Each year for many years, the East Tennessee Historical Society, in conjunction with the Knox County Public Library has presented a history fair in Krutch Park. Disrupted by the pandemic, the groups have re-imagined the event...
Founded in 1974 as Knoxville Heritage, Knox Heritage did not have a paid director until 2003. With the recent decision of Todd Morgan to move to another challenge, the board of the organization turned to Christine...
If you didn’t know, you’d likely be surprised that the organization that brings the Big Ears Festival to Knoxville each March has operated with only three full-time employees. Executive Director Ashley Capps is supported by Director...
How do you sum up a life that was both integral to a creative community while largely unknown outside those at the center of that moment in history? An attempt to present glimpses of the person...
A new campground is opening soon in an amazing spot bordering Ijams, Marie Myers Park, and Baker Creek Preserve. Just off the road at 4507 Sevierville Pike, the site includes sixteen wooded acres with wetlands. Trails...
There are two spaces beneath Lox Salon at 103 West Jackson Avenue, one of which is occupied by ACF Jewelry, which opened in January 2021. The other space remained vacant past the point that other spaces...
Local artist, long-time downtown figure, and friend to many, Paris Woodhull is taking a big step in her career. She will open a space at 121 South Gay Street. The space, which most recently included Painting...
(Ed. Note: Today’s article is written by contributing author Heather Ryerson.) The Moody’s are at it again. Paul and Ashley Moody emerged onto the Knoxville food truck scene with the ever popular Lanai Hawaiian Food Truck...
516 and 520 Vine Avenue After a period of semi-quiet, several items of interest for downtown development have emerged. Some of the details involved announced developments while others portend possible future development. Taken together, the three...
From time to time since 2014, I’ve used a graphic on this website that shows how dense downtown buildings were packed in around the mid-1930s and how much density we lost between then and 2014. Over...
I get questions all the time. For years a consistent thread of those questions has been about issues surrounding the homeless population. There are popular questions about parking and a downtown grocery store. When we experienced...
I’m sorry about the qualifier in the caption, but I’m a bit cautious when it comes to the Century Building. It’s a beautiful building that, by all rights of downtown development, should have been a slam-dunk...
Thirteen years living downtown and I’d never been to Irish Fest until this weekend. Was it the August heat that kept me away? The trek up the hill or that it falls in travel season? I’m...
If you want your event included, please make a Facebook event, invite me (Alan Sims – you’ll have to friend me) and it will be included. I need enough lead time that the list can be...
If you want your event included, please make a Facebook event, invite me (Alan Sims – you’ll have to friend me) and it will be included. I need enough lead time that the list can be...
That’s really the best word for it: Joy. Joy in the dancing, the drumming, and the smiling faces of so many children who had worked so hard to prepare for their performances. The festival, which skipped...
In the articles I’ve written over the last year regarding homelessness in the city, one of the themes has been the issue of drug addiction and the perception that it has increased and is more open....
I’ve never endorsed political candidates on this webpage. I’ve interviewed them a number of times, and covered events and forums, always attempting simply to present the facts and urge every eligible voter to get out and...
It was just over four months ago that I gave the most recent COVID-19 update. While I’m not picking up regular COVID updates again, it seemed a good moment to bring up the topic once more....
Many of you know Art Carmichael. As much as anyone, he is a part of the fabric of downtown. A downtown resident for years, I first met Art, I believe, at the Just Ripe Half Birthday...