Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Community Band has ‘Best In Summer’ concert Sunday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Community Band Concert

The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above performing at Alvin K. Bissell Park. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band will perform during a concert at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Sunday, August 4.

It’s the band’s third concert of the summer.

The concert will start at 7 p.m. Sunday.

The Community Band will perform a “Best of Summer” program, which will include swing, jazz, show tunes, and marches. There is no admission fee for the summer concerts, although donations are gratefully accepted to help with expenses, a press release said. [Read more…]

Arts Council asks for help funding arts, music, ballet

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Arts Council of Oak Ridge is asking for your help funding arts, music, ballet, and other organizations.

The Arts Council organizes the United Arts Fund Drive. That helps member organizations that include Oak Ridge Civic Music Association, Oak Ridge Civic Ballet, Oak Ridge Arts Center, Oak Ridge Community Band, Oak Ridge Philharmonia, and Music Arts.

There are also two affiliate organizations, Tennessee Mountain Writters and Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The funds raised through the United Arts Fund Drive go directly to the member organizations you designate, a press release said.

“It is through your support that these organizations can continue to grow and thrive,” the release said.

[Read more…]

Outdoor Pool has movie night on Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road will show the 2018 movie “The Meg” on Saturday night, July 20, 2019. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool will host a movie night on Saturday, starting at 8:30 p.m.

The 2018 movie “The Meg” (rated PG-13) will be shown poolside on an inflatable screen, a press release said. Gates will open at 8:30 p.m. with the movie scheduled to start at approximately 9 p.m. Attendees can watch the movie while floating in the water (shallow end only) or sitting in the grassy area.

Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased at the gate. Only cash or check will be accepted, no credit or debit cards, the press release said.

[Read more…]

McDaniel completes Oak Ridge oral history project

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Keith McDaniel interviews Oak Ridge Historian Ray Smith at the Oak Ridge History Museum for the Center for Oak Ridge Oral History. (Submitted photo)

Filmmaker Keith McDaniel has completed a nine-year project to document the oral histories of about 400 current and former Oak Ridge residents, including those connected to the Manhattan Project during World War II.

The life stories were used to build a digital collection for the Oak Ridge Public Library’s Center for Oak Ridge Oral History, or COROH. McDaniel was part of the group that made plans for the COROH and, following the city’s receipt of an annual grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, took the contract for the documentary work.

“A lot of original Oak Ridgers were dying and getting older,” McDaniel said in a press release from Carson-Newman University. “We felt it was really important to collect their memories, to collect their stories.”

The one-on-one filmed interviews gave those connected to the Manhattan Project, and later to the city at large, the opportunity to share their life stories, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Air Force musicians to perform at Oak Ridge High School

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America’s Concert Band will present a concert in Oak Ridge next week.

The concert is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, July 27, in the Oak Ridge High School Performing Arts Auditorium at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Admission is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. For tickets, visit the website www.bandofmidamerica.af.mil or www.usaf27july.eventbrite.com.

This is a family-friendly, all-ages event, a press release said. The concert is presented in partnership with Explore Oak Ridge and Oak Ridge Schools.

[Read more…]

Travelin’ McCourys and Circus No. 9 perform Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Travelin’ McCourys and Circus No. 9 will perform Saturday, July 13, 2019, for the next Summer Sessions concert event presented by ORNL Federal Credit Union. (Photo courtesy ORNL Federal Credit Union)

The Travelin’ McCourys and Circus No. 9 will perform this Saturday, July 13, for the next Summer Sessions concert event presented by ORNL Federal Credit Union.

“Grammy Award winners The Travelin’ McCourys bring excitement and energy to all their performances with their mix of traditional and progressive bluegrass music,” a press release said. “East Tennessee’s own Circus No. 9 blurs the lines between bluegrass, jazz, and rock. The electrifying performances of The Travelin’ McCourys and Circus No. 9 are not to be missed!”

Summer Sessions is a free concert series for the community featuring bluegrass and American bands from throughout the region. 

[Read more…]

Jupiter Entertainment filming ‘Homicide Hunter’ at Grove Market

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jupiter Entertainment was filming for the television show “Homicide Hunter” at Grove Market in Oak Ridge on Wednesday night.

The scene appeared to include police officers and a police car and an ambulance and emergency medical workers, and that prompted some Oak Ridge residents to wonder what was happening. There were also camera and sound crews, lights, and a photographer.

The filming was under way at about 11 p.m. Wednesday, and it wasn’t clear how long it might last.

The episode being filmed Wednesday night could reportedly air in late September or early October.

Jupiter Entertainment has filmed in Oak Ridge before, including at Dean’s Restaurant recently and at the former Oak Ridge Mall several years ago.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Community Band has July 4 concert, followed by fireworks show

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Community Band performs at the July 4 concert in 2018. (Photo by Bill Dodge)

The Oak Ridge Community Band will have its annual Independence Day concert on Thursday, July 4, at Alvin K. Bissell Park. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m., and it will mark the 75th anniversary of the Community Band’s first concert, which was held on July 4, 1944.

“Come early, bring chairs or blankets for outdoor seating, and enjoy the music and fireworks,” a press release said. Refreshments will be available for sale.

This is a free event, the press release said. However, donations are appreciated to help offset band expenses.

The Community Band’s July 4 performance is a family-friendly event, and it provides an excellent opportunity to relax and enjoy a fun evening of music and fireworks, the press release said. [Read more…]

Roane State student artists display work, earn honors

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Pictured are three of the winners of Roane State’s annual Juried Student Art show. From left: Steve Williams, best of show; Talitha Chafin, second place; and Archie Clark, honorable mention. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures, and other mixed media work showcasing the artists’ talents, imaginations, and creative visions were on display during Roane State’s 2019 Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition.

Stunning black-and-white photos, a solargram revealing the sun’s path through the sky over the course of months, and a giant wire spider dangling from a wall were among those judged by an artist who has exhibited internationally.

The 31 selections were on display in April in the O’Brien Art Gallery, located on the college’s main campus in Roane County.

“This is a great opportunity for students to get practice with submitting and exhibiting in a juried exhibition that culminates with a celebration of their hard work over the past year,” Roane State Art Professor Stacy Jacobs said. [Read more…]

Watch ‘Aquaman’ at outdoor pool Saturday night

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool on Providence Road will show the 2018 movie “Aquaman” on Saturday night, June 15, 2019. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool will show the 2018 movie “Aquaman” on Saturday night, June 15.

“Aquaman” (rated PG-13) will be shown poolside on an inflatable screen during the “Flick N Float” movie night, a press release said.

Gates will open at 8:30 p.m. with the movie scheduled to start at approximately 9 p.m., the press release said. Attendees can watch the movie while floating in the water (shallow end only) or sitting in the grassy area.

[Read more…]

Roane State’s Stephens honored for her work

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

DeAnna Stephens

Roane State Community College assistant professor of English DeAnna Stephens earned two honors this spring.

Stephens won the poetry competition at the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival.

She also received first place in the fiction category at the Tennessee Mountain Writers Conference Awards Banquet.

Stephens said she was very excited when informed in mid-March that she was a finalist in the Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival. Before she won, Stephens said she hadn’t planned to attend the event.

Things changed, especially since the recognition included a $1,000 prize, a free pass to the festival, and the opportunity to read her poems to an appreciative audience, a press release said. [Read more…]

Lavender Festival features herbs, crafts, food, music Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

2017 Lavender Festival (Image Credit: Shawn Millsaps)

Tennessee’s only Lavender Festival returns for its 21st year in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 15. The festival is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“Celebrating all things herbal, crafts, local foods, and more, the Lavender Festival is free to customers, and last year attracted an estimated crowd of 11,000,” a press release said. “In addition to free admission, Lavender Festival also offers plenty of free parking in city and business lots surrounding Jackson Square.”

The festival is full of tradition and fun, and it always features something new, the press release said. For example, a traditional bagpipe player will open the festival at 8 a.m., playing from upper Blankenship Field into Jackson Square. Also keeping with tradition, Alan McBride will follow with the hammered dulcimer in the bandstand, the release said. A complete music schedule is included below.

The highlight of Lavender Festival will be the group of 150 artisan, herb, and floral vendors that will line the covered walkways of Jackson Square, the parking lot, and both sides of Broadway Avenue, which will be closed to traffic.

[Read more…]