Mahasti Vafaie and her enthusiastic staff at the Tomato Head on Market Square played host to about 80 folks on Monday for one of the most charming fundraisers we’ve ever attended.
The event was called “Raise the Roots.” The beneficiary was Beardsley Community Farm, which is an urban demonstration farm in the Mechanicsville neighborhood where workers from [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville | 6 Comments »

Of course people in the suburbs go to brunch. But, I’m telling you from experience, nothing beats rolling out of bed, making yourself moderately presentable, grabbing your newspapers and taking a two-minute stroll to meet your regular Sunday brunch buddies. That’s just one litte thing that living downtown offers.
Our brunch yesterday was bittersweet, though, because we are [...]

Filed under: Business, Downtown, Knoxville | 6 Comments »

Alan and I have put our house where our mouth is!
On Monday we sold our home on Cherokee Boulevard in Sequoyah Hills and became full-time residents of downtown Knoxville. This was the culmination of a process that included a number of serendipitous events along with a daily growing passion for the downtown lifestyle.
Here’s the deal.
Twelve [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Historic preservation, Knoxville, Media | 31 Comments »

This is a recipe for a party to have every year if you want to keep a diverse group of people together for the long haul. The reason I know about it is that my Leadership Knoxville class, the Class of ‘93, has been doing it for the past 17 years and we are a more [...]

Filed under: Events, Knoxville | 10 Comments »

The old saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” could not apply more aptly to anyone than it does to Evelyn Hazen. Born into a wealthy Knoxville family in 1899, Hazen was the first woman to file suit against a former lover for breach of promise to marry. And she won the suit [...]

Filed under: Events, Historic preservation, Knoxville, Media, Politics | 4 Comments »

Barbara Dooley, the mother of UT football coach Derek Dooley and the wife of legendary University of Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley, says her son has her under a gag order in Knoxville — she’s not allowed to do TV interviews.
But that hasn’t stopped her from speaking her mind to

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville, UT sports | 6 Comments »

It’s been more than a week and I still can’t get that darned song out of my head!
I was among the some 800 people at the Knoxville Convention Center last Thursday to hear two-time Grammy winner Peabo Bryson bring the crowd to its feet during the Knoxville Area Urban League’s annual Equal Opportunity Awards Gala. [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville, Music | 1 Comment »

I wondered if I were the only one thinking it.
Then I heard the woman beside me almost whisper it under her breath as she watched Bill Haslam on the TV monitor delivering his acceptance speech Tuesday night.
“Do we need to start getting used to saying, ‘Haslam for President?’” she asked.
A veteran political reporter I knew [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville, Politics | 4 Comments »