Leslie Bateman | Inside of Knoxville

Three Family-Friendly Festivals to Hit Up This Weekend

Leslie Bateman·May 16, 2025

Our 6-year-old knows what’s up the moment the industrial-sized backpack hits the kitchen table. Mom’s in go-mode, aggressively stuffing it with granola bars, juice boxes, mini sunscreen tubes, ponchos, enough wet wipes to sanitize a small...

Outlandish AF: Knoxville’s Outdoor Scene Comes Alive at Ijams

Leslie Bateman·May 2, 2025

There’s adventure—and then there’s Knoxville adventure. The kind you can stumble into five minutes from downtown, where trailheads meet river bends and rocky overlooks. This evening and all day tomorrow (May 2–3), Knoxville’s outdoor epicenter will...

Goal(s): One Knox + State of the City Address

Leslie Bateman·April 28, 2025

On Saturday night One Knox and FC Tulsa ended regulation tied 2-2, but One Knox came out on top with a 4-2 win in penalty kicks in its first-ever game at Covenant Health Park. And they...

From ‘Top-Down’ to ‘Hands-On’: The Evolution of Community Design in Knoxville

Leslie Bateman·April 25, 2025

It’s Thursday night and the buzz of conversation rises above the clinking of pint glasses at Alliance Brewing Company on Sevier Avenue. Teams huddle around tables with maps and magic markers. This is DESIGNSLAM!, a rapidfire...

Opera Out Loud: Rossini Festival Celebrates Arts For All, Y’all

Leslie Bateman·April 14, 2025

Knoxville Urban Guy, K.W. Leonard, Heather Ryerson and Tricia Bateman contributed photos to this story. Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival has come a far way from its early incarnations. It was conceived in 2002 as an Italian...

Inaugural Knoxville Book Festival Bookmarks Its Place

Leslie Bateman·April 8, 2025

‘Tis the season! It’s April and there was A LOT happening downtown this half-gorgeous weekend, from the Dogwood Arts Festival Chalk Walk to the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon to a large demonstration flanking Henley Street and...

Big Ears Through the Kaleidoscope, Part Two

Leslie Bateman·April 2, 2025

And we’re back! Read my part one here and Alan’s part one here. His part two will be along this afternoon. Saturday, March 28: Big Little Ears Thomas, our 5-year-old, is in a bad mood. He...

Big Ears Through the Kaleidoscope, Part One

Leslie Bateman·April 1, 2025

We got this little toy kaleidoscope from the Knoxville Museum of Arts’s Museum Shop a few months ago. As our 5-year-old Thomas played around with it, the wonderful shopkeeper Vicki Wyric told us about an artist...

Big Ears Begins + All the FREE Art, Music and More This Week

Leslie Bateman·March 28, 2025

It’s Thursday and I’ve just picked up Michael from L.A. from the airport. I don’t know what his last name is — he’s saved in my phone as “Michael from L.A.” — but he’s our friend....

Pilot Light Answers ‘What For?’ With Free 3-Day Festival

Leslie Bateman·March 27, 2025

Since the Pilot Light first kicked open its dark, nondescript door on May 22, 2000, the Old City nonprofit venue has been committed to a singular mission: providing “a place for new ideas.” Its goal was...

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