Culture
Knoxville Native John Kelley Has Second Work Acquired by the Knoxville Museum of Art
I recently had a conversation with John Kelley, a Knoxville and New York artist. We spoke by phone, he from what he calls his southern studio, the home he grew up in and inherited from his...
Cal Johnson Park Basketball Court: A Splash of Color for the City
The Orchid Awards, which I wrote about last week, prompted me to tune in to a couple of projects I had not spotlighted. Cal Johnson Recreation Center, at 507 Hall of Fame Drive, received an infusion...
Keep Knoxville Beautiful Announces Orchid Nominees
Keep Knoxville Beautiful has announced their annual nominees for the Orchid Awards given annually to improvements to our city in a range of categories. This year marks the 39th year for the awards which are given...
Christmas Windows in the City, A Second Look
I’m leaving you with another round of Christmas windows in the city. I hope you find joy and peace in however you decide to celebrate. I hope everyone celebrates safely. I’ll put out a weekly planner...
Business
Bernadette’s Crystal Gardens Dazzles at Every Turn
Scott West’s telling of the saga of Bernadette’s Crystal Gardens is a telling of intentions, some of them very good, which all went awry in different directions. It started with his pronouncement, in the original June...
A Very Different Babalu to Open This Week Under New Ownership
Fun times are once more awaiting at Babalu on Gay Street. The restaurant, originally opened in November 2015, announced its permanent closure in the early days of the pandemic last year. After a very brief interlude,...
400 Block Merchants Respond to Changes in Promenade Garage
A few weeks ago, I wrote about changes to the Promenade Garage. The Knoxville Utilities Board, which owns the garage, recently changed management from the Public Building Authority to Premier Parking. Ending its agreement with the...
How Well Has Knoxville Tourism Survived the Pandemic?
We all remember last March when hotels suddenly emptied and it seemed the world stopped traveling all at once. There was no way to anticipate what awaited in the coming months, but serious changes were clearly...
Development
Marble City Market Coming to Regas Square
In June 2019, the first residents moved into Regas Square Condominiums. Subsequently, the vast majority of the 101 units have become occupied, with a few remaining units available for purchase (check them out here). Notably, the...
City Council and County Commission Talk Baseball
Mayor Kincannon began the meeting by expressing support for the project. She touted the development possibilities and the value to the community. She said her team has been looking at the issue for the last year...
Youth Freedom Passes Announced
The City of Knoxville in conjunction with KAT and the Knox County Schools announced a new program providing free transportation on all Knoxville Area Transit buses. The program applies to Knox County Students from sixth grade...
Downtown Garage Ends Free Night and Weekend Parking
The Prominade Garage, located on State Street behind Mast General Store, Downtown Grill and Brewery and other retail locations on the 400 block of Gay Street, has changed management companies and will no longer offer free...
Events
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (2/28 – 3/9/2021)
As events are opening up, we’re listing a combination of virtual and live events. The rules are the same – if you want your event included, please make a Facebook event, invite me (Alan Sims –...
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (2/21 – 3/2/2021)
As events are opening up, we’re listing a combination of virtual and live events. The rules are the same – if you want your event included, please make a Facebook event, invite me (Alan Sims –...
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (2/14 – 2/23/2021)
As events are opening up, we’re listing a combination of virtual and live events. The rules are the same – if you want your event included, please make a Facebook event, invite me (Alan Sims –...
“Much Love” in the Time of COVID
Many of our holidays and celebrations have, necessarily, been very different this year. As much as any other holiday, Valentines Day is about connections, expressions of love and usually time with a special person, if we...
Life
COVID-19: 2/26/2021 Update (State, Local, KCS, UTK + UTK Briefing)
Welcome to Friday and 40 days and 40 nights of rain headed our way. Or maybe six, but it’s a lot. I usually try to find some little hook to give you in front of each...
COVID-19: 2/25/2021 Update (State, Local, KCS, UTK + Health Department Briefing)
Two beautiful days to grab and enjoy before the monsoons set it. I hope you got your vitamin D. It does feel as if spring is trying to happen and that, combined with the drastically improving...
Knox County Board of Health Eases Restaurant and Bar Curfew
The meeting began with Dr. Buchanan sharing current information regarding, vaccinations, the current statistics and benchmarks. I covered the first two in my previous article. She said that Knox County leads the other metro areas in...
COVID-19: 2/24/2021 Update (State, Local, UTK, KCS)
“You haven’t taken me to Europe.” So began our first conversation this morning. The five-year-old seemed unhappy about that fact. We’ve talked about maps, continents, countries, and cities over the last several months. We have talked...