For many years around here, the basic charity fund-raising event entailed cocktails and a silent auction followed by dinner, a live auction, and dancing to an out-of-town band. Or, as one wag said recently, “You pay to get in and then you pay to get out!”
Today, it seems, the paradigm has shifted and the newest [...]

Filed under: Events, Food, Knoxville, Music | 8 Comments »

Turkey Creek Public Market opened at 10 this morning and I’m still recovering! What a whirlwind of commerce that place is! It’s a combination of Southern Market, First Friday and Tennessee Valley Fair all rolled into one, if you can imagine. Whew! And it will be open every weekend. Click here for the website with [...]

Filed under: Business, Events, Knoxville, Music, Politics | No Comments »

If you don’t have fun on First Friday in downtown Knoxville, you just don’t want to have fun! The sheer diversity of offerings and of visitors is amazing. There truly is something for everyone.
Held the first Friday of every month, this event is when gallery owners and shopkeepers of every stripe literally fling open their [...]

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

Election years always provide the best material for the good folks from the Society of Professional Journalists who are writing and producing the annual Front Page Follies shows. The shows, performed largely by local journalists and PR people, are designed to raise money for journalism scholarships. The strategy: Serve cocktails and dinner. Have an auction. [...]

Filed under: Events, Journalism, Knoxville, Media, Music, Politics, Public Relations | 7 Comments »

When Mike Strickland, the CEO of Knoxville-based Bandit Lites, came to speak recently to the Executive Women’s Association, I knew it would be interesting. But I figured that, since he also is the chairman of the board of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and I am a member of that board, his talk would be [...]

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There were pizza biscuits, bologna biscuits, orange cranberry streusel biscuits, and biscuits with jalapenos in them. There were celebrity chefs, including Michelle Bernstein and Nathalie Dupree, in addition to our own great chefs from Blackberry Farm. There were cooking demonstrations, bake-offs and a Mr. and Miss Biscuit contest. A $150-per-ticket dinner Friday and a $125-per-ticket [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville, Media, Music | 8 Comments »

Last year when the Market Square Farmers’ Market opened, it seemed as if the only things available were lettuces and green onions. But this year is entirely different. From beautiful strawberries and broccoli to delicious jams and breads, you literally could feed your family from the bounty of local farmers. And it’s still April.
The [...]

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

One of the best things about the Knoxville Symphony League’s Elegant Dining events is that you get to see places you might not otherwise visit. On a beautiful Sunday earlier this month, the place was the Reserve at Bluebird Hill near Lenoir City.

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

Up until this year, Oysterfest, a fundraiser benefiting Child Help Tennessee, always has been held on the same night as Center Stage, another fundraiser benefiting Children’s Hospital. That has been a particular shame because, not only are they both fun events benefiting worthy causes, but they are both benefiting children’s causes.
This year for the first [...]

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More than 700 well-clad (and well-heeled!) folks packed the Knoxville Convention Center last Saturday for Center Stage, the annual big benefit for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital. Tickets were $300 each to see veteran 1980s rockers Huey Lewis and the News. After an elegant cocktail hour and a fantastic meal of filet mignon and scalloped potatoes [...]

Filed under: Downtown, Events, Knoxville, Music | 12 Comments »