Gatsby ladies, from left, Jennifer Roche, Kyle Anne Lang and Marilyn Cheek, staffed the refreshment table at the Great Gatsby Garden Party portion of the event. Cute!
It was a sellout at $150 per person a few Saturdays ago when 50 guests partied through time — four different decades to be exact — at Historic Westwood to benefit Knox Heritage.
One of the organization’s popular Summer Suppers, “Wanderlust at Westwood” as it was called, featured food, drink and entertainment from the Gilded Age, the Roaring Twenties, the Nifty Fifties and present day Knoxville — all experienced as it would have been like at the historic Kingston Pike mansion that today houses Knox Heritage.
At a time when the COVID numbers seemed to be waning a little, it was a delight to get out and experience music and camaraderie in the name of a good cause. I pray that people in our community opt to act responsibly and get vaccinated and follow the CDC guidelines so we can continue to have wonderful events and meaningful experiences. (Note that this event, mostly outdoors, was held prior to the CDC recently recommending wearing masks while indoors and practicing social distancing.)
Westwood, located at 3425 Kingston Pike, also is known as the Adelia Armstrong Lutz House. It was built in 1890 by John Lutz and his wife, artist Adelia Armstrong Lutz, on land given to them by Adelia’s father, Robert H. Armstrong. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
First stop was the sign-in tent where you received an appetizer of goat cheese balls with accompaniments and a “Wanderlust cocktail.” And a name tag, of course. I am lobbying for every event to have name tags! It’s helpful on so many levels!
Todd Morgan, here with Gay Lyons, is executive director of Knox Heritage.
Ran into these friends in the welcome tent. From left, Todd Steed, Heather Seiber, Becky Hancock and Mike Berry.
Marsha Grieve was passing brie bites!
Soon it was time to head into Westwood straight into the “Gilded Age!” There we met the artist for whom the house was built: Adelia Armstrong Lutz!
OK, so it was really Linda Williams, but she sure looked like Adelia!
Trey Ogle entertained with tunes from the Gilded Age, which ran from 1870 to 1900.
We ran into Debbie Emery, left, and Robin Smith in the Gilded Age!
Clay Easterly was serving sherry
Those brie bites and crustless pimento cheese and ham sandwiches were period foods.
It was fascinating to see these old bills of sale on a desk.
Regina Dean, left, of WUOT, and Teresa Scott of VIP Knoxville magazine.
Soon, it was time to move on — to the Nifty Fifties! We passed a sweet garden named for our late friend, Mickey Mallonee, who handled special events for Knox Heritage.
Pretty blooms.
The bee thought so, too!
We ran into Ben and Suzanne Parham near the garden.
And then, Jennifer Montgomery welcomed us to the Matheny Cottage and into the Nifty Fifties!
“I Love Lucy!” was playing on the TV!
Food was stuffed mushrooms and shrimp cocktails.
These three handsome hatted fellows were hanging out! From left, Todd Richesin, Bobby Brown and Chris McKenry.
Duane Grieve was serving up Tom Collins cocktails.
My snacks: shrimp cocktail and a Tom Collins. (I remember my grandparents used to drink those!)
Time to move on! This time to the Great Gatsby Garden Party!
That’s where we saw Marla and John Peterson staffing the buffet table.
And those three at the top of the blog post who were presiding over desserts.
And a champagne bar!
The setting was lovely.
From left, Linda Behrend and Scott and Christy Brooks.
These three were with GO! Contemporary Dance Works. I will put a snippet of their fun performance at the end of this post.
After that great respite, we headed back to the tent out front and to “Now Knoxville!”
Alan Carmichael, left, with Marcus Hall.
Folks were under the spell of the Brian Clay Jazz Trio, a popular group on the circuit here.
Brian Clay Jazz Trio.
Anne and Trent Primm.
Here’s the WUOT crew. From left, Jeff Taylor, Regina Dean, Todd Steed and Melony Dodson.
John and LeAnne Dougherty.
Michael Combs and Johnna Easter.
Dr. Richard and Mary Antonucci.
Dennis and Kim Denton.
OK, here’s that fun dance routine I mentioned! What a creative event!
It was a well-planned event, and the jazz trio was fabulous.
Looks like fun…and I agree about name tags!
Your coverage of Wanderlust at Westwood really captured the spirit of the evening. Knox Heritage events are always so much fun and the funds they raise help preserve Knoxville treasures. Thank you for supporting events that both entertain and educate.
This was such a fun event. I’ve missed the Summer Suppers. Kudos to the committee. There were a lot of moving parts. I had forgotten how delicious and refreshing a Tom Collins is. Probably had not had one since the 70’s!
This is an excellent article with great coverage of what must have been a fun event. Even though I no longer live in Knoxville, it was nice for me to see the old homestead full of life and enjoyment once again. My family and ancestors lived in Westwood from the time it was built in 1890 until 2010 when it was granted to Knox Heritage. I’m so glad that it is Knoxville’s to enjoy now as much as my family and I enjoyed it growing up. Thank you for covering the event. There will be many more in the future!
Great to see Gay Lyons, as her presence has been missed by Janie Adair and Albert Matheny. Gay worked so effectively, in the earliest days, to get Westwood restored so that events like this could happen. Having attended a the first of the time travel Westwood suppers, I think this is a superb event to continue to offer!
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