OK. Here’s the deal.
You pay $50.
You go to the beautiful-in-any-season Hunter Valley Farm. You select a bowl out of hundreds created by generous East Tennessee artisans. You eat cheese and drink wine while bidding on a better-than-usual silent auction (mostly one-of-the-kind products also donated by local artisans).
You fill your beautiful new bowl with one of [...]

Filed under: Events, Knoxville | 3 Comments »

There are all kinds of fancy fundraisers for the Knoxville Symphony: the elegant Crystal Ball, dinners and lunches in fine homes, and special private performances by visiting guest artists.
But my favorite one of all is a simple pot luck supper held in a church meeting hall early on a Sunday night. Florescent lights, paper napkins and [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville, Music | 2 Comments »

It is a real thrill to have a progressive dinner when everyone lives within walking distance. What better place for that than downtown?
At the end of this post, we’ll share some tips we’ve learned about how to have a great progressive dinner. But first, come along to a downtown version a bunch of us had just last Thursday. [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville | 7 Comments »

The Evergreen Ball, a fundraiser for Friends of the Smokies, was held at Cherokee Country Club Feb. 12th after being postponed from its original date by inclement weather.
Of course there was the usual silent auction, dinner, live auction, dancing routine. But my favorite thing about it each year is that the Chillbillies are usually the performers. Yes, that [...]

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

From Great Danes to chihuahuas, the dogs definitely had their day in downtown Knoxville on Saturday. The third annual Mardi Growl parade and festival - a fund-raiser for Young-Williams Animal Center - attracted more than 300 canines and their humans. And one cat.
Although one wag described the event as “The Watch Where You Step Festival,” [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville | 7 Comments »

We were a little nervous when former Sheriff Tim Hutchison and state Sen. Tim Burchett arrived at the Moxley Carmichael party at about the same time last Friday. The two men are locked in a not-all-that-friendly race to be the next Knox County mayor. But all was well. Soon the room filled with many other [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville, Media, Politics, Public Relations | 6 Comments »

While everyone else was getting ready for the Super Bowl Sunday, about a dozen folks were having a very unique Knoxville experience.
Members of the Upper Left Book Club (more on them later) and a few hangers-on gathered in a West Knoxville restaurant following a matinee showing of “That Evening Sun” for a Q & A [...]

Filed under: Art, Knoxville, Theater | 5 Comments »

Suddenly, everybody is drinking the beer that my dad used to drink in the ’70s. And they aren’t people even remotely resembling my dad.
The hip beer these days is, of all things, Pabst Blue Ribbon.
Our great client, Cherokee Distributing Company, distributes Pabst in this area. While Pabst sales were up nationwide by 18 percent last [...]

Filed under: Knoxville, Uncategorized | 12 Comments »

Man, this is a good idea!
Some women friends donate $200 a piece through their women’s giving circle. Once a year they select a cause to support with those funds. In this case, it’s the SMART Girls program at the Boys and Girls Clubs. Then they celebrate by getting together to shop at a friendly upscale [...]

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

A year and a half ago, the Coq Chante orphanage in Haiti got its first light bulb. To celebrate, the some 18 children there stayed up until midnight playing board games.
The bulb was powered by solar panels on the roof. The children also had filtered water to drink. And someone made sure their education continued.
Who [...]

Filed under: Journalism, Knoxville, Media | 6 Comments »