Oak Ridge Today

Volunteers to learn karesansui raking techniques for Friendship Bell Garden

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Gene Patterson, center, of CNS Y-12, watches as volunteers rake designs in the karesansui garden at the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Volunteers who are designing and maintaining the new Japanese dry landscape garden at the International Friendship Bell Peace Pavilion received special rakes for the garden earlier this summer from Consolidated Nuclear Security, the contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

CNS-Y12 presented the volunteers with rakes featuring stainless steel blades, made by craftspeople at Y-12 especially for the karesansui garden, which features patterns in fine gravel raked around boulders or stones, a press release said.

“We believe these are the first stainless steel rakes to be used in these traditional karesansui gardens, a centuries-old garden tradition,” said Pat Postma, co-chair of the International Friendship Bell Citizens Advisory Committee. “The rakes have traditionally been made from wood, but I find the weight of the stainless steel rakes makes deeper furrows and longer-lasting designs. CNS and Y-12 continued Oak Ridge’s tradition of innovation by creating these rakes with stainless steel blades. We are glad that CNS offered to make these for us.” [Read more…]

New at Street Painting Festival: Take the STEAM challenge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Artists turned Jackson Square into a work of art last year at the annual Rotary Club of Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, at Jackson Square. (Submitted photo)

The 20th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival at Jackson Square on Saturday will offer a new challenge this year, a press release said.

The October 19 event will be held in historic Jackson Square, and it will offer the first STEAM Challenge. STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

The festival will, as always, offer prizes for artists in each category, the press release said. But this year, artists in any category can win an all-ages, all-categories bonus prize as part of the STEAM challenge.

The Street Painting Festival is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge. It’s a fundraiser for Roane State Community College scholarships.

[Read more…]

Blockhouse Valley Recycling Center now open 6 days per week

Posted at
By 1 Comment

The Blockhouse Valley Recycling Center, on Blockhouse Valley Road in South Clinton, has expanded the hours that it is open to the public, a press release said.

The recycling center, once open to the public only on Wednesdays and a few Saturdays each month, is now open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, the press release said.

[Read more…]

AC Animal Shelter has new hours

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Anderson County Animal Shelter has new hours, a press release said. The Shelter, located at 1480 Blockhouse Valley Road in South Clinton, is now open to the public six days a week.

The new public hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

“Since the small shelter first opened in 2016, due to staffing restrictions, the facility was only open to the public for limited hours on Wednesdays,” the press release said.

[Read more…]

Manhattan Project Park: Ride with a Ranger on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

You can join a National Park Service park ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway on Saturday, May 25, 2019, to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 75 years. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

You can join a National Park Service ranger for a bike ride on the North Boundary Greenway to see how the former communities of the area have changed during the past 75 years.

The free program is presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge.

The bike ride program will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, October 19, at the Turnpike Gatehouse and travel down Big Oak Trail and North Boundary Road.

“Along the ride, we will explore the former communities that were here before the Manhattan Project,” a press release said. “Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area.”

[Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has Fall Plant Sale on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

University of Tennessee Arboretum Society Fall Plant Sale (Submitted photo)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge.

The sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 19, at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“Fall is the ideal time to add plants to your landscape because of milder temperatures and more dependable rainfall,” a press release said. “In addition, the fact that plants are not putting energy into their top growth but devoting all their resources to developing a strong root system will give them a head start in the spring and a much better survival rate.”

[Read more…]

Sound Company has auditions on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Children currently in first through 12th grade who enjoy music and performing are encouraged to come to the Grove Theater (High Places Community Church) in Oak Ridge to audition for Sound Company, the children’s show choir of Oak Ridge, on Saturday, October 19. Auditioners should prepare a song to perform, a press release said. You can sign up to audition and find out more at the Sound Company website, www.soundcompanytn.net.

Sound Company is comprised of approximately 100 children who come from all over East Tennessee. They present concerts featuring a wide range of music, from pop to Broadway to classical to multicultural, incorporating choreography and costumes into many of their pieces, and they have travelled regularly to Switzerland, where they have a “sister” choir, and to other places such as New York City. Sound Company is divided by age into four groups, and is led by Katy Wolfe and Terry Silver-Alford, both on staff at the University of Tennessee in the vocal music/musical theater departments and both regular performers in the area.

[Read more…]

Children’s Halloween Party is Oct. 24; sponsors, volunteers needed

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Halloween Party 2017 Star Wars Family Costume (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will host the annual Children’s Halloween Party on Thursday, October 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. This event is now in its 37th year and will be attended by hundreds of local children and their families, a press release said.

Activities will be held inside the Oak Ridge Civic Center, located at 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike, and a hay ride will be offered outside in A.K. Bissell Park, weather permitting. There is no admission fee for the event, but participation in most activities requires one or more tickets. Tickets can be purchased at the Civic Center. The cost is 25 cents per ticket or $5 for a pack of 20.

[Read more…]

ASAP to celebrate move with Oct. 24 ceremony

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ASAP of Anderson will celebrate its move to a new office building in Clinton with a building dedication ceremony on Thursday, October 24.

ASAP had been in the Robert Jolley Building on Main Street in Clinton for 10 years, a press release said.

The building dedication ceremony is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. October 24 at 131 South Charles G. Seivers Boulevard in Clinton. Everyone is invited, the press release said.

The ceremony will include coffee and light snacks, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and open house for community members to explore the new space, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Tonight: Free Movie Night in the Park

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board, in partnership with the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department and Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson, will host a free Movie Night in the Park event tonight (Friday, October 11).

The event will be held in Alvin K. Bissell Park beginning at 7 p.m. The movie shown will be Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion” (rated PG) from 2003 starring Eddie Murphy. Free popcorn and drinks will be available while supplies last, a press release said.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Public Library to host concert with cellist

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Alicia Randisi-Hooker (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Public Library will host a lunchtime concert with cellist Alicia Randisi-Hooker on Wednesday, October 16, from noon until 1 p.m. as part of the World Wise Wednesdays program.

An engaging speaker and performer, Alicia Randisi-Hooker is a well-known member of the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra and the Trillium Piano Trio, a press release said. She has performed extensively in a rich variety of settings, from the Knoxville Symphony to the Philly Pops orchestras, and in many chamber ensembles.

She studied in Germany with members of the renowned Alban Berg Quartet, and performed concerts in Italy, France, Germany, and across the United States. As a noted Suzuki cello teacher, her private cello students have won awards and scholarships both nationally and internationally, the press release said.

[Read more…]

ORCMA to celebrate 75 years with concert, reception

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra and Oak Ridge Chorus 2019 (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a gala concert and reception on Sunday, October 20.

The concert and reception are scheduled to start at 3 p.m. October 20, at the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The concert will be performed by the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and special guests, Sound Company. Radio personality Melony Dodson will serve as the master of ceremonies.

“We are thrilled, as always, to feature Katy Wolfe and the awesome Sound Company,” said Music Director Dan Allcott. “They put the word ‘future’ in our title.”

[Read more…]