Busy weekend in Oak Ridge starts Friday

It’s going to be a busy weekend in Oak Ridge.

There is an Earth Day festival and Battle of the Teen Bands at the Civic Center, a Community Share Day in Scarboro, and Celebration of the Young Child at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

Chicago opens at the Oak Ridge Playhouse on Friday, the Oak Ridge Chorus performs Saturday, and the Dogwood Sprints regatta will be at the Oak Ridge Marina on Saturday and Sunday.

The weekend activities start with Celebration of the Young Child from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday at the Children’s Museum.

Barbara Bailey Hutchison, a Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, will be the featured performer. Hutchison will perform from 10-10:30 a.m. with songs and stories.

Other events include a scholastic book fair, fire truck and safety skit, crafts, puppet show, and story telling.

Admission is $5 per person.

The museum is located at 461 W. Outer Drive.

For more information, visit the Children Museum of Oak Ridge’s website.

The Battle of the Teen Bands starts later Friday.

It’s hosted by the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board and starts at 6 p.m. at the A.K. Bissell Park Pavilion.

Nine local bands from five different high schools will compete on the stage for some big prizes. Prizes include Visa gift cards and recording studio time at Big Head Records studio located at Heritage Fellowship Church.

Admission is free, and concessions will be available. The YAB will also be selling event T-shirts for $5, and fans can purchase “Shout Outs” for $1 each. All proceeds benefit YAB programs.

For more information, visit www.orrecparks.org, email [email protected], or call (865) 425-3450 for details.

Most of the Earth Day in Oak Ridge events happen Saturday. That festival runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Oak Ridge Civic Center and A.K. Bissell Park, and it will feature music and food, educational presentations and exhibits, “green” vendors, and children’s activities, including climbing walls and animal encounters.

The festival includes several special events and activities:

• The Green Mile Race from 9-11 a.m. Saturday at Oak Ridge High School Track Stadium. This is a free event for children in grades K-12. The chief aim, besides having fun, is to raise kids’ awareness of their health. It features separate one-mile races for each grade level. You can register in advance on the Earth Day website, and on-site registration will begin at 8:30 am.
• Bike Rodeo from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at A.K. Bissell Park. This rodeo has been organized by the Anderson County Health Department and Knoxville Regional Bicycle Program, and it includes a helmet fitting (with free helmets for the first 75 children under 14), a bike safety talk by Oak Ridge police officers, a seat adjustment and minor bike maintenance, obstacle course, street safety practice, and other fun bike challenges.
• Smoky Mountain Dock Dogs starts at 4 p.m. Friday and runs through Sunday at A.K. Bissell Park. Dogs will compete in the three sporting disciplines of DockDogs. The three-day competition uses a 40-foot dock and 40-foot by 12-foot pool of water. It will feature some of the top-ranked dogs in the sport of dock diving. To register to compete, visit www.smokymountaindockdogs.com. The event will also provide information on sustainability and pets.
• “Erase Your Trace” Recycling Event from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at a drive-through drop-off in the Oak Ridge Associated Universities parking lot on Badger Road. Volunteers at this event will collect computers and other electronics, personal documents to be shredded, rechargeable batteries and button batteries, used books, hosiery, and certain other reusable and recyclable items. See this Earth Day Web page for more information.
• Soles4Souls Shoe Recycling. Volunteers are collecting shoes of any type in any condition for those who need them in the United States and around the world. Please clean them, then pair them with rubber bands or twist ties, count them, put them in a plastic bag marked with the total number of pairs, and bring them to Erase Your Trace or Bissell Park on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.

More information is available at www.orearthday.org.

The 10th annual Community Share Day, called “Scarboro Pride,” will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. This event will be held at the Scarboro Community Center. There will be fellowship, games, hands-on activities and free food.

The Scarboro Community Center is located at 148 Carver Avenue in Oak Ridge.