With the Mardi Growl Parade and Festival this coming Saturday, Festival Season officially (IMHO) begins in Knoxville. There may be a city that hosts more and larger festivals, but for its size, Knoxville has to be competitive. We love a good festival and they are about to start cranking, so buckle up and get ready for the ride.
As always, the list below is equal parts research and educated guesswork. Some festivals are slow to update their webpages. This page will be linked at the top under events and it may be updated, so check back. As always, I’m happy to take corrections, so correct me in the comments if you have knowledge of these events or others.
In any case, it’s time to get those dates on your calendars and start making plans.
MARCH
The season begins with Mardi Growl and steadily builds into a flow that doesn’t stop for months. The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade returns March 15 and begins at 1:00 pm on the Southern end of Gay Street, proceeding north to Magnolia Avenue. The Big Ears Festival 2024, runs from March 27 – 30. We begin the month with puppies on parade and end the month with the world celebrating in our downtown, with events, performances and more starting on Thursday and running through Sunday.
- Mardi Growl, Parade Route and World’s Fair Park, March 1, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 15, Gay Street, 1:00 PM
- Knox Shamrock Fest, World’s Fair Park, March 15, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, World’s Fair Park Performance Lawn
- Big Ears, Locations all over downtown, March 27 – 30
APRIL
The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, which is actually an entire family of races and events spanning two days, joins the annual Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk and the first Old City Market (on First Friday) on the first weekend in April, offering great events for both participants and spectators. The runners amaze crowds with their strength and stamina, while nothing is more delightful than watching chalk art take form through the course of a sunny Saturday on Market Square.
Holleroo returns for a second consecutive year, though it ran for several years before. Central Street will be closed through that section for the entire day for live music, an adult soap box derby, and more. Several new businesses and restaurants have opened there in recent years, making this as happening a place as it has been since it earned its name back in the day.
The back end of the month packs a powerful punch with two of Knoxville’s largest festivals. It kicks off with the annual Rossini Festival and International Street Fair with music, food, and more, presented April 12 – 15 by Knoxville Opera. Featuring multiple stages and opera along with choral, jazz, and other music, it also features dance performances throughout the day, great smells from all the food vendors, and wine and beer sales on a portion of Gay Street and Market Street, which are shut down for the event.
April ends with Knoxville’s traditional signature festival: The Dogwood Arts Festival. The events begin in February and feature a lengthy list that runs through April. The Dogwood Arts Festival on the World’s Fair Park south lawn (April 25 – 27) dominates a weekend with everything art related. It’s a can’t-miss weekend for anyone who loves the arts and the city. Be sure to go to the main site above and check out all the other great events scattered over greater Knoxville during the three-month period.
- Old City Market, Makers Market in the Old City, Each First Friday, plus (mostly) the Third Sunday of Each Month April – December, Kicks off April 4
- Chalk Walk, Market Square and Krutch Park, April 5
- Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, April 6, 7:30 AM
- Rossini Festival and International Street Fair, Gay Street/Market Square/Krutch Park, April 12 – 13
- Dogwood Arts Festival, World’s Fair Park, April 25 – 27
MAY
This year, the Fourth and Gill Tour of Homes and Secret Gardens moves back a weekend to join the monstrous May line-up of festivals and assorted events.
The Southern Skies Music and Whiskey Festival presented by Dogwood Arts hits May 10, and includes curators The Dirty Guv’nahs and others, plus headliner Charlie Crockett. Children get their turn with the return of the Knox County Public Library’s Children’s Festival of Reading on May 17. The day-long festival features children’s and young adult authors, story-telling, and much more.
May also marks the beginning of several ongoing events that while they are not technically festivals, they feel that way at times – and they are long running, marking spring and early summer as much as any single events. The biggest is the annual return of the Market Square Farmers’ Market to the heart of downtown. It resumes its regular spot on May 3.
Also resuming a regular schedule during the month of May will be the Concerts on the Square series, featuring Jazz on Tuesdays beginning May 6 and a variety of genres on Thursday nights starting May 15 on Market Square. Long-time readers know I adore Jazz Tuesdays. It’s one of the highlights of the year in the city. It has also taken to the Emporium during the hottest parts of the summer and the coldest part of the winter.
- Fourth and Gill Tour of Homes and Secret Gardens, May 4
- Jazz Tuesdays, Free Jazz on Market Square, May 6 – June 24, 7:00 pm, The Emporium, July and August*
- Market Square Farmers’ Market, Market Square and beyond, Summer Season, May 3 – November 22, Wednesdays and Saturdays
- Vestival Festival, Candoro Marble, May 10, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Southern Skies Music and Whiskey Festival, World’s Fair Park, May 10
- Variety Thursdays, A Range of Musical Genres Free Every Third Thursday Night on Market Square, May 15 – September 18*
- Holleroo, May 17, Happy Holler
- Children’s Festival of Reading, World’s Fair Park, May 17
- Bob Dylan Birthday Bash, May 31, Ijams
JUNE
June doesn’t slow much for Knoxville Festivals. It starts with Rhinstone Fest, which we can’t call Dolly Fest, anymore, but celebrates all things Dolly. The great, annual downtown home tour is back and and Brewfest and SoKno Pride, which has exploded in the last couple of years, anchors the second half of the month.
- Rhinestone Fest, Old City for All Things Dolly, June 6 – 7
- Downtown Home Tour presented by the East Tennessee Historical Society, June 14
- Brewfest, World’s Fair Park, June 21
- SoKno Pride, Sevier Avenue, June 21
- Haitifest, Emporium, Date and Time TBA
JULY
In July, we do slow down a bit and settle into our summer routine of Jazz at the Emporium and the Market Square Farmers’ Market. There are a couple of notable exceptions, with our annual July 4 celebration on the World’s Fair Park and the beginning of the wonderful Knoxville Shakespeare series produced by the Tennessee Stage Company.
- Festival on the Fourth, World’s Fair Park, July 4 (I can’t find information on this event, so this is an assumption)
- Knoxville Shakespeare, July 17 – August 10, Ijams
August is hot and so are the festivals that month, with a festival nearly every weekend. The Asian Festival has returned to August, as has the Big Kahuna Wing Festival. They are simply too good to miss, so dress lightly and sweat it out!
AUGUST
- Irish Fest on the Hill, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, August 9, 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm
- History Hootenanny, East Tennessee History Center and Krutch Park, August 16*
- GermanFest, First Lutheran Church, Broadway, August 23
- Asian Festival, World’s Fair Park, August 23 and 24
- Big Kahuna Wing Festival, World’s Fair Park, August 31
*Unconfirmed
While the festivals wind down as we enter a certain sporting season, two major events conclude the year’s festival events
SEPTEMBER
- Hola Festival, World’s Fair Park Performance Lawn, September 21 – 22
OCTOBER
- Pridefest, Gay Street (parade, 10/4), World’s Fair Park events, 10/5
NOVEMBER
- Regal Festival of Lights and Lighting of the Christmas Tree, November 28, Krutch Park
DECEMBER
- Christmas Parade on Gay Street, December 5
- New Year’s Eve Celebration, World’s Fair Park, December 31
If I’ve missed something you think I should have included, say so in the comments and at the least you’ll have plugged another event, and maybe I’ll bring it onto the main list. See errors? I’d like to hear about that, as well. Are you tired already? See you at the festivals!
*Unconfirmed best guess