View Vibrant Works of Art at Arrowmont’s Instructor Exhibition through August 22

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Jiyoung Chung will hold a workshop on Joomchi, traditional Korean papermaking, at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts on August 9-15, 2015

View vibrant works of art at Arrowmont’s Instructor Exhibition through August 22, 2015. An excellent opportunity to explore the beautiful world of contemporary Arts & Crafts! On the historic campus of Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts in Gatlinburg, fine works of art by the school’s talented faculty are on display in the Sandra J. Blaine Galleries. The exhibit features a variety of media including fiber and textile works, woodworking, painting, metals, jewelry, ceramics, glass, book art, printmaking, and photography.

Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts is open year-round and the public is welcome to visit the 103 year-old campus and enjoy artwork by local, national and international artists in all of the school’s five galleries. You’ll want to visit the Artist’s Outfitters Store for art supplies and tools, and to purchase artwork from past Artists-in-Residence. Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. Saturday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm,  and Sunday (when is session) from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm. For holiday hours, please call 865-436-5860.

The Instructor Exhibition celebrates the talents of Arrowmont’s teachers and demonstrates the skills and techniques students learn in their workshops. Weekend, one-week and two-week classes offer a one-of-a-kind experience of working in professionally-equipped studios with top-notch instructors and other eager students. Arrowmont students (18 years or older) come with various experience levels and backgrounds and together they learn new ideas to inspire them.

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Pottery by McKenzie Smith

If you’re interested in enriching your life through art, then register for an upcoming workshop at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts. Below are just a few of the many and varied sessions available. Please see Arrowmont Workshop and Classes for a complete schedule.

Clay, Form, Slip, Glaze, Fire with McKenzie Smith
August 9-15, 2015
Media: Clay | Open to all skill levels | Cost $525
McKenzie Smith received his Master of Fine Art degree from the University of Florida and he works as a potter and teacher in the Sunshine State. He has studied at the Banff Center for the Arts, Baltimore Clayworks and the Penland School of Crafts. Smith’s workshop will help students understand the relationships between all the processes of turning clay into functional art. Additionally, the class will explore the expressive relationships of wheel-thrown forms that are fired in salt and soda making truly unique and beautiful pottery pieces.

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A1A to Perform at The Park Vista’s Summer Dance Party on August 29

A1A-jimmy-buffett-tribute-band-heysmokiesA1A is set to perform at The Park Vista’s Summer Dance Party on Saturday, August 29, 2015. The official and original Jimmy Buffett tribute band A1A will bring their fun island style to the Smokies for the Flip Flops & Pop Tops Summer Dance Party at The Park Vista Doubletree by Hilton in Gatlinburg. A favorite of Parrotheads everywhere, and endorsed by Buffett himself, get ready for an evening in paradise with the high-energy entertainment of A1A!

All the fun kicks off with a Tailgate Party at the Pavilion from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. with Dinner and a Live Auction from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. and an After Party from 9:30 – 11:00 p.m. Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased by calling 865-436-9211.

The delicious dinner menu features a raw bar with shucked oysters, shrimp margarita cocktail, mussels, conch fritters, swordfish, pork loin, steamship round of beef, bananas foster flambe and much more fine food! Live Auction items include awesome vacation packages to Florida, Myrtle Beach and Chicago.

For those that want to dance the night away The Park Vista is offering special guest room rates and packages. For information and reservations call 800-421-7275 or visit www.parkvista.com.

give-kids-the-world-village-park-vista-heysmokiesThe event is the hotel’s annual fundraiser for Give Kids The World Village in Kissimmee, Florida and is co-sponsored by Ripley’s Attractions. Give Kids The World Village is a non-profit resort where children with life-threatening illnesses and their families enjoy a free week of fun and relaxation creating once-in-a-lifetime memories.

 

Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival 2015 in Gatlinburg August 19-23

Gather up your dreams and head for these hills for the Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival 2015 in Gatlinburg on August 19-23.

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Have a little ditty you penned and no one on hand to tell you what it’s worth? Maybe you have a whole book of original songs and a suitcase loaded with dreams to match.  Be in Gatlinburg from August 19-23, 2015 to rub shoulders with hit writers whose dreams have been realized. There will be music in the air and creativity to spare at the annual Smoky Mountains Songwriters Festival 2015. Highly successful writers whose works have been snapped up by major recording artists will guide aspiring writers in the ways of the craft and live music will light up the city as the festival turns Gatlinburg into a country, bluegrass and gospel mini-mecca.

Festivities will take place at various venues throughout Gatlinburg. The festival kick-off will be held at the historic Gatlinburg Inn with all workshops being held at Edgewater Hotel. Stella Parton, Dolly’s sister and a carrier of that legendary music gene, will open the festival.

If you’ve never written a song and never plan to, you’ll still love the ambience and live music during the festival. There will be free live music throughout as well as a ticketed concert by EmiSunshine and the Rain, a fresh new act that has graced the Grand Ole Opry stage several times. They will perform on Friday, August 21 at the Brookside Resort Events Center at 8:00 p.m.

Whether you write the occasional song for your family to hear, or have serious career aspirations, you’ll enjoy four days of all things music, creativity and songwriting. You’ll have the opportunity to have your work critiqued, co-write with famous songwriters and gain insider tips from industry movers and shakers.

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Smoky Mountain Tunes & Tales June 12 to August 1 in Downtown Gatlinburg

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Back Porch Cloggers perform at The Village on the Parkway. Photo credit: Smoky Mountain Tunes & Tales

Gatlinburg’s Smoky Mountain Tunes & Tales kicks off its tenth year of entertaining visitors along the downtown Parkway beginning June 12, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. This summer downtown Gatlinburg magically comes to life each evening with an array of costumed musicians, dancers, storytellers, and craftsmen until about 11:00 p.m. This ever-popular street performance festival runs through August 1, 2015.

The performers bring to life traditional Smoky Mountain heritage and culture in a fun and interactive way,” says Marci Claude, public relations manager for the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, “Gatlinburg is a walking town. Tunes & Tales enhances our visitors’ experience as they stroll the Parkway in the evenings.

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Don’t miss The Weary Travelers! Photo credit: Smoky Mountain Tunes & Tales

Some favorite entertainers from festivals past will be back again: The Back Porch Cloggers, an audience favorite, along with talents like Boogertown Gap, The Reunited, The Weary Travelers, and Lost Mill String Band. You’ll want to join them for some of the finest Southern Appalachian old-time music you’ll hear anywhere. We just can’t get enough of the sweet sounds of their mandolins, fiddles, penny whistles, upright basses and banjos!

Be sure to meet the entertaining artisan Spinnin’ Selma and see how she turns natural fibers into yarn and then that yarn into cool bracelets! And then there’s Whittlin’ Joe who masterfully whittles wooden flowers right before your eyes. And don’t forget to say howdy to their good friend Appalachia Anna who will tell you all about growing up in the mountains and how they used to make musical instruments out of everyday things likes spoons, washboards and saws. There’s so many new friends to make during Smoky Mountain Tunes & Tales! You’ll run into famous mountaineer Wiley Oakley and lovely ladies Sun Bonnet Sue and Louisa Walker and friends.

Check out Smoky Mountain Tunes & Tales on Facebook! For more information on this special event, produced by the Gatlinburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, call 800-588-1817.

“Once Upon a Trunk, a Tale of Vaudeville” Opening Night at Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre on May 16

Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre, the Smoky Mountain’s oldest and most unusual theater, presents a brand new show for the 2015 season.  “Once Upon a Trunk, a tale of Vaudeville” premiers on Saturday, May 16, 2015.

A charming 1890’s style original musical-comedy show about a sweet janitor who opens a dusty old trunk only to find a troop of actors inside who have been stuck there since the golden age of Vaudeville. They drag him into the trunk and put him in the show. It’s a hilarious “backstage” look at Vaudeville!

After our musical-comedy comes our old fashioned sing-a-long (a Sweet Fanny Adams Tradition) full of unrehearsed surprises, and our ever popular Olio and Revue, featuring the “World Famous Classical Paper Dance!”

For more information and tickets visit Sweet Fanny Adams or call 865-436-4038.