Community Calendar

J. Sibelius - Humoresque #4 and 5 - Bill Hayden, Soloist
G. Faure - Elegie - Laura Kristoff, Soloist
Dvorak - Symphony #9, 'New World'

The Oak Ridge Community Band will hold its Memorial Day Concert on Sunday evening, May 24, at 7 pm in A.K. Bissell Park, 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge. This concert is dedicated to all area veterans and persons currently in the U.S. Armed Forces, and special recognition will be given to them at this concert. This is a family-friendly event, there is NO admission fee, and Razzleberry's Ice Cream Lab will be in the park to provide refreshments. The public is encouraged to bring chairs or blankets for outdoor seating, and there is a paved area for wheelchairs. Mark your calendars now for this truly special performance to honor our veterans and military personnel!

We are so excited to present Marble Springs Statehood Day 2026!

This year, in commemoration of America250 and the 230th anniversary of Tennessee Statehood we are taking this celebration to the next level! Statehood Day will now consist of two fun filled days.

Friday May 29th from 12pm - 5pm, will be Tennessee Field Day for children to explore State history through all aspects. Bring your inner child for hands on Tennessee history. Kids will receive a punch card and win a special prize for visiting all our amazing activities! Partners that will be joining us include, Ijams Nature Center, Museum of Cherokee People, Birthplace of Country Music Museum, National Parks Service, Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and more to be announced! Stay tuned for a sneak peak at some of the fun activities that will be available.

Saturday May 30th from 10am - 4pm, we will continue with our normal Statehood Day activities! This day will be filled with demonstrations, guest lectures, music, dancing, food, and more. Explore Tennessee history though classic foods, line dancing, and Tennessee classics. Be sure not to miss out on fun from partners like The Beck Cultural Exchange Center, Knox Makers, Smoky Mountain Quilting Guild, East Tennessee Historical Society, Tipton Haynes State Historic Site, and even more!

Both of these events are FREE to the public. Be on the lookout for more info coming out in the following weeks!

This project was supported in part by the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.

Experience a night hike regardless of ability or accessibility. Adaptive equipment will be available to borrow, and volunteers to assist with navigating trails. Offered in partnership with Catalyst Sports. Free. Little River Trail, Tenn. To learn more or register, visit CatalystSports.org/great-smoky-mountain-adaptive-hike-bike.

BAG SALE ALL DAY! Approximately 7,000 used books sorted by category; plus magazines, puzzles, DVDs, audio books, and more! $3/bag Friends members, $5/bag non-members. You may join Friends at the sale to save.

And visit our sale on the interior ramp landing; open anytime the library is!

Visit our website for more info: https://www.morristownhamblenlibrary.org/friends-news-and-dates/, or call the library at 423-586-6410.

Bring family and friends to an exuberant musical celebration featuring a 35-piece, American brass band, and special guests, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America.

• Concert starts at 8:00 pm in the GSM Heritage Center’s Large Covered Amphitheater

• Doors open at 6:30 pm. Overflow to be seated on the lawn.

• Complimentary American Flags For the First 300 Guests!

• Enjoy live portrayals of historically relevant characters in 1776 revolutionary-era costume.

• Thrilling music, led by internationally-celebrated conductor, Danny Griffin, includes rousing John Philip Sousa marches, Appalachian-themed music, and a tuneful salute to active-duty military personnel and our beloved veterans.

• Fireworks Display in Downtown Townsend to follow! The concert ends with plenty of time to get there!

Blount Mansion’s Semiquincentennial Celebration Lecture Series: Doing History: Engaging with Revolutionary Stories in Classrooms and Museums

This lecture is sponsored by The National Society of Colonial Dames Knoxville Town Committee to honor America’s 250th Anniversary!

We are excited to present Lisa Oakley, Vice President and Curator of Education at the East Tennessee Historical Society.

She will speak on “Doing History: Engaging with Revolutionary Stories in Classrooms and Museums.” Public historians and classroom educators are responsible for transferring the scholarship of historians into engaging and interactive exhibitions and programs. Curator of Education, Lisa Oakley, has 35 years of experience sharing the stories of Revolutionary and Early Statehood East Tennessee with students and the public. She will share interesting sources and stories from her years teaching with the East Tennessee Historical Society.

• Lecture will start at 6pm
• The special speaking event will be at Blount Mansion Visitors Center, 200 West Hill Avenue, Knoxville TN 37902.
• Limited free parking onsite
• $10 Donation suggested at the door. Cash and card accepted
• RSVP to Rose@BlountMansion.org

Blount Mansion’s Centennial Anniversary Lecture Series: The Women Who Changed Blount Mansion’s History!

Blount Mansion is proud to present local living legend, Laura Still, for our Centennial Anniversary Lecture Series!

One hundred years ago, in a time of fluctuating values and new cultural concepts, a group of women banded together to salvage a piece of our disappearing past: the Blount Mansion.

Meet the women who had the vision to see a decaying old house as the birthplace of Tennessee and took on the tremendous challenge of saving it for future generations.

Native East Tennessean Laura Still is a published poet, playwright, and local history author. She created Knoxville Walking Tours in 2012 and works full-time as a storyteller and walking history guide. She has researched and written 15 tours, including three ghost walks. She is partnered with the Knoxville History Project and proceeds from her tours support KHP and other history-oriented nonprofits in Knoxville. Co-owner of Celtic Cat Publishing since 2016, she has four published books: Guardians (2009), Acts of the Apostles, Vol. 1, (2010), A Haunted History of Knoxville (2014), and A Fair Shake: The Leaders of the Fight for Women’s Rights in Knoxville (2021), in addition to several articles about notable women in Knoxville history.

• Lecture will start at 6pm
• The special speaking event will be at Blount Mansion Visitors Center, 200 West Hill Avenue, Knoxville TN 37902.
• Limited free parking onsite
• $10 Donation suggested at the door. Cash and card accepted
• RSVP to Rose@BlountMansion.org

Blount Mansion’s Semiquincentennial Celebration Lecture Series with Dr. Katy Chiles - Phillis Wheatley and the Black American Revolution

This lecture is sponsored by The National Society of Colonial Dames Knoxville Town Committee to honor America’s 250th Anniversary!

Blount Mansion is proud to present Dr. Katy Chiles of the University of Tennessee. She will speak on ”Phillis Wheatley and the Black American Revolution.”
Phillis Wheatley was a Black poet enslaved in Boston during the American Revolution.

This talk discusses how her poetry takes up the themes of liberty, freedom, and slavery and how she started the African American literary tradition.
Katy Chiles is an Associate Professor of English and Affiliate Faculty in Africana Studies at the University of Tennessee. Her first book, Transformable Race: Surprising Metamorphoses in the Literatures of Early America was published by Oxford University Press, and her scholarship has been funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Antiquarian Society. With Professor Cassander Smith (University of Alabama), she is Co-Editor of Early American Literature.

• Lecture will start at 6pm
• The special speaking event will be at Blount Mansion Visitors Center, 200 West Hill Avenue, Knoxville TN 37902.
• Limited free parking onsite
• $10 Donation suggested at the door. Cash and card accepted
• RSVP to Rose@BlountMansion.org