as his/her prime directive the task of keeping the game moving, providing appropriate hints at key times, to keep frustration from setting in among game players.

Over the course of an hour, the group muddles through various and confounding puzzles, including one that requires them to string a series of colored plastic chains across the room in a criss-crossing pattern, making for some comic viewing as taller members of the party attempt to weave back and forth across the room for the remainder of the game.

A couple of louder members of the group inevitably seize control of the situation, barking out directives to other members who either serve as assisting corollaries or as passive watchers, letting the others do the lion’s share of the work.

In the end, they fall short of the goal. “I think they’ve all just given up,” Givens says, watching shoulders collectively slump as the final minute of the group’s hour ticks away on a video screen inside the room.

Nonetheless, in the wake of falling short, group members say they “loved the experience.”

“It was awesome fun,” says Kim Hixon, the group’s de facto leader, who says she decided to bring her friends to Which Way Out after her daughter played the room.

“It’s a challenge, and it makes you think,” she says. Then she looks at her 16

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

friends, and they all nod assent as she adds, “We’re determined to come back. And we’re going to figure it out, next time.”

A

s the seconds tick away—“…four, three, two…”—Dave finally wrestles the last element of the shopworn rotary combination lock into place. He feels a small, satisfying click: The combination is correct.

Then there’s a louder click, and a bang, and the creaking sound of an old hinge. A door opens. But rather than the opening the main door—the path to sweet freedom—the combination has merely triggered the opening of a trapdoor leading to a small second room.

With the countdown having finished, the main door swings open, and EscapeWorks owner Knolton steps in, chuckling. “You guys have found the second room,” he says. “Do you want to keep playing?”

“Uh, no thanks,” Dave and Mike answer, in chagrined unison. For all of their mad fumbling, they scarcely managed to complete half the escape in the allotted time.

But after a few minutes, and some gentle ego massaging courtesy of Knolton (“You guys really didn’t do too bad, for your first time.”), both men agree they will probably return to EscapeWorks, and possibly to other area escape rooms, as well. And next time, they promise, they will bring friends.

“I think everyone wants a little mystery and suspense in their lives,” says Knolton, offering his own take on the escape room phenomenon. “But they don’t necessarily want to jump out of an airplane or climb Mount Everest.

“And with everything having been digital for so long, I think there was a pent-up need for something like this. We need that face-to-face interaction, that coming together that’s missing from so many of our lives in recent years.” ◆

P rogram Notes

The Tim Lee 3 celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new album—and some tough news

BY ERIC DAWSON

T

his weekend, Tim and Susan Bauer Lee will host the last of four weekly happy-hour music showcases at Pilot Light. The series finale celebrates the release of the latest Tim Lee 3 album, Tin, Man, and the band’s 10th anniversary. Just as significantly, it will be the last Tim Lee 3 show for the foreseeable future—Tim and Susan are putting the band on hiatus, effective immediately after Friday’s set.

“We’re not ‘breaking up’ the band,” Tim wrote on the band’s website last week. “We’re not putting the band out to pasture. We’re good Southerners so we’re just putting it up on cinder blocks in the front yard until it’s time to put on some new tires and take it for another spin. … Nobody’s going away or even slowing down much, just shifting focus.”

Tin, Man is the band’s fifth album, but it’s the first they’ve recorded in Knoxville. That gave them the chance to invite friends—including locals Po Hannah, Greg Horne, and Kevin Abernathy, and Florida singer/ songwriter Beth McKee—to make

guest appearances.

“Bringing in local friends was cool,” Susan says. “Being able to call on friends who just happened to be coming through town was a bonus.

Tim has known Beth McKee since eighth grade, so it’s been very cool to have her in our extended family.”

Tin, Man wasn’t planned as an anniversary record, but looking back, the Lees see some poetic symmetry.

“It was just one of those things where you look around one day and realize you’ve been doing this particular thing for a decade,” Tim says. “I think in some ways it harkens back a bit to our first record, good2b3, in that it’s more of a raucous, straight-up rock ’n’ roll affair. We experimented less in the studio than we did on the last couple records.”

When the Lees moved to Knoxville in 2000, Tim had been out of the music business for several years. (He’d been in the Mississippi power-pop contenders the Windbreakers in the 1980s and recorded and toured solo during the early and mid ’90s.) But the

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18

Inside the Vault: Video

Art: Phil Savage

The Man Who Lives Here Is Loony, a drama set in a New York apartment during one night in the life of a writer.

It takes its name from a message scrawled on the door of one of the New York apartment buildings Agee lived in during the ’40s and ’50s.

“It’s just a guy, a writer, a modern artist, and he’s in the room at night, taking off on the world, talking about the culture at large, the nuclear age just beginning, New York, Knoxville, different artists, God, humanity, whatever,” Morris says of the play.

Almost all of the dialogue is taken directly from Agee’s published work: fiction, poetry, journalism, letters, and reviews. “I didn’t want to put words in his mouth when he’s talking about heavy things,” Morris says. “I wanted him to speak for himself.”

Those direct quotations are a big reason The Man Who Lives Here Is Loony has remained an unofficial, largely underground phenomenon. It’s been performed several times in Knoxville, most recently in 2005, and in 2006 was staged at the Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village. But it’s never been officially approved by Agee’s publishers or the trust that oversees rights to Agee’s work. That’s one of the reasons Morris is staging a new production of the play at the Knoxville Museum of Art in late October and early November: He’s paying the trust for rights to Agee’s words, which gives the play legal standing and ensures it will live on.

The Man Who Lives Here Is Loony , directed by Morris and starring Joe Casterline, with music by Taylor Coker, will have four performances at KMA, on Oct. 27 and 30 and Nov. 3 and 6. Tickets are $15. Visit rbmorris.com for tickets and information. (M.E.) ◆

LOONY TUNES R.B. MORRIS REVIVES HIS ONE-MAN PLAY ABOUT JAMES AGEE

B

ack in 1985 or ’86, somebody offered a suggestion to R.B. Morris.

“Why don’t you write a one-man play about James Agee?”

Over the next couple of years, Morris did exactly that. In the 1970s and ’80s, Morris had been a fierce advocate of Agee, keeping his legacy alive when most of Knoxville had forgotten about him. The result was

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Photo by Bill Foster

Happy Anniversary

music scene he found here inspired him to pick up the guitar again; between 2002 and 2006, he released three solo albums. At the same time, Susan had started playing bass and writing songs. Their collaborations gradually drew in drummer Rodney Cash and then coalesced into the Tim Lee 3. (After a Spinal Tap-like succession of drummers, Chris Bratta joined the band in 2011 and has stayed behind the kit since.)

The hiatus is the result of a chronic (and non-life-threatening) health condition that makes it painful for Susan to play bass live.

“It is has progressed to the point that I am very uncomfortable playing bass in a live situation,” Susan says.

“I’ve been really good at hiding the pain, but when Tim realized how miserable I was when we were playing live, it began to have a negative effect on him because he was worrying so much about me. We make a glorious racket for fun and art, and when either of those start to take a hit, it’s time to make a change.”

Tim and Susan will both continue to play together, live and in the studio, in the duo Bark, with Tim on bass and Susan on drums.

“I can’t imagine myself not playing music at all, so I’m glad we have something else to move into,” Susan says. “We’ve never been afraid of a challenge, and we’re confident enough in Bark to go in that direction and see where it takes us.” (Matthew Everett)

A&E

R. B. Morris and Joe Casterline

Classical Music: Il Trovatore October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 17

A&E

Inside the Vault

Vintage Vols

Before TV, pioneering local photographers documented Big Orange games on film

BY ERIC DAWSON

S

eems like everybody’s got Vol fever recently. Even people who normally don’t care that much about football have gotten excited, watching the games at crowded bars or with friends. University of Tennessee football has been a big deal in Knoxville since at least the 1920s, when Robert Neyland began his wildly successful tenure as coach. Of course, before games were broadcast on television, the only way anyone could watch them was to show up at Shields-Watkins Field, or watch them on film after the fact.

There were several people around town who would film portions of the games with 16mm cameras and then host both private and public screenings. The Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound has several of these films, dating from the 1920s through the 1940s, and they offer a look at not just the UT Volunteer football teams, but the culture surrounding the game.

The earliest footage in the archives is a 1928 game from the collection of local businessman F.B. Kuhlman. He would have been about 14 at the time, so it was probably shot by his father, Nathan. It was filmed from the upper stands, providing a good panoramic view of Shields-Watkins Field, where capacity at that time was 6,800. Houses sit surprisingly close to the field, and UT’s steam plant juts up against the back of the stands, its smokestack towering above the fans. Kuhlman was known to show films to schools and clubs, and this film was part of a segment called “News of Knoxville 1928,” so it was possibly seen by a good number of people.

It’s no surprise that Jim Thompson filmed UT football; he seems to 18

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October27, 2016

have filmed everything around town.

Thompson edited together fragments of games from 1929 to create an overview of the Vols’ season. Most of it is filmed from the stands, but one section, several minutes long, provides a clear, unobstructed view from the sidelines. Intertitles keep viewers updated on the score and occasionally comment on the action: “Bobby Dodd’s breathtaking passing & punting behind the goal line.” “Rain and mud!”

The Vols had one tie and nine wins that year, including several blowouts, such as a 73-0 defeat of Carson-Newman.

Frank L. Rouser opened his motion-picture shop at 208 Magnolia Ave. in 1932. The company adapted, remaining in the same location, as an audio-visual business, until closing in 2011. Like Thompson, Rouser filmed a lot of locales and historic events around Knoxville, including the 1937 opening of the McGhee Tyson airport in Alcoa. He traveled to Florida in 1939 to film the Orange Bowl, where the Vols beat the Oklahoma Sooners 17-0. Rouser’s eight-minute color film features as much footage of the marching band and crowd as football, but it’s noteworthy—at times the up-close action makes it appear as though he were on the field for some of the plays.

Thompson also filmed a 1938 home game against LSU. By that time, capacity at Shields-Watkins was 31,390, almost five times what it had been 10 years earlier. Thompson takes a similar vantage point from the stands as Kulhman. (I could only tell it was LSU because their mascot, Mike the Tiger, was present.) The steam plant is now obscured, but the smokestack still looms large.

In 1941, Thompson followed the

Vols to Baton Rouge for LSU’s homecoming game. It’s possible Thompson shot footage of the game, but all that’s in the Thompson collection at TAMIS is five minutes of the homecoming parade. A shame, but you can see why the floats caught Thompson’s eye—they’re colorful and imaginative. Mike the Tiger is put on rolling display in a cage. A train engine rolls down the sidelines, bearing signs reading “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” and “Railroad the Vols.”

One float displays a “Tenn bottle in bond 4 U” sign, while atop Alpha Chi Sigma’s float sits an outhouse, long underwear hanging from a clothesline, and a moonshine still advertising “Volunteer Brew.” These days, East Tennessee is lousy with moonshine distilleries. But I don’t think that float was meant to celebrate Appalachian tradition and self-reliance. At least civility was present with the appearance of the “Welcome Vols” float.

It might seem odd that Rouser focused so much on the bands and that Thompson filmed a parade instead of the game. But then, as now, the pomp and circumstance surrounding the game was part of the event, and crowds reveled in it. The best example of this is a film of the Vols’ trip to the 1940 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., shot and edited by Pat Roddy Jr. Over the course of an hour, we see the team taking a train out west, on a boat trip to Catalina Island, carousing with director Clarence Brown, and sightseeing in Hollywood.

But there’s no footage of the game at all.

The Roddy family donated a transfer of the film to TAMIS years ago. It’s a remarkable document, despite being a VHS transfer with no shots of the actual game. But three 16mm reels with 20 minutes of beautiful Kodachrome color footage of the trip and the game, shot by an unknown photographer, have recently surfaced. ◆ To be continued in two weeks.

Inside the Vault searches the archives of the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound for nuggets of lost Knoxville music and film history.

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October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 19

A&E

Classical

Yo Ho Ho

A dramatically improved Knox Opera revisits The Pirates of Penzance

BY ALAN SHERROD

T

he last time Knoxville Opera performed Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, in March 2010, it was a different time for the opera company. After several years of austerity measures and financial rebuilding, Pirates was a midseason addition to the schedule. The last-minute production faced challenges—the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra wasn’t available, for instance—but Knoxville Opera turned out an admirable production that indicated the worst was over.

Six years later, Knoxville Opera’s financial situation has improved. And the company’s current production of Pirates, which ran for two performances last weekend at the Tennessee Theater, vastly improved on the previous production, both musically and theatrically. Simultaneously beguiling and satisfying, it was the perfect introduction to the more serious part of the season, which continues in 2017 with La Bohemè and Donizetti’s Mary, Queen of Scots.

Entering the topsy-turvy world of W.S. Gilbert’s plot twists and wordplay, armed only with Arthur Sullivan’s infectiously tuneful music, presents potential pitfalls for contemporary opera companies and audiences. Stage director Brian Deedrick avoided the trap of inserting current comic references and local shtick; he trusted that a modern audience, schooled in upper-crust British peculiarities by TV dramas, would embrace the Victorian-era humor.

Ample whimsy and comedy abounded in the richness of the 1879 original, and in this production.

The plot centers on Frederic, a young pirate apprentice. Frederic comes upon the many daughters of Major-General Stanley on the beach and falls in love with one of them, the lovely Mabel. Although Frederic is

20

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October27, 2016

nearing the supposed end of his indenture to the pirates on his 21st birthday, he learns that he was born on Feb. 29, in a leap year, binding him for another 63 years and ruining his life with Mabel.

The roles of Frederic and Mabel were sung by tenor Joshua Kohl and soprano Claire Coolen. Both had those endearing qualities necessary for Gilbert and Sullivan: crisp English diction accompanying a strong, gorgeous voice. Sean Anderson, a familiar face and voice for Knoxville Opera audiences (Die Fledermaus, Elixir of Love, and H.M.S. Pinafore) sang a bold and luscious Pirate King.

In the role of Major-General Stanley, the father of an uncountable number of beautiful daughters, was Robert Orth, a veteran of four decades in opera. Orth brought a wealth of comic timing and a marvelous understanding of dramatic irony on the stage.

A vocal and comedic standout was Jenni Bank as Ruth, Frederic’s nursemaid, who makes a miraculous and sudden adjustment to pirate life.

Also a standout was bass—and Knoxville Opera regular—Andrew Wentzel, in the role of the police sergeant. With face contorted, arms flapping, and his billy club waving, Wentzel’s vocal and comic performance was a textbook example of how to perform a comprimario role.

Likewise, the ensemble of bumbling policemen following their sergeant was a joy to watch.

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra was in the pit, led by Knoxville Opera music director and conductor Brian Salesky. Salesky and his staff also deserve kudos for attracting a lot of first-time operagoers to the production, something that is necessary for opera’s viable future.

Thursday, October 27 - Sunday, November 6

MUSIC

Thursday, Oct. 27 ETHAN BORTNICK: A MUSICAL EVENING TO BENEFIT THE JOY OF MUSIC SCHOOL AND EAST TENNESSEE PBS • Bijou Theatre • 7PM • Recognized at age nine by Guinness World Records as “The World’s Youngest Solo Musician to Headline his Own Concert Tour,” Ethan Bortnick embarked upon his musical career early in life. He asked for piano lessons at age three, and by five was composing songs.

Now at 15 he is performing at venues worldwide and has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Good Morning America, Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel and Oprah, where he was named one of “Oprah’s All-Time Smartest, Most Talented Kids.”He’ll share those amazing gifts with new audiences when he appears in his Knoxville debut in a concert to support East Tennessee PBS and the Joy of Music School. Packed with energy and excitement, the family-friendly concert features Ethan and his band, a children’s choir and local guest artists.

Crowd favorites range from The Beatles and Elton John to Motown and Michael Jackson, along with classical and Jazz favorites, recent hits, Broadway tunes and his original songs. Purchase tickets at www.knoxbijou.com or by calling 865-522-0832. • $22-$102 JONNY MONSTER WITH THE FORLORN STRANGERS • WDVX • 12PM • FREE CHELLE ROSE • Scruffy City Hall • 6PM • Part of Wayne Bledsoe’s weekly Six O’Clock Swerve show on WDVX. • FREE THE LONETONES • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM JONNY MONSTER WITH OMARR AWAKE • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 21 and up.

MANDOLIN ORANGE WITH DEAD HORSES • The Concourse • 8PM • Lean in to Mandolin Orange’s new album, “Blindfaller,” and it’s bound to happen. You’ll suddenly pick up on the power and devastation lurking in its quietude, the doom hiding beneath its unvarnished beauty. You’ll hear the way it magnifies the intimacy at the heart of the North Carolina duo’s music, as if they created their own musical language as they recorded it.

All ages. Visit internationalknox.com. • $15-$17 SHAUN ABBOTT WITH JIMMY AND THE JAWBONES, BRANDON HARMON AND THE HALFWAY HEARTS, AND CHRIS SUGGS • The Open Chord • 8PM • All ages. • $5 FORLORN STRANGERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Forlorn Strangers is an all acoustic band using guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, a stomp box, and some percussion.

Friday, Oct. 28 THE BATTLEFIELD WITH DON GALLARDO • WDVX • 12PM • FREE THE BATTLEFIELD WITH DON GALLARDO • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE ROBIN SPIELBERG • Clayton Center for the Arts (Maryville) • 7:30PM • Robin Spielberg is one of America’s most beloved pianist/composers. A prolific composer, Spielberg has seventeen recordings to her credit and appears on over 40 compilations around the world. Her discography includes albums of original piano solos, arrangements of American standards, original pieces for piano/ensemble, recordings for the holidays, a CD of Americana melodies, and a CD of lullabies. Her newest recording is Another Time, Another Place, is a recording of original piano solos that the composer says “explore the mysteries of time.” • $12.50-$25 FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE ROUX DU BAYOU • Laurel Theater • 8PM • Accordionist Paul Gregoire from the town of Dulac in South Louisiana leads

this Nashville based band, always a treat for Cajun dance enthusiasts. On guitar and vocals is South Louisiana native Wade Bernard; Jerry Prevost on drums and rounding out the group, Stephan Dudash on fiddle and guitar. • $11 MOJOFLO WITH MOJO:FLOW • The Open Chord • 8PM • Two different bands named Mojo Flo(w)—one from Ohio, the other from Maryville. What are the odds? All ages. • $8 K-TOWN MUSIC • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM BETHANY HANKINS AND SWING SERENADE • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE CITY LIMITS • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM THE BARSTOOL ROMEOS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 9PM CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT WITH THE SOUTHERN BELLES • Scruffy City Hall • 9PM FREAKIVAL III • The International • 9PM • It’s time for our third annual Freakival. We will be utilizing both rooms for this show. On the Midnight Voyage stage at the International: Minnesota, Wick-It the Instigator, and Huglife. On the Temple stage at the Concourse: DJ Fallen, JC, and DJ Bone. 18 and up. Visit internationalknox.com. • $10-$50 MARBLE CITY 5 • Red Piano Lounge • 9PM TIM LEE 3 WITH THE KEVIN ABERNATHY BAND, CAPS, AND BRANDY ZDAN • Pilot Light • 10PM • Since moving to Knoxville around 2000, Tim and Susan Lee have become the local music scene’s most prominent power couple. The band celebrates its 10th anniversary and the release of its new album, Tin, Man. 18 and up. • $10 • See Program Notes on page T17 THE WOODY PINES • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE BIG COUNTRY’S EMPTY BOTTLE WITH THE BARNYARD STOMPERS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

HARMONICA HOWLOWEEN • Relix Variety Theatre • 7PM • A showcase of Knoxville harmonica aces, featuring “Blue” Barry Faust, Henry Perry, Shawn Irwin, Mona Sedona, and more, with The Tommie John Band, The Terraplane Drifters, and special guest vocalist Chelsea Samples. • $6-$8 Saturday, Oct. 29 BRANDY ZDAN WITH THE BIG VALLEY MUSTANGS • WDVX • 12PM • FREE FORT DEFIANCE • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • Fort Defiance is high-energy folk duo from Nashville, Tennessee, born from the solo careers of multi-instrumentalists Jordan Eastman and Laurel Lane. • FREE BABY BABY WITH REALM, HUDSON K, BEL HEIR, AND LA BASURA DEL DIABLO • Scruffy City Hall • 7PM • Scruffy City Hall’s massive Halloween lineup for the Knox Zombie Walk after party. *REPEAT REPEAT WITH HELLAPHANT • The Concourse • 8PM • *repeat repeat takes its inspiration from surf rock and California beach music of the ‘60s. It’s a three-piece band, with Jared Corder on guitar and vocals, Andy Herrin on drums, and Corder’s wife, Kristyn, on vocals. While there’s certainly a surf-rock influence, *repeat repeat gives the genre a modern twist, with each member adding his or her own interpretation. 18 and up. Visit internationalknox.com. • $10-$15 THE COVERALLS WITH PEAK PHYSIQUE • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 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. 21 and up.

MIDDLEFINGER • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 9PM WILL BOYD • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE THE BARNYARD STOMPERS • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM

CALENDAR

SHAUN ABBOTT • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 9PM KELEN HELLER, INWARD OF EDEN, AND DIVIDED WE STAND • The Open Chord • 9PM • The Open Chord’s hard-rock Halloween party. All ages. • $10-$12 GUY SMILEY • Paul’s Oasis • 9:30PM THE REFLECTORS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE

Sunday, Oct. 30 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 J. LUKE • Wild Wing Cafe • 6PM • FREE PHANTOGRAM • The Mill and Mine • 9PM • Electronic rock duo Phantogram came out of nowhere in early 2010 with the release of their debut album Eyelid Movies, which was widely lauded by press from Pitchfork to Alternative Press, Spin to NPR. Founders Josh Carter (vocals, guitar, samples) and Sarah Barthel (vocals, keys, samples) have replaced their previous day jobs with new careers touring the world and living on the road. • $25-$28 FLORAL PRINT WITH SWEET YEARS AND EX GOLD • Pilot Light

• 10PM • 18 and up. • 5 HOTSTOP • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up.

THE BROCKEFELLERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Local favorites take the stage for a Halloween season evening of all Black Sabbath songs.

Monday, Oct. 31 LIZZY ROSS WITH JIMMY DAVIS • 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 PORTER AND THE BLUEBONNET RATTLESNAKES • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE THE BLUEPRINT • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Local pianist Keith Brown’s cool jazz combo.

THE ROYAL HOUNDS WITH THE APPALACHIAN SURF TEAM • Preservation Pub • 10PM • Appalachian Surf Team specializes in vintage instrumental rock: covers of ’50s and ’60s surf-rock and hot-rod instrumentals by Dick Dale, Link Wray, the Ventures, and the Champs, plus a few originals in the same style. 21 and up.

PILOT LIGHT HALLOWEEN SHOW • Ironwood Studios • 10PM • Pilot Light’s annual masquerade show with local bands performing sets as their favoriite classic groups. 18 and up.

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON Pellissippi State (10915 Hardin Valley Road) • Oct. 28-Nov. 5 • $14 • pstcc.edu

Tired of talking presidential politics in 2016? This weekend Pellissippi State Community College stages a musical that gives you the chance to spin the clock back to the 1828 presidential race—surely a more civilized campaign? Then again, maybe not. That was the year Tennessee’s own Andrew Jackson took the Oval Office, made modern-day relevant in the satirical, foul-mouthed and foul-souled emo rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, opening Friday.

Some of these lines from our seventh president sound awfully familiar: Here’s “a man of the people” taking on “the Washington elite,” a populist who says it’s time to “take our country back.”

“If there’s ever a perfect time to do a play, I think this might be it,” says director and Pellissippi State assistant professor Grechen Wingerter. The musical, which had a brief run on Broadway in 2010, covers the Tennessee orphan’s life from childhood until the end of his presidency. But the characters mostly dress and act like modern twentysomethings throughout (check out Martin Van Buren chatting on his Bluetooth while his cabinet plays on the Wii), sprinkled with touches of 19th-century costumes and language.

The antihero, whose notorious Indian-removal program is heavily featured, comes off as a self-pitying brat who can’t control his emotions. Seems strangely familiar. (S. Heather Duncan) October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 21

• $10

CALENDAR

Tuesday, Nov. 1 GAELYNN LEA • 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 KNOXVILLE JAZZ ORCHESTRA: IN SEARCH OF GARAJ MAHAL WITH FAREED HAQUE • The Square Room • 8PM • Guitar virtuoso Fareed Haque was born in 1963 to a Pakistani father and Chilean mother. His extensive travels, with long stays in Spain, France, Iran, Pakistan and Chile as well as deep study of classical and jazz traditions, inform his unique vision of modern music. After many years of work as a sideman to top jazz stars as well as recording as a leader for Blue Note records, Haque co-founded the jam/ world/progressive/jazz super-group Garaj Mahal. This exceptional concert will explore music from that group’s catalog, re-imagined for big band. Visit knoxjazz.org. • $34.50 GAELYNN LEA • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Gaelynn Lea is a musician and public speaker from Duluth, Minn. She has been playing violin for over twenty years.

First classically trained, she began learning traditional Celtic and American fiddle tunes at the age of 18.

STITCHED UP HEART • The Concourse • 8PM • 18 and up. • $10-$13 Wednesday, Nov. 2 DUANE MARK • 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 KJO JAZZ LUNCH: ROBINELLA PLAYS THE MUSIC OF ARETHA FRANKLIN • The Square Room • 12PM • Robinella Bailey is one of East Tennessee’s most celebrated vocalists. She has toured the country, opening for the likes of Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Nickel Creek, Earl Scruggs and many others and released half a dozen recordings under her own steam. I-Tunes music review proclaimed “Robinella’s voice is so versatile - so utterly loose, carefree and expressive no matter what the material is - that she glides into every tune...” In this, her second appearance at Jazz Lunch, she pays tribute to the Queen of Soul, Ms. Aretha Franklin. Visit knoxjazz.org. • $15 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 JOHN CALVIN ABNEY AND M. LOCKWOOD PORTER • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE JACKIE GREENE AND JILL ANDREWS • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • Back to Birth - Jackie Greene’s seventh album and his Yep Roc Records debut - is more than worthy of some serious attention. The 11-song set showcases the multitalented artist’s uncanny knack for synthesizing his deep affinity for American roots styles into timeless, personally-charged music. Jill Andrews kicked off her songwriting career as co-founder of The Everybodyfields, a band whose mix of Southern genres — folk, country, bluegrass — and male-female vocals helped pave the way for future groups like The Civil Wars. It earned The Everybodyfields a wide fan-base too, as well as appearances at Bonnaroo, The Kennedy Center, and a cross-country tour with The Avett Brothers. Visit knoxbijou.com. • $18.50-$20.50 PURITY RING • The Mill and Mine • 9PM • After sixty-five fortnights, Purity Ring have returned with their super-tight second album Another Eternity. The pair ventured home to the frozen industrial landscapes of their birthplace Edmonton, Alberta to document much of what was to become the album. . • $22-$25 KIKAGAKU MOYO • Pilot Light • 10PM • Kikagaku Moyo started in the summer of 2012 busking on the streets of Tokyo. Though the band started as a free music collective, 22

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

Thursday, October 27 - Sunday,November 6

it quickly evolved into a tight group of multi-instrumentalists. Kikagaku Moyo call their sound psychedelicic because it encompasses a broad spectrum of influence. Their music incorporates elements of classical Indian music, Krautrock, Traditional Folk, and 70s Rock. Most importantly their music is about freedom of the mind and body and building a bridge between the supernatural and the present.

Improvisation is a key element to their sound. • $5 Thursday, Nov. 3 MATHIS GREY WITH THE FLY BY NIGHT ROUNDERS • 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 CLARK PATERSON • Scruffy City Hall • 6PM • Part of Wayne Bledsoe’s weekly Six O’Clock Swerve show on WDVX. • FREE STRAIGHT NO CHASER • Tennessee Theatre • 7:30PM • If the phrase “male a cappella group” conjures up an image of students in blue blazers, ties, and khakis singing traditional college songs on ivied campuses... think again. Straight No Chaser are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch. They have emerged as a phenomenon with a massive fanbase, numerous national TV appearances and proven success with CD releases. • $29.50-$57.50 DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS WITH KYLE CRAFT • The Mill and Mine • 8PM • Founded in 1996 by singer/songwriter/guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood, the band have long held a progressive fire in their belly but with American Band, they have made the most explicitly political album in their extraordinary canon. A powerful and legitimately provocative work, hard edged and finely honed, the album is the sound of a truly American Band – a Southern American band – speaking on matters that matter. Visit themillandmine.com. • $25-$28 WEYES BLOOD • Pilot Light • 10PM • Though Natalie Mering, who performs and records as Weyes Blood, chose to distort her project’s name (giving “Wise” an appropriately outré, olde feel) with a nod to the ocular (w’eyes), her entire output thus far has been an exercise in exploring the atemporal. She is a musician, a singer, after all, but the particular process of Weyes Blood’s development, and Mering’s experimentation with everything from early 2000s local-noise-scene strangeness to her present mastery of timeless balladry, highlight her as an meticulous sonic alchemist. 18 and up. • $5 THE APPLESEED COLLECTIVE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • The Appleseed Collective is not a bluegrass band.

It’s not The Hot Club of Paris. It’s not a ragtime cover band.

The Appleseed Collective represents Americana music rooted in traditions from all over the world and from every decade, creating a live experience that welcomes every soul and is impossible to replicate.

FAILURE ANTHEM WITH THROUGH FIRE, LETTERS FROM THE FIRE, AND COVER YOUR TRACKS • The Concourse • 7PM • 18 and up. • $12-$15 Friday, Nov. 4 STONE BROKE SAINTS • 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 ALIVE AFTER FIVE: THE STACY MITCHART BAND • Knoxville Museum of Art • 6PM • The Stacy Mitchhart Band is widely recognized as the best show in Nashville, as the house band for the famed Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar on historic Printer’s Alley for many years and also frequent appearances at B. B. King’s Blues Club. Known as the “Blues Doctor” and always “dressed to the nines”, the flamboyant entertainer has won the Albert King Award for Best Guitarist at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis

and virtually every Blues award there is in Nashville. He has toured internationally and has had numerous television appearances on PBS, TBS, HBO, and Monday Night Football.

• $15 STOLEN RHODES • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE STS9 • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • Twenty years before the emergence of STS9, NASA sent Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 on a mission to the farthest reaches of the solar system and beyond. Each of these probes was equipped with identical Golden Records, special messages attached to what Carl Sagan called “a bottle launched into the cosmic ocean.”

They contained numerous images and sounds from throughout the world, pieces of music from various cultures, a map identifying the location of our planet, and other information for whomever, or whatever, might find them. STS(‘s new album, The Universe Inside is a reflection of this message. • $35-$40 SOMO • The Mill and Mine • 8PM • SoMo -- aka Joseph Somers-Morales -- will never forget being on stage as a kid. At six-years-old, he sang at a popular club on historic 6th Street in Austin, TX. However, his life took a bit of a detour away from music for quite some time. However, in 2009, music called to him in the strangest and most serendipitous way. Receiving a piano from his mom for Christmas, he taught himself how to play by ear and

recorded a cover of Chris Brown’s “Crawl”. Uploading the performance to YouTube, it soon went viral. • $25-$400 PAUL THORN • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • “In the past, I’ve told stories that were mostly inspired by my own life,” the former prizefighter and literal son of a preacher man offers. “This time, I’ve written 10 songs that express more universal truths, and I’ve done it with a purpose: to make people feel good.” Visit knoxbijou.com. • $25 JACK’D UP • Two Doors Down • 9PM THE BROCKEFELLERS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • FREE TRISHES WITH BENJAMIN III AND TRE MCCRARY • Pilot Light • 10PM • 18 and up. • $5 MATT WOODS WITH JEFF SHEPHERD • Open Chord • 8PM • Local singer/songwriter Matt Woods celebrates the release of his new album, How to Survive.

BOY BAND REVUE • The Concourse • 8PM • All ages. • $12-$15 Saturday, Nov. 5 CASSIDY ROSE GRAVES WITH THE LOW COUNTS • 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 BELLE HOLLOWS • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • FREE KIM SMITH AND DAVID BOETTCHER • Vienna Coffee House (Maryville) • 7PM • FREE DREW HOLCOMB AND THE NEIGHBORS WITH CEREUS BRIGHT • Market Square • 8PM • Campus Events Board will top off

CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: THIS IS OUR YOUTH Clarence Brown Lab Theatre (1714 Andy Holt Ave.) • Through Nov. 13 • $15 • clarencebrowntheatre.com

It’s hard to pinpoint what Kenneth Lonergan does so well. The playwright and movie director (You Can Count on Me, Margaret, and the soon-to-be released Manchester by the Sea) presents regular people in modest circumstances, the sort of situations most of us would consider dramatic, if we found ourselves in them, but mundane by the standards of fiction: couch-surfing, the wrong end of a breakup, facing down mortality.

This Is Our Youth, from 1996, is about Dennis and Warren, a couple of directionless teenagers in New York in 1982. (A recent Broadway revival starred Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin.) What plot there is revolves around a stolen $15,000 and a disastrous drug deal; the play’s real power comes from Lonergan’s sharp, naturalistic dialogue, the protagonists’ tragicomic and hopeless attempts at being tough guys, and their struggles with each other and with growing up. (Matthew Everett)

Thursday, October 27 - Sunday, November 6 the 100th Anniversary of UT’s Homecoming with a free concert performed by Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors along with Cereus Bright.For more information about the event or about disability accommodations, please call the Center for Student Engagement at (865) 974-5455. • FREE CYPHER: A HIP-HOP SHOW • The Birdhouse • 9PM • Open mic for the first half of the night, then two featured artists to close out the night. 18 and up.

MOJO:FLOW • Two Doors Down • 9PM AFTAH PARTY • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM ANAGNORISIS WITH CRYPTIC HYMN AND OUBILETTE • Pilot Light • 8PM • 18 and up • $5 PETER BRADLEY ADAMS • Open Chord • 8PM • All ages. $15 Sunday, Nov. 6 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 J. LUKE • Wild Wing Cafe • 6PM • FREE GRANT FARM • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Boulder, Colorado-based Americana band Grant Farm has entertained a growing fan base on the nation’s club and festival scene since its founding in 2009 by vocalist and National Flatpicking Guitar Champion Tyler Grant.

OPEN MIC AND SONGWRITER NIGHTS

Thursday, Oct. 27 SCOTTISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. • FREE Tuesday, Nov. 1

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, Nov. 2 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.

SCHULZ BRÄU OPEN MIC NIGHT • Schulz Bräu Brewing Company • 8PM • Every Wednesday. • FREE BRACKINS BLUES JAM • Brackins Blues Club • 9PM • A weekly open session hosted by Tommie John. • FREE Thursday, Nov. 3 IRISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the first and third Thursdays of each month. • FREE

DJ AND DANCE NIGHTS

Thursday, Oct. 27 VALHALLAWEEN: VIKING SAMHAIN FESTIVAL • Bar Marley • Celebrate Halloween like the Vikings in this three-night carnival of ceremonial costumes, fire, and dance. The celebration begins with a modern freakout with DJ Eric B, the Calendar Girls, and a Halloween costume contest (Thursday, Oct. 27) and continues with a pumpkin carving, Kris Long’s “deepfunk dance electronica beats with hard hallows-eve-gothic-emo, classic freak metal and alternative EDM fusion,” an art/music/dance performance of “Danse Macabre,” and a live zombie attack (Friday, Oct. 28); Celtic music and folk tales, historical reenactments, music and dance by Tuatha Dea, and an All Hallows Eve fire dance and drum circle (Saturday, Oct. 29).

Harmonica Howloween!

friday october 28 7:00pm featuring

"Blue" Barry Faust, Henry Perry, Shawn Irwin, Mona Sedona, Dave “pignose” may, tommie john band, terraplane drifters, chelsea samples, and more!

Relix Theatre 1208 N. Central Street, Knoxville costumes encouraged! | admission: $8 at the door • $6 for KMA, SMBS, KSDA members.

Brought to you by:

CALENDAR

Friday, Oct. 28 VALHALLAWEEN: VIKING SAMHAIN FESTIVAL • Bar Marley • 8PM • Celebrate Halloween like the Vikings in this three-night carnival of ceremonial costumes, fire, and dance.

Saturday, Oct. 29 VALHALLAWEEN: VIKING SAMHAIN FESTIVAL • Bar Marley • 6PM • Celebrate Halloween like the Vikings in this three-night carnival of ceremonial costumes, fire, and dance.

KSO CHAMBER CLASSICS: THE FOUR SEASONS OF BUENOS AIRES • Bijou Theatre • 2:30PM • Join the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra in October for a spicy Latin American program! Maestro James Fellenbaum conducts Marquez’s Danzon No. 4, Romero’s Fuga con Pajarillo, Copland’s Three Latin American Sketches, and Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. • $13.50-$31.50

CLASSICAL MUSIC

Thursday, Nov. 3 SCRUFFY CITY ORCHESTRA • First Baptist Church • 7PM • A new venue for musicians from the greater Knoxville metropolitan area. Scruffy City Orchestra kicks off with regular rehearsals on Thursdays beginning Aug. 25.

Conductors are Mat Wilkinson and Ace Edewards.

Prospective members, especially string players, are encouraged to contact Alicia Meryweather at ScruffyCityOrchestra@gmail.com for more information. • FREE MC3 BAND FALL CONCERT • Clayton Center for the Arts (Maryville) • 7PM • The program will include patriotic favorites, such as “American Rhapsody” by Anne McGinty; “Fantasy on Yankee Doodle” by Mark Williams; “The Promise of Living” (from the Tender Land) by Aaron Copland and James Curnow; “American Folk Rhapsody No. 3” by Clare Grundman; “O’er the Land of the Free” by Johnnie Vinson; and “U.S. Field Artillery March” by John Philip Sousa. • FREE

Saturday, Oct. 29 BRAD RICHTER • Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan • 7PM • Brad Richter may be one of the most influential classical guitarists working today. His ability to defy the technical limits of his instrument has earned him comparisons to the likes of Franz Liszt and Nicolo Paganini by luminaries of the American classical music scene. Visit knoxvilleguitar.org. • $20

Saturday, Nov. 5 OAK RIDGE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND OAK RIDGE CHORUS: CELEBRATING MOZART! • First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge • 7:30PM • The concert will feature guest artist, Gabriel Lefkowitz, currently in his final season as Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, in a performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5. The concert will also feature the Oak Ridge Chorus, performing Mozart’s “Coronation” Mass with the Oak Ridge Symphony, and Mozart’s Divertimento in F major. Subscription and individual tickets may be purchased online at www.

Saturday, Nov. 5 REWIND DANCE NIGHT • The Concourse • 9PM • 18 and up. • $5

Thursday, Oct. 27 SCRUFFY CITY ORCHESTRA • First Baptist Church • 7PM • A new venue for musicians from the greater Knoxville metropolitan area. Scruffy City Orchestra kicks off with regular rehearsals on Thursdays beginning Aug. 25.

Conductors are Mat Wilkinson and Ace Edewards.

Prospective members, especially string players, are encouraged to contact Alicia Meryweather at ScruffyCityOrchestra@gmail.com for more information. • FREE

Sunday, Oct. 30

New Age Fair & Masquerade Ball October 29 & 30 2016 Kid’s Activities & Prizes Vendors & Readers Costume Contest Mascarade Ball with DJ

Family Fun!

Hosted by A Touch of Magic and Such at the Jubilee Center 6700 Jubilee Center Way, Knoxville TN 37912 for info visit: atouchofmagicandsuch.com

- FORT DICKERSON -

Civil War Weekend OCTOBER 29 & 30, 2016

153RD ANNIVERSARY SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE 1863

Lots of Prizes!

• Battle Reenactments • Civil War Music • Arms Demonstrations • Medical/Surgical Demonstrations • Ladies Fashions • Fort Tours • Infantry Demonstrations • CW Camp Sites • and More!

• All for FREE

Sponsored by KCWRT Free Shuttle (park by Disc Exchange on Chapman Hwy) Sat 10AM-4PM; Sun 11AM-4PM • www.kcwrt.org October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 23

CALENDAR

ORCMA.org or by calling (865) 483-5569. • $25

Sunday, Nov. 6 OAK RIDGE WIND ENSEMBLE: MUSIC FOR OUR MILITARY • Central Baptist Church Oak Ridge • 3:30PM • Featuring a special program of music in honor of veterans and currently serving personnel in the United State Armed Forces. For more information visit www.orcb.org or call 865-482-3568. • $5

THEATER AND DANCE

Thursday, Oct. 27 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THIS IS OUR YOUTH’ • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre • 7:30PM • Strikingly funny, arrestingly fresh, caustic, and compassionate. Three wayward adolescents on the cusp of adulthood navigate Reagan-era New York, recreating their broken homes in their dysfunctional friendships and bungled attempts to find love. Oct. 26-Nov. 13. Visit clarencebrowntheatre.com. • See Spotlight on page TK. THEATRE KNOXVILLE DOWNTOWN: ‘EARTH AND SKY’ • Theatre Knoxville Downtown • 8PM • Earth and Sky is a poetic thriller about a would-be poet and part-time librarian named Sara McKeon whose lover of ten weeks, David Ames, is found dead one hot August morning in the city of Chicago. It appears that David, owner and manager of an expensive art-deco restaurant, may have been involved in several illicit activities including kidnapping, rape and murder. Unable to believe that the man she gave her heart to was a killer, and outraged that the police seem to have closed the book on the case, Sara begins her own investigation of the crime and is led deeper and deeper through the urban labyrinth into the contemporary underworld. Oct. 14-30. Visit theatreknoxville.com. • $15 THE MAN WHO LIVES HERE IS LOONY • Knoxville Museum of Art • 7PM • R.B. Morris’ one-person play adapted from the life and work of James Agee. The title comes from an anonymous person who wrote it on the door of the building on St. James Place in Brooklyn where Agee was living, and where he sometimes kept a goat. The setting of the play is a room in the garret of a building in Brooklyn on one night in the mid 20th century. Through the long night, the man (Agee) reflects on his life and work, God and humanity, art and artists, literature and writers, New York and Knoxville, and the current American culture in the Nuclear Age. Oct. 27-Nov. 6. Visit rbmorris.com. • $15 • See Program Notes on page 17.

Friday, Oct. 28 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • Three strangers volunteer to accompany Dr. John Montague in an investigation of Hill House, a mysterious mansion with a reputation for being haunted. While the four are there, supernatural events drives them to the edge of sanity and pushes one toward a terrible end. Oct. 28-Nov. 13. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THIS IS OUR YOUTH’ • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre • 7:30PM • Oct. 26-Nov. 13. Visit clarencebrowntheatre.com.

THEATRE KNOXVILLE DOWNTOWN: ‘EARTH AND SKY’ • Theatre Knoxville Downtown • 8PM • Oct. 14-30. Visit theatreknoxville.com. • $15 BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON • Pellissippi State Community College • 7:30PM • This debated and provocative play introduces discourse about the life of America’s seventh president, from his early days as a child on the wild frontier to his controversial reign in the White House. Oct. 28-Nov. 6. Visit pstcc.edu. • $14 Saturday, Oct. 29 24

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 5PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 13. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THIS IS OUR YOUTH’ • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre • 7:30PM • Oct. 26-Nov. 13. Visit clarencebrowntheatre.com.

THEATRE KNOXVILLE DOWNTOWN: ‘EARTH AND SKY’ • Theatre Knoxville Downtown • 8PM • Oct. 14-30. Visit theatreknoxville.com. • $15 BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON • Pellissippi State Community College • 7:30PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 6. Visit pstcc. edu. • $14 Sunday, Oct. 30 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 3PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 13. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 THE MAN WHO LIVES HERE IS LOONY • Knoxville Museum of Art • 3PM • R.B. Morris’ one-person play adapted from the life and work of James Agee. Oct. 27-Nov. 6. Visit rbmorris. com. • $15 • See Program Notes on page 17.

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON • Pellissippi State Community College • 2PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 6. Visit pstcc.edu.

• $14

100 ANNIVERSARY th

HOMECOMING CONCERT

DREW ft. UT ALUMNUS

HOLCOMB

and THE NEIGHBORS

Tuesday, Nov. 1 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THIS IS OUR YOUTH’ • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre • 7:30PM • Oct. 26-Nov. 13. Visit clarencebrowntheatre.com.

Wednesday, Nov. 2 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THIS IS OUR YOUTH’ • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre • 7:30PM • Oct. 26-Nov. 13. Visit clarencebrowntheatre.com.

Thursday, Nov. 3 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THIS IS OUR YOUTH’ • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre • 7:30PM • Oct. 26-Nov. 13. Visit clarencebrowntheatre.com.

KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 13. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 THE MAN WHO LIVES HERE IS LOONY’ • Knoxville Museum of Art • 7PM • R.B. Morris’ one-person play adapted from the life and work of James Agee. Oct. 27-Nov. 6. Visit rbmorris.com. • $15 • See Program Notes on page 17.

MARYVILLE COLLEGE THEATRE: ‘AND THEY DANCE REAL SLOW IN JACKSON’ • Clayton Center for the Arts • 8PM • The play, written by Jim Leonard Jr., centers around the interactions between Elizabeth Willow, a young girl afflicted with polio, and the residents of the fictional town of Jackson, Ind. The story is told in a non-realistic, episodic style; rather than being one continuous narrative, the play skips around over a period of many years. Nov. 3-5. • $10 Friday, Nov. 4 BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON • Pellissippi State Community College • 7:30PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 6. Visit pstcc. edu. • $14 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THIS IS OUR YOUTH’ • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre • 7:30PM • Oct. 26-Nov. 13. Visit clarencebrowntheatre.com.

KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 13. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 MARYVILLE COLLEGE THEATRE: ‘AND THEY DANCE REAL SLOW IN JACKSON’ • Clayton Center for the Arts • 8PM • Nov. 3-5. • $10 Saturday, Nov. 5 BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON • Pellissippi State Community College • 7:30PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 6. Visit pstcc.edu. • $14 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 1PM and 5PM • Oct.

with special guest

CEREUS BRIGHT

SATURDAY

NOVEMBER 5

8PM

MARKET SQUARE

FREE + OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

MORE INFO AT GO.UTK.EDU

Thursday, October 27 - Sunday, November 6 28-Nov. 13. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 MARYVILLE COLLEGE THEATRE: ‘AND THEY DANCE REAL SLOW IN JACKSON’ • Clayton Center for the Arts • 2PM and 8PM • Nov. 3-5. • $10 Sunday, Nov. 6 BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON • Pellissippi State Community College • 2PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 6. Visit pstcc.edu. • $14 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THIS IS OUR YOUTH’ • Clarence Brown Lab Theatre • 2PM and 7:30PM • Oct. 26-Nov. 13. Visit clarencebrowntheatre.com.

KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: ‘THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE’ • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 3PM • Oct. 28-Nov. 13. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 THE MAN WHO LIVES HERE IS LOONY’ • Knoxville Museum of Art • 3PM • R.B. Morris’ one-person play adapted from the life and work of James Agee. Oct. 27-Nov. 6. Visit rbmorris. com. • $15 • See Program Notes on page 17.

COMEDY AND SPOKEN WORD

Thursday, Oct. 27 SUGAR HIGH! COMEDY SHOW • Sugar Mama’s • 8PM • A new comedy showcase at the brand new home of Sugar Mama’s on the 100 block. No cover. • FREE Saturday, Oct. 29 SMOKY MOUNTAIN STORYTELLERS ASSOCIATION • Vienna Coffee House • 7PM • Spooky, scary stories live, presented

by Smoky Mountain Storytellers Cuz Headrick, Millie Sieber, Stephen Fulbright and Janice Brooks-Headrick. • FREE Sunday, Oct. 30 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic. Visit scruffycity.com.

Tuesday, Nov. 1 CASUAL COMEDY • Casual Pint (Hardin Valley) • 7PM • A monthly comedy showcase at Casual Pint-Hardin Valley featuring a mixture of local and touring comedians.

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 Friday, Nov. 4 FIRST FRIDAY COMEDY • Saw Works Brewing Company • 7PM • A monthly showcase featuring local and touring stand-ups comics. • FREE THE OOH OOH REVUE • Cocoa Moon • 10PM • We are classy cabaret, song, dance, comedy and bedazzling burlesque every First Friday. The show features some of Knoxville’s best and emerging talent: singers, dancers, comedians, spoken word poets, burlesque artists and so much more.

It’s a variety show where each cast member brings a different sizzling act each month to entertain, delight, surprise and more. Visit oohoohrevue.com. 18 and up. • $10 SCRUFFY CITY COMEDY FESTIVAL • Scruffy City Hall • The 2016 Scruffy City Comedy Festival is a tribute to America.

This election season has been a little too emotionally charged. It’s time for us to make Knoxville laugh again.

Scruffy City Hall will host our headline shows each night of the festival.The Scruffy City Comedy Festival was founded in 2014 by Knoxville comedian and comedy producer Matt Ward. The festival was truly unlike any other event put on in the East Tennessee area. Hundreds of comedy fans flocked to downtown Knoxville over the course of the three day event. The festival is a way to showcase the growth of the comedy scene in Knoxville while introducing our audiences with some of the best up and coming talent from all over the country in additional to nationally known headliners.Headlining the 2016 Scruffy City Comedy Festival will be Baron Vaughn, Aparna Nancherla, and Trae Crowder, the Liberal Redneck. Visit scruffycitycomedy.com.

• $40-$50 Saturday, Nov. 5 SCRUFFY CITY COMEDY FESTIVAL • Scruffy City Hall • The 2016 Scruffy City Comedy Festival is a tribute to America.

This election season has been a little too emotionally charged. It’s time for us to make Knoxville laugh again.

Scruffy City Hall will host our headline shows each night of the festival.The Scruffy City Comedy Festival was founded in 2014 by Knoxville comedian and comedy producer Matt Ward. Visit scruffycitycomedy.com. • $40-$50 Sunday, Nov. 6 JEFF DUNHAM • Thompson-Boling Arena • 3PM • International comedy sensation comic/ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, has performed in front of sold out audiences worldwide showcasing the undeniable power of induced laughter. Dunham along with his cast of hilarious characters are set to embark on the second leg of their hugely successful “Perfectly Unbalanced” Tour. The show is packed with new surprises and old favorites. • $46.50 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic. Visit scruffycity.com.

SCRUFFY CITY COMEDY FESTIVAL • Scruffy City Hall • The 2016 Scruffy City Comedy Festival is a tribute to America.

This election season has been a little too emotionally charged. It’s time for us to make Knoxville laugh again.

Scruffy City Hall will host our headline shows each night of the festival.The Scruffy City Comedy Festival was founded in 2014 by Knoxville comedian and comedy producer Matt Ward. Visit scruffycitycomedy.com. • $40-$50 THE LIBERAL REDNECK MANIFESTO BOOK TOUR • Books-A-Million • 12PM • The Liberal Redneck Manifesto skewers political and religious hypocrisies in witty stories and hilarious graphics — such as the Ten Commandments of the New South — and much more. While celebrating the South as one of the richest sources of American culture, this entertaining book issues a wake-up call, and a reminder that the South’s problems and dreams aren’t that far off from the rest of America’s. • FREE

FESTIVALS

Thursday, Oct. 27 BLOUNT MANSION MYSTERIOUS PAST TOURS • Blount Mansion • 7PM • Come join us for a night of fun as we explore legends, customs, and myths at the Mysterious Past of Blount Mansion. The tours are at 7 p.m., 8 p.m., and 9 p.m. • $10 Friday, Oct. 28 FANBOY EXPO HALLOWEEN WEEKEND • Knoxville Convention Center • 4PM • Featuring celebrity guests Cherrie Currie (the Runaways), Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science, Dead Zone), Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides), Sid Haig (House of 1000 Corpses), Bruce Kulick (Kiss), William Forsyth (Raising Arizona), P.J. Soles (Halloween, Stripes), and many more.

Oct. 28-30. Visit fanboyexpo.com. • $17-$50 JAMES WHITE’S FORT HEARTHSCRES BALL 2016 • James

CALENDAR

White’s Fort • 7PM • Spooky surprises await you at the 6th Annual HearthScares Ball. The Fort will be transformed into a scary landmark for an evening of dancing. Come dressed in your most impressive costume. The event includes dancing, frightening finger foods, silent auction, costume contest and other Halloween hi-jinks. Proceeds benefit preservation at James White’s Fort. Must be 21 or over to attend. • $75 YOUNG-WILLIAMS ANIMAL CENTER HOWL-O-WEEN • Jackson Avenue Terminal • 7PM • Start your Halloween weekend with a howling good time. Young-Williams Animal Center’s bash and fundraiser features live music by The Coveralls, a costume contest, a taco bar, moonshine tasting, wine, beer, a candy bar and some howling surprises. All money raised will help provide medical care for our pets, offset facility costs, and public spay and neuter surgeries for low income families. Purchase your ticket here: https://www.paypal. me/YoungWilliams • $45 UT SOCIETY OF PHYSICS STUDENTS PUMPKIN DROP • University of Tennessee • 4PM • Students will drop pumpkins frozen in liquid nitrogen from 60 feet up, causing them to shatter upon impact. The event will begin at 4 p.m. on McClung Plaza beside the Humanities and Social Sciences Building with student organization booths and hands-on science demonstrations. Additional activities include live music, free food and a costume contest offering prizes to winners. The costume contest begins at 5 p.m. immediately followed by the pumpkin drop at 5:30 p.m. Costumes are encouraged, and the event is free and open to the university and public. • FREE HAUNTED STATION • L&N STEM Academy • 6PM • Family friendly event held in the historic L&N Station. Activities will include pumpkin decorating, scavenger hunt, photo booth, attic tours, face painting, games, and more. Older children and adults will love the Haunted Basement attraction ($2 entry). Food offerings include hot dogs, chili, chips, and cheese, caramel apples, popcorn, apple cider.

Saturday, Oct. 29 INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL • World’s Fair Park • 11AM • This is your chance to taste some of the most popular and tastiest foods from different countries around the world. Our bazaar will give you the feel of shopping in the market place of some of your favorite countries and will will have authentic products to purchase. Our kid’s corner includes inflatables and crafts for your child’s entertainment.

Purchase a $5 unlimited play armband and your child receives a Kids Passport to travel our festival looking for different countries to stamp their pages.

HALLOWEENFEST • A Touch of Magic and Such will be hosting a New Age Fair and Halloween Ball on Oct. 29-30, at the Jubilee Center on Callahan Road.

FANBOY EXPO HALLOWEEN WEEKEND • Knoxville Convention Center • 10AM • Featuring celebrity guests Cherrie Currie (the Runaways), Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science, Dead Zone), Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides), Sid Haig (House of 1000 Corpses), Bruce Kulick (Kiss), William Forsyth (Raising Arizona), P.J. Soles (Halloween, Stripes), and many more.

Oct. 28-30. Visit fanboyexpo.com. • $17-$50 CELTIC NEW YEAR CELEBRATION • Bar Marley • 5PM • The Knoxville Irish Society invites you to their Celtic New Year celebration, a traditional harvest festival with a bonfire ceremony, Irish food, and Irish music.

FORT DICKERSON LIVING HISTORY WEEKEND • Fort Dickerson • 10AM • Fort Dickerson, the Civil War earthwork atop a hill on Knoxville’s southern riverfront will once again be populated with soldiers in blue and gray as the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable and the City of Knoxville present a Living History weekend on Oct. 29-30. For more information on this event as well as Civil War History in Knoxville, go to kcwrt.org. or contact Event Coordinator Tom Wright at 865-482-1680 or thomaswright8@comcast.net, or

Re-enactor Coordinator Perry Hill at 865-283-1691 or cpthill63rdtn@yahoo.com. • FREE MESSIAH LUTHERAN CHURCH OKTOBERFEST • Messiah Lutheran Church • 4PM • All are envited to come enjoy good food, craft beer and live music. Visit us on Facebook at MessiahKnox for info. • FREE Sunday, Oct. 30 HALLOWEENFEST • A Touch of Magic and Such will be hosting a New Age Fair and Halloween Ball on Oct. 29-30, at the Jubilee Center on Callahan Road.

FANBOY EXPO HALLOWEEN WEEKEND • Knoxville Convention Center • 11AM • Featuring celebrity guests Cherrie Currie (the Runaways), Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science, Dead Zone), Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides), Sid Haig (House of 1000 Corpses), Bruce Kulick (Kiss), William Forsyth (Raising Arizona), P.J. Soles (Halloween, Stripes), and many more.

Oct. 28-30. Visit fanboyexpo.com. • $17-$50 FORT DICKERSON LIVING HISTORY WEEKEND • Fort Dickerson • 11AM • Fort Dickerson, the Civil War earthwork atop a hill on Knoxville’s southern riverfront will once again be populated with soldiers in blue and gray as the Knoxville Civil War Roundtable and the City of Knoxville present a Living History weekend on Oct. 29-30. For more information on this event as well as Civil War History in Knoxville, go to kcwrt.org. or contact Event Coordinator Tom Wright at 865-482-1680 or thomaswright8@comcast.net, or Re-enactor Coordinator Perry Hill at 865-283-1691 or cpthill63rdtn@yahoo.com. • FREE Sunday, Nov. 6 YOUNG-WILLIAMS ANIMAL CENTER FURRY FALL FESTIVAL • Young-Williams Animal Center • 12PM • Pet owners and animal enthusiasts are invited to attend the Furry Fall Festival. And, of course, furry friends are welcome, too. The Furry Fall Festival, which is free and open to the public, will include a host of booths and activities for pets and their families to enjoy. Pet- and family-friendly activities at this year’s festival include: Rabies vaccinations for $10; Medic Blood Mobile; Pet microchipping and microchip registration by Young-Williams Animal Center for $10; Information about pet adoption from Young-Williams Animal Center and other regional animal rescue groups; and more. • FREE THORN GROVE CHRISTIAN CHURCH SHINDIG • Thorn Grove Christian Church • 1PM • Thorn Grove Christian Church is hosting its second annual Shindig, a celebration of the Thorn Grove community with local musicians and a variety of activities, including a cornhole tournament. For children there is a bounce house and petting zoo. There will also be a chili cook off, bake sale and old fashioned cakewalks. • FREE

FILM SCREENINGS

Thursday, Oct. 27 NOKNO CINEMATEQUE: ‘FRAILTY’ • Central Collective • 8PM • A man confesses to an FBI agent his family’s story of how his religious fanatic father’s visions lead to a series of murders to destroy supposed “demons.” With Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, and Powers Boothe. • FREE SCHULZ BRÄU FILMNACHT • Schulz Bräu Brewing Company • 9PM • A free weekly movie screening—check social media for the week’s entry. 21 and up. • FREE Monday, Oct. 31 THE BIRDHOUSE WALK-IN THEATER • The Birdhouse • 8:15PM • A weekly free movie screening. Visit birdhouseknoxville. com. • FREE Tuesday, Nov. 1

October 27, 2016

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CALENDAR

THE PUBLIC CINEMA: CAMERAPERSON • Pilot Light • 7:30PM • A boxing match in Brooklyn; life in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina; the daily routine of a Nigerian midwife; an intimate family moment at home: these scenes and others are woven into Cameraperson, a tapestry of footage captured over the twenty-five-year career of documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. Visit publiccinema.org. • FREE Thursday, Nov. 3 SCHULZ BRÄU FILMNACHT • Schulz Bräu Brewing Company • 9PM • A free weekly movie screening—check social media for the week’s entry. 21 and up. • FREE

SPORTS AND RECREATION

Thursday, Oct. 27 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES THURSDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10AM • Visit cycologybicycles.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 FLEET FEET GROUP RUN/WALK • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville • 6PM • Visit fleetfeetknoxville.com. • FREE BEARDEN BIKE AND TRAIL LAPS ON CHEROKEE BOULEVARD • Bearden Bike and Trail • 6PM • Visit beardenbikeandtrail. com. • FREE RIVER SPORTS GREENWAY RIDE • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Visit riversportsoutfitters.com. • FREE-$10 CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES BEGINNER ROAD RIDE • Sequoyah Park • 6:20PM • Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES THURSDAY NIGHT RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:20PM • Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE Friday, Oct. 28 RIVER SPORTS FRIDAY NIGHT GREENWAY RUN • River Sports Outfitters • 6:15PM • Visit riversportsoutfitters.com. • FREE Saturday, Oct. 29 WEST BIKES SATURDAY RIDE • West Bicycles • 8AM • Visit westbikes.com. • FREE BIKE ZOO SATURDAY MORNING RIDE • The Bike Zoo • 9AM • Visit bikezoo.com. • FREE BIKE N’ TRI GROUP CLIMBING RIDE • Bike N’ Tri • 5PM • Join us for our group climbing ride of 30-40 miles, for intermediate to advanced riders only. • FREE CELTIC NEW YEAR CELEBRATION • Sam Duff Memorial Park • 12PM • The Knoxville Irish Society invites you to their Celtic New Year Celebration—you can watch or participate in the Irish sport of hurling, which has been played in Ireland for 3,000 years. It is addictively fun, and has been described as a hybrid of field hockey and lacrosse. If you enjoy the dynamic of soccer and ultimate frisbee, the excitement of swinging at a baseball, or the physicallity of rugby, this is the sport for you. The Irish sports are open to the public; anyone interested is invited to spectate or participate. All gear is provided. We host weekly practices year-round.

Find Knoxville Gaelic Athletic Club on facebook and twitter, or google “fastest game on grass” for more informaiton on Hurling. • FREE FARRAGUT 13.1/5K/KIDS’ RUN • Farragut High School • 7:30AM • Visit farragut131.com. • $30-$55 SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: BIG FORK RIDGE TRAIL • 8AM • We will start this clockwise loop on the Big Fork Ridge Trail in the Cataloochee Valley. We will hike over Big Fork Ridge to Caldwell Junction, then up the Caldwell Fork Trail to again reach the top of Big Fork Ridge at a junction with the Rough Fork Trail. Then we coast down to our 26

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

starting point. Elk bugling may punctuate our hike. Total distance of 9.2 miles and total climb of 1,800 feet make this a hike of moderate difficulty. Meet at the Comcast, 5720 Asheville Highway, at 8:00 am. Leader: Steve Dunkin, jsdunkin@roaneschools.com. • FREE Sunday, Oct. 30 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES SUNDAY MORNING GROUP RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 9AM • Visit cycologybicycles.com. • FREE Monday, Oct. 31 KTC GROUP RUN • Mellow Mushroom • 6PM • 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 • Visit beardenbeermarket.com. • FREE BIKE N’ TRI MONDAY GROUP RUN • Bike N’ Tri • 6:30PM • Every Monday evening, join us for a social three- to six-mile group run. All runners/joggers/walkers welcome. • FREE Tuesday, Nov. 1 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES TUESDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 9AM • Visit cycologybicycles.com. • FREE CYCOLOGY BICYCLES TUESDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10:30AM • Visit cycologybicycles.com. • FREE AMBC BIG GROUP MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE • Ijams Nature Center • 6PM • Visit ambc-sorba.org. • FREE THIRD CREEK GREENWAY SOCIAL RIDE • Bearden Bike and Trail • 6PM • Visit beardenbikeandtrail.com. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES TUESDAY NIGHT RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:20PM • Join Cedar Bluff Cycles every Tuesday night for their group ride. Riders will divided into 2 groups.

The A group rides an extremely fast-paced 40-plus-mile loop at a speed of 22-24 mph. The B group is a little more relaxed, riding at an 18-20 mph pace. Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • 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 BIKETOPIA TUESDAY ROAD RIDE • Biketopia • 6:30PM • Visit biketopia.com. • FREE FOUNTAIN CITY ROUNDABOUT • Casual Pint (Fountain City) • 6:30PM • Visit facebook.com/TheCasualPint/. • FREE I BIKE KNX PINT NIGHT • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Join us the first Tuesday of every month to help raise money for all of the great charities we’re partnering with and support all of our wonderful sponsors, all while having a great time. For the 2016 Pint Night season, the first 200 folks will get a custom pint glass for a $5 donation. Your $5 also includes the first fill-up of your custom glass plus a ticket for a refill. Extra refills and all first fills after the first 200 will be a $5 donation. Visit riversportsoutfitters.com. • FREE RIVER SPORTS SOCIAL PADDLE • Sequoyah Park • 6PM • Every other Tuesday night we will meet at Sequoyah boat ramp and do a little paddling. Bring your own boat or reserve one from us for $15. Visit riversportsoutfitters.com/ events/. • FREE-$15 Wednesday, Nov. 2 BIKE N’ TRI GROUP RIDE • Bike N’ Tri • 10AM • Every Wednesday, join us for a social group ride of 20-40 miles.

We’ll split into two groups to make the ride suitable for all riders. All riders welcome. • FREE FLEET FEET WEDNESDAY LUNCH BREAK RUN • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville • 12PM • Visit fleetfeetknoxville.com. •

FREE KTC GROUP RUN • Runner’s Market • 5:30PM • Visit ktc.org. • FREE TVB EASY RIDER MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE • Ijams Nature Center • 6PM • Check out our Facebook page or give us a call at 865-540-9979 for more info. We meet near Mead’s Quarry. • FREE AMBC CONCORD PARK MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE • Concord Park • 6PM • Visit ambc-sorba.org. • FREE WEST BIKES WEDNESDAY BIKE RIDE • West Bicycles • 6:15PM • Visit westbikes.com. • FREE SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: MIDDLE PRONG TRAIL TO INDIAN FLAT FALLS • 8AM • This hike will follow the Middle Prong Trail to Indian Flat Falls. Hike: 8 miles, rated easy to moderate. Meet at Alcoa Food City, 121 North Hall Road, at 8:00 am. Leader: Elfie Beall, elfiebeall@comcast.net. • FREE Thursday, Nov. 3 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES THURSDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10AM • Visit cycologybicycles.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 FLEET FEET GROUP RUN/WALK • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville • 6PM • Visit fleetfeetknoxville.com. • FREE BEARDEN BIKE AND TRAIL LAPS ON CHEROKEE BOULEVARD • Bearden Bike and Trail • 6PM • Visit beardenbikeandtrail. com. • FREE RIVER SPORTS GREENWAY RIDE • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Visit riversportsoutfitters.com. • FREE-$10 CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES BEGINNER ROAD RIDE • Sequoyah Park • 6:20PM • Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES THURSDAY NIGHT RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:20PM • Visit cedarbluffcycles.net. • FREE Friday, Nov. 4 RIVER SPORTS FRIDAY NIGHT GREENWAY RUN • River Sports Outfitters • 6:15PM • Visit riversportsoutfitters.com. • FREE Saturday, Nov. 5 WEST BIKES SATURDAY RIDE • West Bicycles • 8AM • Visit westbikes.com. • FRE BIKE ZOO SATURDAY MORNING RIDE • The Bike Zoo • 9AM • Visit bikezoo.com. • FREE BIKE N’ TRI GROUP CLIMBING RIDE • Bike N’ Tri • 5PM • Join us for our group climbing ride of 30-40 miles, for intermediate to advanced riders only. • FREE SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: APPALACHIAN TRAIL MAINTENANCE • 9AM • The AT maintenance work-trip for November will start at Clingman’s Dome. From the parking lot we will join the AT and proceed with trimming weeds, clearing waterbars, and pruning vegetation south to Double Springs Gap Shelter. Distance hiked will be around 5 miles RT. Please bring a lunch, work gloves and your hand tool of choice – if desired. In order to assess tool needs, pre-registration with the leader is required. Meet at the Alcoa Food City, 121 North Hall Road, at 7:30 am or at Clingmans Dome parking area at 9:00 am. Leader: Mark Shipley, mshipley@townoffarragut.org. • FREE RUNNER’S MARKET SATURDAY GROUP RUN • Runner’s Market • 9AM • Every first Saturday of the month at 9 a.m., join us for a relaxed-pace run of 3 to 5.5 miles or beyond along the Third Creek and Sequoyah Hills Greenways. Afterwards, enjoy coffee and refreshments provided by the gang at Runner’s Market. Visit runnersmarket.com. • FREE CATALYST ADAPTIVE CLIMB • River Sports Outfitters • 10AM • Join us the first Saturday of every month as we climb with Catalyst Sports. This event is for anyone with physical disabilities. All ages are welcome to come and climb our rock wall. • $10 Sunday, Nov. 6

Thursday, October 27 - Sunday, November 6 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES SUNDAY MORNING GROUP RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 9AM • Visit cycologybicycles.com. • FREE SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: FITTIFIED SPRING • 10AM • We will hike on the Porters Creek and Brushy Mountain trails to the site of the former fittified spring, stopping along the way to visit the Ownby Cemetery, the Hiking Club Cabin, and the past club members memorial area. Hike: around 4 miles total. Meet at the first parking area in Greenbrier, on the right just off of Hwy 321, at 10:00 am, to carpool to the Porters Creek trailhead. Leader: Ed Fleming, edwrdflm@aol.com. • FREE

ART

Art Market Gallery 422 S. Gay St. OCT. 4-27: Paintings by Brenda Mills and clay art by Karyn Kyte.

Broadway Studios and Gallery 1127 N. Broadway Oct. 7-29: Jan Lynch: A Retrospective.

The District Gallery 5113 Kingston Pike OCT. 7-29: Mask, an exhibit of animal masks by sculptor Nan Jacobsohn.

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. OCT. 7-28: Tennessee Artists Association Fall Juried Show; The Arrowmont Experience; pottery by Rex W. Redd; Impressions of Nature, photographic paintings by Dennis Sabo; and artwork by Melanie Fetterolf.

Knoxville Arts and Fine Crafts Center 1127B Broadway AUG. 1-OCT. 31: Whimsical Creatures, paintings and photographs by Lela E. Buis.

Knoxville Museum of Art 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive AUG. 26-NOV. 6: Romantic Spirits: 19th-Century Paintings of the South From the Johnson Collection 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.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture 1327 Circle Park Drive SEPT. 17-JAN. 8: Knoxville Unearthed: Archaeology in the Heart of the Valley. 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.

FAMILY AND KIDS’ EVENTS Thursday, Oct. 27

LITTLE LEARNERS • Blount County Public Library • 10:30AM • Recommended for ages 3-5. • 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 • FREE Friday, Oct. 28 S.T.E.A.M. KIDS • Blount County Public Library • 4PM • For grades K-5. • FREE Saturday, Oct. 29 CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 10AM • 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. • FREE TENNESSEE THEATRE COSTUMES AND CLASSIC CARTOONS OPEN HOUSE • Tennessee Theatre • 11AM • Families will enjoy Looney Tunes classic cartoons on the Tennessee’s screen, Mighty Wurlitzer organ music, self-guided dressing room tours, face painting and old-fashioned candy. During the open house, a short reel of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons will be shown at intervals between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. • FREE Sunday, Oct. 30 FALL FESTIVAL AT FIRST • First United Methodist Church Maryville • 2PM • One of the biggest events at First United Methodist Church - Maryville is just around the corner. Last year about 1500 people came out to the Fall Festival at First to enjoy a couple of hours of trunk-or-treating, jumping on inflatables, eating hot dogs, and much more.

This family friendly way of celebrating the season returns to First UMC. Since it is free, we are asking people to bring canned goods as their “admission.” All the food collected will be donated to the Community Food Connection of Blount County. • FREE Monday, Oct. 31 BLOUNT COUNTY LIBRARY TRICK OR READ • Blount County Public Library • 9AM • Kids are invited to stop by the library to show off their Halloween costume and take home a free book. Books are limited so get yours while our supplies last. • FREE Tuesday, Nov. 1 LITTLE LEARNERS • Blount County Public Library • 10:30AM • Recommended for ages 3-5. • FREE Wednesday, Nov. 2 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, Nov. 3 LITTLE LEARNERS • Blount County Public Library • 10:30AM • Recommended for ages 3-5. • FREE CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 1PM • Visit blountlibrary.org. • FREE LEGO CLUB • Blount County Public Library • 4PM • FREE Friday, Nov. 4 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

LECTURES, READINGS,

CALENDAR

AND BOOK SIGNINGS

Thursday, Oct. 27 PETER Z. GROSSMAN: “ENERGY POLICY AND THE NEXT PRESIDENT” • Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy • 1PM • Grossman is a Clarence Efroymson Professor of Economics at Butler University. • FREE PETER Z. GROSSMAN AND LORNA A. GREENING: “ANALYZING THE PROCESS OF ENERGY POLICY” • Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy • 3PM • Grossman and Greening, a Baker Center Energy and Environment Fellow, will discuss why policy responses to the same problems differ among countries. • FREE KELLIE EASTERLING: “EXTRASTATECRAFT” • University of Tennessee • 5:30PM • Keller Easterling, architect, writer and professor of architecture at Yale University, will lecture as part of the University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design’s 2016-2017 Robert B. Church Memorial Lecture Series. The lecture will take place in McCarty Auditorium (Room 109) in the Art and Architecture Building.Easterling will present “Extrastatecraft,” titled after her most recent book “Extrastatecraft: The Power of Infrastructure Space.” Easterling is the founder of Keller Easterling Architect in New York. She has authored five books and more than 130 articles and chapters in the past 30 years in the U.S. and internationally. Her writing was featured in the 2014 Venice Biennale, and her work has been displayed in the Rotterdam Biennale and in the Storefront for Art and Architecture and the Architectural League, both in New York. • FREE Friday, Oct. 28 UT SCIENCE FORUM • Thompson-Boling Arena • 12PM • The University of Tennessee Science Forum offers a weekly lecture on current science, medical, or technology developments. Visit scienceforum.utk.edu. • FREE ALAN VIARD: “THE BUSINESS TAX REFORM DEBATE” • 7:30AM • Alan Viard, a nationally recognized economist and resident scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, will be the guest speaker at the Knoxville Economics Forum.

The program will be held at Club LeConte, atop the First Tennessee Building, 800 South Gay Street.Breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. followed by the program at 8 a.m. Cost is $20, payable on the day of the event (cash or check only). Space is limited and reservations must be made online. • $20 Sunday, Oct. 30 JACK NEELY: “SUBTERRANEAN KNOXVILLE” • McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture • 2PM • In living memory, Knoxville has found itself at the center of several large regional and superregional projects, from the Tennessee Valley Authority, to the University of Tennessee, to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. All along, however, it has survived as a unique American city, a former 18th-century capital continuing to evolve in its own sometimes erratic and contrary ways. This lecture will hit some high points, with tales of the city and the diverse array of people who have lived there. Neely, author of several books about Knoxville history and director of the new Knoxville History Project, also writes regularly for the Knoxville Mercury. • FREE Tuesdau, Nov. 1 ALAN ALDA: “GETTING BEYOND A BLIND DATE WITH SCIENCE” • University of Tennessee Alumni Memorial Building • 6:30PM • Alan Alda, an acclaimed actor and science educator widely known for his role in the television series “M*A*S*H,” will deliver the second Ken and Blaire Mossman Distinguished Lecture. Alda’s appearance at UT occurs in conjunction with a visit to Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is hosting Alda and the Alan Alda Center for Commu-

nicating Science for workshops at the lab. Through his talk, titled “Getting Beyond a Blind Date with Science,” Alda will share his passion for science communication. • FREE Thursday, Nov. 3 MARK RUNGE: “GRAFFITI HOUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR” • Blount County Public Library • 7PM • This program will cover a little-known topic of the Civil War. Houses and sometimes other buildings, that were used as hospitals to house ill soldiers, became obscure “diaries” or “signatures” of sorts for soldiers who had no other way to leave their mark as having been in that location or area. So they wrote their names, brief bits of biographical information or rough pictures in order to leave a legacy in case they didn’t recover. Mark Runge, a teacher at Clayton Bradley Academy, will discuss Civil War graffiti houses and show photos. • FREE Friday, Nov. 4 UT SCIENCE FORUM • Thompson-Boling Arena • 12PM • The University of Tennessee Science Forum offers a weekly lecture on current science, medical, or technology developments. Visit scienceforum.utk.edu. • FREE MATT FOLTZ-GRAY: ‘SPIRIT OF THE STAIRCASE’ • Esteemed Mercury comic strip artist Matt Foltz-Gray is celebrating the release of his new book with a signing at Union Ave Books (2-4 p.m.) and a party at Suttree’s High Gravity Tavern (5-7 p.m.). Yes, that’s right—comic books and beer! • FREE Sunday, Nov. 6 KIM TRENT: “HISTORIC PRESERVATION IN KNOXVILLE” • McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture • 2PM • Kim Trent of Knox Heritage will talk about historic preservation in Knoxville as part of programming related to special exhibition, “Knoxville Unearthed: Archaeology in the Heart of the Valley.” • FREE

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

Thursday, Oct. 27 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Halls Senior Center • 12PM • Call 382-5822.

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 AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Asbury Place • 1PM • Call 382-5822.

KNOXVILLE CAPOEIRA CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 6PM • Visit knoxvillecapoeira.org. • $10 KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING PILATES • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • Every Tuesday and Thursday. First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining.com. • $4 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 COMEDY IMPROV CLASS • Broadway Academy of Performing Arts • 7PM • Paul Simmons of Einstein Simplified will be teaching a six-week improv/comedy improv class Sept.

22-Nov. 3. (There’s no class on Oct. 13.) Contact Paul at dr.p@tds.net or 865-898-6448 for more info or to register.

Walk-ins are welcome. Cost is $100 for the six classes.

BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • October 27, 2016

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CALENDAR

$12 BACKPACKING 101: PACKS AND TENTS • River Sports Outfitters • 6:30PM • Make sure your backpack is fitted properly before your next adventure! Come hear one of our specialists going over the specifics of picking the right pack and tent to carry you well through your time in the woods. Join us for the whole backpacking series through the end of November. • FREE SUP YOGA • Concord Park • 7PM • Yoga on a SUP board?

Come join us every Thursday 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 Friday, Oct. 28 KNOX COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY WINDOWS 10 COMPUTER WORKSHOPS • Lawson McGee Public Library • 9:30AM • Knox County Public Library is pleased to announce a new series of computer workshops based on Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (865) 215-8723. • FREE AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Halls Senior Center • 12PM • Call 382-5822.

AARP DRIVER SAFETY CLASS • Asbury Place • 1PM • Call 382-5822.

Saturday, Oct. 29 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 SUP YOGA • Concord Park • 9AM • Yoga on a paddle board, every Saturday at 9 a.m. Cost is $25, including rental, or $12.50 if you already have you own board. Visit riversportsoutfitters.com. • $12.50-$25 KNOX MUSIC COALITION EPK WORKSHOP • OPEN CHORD • 3PM • Come and learn the do’s and don’ts of creating your Electronic Press Kit. We will be walking through the details of what an EPK is used for and how to best create on your your band or music project.

Sunday, Oct. 30 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE BALLET BARRE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 1PM • Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE OPEN LEVEL MODERN TECHNIQUE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 2PM • Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE IMPROVISATION CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 3:30PM • Visit circlemoderndance.com. • $10 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCTION SERIES • Cancer Support Community • 5PM • This Mindfulness series teaches practices which help develop the skill of self-compassion while living with the stressors of a cancer diagnosis. Research shows that increasing levels of self-compassion are correlated with a greater sense of wellbeing, lower anxiety and depression levels, maintenance of good health habits and more satisfying interpersonal relationships. RSVP. 865-546-4661.

All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

ACROKNOX FOUNDATIONAL ACROYOGA • World’s Fair Park • 5:30PM • Visit acroknox.com. • $5 BEGINNING BRIDGE LESSONS • Knoxville Bridge Center • 1:30PM • Contact Jo Anne Newby at (865} 539-4150 or email KnoxvilleBridge@gmail.com. • $5 Monday, Oct. 31 28

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 5:30PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

BEGINNER MODERN BELLY DANCE • Broadway Academy of Performing Arts • 6PM • Tribal fusion belly dance is a modern blend of traditional belly dance infused with hip-hop, modern dance, and more to create a new, unique dance form. Each class will include an invigorating warm-up designed to increase flexibility and strength followed by an overview of posture, isolations, and basic footwork. At the end of class we put the moves together in a fun and simple combination. No dance experience is necessary. • $13 KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING BOOT CAMP • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining. com. • $15 BEGINNING CHEN-STYLE TAI CHI • Breezeway Yoga Studio • 8:15PM • An eight-week introductory-level training with Shifu Russell Sauls in the original form of Tai Chi. Chen style is significantly more dynamic than most other styles while expressing the mindful, fluid movement for which Tai Chi is famous. No experience necessary for this beginners’ series. Begins Monday, Oct. 10. $120 for the eight-week series. Visit breezewayyoga.com or email russellsauls@gmail.com for more info • $120 Tuesday, Nov. 1 OPEN PROFESSIONAL-LEVEL CONTEMPORARY DANCE CLASS • Emporium Center for Arts and Culture • 9:30AM • Taught by Harper Addison. First class is free. Class is designed to develop a well-rounded set of technical skills as well as encourage individual artistic expression. Her movement style and choreography highlight dynamic quality changes, level changes, and movement through space. • $10 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.

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 KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING PILATES • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • Every Tuesday and Thursday. First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining.com. • $4 BEGINNING BRIDGE LESSONS • Knoxville Bridge Center • 6PM • Contact Jo Anne Newby at (865} 539-4150 or email KnoxvilleBridge@gmail.com. • $5 Wednesday, Nov. 2 AARP DRIVER SAFETY SMART DRIVER CLASS • Oak Ridge Senior Center • 9:30AM • Call (865) 382-5822.

KNOX COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY WINDOWS 10 COMPUTER WORKSHOPS • Cedar Bluff Branch Library • 1PM • Knox County Public Library is pleased to announce a new series of computer workshops based on Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system. Reservations are required and can be made by calling (865) 215-8723. • FREE 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.

BEGINNER MODERN BELLY DANCE • Broadway Academy of

Performing Arts • 6PM • Tribal fusion belly dance is a modern blend of traditional belly dance infused with hip-hop, modern dance, and more to create a new, unique dance form. Each class will include an invigorating warm-up designed to increase flexibility and strength followed by an overview of posture, isolations, and basic footwork. At the end of class we put the moves together in a fun and simple combination. No dance experience is necessary. • $13 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, Nov. 3 AARP DRIVER SAFETY SMART DRIVER CLASS • Asbury Place • 9AM • Call (865) 382-5822.

AARP DRIVER SAFETY SMART DRIVER CLASS • Oak Ridge Senior Center • 9:30AM • Call (865) 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 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 • Visit knoxvillecapoeira.org. • $10 KNOXVILLE PERSONAL TRAINING PILATES • Beaver Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church • 6:30PM • Every Tuesday and Thursday. First class is free. Call (865) 622-3103 or visit knoxvillepersonaltraining.com. • $4 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 COMEDY IMPROV CLASS • Broadway Academy of Performing Arts • 7PM • Paul Simmons of Einstein Simplified will be teaching a six-week improv/comedy improv class Sept. 22-Nov. 3. (There’s no class on Oct. 13.)

Contact Paul at dr.p@tds.net or 865-898-6448 for more info or to register. Walk-ins are welcome. Cost is $100 for the six classes.

BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 SUP YOGA • Concord Park • 7PM • Yoga on a SUP board?

Come join us every Thursday 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

MEETINGS

Thursday, Oct. 27 ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS/DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES • The Birdhouse • 6PM • A 12-step meeting for adults who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes. The group offers a safe space for emotional healing. Contact Laura at 706-621-2238 or lamohendricksll@gmail.com for more

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Thursday, October 27 - Sunday, November 6 information or visit the international ACA website at adultchildren.org. • FREE Saturday, Oct. 29 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 • For information call 865-497-2753 or email community@narrowridge.org. • FREE Monday, Oct. 31 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, Nov. 1 KNOXVILLE COMMUNITY STEP UP • Beck Cultural Exchange Center • 11AM • Do you have an incarcerated relative, friend, or loved one? Do you need a support system to keep your relative, friend, or loved one from going or returning to prison? Then come and join us! Our goal is to connect ex-offenders to established organizations offering the needed services that will provide the support and resources to prevent them from re-entry into the prison system.

Membership is a one-time fee of $5.

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 STFK SCIENCE CAFE • Knoxville Zoo • 5:30PM • A free monthly discussion of science-related topics, hosted by the Spirit and Truth Fellowship of Knoxville. Email rsvp@knoxsciencecafe. org. • FREE

DER GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS STAMMTISCH • Los Amigos • 6PM • A weekly gathering for Germans and anyone interested in German culture and the German language. • FREE THREE RIVERS! EARTH FIRST! • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • 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 Thursday, Nov. 3 NAACP • Beck Cultural Exchange Center • 6PM • The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Join the fight for freedom by becoming a member of the NAACP. Regular individual annual membership rates vary.

CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT GROUP • Cancer Support Community • 6PM • 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.

CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY BREAST CANCER NETWORKER • Thompson Cancer Survivor Center West • 6PM • This drop-in group is an opportunity for women who have or have had breast cancer to come together to exchange information, offer support, education and encouragement. Bring your favorite seasonal snack to share. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer.

CALENDAR

ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS/DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES • The Birdhouse • 6PM • A 12-step meeting for adults who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes. The group offers a safe space for emotional healing. Contact Laura at 706-621-2238 or lamohendricksll@gmail.com for more information or visit the international ACA website at adultchildren.org. • FREE KNOXVILLE WRITERS’ GUILD • Central United Methodist Church • 7PM • The Knoxville Writers’ Guild exists to facilitate a broad and inclusive community for area writers, provide a forum for information, support and sharing among writers, help members improve and market their writing skills and promote writing and creativity. A $2 donation is requested.

Additional information about KWG can be found at www.

KnoxvilleWritersGuild.org.

BLACK LIVES MATTER • The Birdhouse • 7:30PM • #BlackLivesMatter is working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. Visit blacklivesmatterknoxville.org. • FREE

ETC.

Thursday, Oct. 27 COMMUNITY PARTNERS PINTS FOR A PURPOSE • Little River Trading Co. (Maryville) • 5PM • Join us for a monthly beer event to benefit local nonprofits and try out local and regional breweries. This month’s Pints With a Purpose, sponsored by Little River Trading Company, the Blount Partnership, and Keen, features Black Horse beer; proceeds benefit Appalachian Bear Rescue. Visit littlerivertradingco. com. • FREE Friday, Oct. 28 LAKESHORE PARK FARMERS MARKET • Lakeshore Park • 3PM • FREE TOOTSIE TRUCK FUNGI FORAGER DINNER • Central Collective • 7PM • Join Tootsie Truck and Whitey Hitchcock, aka the Fungi

Forager, for a locally sourced six-course meal. Visit TootsieTruck.com or thecentralcollective.com. • $75 Saturday, Oct. 29 OAK RIDGE FARMERS MARKET • Historic Jackson Square • 8AM • 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 ARTS AND ANTIQUES IN JACKSON SQUARE • Historic Jackson Square • 9AM • For more info visit jacksonsquareoakridge. org. • FREE KNOXVILLE ZOMBIE WALK • Market Square • 3PM • Creature Seeker’s Dark Market is bringing the Knoxville Zombie Walk back to life. This year we are collecting items for Knoxville Pays It Forward, helping families in need and in crisis. So bring out your best zombie attire and take over downtown for a great cause. We will have vendors, live music, and braiiiiiins. Event starts at 3pm, the walk starts at 5:30pm with a killer afterparty at Scruffy City Hall following the walk. • FREE Tuesday, Nov. 1 EBENEZER ROAD FARMERS MARKET • Ebenezer United Methodist Church • 3PM • FREE Wednesday, Nov. 2 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. Visit marketsquarefarmersmarket.org. • FREE

Send your events to calendar@knoxmercury.com

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October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 29

’BYE

At This Point

October Surprise Nature offers an antidote

BY STEPHANIE PIPER

E

very day that I wake up and find it’s still October feels like a small, beautifully wrapped gift. I want to plant myself on a corner like a street preacher and recite Keats’ “Ode to Autumn.” I want to grab people by the arm and say, look. It’s happening again. The woods are draped in the muted colors of a medieval tapestry.

The haphazard bouquets of purple ironweed and Michelmas daisies bloom in the roadside ditches. The air smells like kudzu blossoms. The elegiac light has returned. Despite the scorching summer, my favorite month is here, complete with mists and mellow fruitfulness.

And not a moment too soon. I am in urgent need of an antidote for the current political season. The steady drip of acid is eating away at my always fragile peace of mind. I’m considering a media fast until mid-November, maybe longer. The only October surprise I want is the maple in my front yard retaining its

perfect flame color for an entire week.

There was a time when I took nature for granted. Scarlet leaves and spring orchards in blossom were lovely to look at, but never prompted much reflection. The idea that such sights could comfort and inspire seemed hopelessly 19th century to me. Though I dutifully plowed through Wordsworth and Keats, I preferred poems about love and passion and loss. Enough with the daffodils and the nightingales and the violet by a mossy stone.

But living in Manhattan for six years, I began to miss the leafy village where I grew up, the smell of wood smoke, the rustle of leaves underfoot.

Each fall, I looked forward to weekend excursions out of the city, drives along the Hudson to West Point or Bear Mountain, jaunts upstate for apple picking. The October scenery calmed my city nerves and refreshed my spirit. I came home and dug out the Golden Treasury and gave Word-

BY MATTHEW FOLTZ-GRAY

30

KNOXVILLE MERCURY October 27, 2016

sworth and Keats another look.

Maybe this poetry of earth thing was more than an antique notion.

We moved to Chicago, where fall is a split-second interval between brutal heat and epic blizzards. I learned to make the most of every brief October day, dragooning my children into nature walks on the Green Bay Trail and driving to farms in Waukegan to buy far too many pumpkins. By the time Halloween rolled around with its attendant snow flurries, I had banked enough October to see me through the winter.

And then we came to Knoxville, highly touted for its extravagant spring. Fall was about football.

Autumn leaves were secondary, a decorative afterthought. No one mentioned that October would take my breath away, that the days would linger and the light would call up the past and fill me with longing. They forgot to tell me about how the lake looks in the early morning, ringed with rust and amber trees, how the deer in my backyard woods move out of the mist and gaze at me without

fear or judgment.

The poet Wendell Berry writes often about the restorative power of nature. In “The Peace of Wild Things,” he echoes my current state of mind, the 3 a.m. dread about what the future may hold for my children and grandchildren. He speaks of finding respite in “the presence of still water,” and “coming into the peace of wild things, who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief.”

I turn off the TV with a final, decisive click. I step out into the morning and watch the red flight of a cardinal, the slow, meditative descent of a single bright leaf. I unwrap the gift of another October day. I will handle it gently and store it with care.

I need it to last.

The only October surprise I want is the maple in my front yard retaining its perfect flame color for an entire week. ◆ Stephanie Piper’s At This Point examines the mystery, absurdity, and persistent beauty of daily life. She has been a newspaper reporter, editor, and award-winning columnist for more than 30 years.

The only October surprise I want is the maple in my front yard retaining its perfect flame color for an entire week.

’BYE

BY IAN BLACKBURN AND JACK NEELY

Ian will email you this puzzle Tuesday afternoon.

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JOBS

COMMUNITY

WHOLE FOODS CHEF NEEDED. - No experience necessary. Sprouting, fermenting, dehydrating skills helpful. Flexible PT schedule. 865-588-1010

ILLUMINATIONS METAPHYSICAL CENTER AND ART GALLERY presents, visionary fine artist, Eva Sullivan.

October 29, 2016 5-7:pm.

8078 Kingston Pike Suite 119 Knoxville.

865-801-9194.

NOW HIRING! - Knoxville’s Largest Wine, Spirits and Craft Beer store is now hiring positive, enthusiastic individuals for PT and FT Stock, and Supervisory positions. All Shifts available. $10+/hr. Send resume to matt@ mcscrooges.com

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CAPTAIN - i s a 4 year old Siamese / mix who’s absolutely gorgeous! Just look at his bright blue eyes! He’s already been fixed and is ready to go home today! Visit Young-Williams Animal Center / call 865-2156599 for more information.

PUMPKINS & PITBULLS - Young-Williams Animal Center is celebrating National Pit Bull Awareness Month by reducing the adoption fee for pit bulls & mixes to $20. We will be providing education, outreach & other specials throughout the month. We will offer spay/neuter surgeries and a free microchip for pit bulls & pit bull mixes for only $20. Surgeries can be scheduled by calling Young-Williams Animal Center’s Spay / Neuter Solutions at 865-215-6677.

Visit Young-Williams Animal Center / call 865-215-6599 for more information.

PRINCESS- is came in with a severe wound on her head, but with a little TLC is healing very well.

She’s a three month old affectionate kitty ready to find a permanent, loving home Visit Young-Williams Animal Center / call 865-215-6599 for more information.

KEEGAN-is a 10 year old Australian Cattle Dog who is fixed and ready to go home! He gets along well with other dogs and is a very playful, loving gentleman.Visit Young-Williams Animal Center / call 865-215-6599 for more information.

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October 27, 2016

KNOXVILLE MERCURY 31

Thank you

for voting us the Top Cosmetology School again this year!

Knoxville’s #1 choice for Cosmetology School since 1930.

TSB will prepare you for the real world.

TSB graduate, nate farmer, helping our students perfect their Butch Cuts.

Take advantage of our FREE BUTCH CUTS during the 2016 regular football season. tennesseeschoolofbeauty.com | (865) 588-7878

TSB helped me work on KNoxville Fashion Week and local photoshoots.