Alan and I and two close friends, Dawn and Richard Ford, have just returned from our first -- and likely last -- visit to Utah. I wanted to see the proverbial dark skies there and we chose our timing to coincide with a new moon when we were told we would be able to see the most stars. Richard, a huge fan of John Wayne and classic Western movies ..read more

Knoxville City Council Member Gwen McKenzie was honored last Saturday at the Ethel Beck Society Brunch, a sold-out female-only event hosted by the Beck Cultural Exchange Center. McKenzie was the first Black woman to be elected to Knoxville City Council (2019-present) and the first Black female to be Knoxville vice mayor (2019-2021). Even more notably, she was the author of the African American Restoration Resolution, a measure that passed ..read more

The 11th Big Ears festival ended its 4-day run late Sunday and one thing was very clear. Although there were quite a few musical and creative luminaries on the playbill, the biggest star of all was the city of Knoxville. "I can't believe all the beautiful venues -- all the historic buildings you all have," said a man from Asheville with whom we shared a drink at Five Thirty ..read more

I think of the Knoxville Symphony League's "Symphony Soiree" every year as an elevated potuck -- in both the dinner and the entertainment departments. You never know what you are going to get -- but you know it's going to be good! The party, one of the League's "Elegant Dining" series of fundraisers, is held in the community room of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Knoxville. Cost is ..read more

I have come to really look forward to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra's lively little fundraiser called "Scotch & Strings" -- even though I'm not a scotch drinker. A sellout every year, it's a friendly gathering of 90 folks who throw themselves into the food, whisky and camaraderie of the cozy event held at Boyd's Jig & Reel in Knoxville's Old City. And the music -- provided this year by ..read more

As usual, the annual L'Amour du Vin fundraiser at the Knoxville Museum of Art was over the top this past Saturday. In the food, wine, fun -- and noise level -- departments. I guess that's to be expected. "L'Amour du Vin" is French for "the love of wine," after all. And everyone in attendance seemed to want to live up to the motto! The event, in its 21st year ..read more

The hardest working man in show business retired earlier this month and, boy, what a party that generated! Tom Bugg was general manager of both the Bijou and Tennessee Theatres for nearly two decades doing everything from dealing with artists -- and their managers -- to literally standing on a ladder and changing the letters on the marquee. (That's what he was doing not too long ago when he ..read more

In a sweet little lunch gathering this past Saturday, Clarence Brown Theatre leadership gave supporters an update on construction on the new Jenny Boyd Carousel Theatre and announced plans for the upcoming theater season. And that's where the big news occurred. The play, "Knoxville: The Musical," which was commissioned by Knoxville's own lottery winner, Roy Cockrum, will be the season opener this fall. The play, a moving musical based ..read more

Beloved Knoxville artist John Woodrow Kelley, who has been splitting his time between Knoxville and New York for the past 45 years, has finally returned to Knoxville full time and will be the featured artist at next month's L'Amour du Vin, the largest fundraiser for the Knoxville Museum of Art. Kelley was the centerpiece last week of the Artist's Luncheon, a signature part of L'Amour du Vin, at the ..read more

The were so many reasons to celebrate that we just HAD to have a little drop-in party last Friday to raise a glass. Here are some of them: My new office building, the beautiful, historic Arcade Building on Gay Street is 100 years old this year; Alan turned 77 last week; And everyone has been asking to see some of the oil paintings he's been working on since ..read more