Sometimes there are a bunch of things that deserve to be highlighted, but don’t quite need a full article to do it. Sometimes I simply get overrun with great plugs for events and they slip by me. Here are some of the cool things I’ve bumped into lately that deserve a special mention and consideration for your attention and support. I bet you find at least one thing on the list that grabs you.
APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUNDS
The City of Knoxville is now accepting proposals from owners of historic residential or commercial buildings seeking funding for property-improvement projects through the Historic Preservation Fund program. The request for proposals (RFP) for Funding for Preservation of Historic Buildings is available at http://KnoxvilleTN.gov/bids.
Qualifying properties must be located within H-1 or NC-1 historic overlay districts within Knoxville city limits or listed (or eligible for listing) on the National Register of Historic Places. Applicants must own the property, present a deed of trust and owe no City or County property taxes. Applicants must also attend a mandatory pre-proposal meeting held via Zoom; attendance details are included in the RFP document.
Five Thirty Lounge/Rooftop Recognized
Livability online magazine recently rated smaller city rooftop bars and restaurants and local favorite Five Thirty Lounge, which it noted is Knoxville’s largest rooftop bar, came in at number five on the list of ten!
Holiday Gift Guide and Holiday Monday Market Place
Nothing says “you mean a lot to me” more than a one-of-a-kind gift made with love, and carefully selected for that special someone. Knoxville is The Maker City, and this Holiday season we’re hosting a source for thoughtful gifting that is both local and fun.
In our second year running the Holiday Monday Marketplace, we will spotlight incredible talent from our community every Monday in November and December. Starting November 1st, The Maker City will post 3-5 Maker goods on our Instagram account. Shoppers can bid live from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and at the end of the day the Maker will make the sale. Items range from candles to photography, hand-thrown pottery to custom jewelry. Bid on favorite pieces, and know that 100% of the purchase price goes to the Maker. Come early and stay late for the best gift options around!
Derived from The Maker City Directory, The Holiday Gift Guide puts the best of over 400 local Makers front and center in a captivating online catalog. Convenient links direct to each Maker’s web page and provide a smooth, stress-free shopping experience. With categories for foodies, animal lovers, littles, the fashionable, the eclectic, the festive, the outdoorsy, for Knoxville pride, stocking stuffers, and for staying in or going out, there is something great for everyone on your list!
Shop local, support small business, and win the Holidays with Maker gifts!
Check out Instagram @themakercity #TheMakerCityHolidays and themakercity.org. The Holiday Gift Guide may be found here.
Keep Knoxville Beautiful is now accepting nominations from the public for its beautification awards, the Orchids. Since 1979, Keep Knoxville Beautiful has presented Orchid Awards to Knoxville and Knox County buildings and outdoor spaces that beautify and elevate the local landscape. Orchid Awards will be granted in the following six categories:
New Architecture, Redesign/Reuse, Outdoor Space (Parks, Patios, Rooftop Areas, Public Gardens, etc.), Community Space (Neighborhoods, Schools, Senior Living Facilities, Apartment Complexes, etc.), Public Art (Murals, Sculptures, Signage, etc.), and ReGreen (Enhanced landscapes such as streetscapes, asphalt-reduction, treescapes, waterscapes, etc.)Anyone can nominate a location or outdoor public artwork by completing a simple online form on Keep Knoxville Beautiful’s website, www.keepknoxvillebeautiful.org/nominate-an-orchids. Private residences are not considered for this award. Properties that received an Orchid Award since 2012 are ineligible, except in cases of major renovations. For a list of previous winners, visit the Keep Knoxville Beautiful website. Nominations are due by Monday, January 31, 2022.
Knoxville Riverfront Community Engagement Event
Knoxville area residents are invited to a Tennessee RiverLine community engagement event on
Monday, November 8, 2021. This open-house, drop-in event will be held 4-7 p.m. at The
Mill & Mine, 227 W Depot Avenue, Knoxville. The event will be held rain or shine. All
residents are asked to RSVP at knox-652toyou.eventbrite.com. Registration is encouraged but
not required.
Turkeys and Hams Prepared and Delivered Downtown
For the first time, and just in time for the holidays, Ham n’ Goody’s is offering hams and turkeys for pickup at their downtown location. (865) 839-2215
Voices of Appalachia
“Voices of Appalachia,” a sculpture exhibition by local artist Brian Melton, opens this Friday, November 5th at the Dogwood Arts Gallery in downtown Knoxville. Portraits of Appalachian icons like the legendary coach Pat Summitt, the Heartland Series’ Bill Landry, John Henry, Sequoyah, and Davy Crockett hang alongside tropes like the old-timer, volunteer, midwife, coal miner, longhunter, fiddler, farmer, pastor, and teacher. The portraits are carved out of cottonwood bark, Melton’s medium of choice for this series. Melton is a local artist and public school educator at Career Magnet Academy in Knoxville. The series will be accompanied by several large-scale free-standing sculptures, woodblock prints, and a recreation of Melton’s studio inside the Dogwood Arts Gallery from November 5th through December 17, 2021.
Want a Thanksgiving Pie?
InterFaith Health Clinic will host its second annual Thanksgiving Pie Drop fundraising event, November 1 through November 18. Pies can be purchased online at interfaithhealthclinic.org/pie-drop or call 865-243-3018. This event benefits InterFaith Health
Clinic’s services in the greater Knoxville area, providing health care to our working and uninsured neighbors. Proceeds from this event will serve thousands of East Tennesseans this year who need these life-changing services.
Zahar Vaks and Greetings from Vestal exhibitions
Tri-Star Arts announces a new exhibition in their Golden Chain Gallery project space located at the historic Candoro Marble Building. Emotional Architecture, composed of 5 new paintings by Zahar Vaks (Brooklyn, NY) opens on Friday, November 5, and will run through Saturday, December 11, 2021. This site-specific exhibition has been installed within the unusual architectural space of a steep wooden stairwell. A public reception will be held on Friday, November 5 from 5:00- 8:00 pm with the artist in attendance.
A group show, Greetings From Vestal, composed of multimedia works by the Tri-Star Arts studio artists working in the Candoro Marble Building – featuring Rachel Sevier Dallery, Casey Fletcher, Jillian Hirsch, Risa Hricovsky, Jing Qin, and Alissa Walls – remains on view in the Main Gallery and will run through Saturday, November 20, 2021. A public reception will also be held on Friday, November 5 from 5:00- 8:00 pm with all artist studios open to visitors.
These exhibitions will be open to the public regularly from Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 am until 5:00 pm, alongside iconic spaces within the Candoro Marble Building (located in the Vestal neighborhood of Knoxville). The use of masks and social distancing is encouraged.