Culture
Craighead-Jackson House Celebrates Renovations with Ribbon Cutting
As I first reported here a year ago, the Craighead-Jackson House, downtown’s fifth oldest structure and one of only five to have reached the 200 year mark has gotten a bit of a make over and...
Big Ears Announces Schedule and Line-Up for 2022
For some of us, it is hard to imagine a life without live music, including festivals. After the last year-and-a-half, that incredulity is nearly reversed — it’s almost hard to believe we can make plans to...
New Book Celebrates Knoxville Women
2020 marked the centennial of the passage of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote. Given the pivotal, last-minute role played by the state of Tennessee and by East Tennessee women...
A 3-Ring Circus Arrives at the Emporium
I caught a quiet weekday last week to slip into the Emporium to enjoy the September exhibitions. Opening night (always on First Friday) is a fun time to meet the artists, see friends, and enjoy the...
Business
Rocket Fizz is Open at 7 Market Square
A new store, Rocket Fizz, has opened on Market Square, offering retro and international candy, retro and unique soft drinks, toys, posters and more. The franchise was founded in 2007 and opened its first store in...
Knoxville Cycleboats to Launch in Two Weeks
A new business, Knoxville Cycleboats, will have its inaugural launch at Volunteer Landing Marina on Wednesday, September 15th. The idea is the brainchild of Chicago’s Chicago Electric Boat Company, which has previously offered rides for partiers on the...
Pretentious Glass Takes An Unexpected Journey: Television, Glasses and a Global Pandemic
The gallery at Pretentious Glass opened up within the last two weeks for the first time since mid-March 2020. For the time, they are open only Thursday through Saturday. Pretentious Glass and Pretentious Beer Company owner,...
Fai Thai Kitchen is Now Open
It didn’t take long for Fai and Nathanael Blais to get the action moved from the popular Fai Thai Food Truck into their new location at 522 South Gay Street. Barely more than two weeks after...
Development
Marriott Transforming Former Holiday Inn on Henley
Constructed as a Holiday Inn in anticipation of the 1982 World’s Fair, the hotel, along with the adjacent Tennessean came under new ownership in February 2019 and the former Holiday Inn is being changed into a...
All-Electric Buses Added to City Fleet
As promised earlier this year, electric buses have begun to join the fleet of buses deployed by Knoxville Area Transit. The buses were officially introduced to a small crowd on Thursday at Caswell Park. The two...
New Hotel Possible for the Old City
Local developer Nick Patel has made a direct public statement regarding stadium approval as it relates to surrounding development. The latest proposed hotel project for his Turkey Creek Hospitality Group is slated to sit on the...
Planning Commission Votes on Baseball Stadium and Gay Street Development
The Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission discussed proposed development for the baseball stadium and its surrounding area, as well as for the recently discussed new development on Gay Street. While there were numerous additional topics, but the...
Events
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (9/26-10/5/2021)
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 9/19-9/28/2021
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...
Big Ears Announces Schedule and Line-Up for 2022
For some of us, it is hard to imagine a life without live music, including festivals. After the last year-and-a-half, that incredulity is nearly reversed — it’s almost hard to believe we can make plans to...
Downtown Knoxville Ten Day Planner (9/12 – 9/21/2021)
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 –...
Life
COVID-19: 9/24/2021 Update
It’s Friday and to go along with that happy fact, there is quite a good bit of encouraging news this week at every level on the pandemic. For whatever reason or combination of reasons, this surge...
Open Letter From Downtown Resident Regarding Homeless Death
This past weekend, I received a text containing a copy of an email sent to, among others, Mayor Kincannon, Councilwoman Gwen McKenzie (6th District Councilperson), Betsy Henderson (6th district school board member), Mayor Jacobs, Becky Wade...
Park(ing) Day 2021
For five years, (here’s a look at the 2018 event) the East Tennessee American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the East Tennessee Community Design Center (ETCDC) has hosted Park(ing) Day. The annual event is designed to...
COVID-19: 9/21/2021 Update
The Tuesday report comes with some reason for optimism at the state and local level. While the numbers continue to be very bad, particularly in the state, some of the metrics are clearly improving, signaling, perhaps,...