Community Calendar

Knoxville’s biggest celebration of arts, culture, and community returns! The Rossini Festival International Street Fair transforms downtown Knoxville into a European-style street party with two full days of music, food, art, and family fun.
Opera lovers and first-timers alike can enjoy free performances by local and regional artists across multiple stages — including highlights from upcoming Knoxville Opera productions. More than 100 artisan vendors, food trucks, and cultural exhibitors fill the streets alongside wine tastings, kid-friendly activities, and live entertainment around every corner.

The Rossini Festival brings together tens of thousands of attendees to celebrate the power of the performing arts in the heart of the city.

Free Admission | Rain or Shine
Presented by Knoxville Opera

Knoxville’s biggest celebration of arts, culture, and community returns! The Rossini Festival International Street Fair transforms downtown Knoxville into a European-style street party with two full days of music, food, art, and family fun.
Opera lovers and first-timers alike can enjoy free performances by local and regional artists across multiple stages — including highlights from upcoming Knoxville Opera productions. More than 100 artisan vendors, food trucks, and cultural exhibitors fill the streets alongside wine tastings, kid-friendly activities, and live entertainment around every corner.

The Rossini Festival brings together tens of thousands of attendees to celebrate the power of the performing arts in the heart of the city.

Free Admission | Rain or Shine
Presented by Knoxville Opera

Schemes, wills, and one unforgettable con. Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi is a fast-paced farce full of family drama, crafty deception, and razor-sharp wit. When a wealthy Florentine dies and leaves his fortune to a monastery, his greedy relatives turn to the sly and unconventional Gianni Schicchi to fix the problem—with delightfully chaotic results.

Bursting with humor and high-stakes trickery, this one-act gem is a hilarious closer to our Masters of Mischief season. Featuring the beloved aria "O mio babbino caro" and a cast of characters who’ll do anything for a fortune, Gianni Schicchi proves that sometimes, crime does pay—at least in opera.

Sung in Italian with projected English translations.

Schemes, wills, and one unforgettable con. Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi is a fast-paced farce full of family drama, crafty deception, and razor-sharp wit. When a wealthy Florentine dies and leaves his fortune to a monastery, his greedy relatives turn to the sly and unconventional Gianni Schicchi to fix the problem—with delightfully chaotic results.

Bursting with humor and high-stakes trickery, this one-act gem is a hilarious closer to our Masters of Mischief season. Featuring the beloved aria "O mio babbino caro" and a cast of characters who’ll do anything for a fortune, Gianni Schicchi proves that sometimes, crime does pay—at least in opera.

Sung in Italian with projected English translations.

The tradition continues! Join Knoxville Opera for an afternoon of playful competition, community spirit, and crisp elegance at the annual Croquet Tournament. Set against the green expanse of the UT Rec Fields, this lighthearted spring fundraiser invites teams of supporters, creatives, and opera enthusiasts to vie for the Annual Tournament Cup — with plenty of fun along the way.

Guests will enjoy tournament play, sideline refreshments, music, and celebratory moments throughout the day, all while supporting Knoxville Opera.

Dress Code: All Sport Whites
Classic, clean, and croquet-ready.

Enjoy the festivities with white sports attire inspired by Old World Charm.

Gentlemen are encouraged to wear turn-of-the-century whites, and ladies can opt for dresses and garden party hats. White lace is traditional but certainly not mandatory.

Amadeus Concert Ensemble’s 2025-2026 season of FREE community concerts reaches a climax on Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. with RACHMANINOFF & FRIENDS. The program honors the composer whose statue in World’s Fair Park commemorates his final piano recital in Knoxville in 1943. The performance, under the baton of ACE Artistic Director Brian Salesky, is part of the Cathedral Concert Series at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (711 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN).

The lavish, romantic program stars the spectacular soprano Ashley Fabian (“immense warmth and scintillating spin”/Parterre Box) who scored a triumph in ACE’S GOLDEN AGE OF STRAUSS concert last season. Ms. Fabian will be heard in heavenly songs and dramatic arias by Rachmaninoff, Alyabyev, and Tchaikovsky, whose Waltz from his Sleeping Beauty ballet will be dedicated to Knoxville’s Mary Costa, Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. The Amadeus Concert Ensemble orchestra will be featured in three thrilling, popular works: Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Lyudmila, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” and “The Three Wonders” from The Tale of Tsar Saltan.

Maestro Salesky remarked: “ACE is privileged to present soprano Ashley Fabian in a concert of thrilling music by Russian composers that features her sublime, sparkling voice. The performance will give our community an opportunity to experience Ashley’s inspiring talent in both well-known and rarely performed music. We are deeply grateful to our generous sponsors for their support which allows us to present our programs without charge.”