At 6:45 on Tuesday night, I was cooking dinner (if you can believe it) when the phone rang. Against my better judgment, I picked it up. Sure enough. A political call.
“I’m sorry to call at dinner time,” the friendly woman said. “But I wanted to remind you to vote in the city election November third.” [...]

Filed under: Knoxville, Politics, Public Relations | No Comments »

Maestro Brian Salesky, executive director of the Knoxville Opera Company, grew up in New York City in a household that played two kinds of music: gospel and opera.
Therefore, he said Sunday it was a “dream come true” when he was able to team up with Jeanie Turner Melton, the choir director of East Knoxville’s Mount [...]

Filed under: Events, Knoxville, Media, Music | 5 Comments »

When is pumping gasoline fun? When it’s for charity and you have a bunch of high-spirited local celebrities doing it!
That was the case the first three days of this week during Pilot Pumpers, the annual United Way fundraiser when more than 70 media folks and politicians pumped gas for customers at Knoxville area Pilots. Pilot [...]

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The Market Square Farmers’ Market is winding down for the season. Mums have been offered for several weeks now and mostly fall crops are displayed in the farmers’ booths: greens, peppers, winter squashes, gourds and pumpkins. It’s been a wonderful season. Here are some highlights from the past spring, summer and fall:

Filed under: Art, Downtown, Knoxville | 3 Comments »

“I’m going to play a song from my very first album back in 1982,” announced crooner Jeffrey Osborne who played to a sold-out benefit for the Knoxville Area Urban League at the Knoxville Convention Center Thursday night. “I’ve sung this song about a million times. And it always puts a smile on my face - [...]

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I know. It seems pretty clear. You hear it all the time. Last week at the Clarence Brown Theatre production of “The Flu Season” (which was excellent, by the way), they said photography and audio and video recording of the performance were strictly prohibited. No big deal.
But they didn’t search purses and confiscate cameras as [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Knoxville, Music, Theater | 20 Comments »

The invitation said Monte Kiffin was to be the guest speaker Tuesday at the United Way’s Tocqueville Society dinner.
The party, which is an annual “thank you” to those who contribute $10,000 or more to the United Way, as well as a few prospects, was held at Jim and Kay Clayton’s lovely home, aptly named “Lake [...]

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Everywhere you looked in downtown Knoxville Sunday afternoon, you would see people wearing white stickers and carrying white booklets strolling in the mild weather.
They were on Market Square, in the Old City, and even on the Clinch Avenue Bridge. More than 600 of them.
They were the enthusiastic participants in the City People Home Tour. Those booklets held [...]

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The other day, Rusty Coats, the new vice president for content and marketing for the E.W. Scripps Company, shed some light on the recent reorganization of the firm’s newspaper division, which includes the Knoxville News Sentinel.
And, he revealed that it centers around a recognition by the company that there have been “tectonic shifts” in the [...]

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On a weekend when the UT Pride of the Southland Marching Band was playing the mournful “Tennessee Waltz” following the Vols’ loss to Auburn, the rest of Knoxville was enjoying its usual diverse musical buffet. I just can’t believe all the live music that goes on here. If you can’t find some good music in [...]

Filed under: Art, Events, Knoxville, Music | No Comments »