Just a Thursday: Theater announces season; company celebrates 20th! Knoxville loves reasons to party!

Posted on August 4, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

Our friend Terry Turner, the president and owner of All Occasions Party Rentals, couldn’t resist when a band member offered him a tambourine! And why should he? It was a celebration of his company’s 20th anniversary!

If I hear anyone say again that there’s nothing to do in Knoxville, I swear I will slap them. The problem is that there’s TOO MUCH to do! Take last night, for instance. We went to two fun things — and had to miss a third. All were in downtown Knoxville. No telling what was happening in the rest of the city!

First up: The River & Rail Theatre Company, headquartered in the Old City Performing Arts Center, had a fun and unique way to unveil its wonderful 2023-2024 season: A night of trivia and other contests broken up by the individual announcement of each upcoming production.

And, later in the evening, a few blocks away in the new Regas Square Events space on Depot Avenue, the event rentals company, All Occasions Party Rentals, celebrated its 20th year in operation under that name and current ownership. I love their slogan: “Where the Party Starts!” Continue reading →

Filed under: Business, Events, Theater | 4 Comments

Strong Stock Farm: An idyllic evening for a good cause

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

Knox Heritage volunteer Lisa Thomas offered arriving guests the evening’s signature cocktail: a watermelon ginger spritz. Refreshing!

“Scenic views at Strong Stock Farm,” the invitation said. I knew from experience they were not kidding! The event this past weekend was one of the “Summer Suppers” to benefit the preservation group Knox Heritage. And Strong Stock Farm is a treasure that I don’t often pass up the chance to visit.

It was as simple — but as impressive — a fundraiser as you’ve ever attended. Forty-eight guests enjoyed a fried chicken dinner on a farmhouse porch. Well-known local musicians were set up under a tent nearby, the host offered horse-drawn wagon rides to any takers, and the program consisted of a three-minute welcome and thank you to the hosts and volunteers. Fortunately, the temperature moderated on Saturday and settled at a comfortable 82 around dinner time.

Strong Stock Farm was established the same year Knoxville was settled — 1791. It is a sprawling 950-acre cattle ranch nestled along the Holston River in East Knox County with a view of both the Smoky Mountains and House Mountain. The same family has owned it for seven generations, and it is famous in culinary circles for the delicious beef produced from grass-fed Black Angus cattle raised there. Current owners Martha Kern and John Niceley are generous by sharing the stunning venue with non-profit organizations they support. Knox Heritage is lucky to be among those. Continue reading →

Filed under: Events, Historic preservation | 9 Comments

Tim Hill’s Council race creates a pretty fun little party!

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

From left, City Council candidate Tim Hill, Patricia Bible and Melissa and Doug White at a meet-and-greet last night in downtown Knoxville.

With the Knoxville political season in full swing, almost every party these days centers around a candidate. Alan and I were happy to host a meet-and-greet in our downtown condo last night for our friend Tim Hill, who is running for an at-large seat on City Council. Continue reading →

Filed under: Events, Politics | 7 Comments

Downtown dinner group salutes friend

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

Gay Lyons, left, and Martha Boggs during the dessert course of our downtown progressive dinner. Martha brought Gay a bottle of Harvey’s Bristol Cream as a result of a conversation they recently had about popular drinks from the 1970s!

Four couples who all live downtown occasionally stage progressive dinners, where each couple hosts a dinner course and we walk from home to home enjoying the food, camaraderie and the ambiance of downtown. We’ve been doing this for over 10 years.

Occasionally, we offer these dinners to a good cause as an auction item. So far, we’ve sold two for the benefit of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, two for the Knoxville Botanical Garden and one for the East Tennessee Historical Society.

But we decided last weekend to do it again for just ourselves. We often invite a guest or two to join us. This time we invited our friend Martha Boggs, the owner of Bistro at the Bijou, a go-to eatery (and drinkery!) for all of us. She brought her longtime pal and former rugby teammate, Delora Cook. Continue reading →

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Picnic lovers share fun to fund Lakeshore Park

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

Lyle Irish and Margie Nichols were among our little band of buddies who set up our blankets and chairs together.

Lord, this town loves a picnic. And I have to admit that I do, as well.

One of the best picnics every year is the annual fundraiser held each June as a benefit for Lakeshore Park. The view from the HGTV Overlook at Lakeshore just can’t be beat, although this year the mountains were obscured by the lingering smoke that hung in the air from Canadian wildfires. Still, it was beautiful.

I love that attendees are given the option of ordering their meals in advance from one of 11 participating restaurants and having them delivered straight to the picnic. Or they can opt to bring their own victuals. We have taken advantage of both options and they both worked out great. We had delicious tomato pie from Goodness to Go last year. This year, we brought our own Parisian tuna salad (we got the recipe from a bistro we visited in France several years ago) and enjoyed that, as well.

About 350 folks attended. All proceeds went directly to pay for maintenance and operations of Lakeshore Park. Continue reading →

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A very Knoxville Fourth of July

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

Our friend, City Council Member Janet Testerman, right, with her mother, Janet Testerman Crossley, at our first Fourth of July party of the day.

You know us. We love a big event. Rarely skip them.

But this year, it just felt more comfortable having a low-key Independence Day celebration with a close group of friends in the suburbs — followed by front row seats, so to speak, to the city of Knoxville’s fireworks show downtown.

How was your Fourth? Was it a blowout? Or pared down? Just wondered how everyone else was feeling.

We started in West Knoxville at the Westmoreland Hills home of our good friends Judith and Michael Foltz. Judith, the former director of special events for the city of Knoxville, now has her own events company. She loves to throw a party and has a great place to do it.

We ended the day at the beautiful downtown condo of Gay and Bill Lyons. It’s in a development called The Overlook and was featured on this year’s Downtown Home Tour. Located overlooking the Tennessee River and the Henley Bridge from which the fireworks were launched, it truly provided a “front row” viewing opportunity. Continue reading →

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Sweet solstice supper is gentle slide into summer

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

From left, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, her husband Ben Barton, Moody Altamimi, Sheryl Linck and Garry Conklin at the Summer Solstice dinner.

“Why go to Stonehenge when you can experience the Solstice amid the old stones at the Botanical Gardens?” the invitation queried.

“Why, indeed?” we asked ourselves. One other instruction on the invite: As part of the fun, we encourage guests to wear white!

With that, we were in! Continue reading →

Filed under: Food, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Realtors celebrate name change with a party!

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

Chris Hauck, left, and Jim Oakley at the celebration.

Lord knows I am friends with enough Realtors to know that they enjoy a good party! But, in this case, the celebration they held this past Tuesday was for a special cause. The Knoxville Area Association of Realtors unveiled its new name: East Tennessee Realtors, reflecting the fact that the group’s membership today spans 12 counties.

The Knoxville Area Association of Realtors has been in existence since 1912 when the Real Estate Board of Knoxville was chartered. In 1941, the name was changed to Knoxville Board of Realtors. In 1991, it became the Knoxville Association of Realtors and in 2003, the name was updated to Knoxville Area Association of Realtors to reflect its merger with the Anderson County Board of Realtors and the Cumberland County Association of Realtors.

Twenty years later, this past May, the National Association of Realtors approved the name change to East Tennessee Realtors at its national conference in Washington, D.C. Continue reading →

Filed under: Business, Knoxville | 1 Comment

Tour shows amazing options for downtown living

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

Want to know what it’s like to live downtown? Take the Downtown Home Tour when it rolls around next year — or keep reading to see what was on this year’s Home Tour. The beauty of it is that you will get to see all kinds of downtown living options — from apartments to large and small condos. And you’ll see all decorating styles — from high-end to funky and from packed-full-of-art to spare and elegant.

Homeowner Tom Goldsby lives with his wife, Kathie, on the sixth floor of The Overlook, located at 608 W. Hill Ave. Usually, he can see Mount LeConte from his balcony. But last weekend, the view was obscured by the smoke from the wildfires in Canada.

Every view is different, whether it’s of the Tennessee River and the Great Smoky Mountains or of the center city with all its hustle and bustle.

For 29 years — from 1990 to 2019 — the Downtown Home Tour was organized and benefited a group called City People, formed to connect those who lived, worked or played downtown. But last year, City People was dissolved, and the tour, which was suspended during the pandemic, did not start back up. Enter the East Tennessee Historical Society, which this year picked up the Downtown Home Tour and pulled it off last weekend.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Downtown, Knoxville | 11 Comments

Sweet P’s Uptown Corner: a sweet sneak peek!

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Cynthia Moxley

Sheryl Linck was one of the happy guests at the “sneak peek” at Sweet P’s Uptown Corner last night! She seems pleased with the lemon blueberry cake made by restaurant manager Gary Conrad.

Everyone knows that Knoxville loves a new restaurant. But, guess what! It also loves an existing restaurant that is reopening.

We found this out last night at the “sneak peek” of Sweet P’s Uptown Corner, located in Fountain City at 3029 Tazewell Pike, set to reopen at the end of the month. Thirty folks paid $150 each for a four-course meal with wine pairings — and a taste of a couple of new menu additions. It was a blast.

Sweet P’s Uptown Corner was closed last August after a speeding car crashed into it, destroying the front of the building and the dining room. The News Sentinel last month ran this update on the construction. But it was great to see the improvements in person.

Owner Chris Ford said the team has used the 10-month reconstruction period to fine tune the menu and will be offering several new brunch selections, including shrimp and Shelton Farms grits and grilled steak over smoked fingerling potatoes. Take a look at last night’s festive gathering — and the changes that will make one of our favorite eateries even better! Continue reading →

Filed under: Food, Knoxville | 15 Comments