Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge Community Band has July 4 concert

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The Oak Ridge Community Concert Band in a July 4 concert. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Community Concert Band in a July 4 concert. (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band will present its annual Independence Day concert on Wednesday, July 4, at Alvin K. Bissell Park.

The concert is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free, and it will be followed by the Oak Ridge fireworks show.

“Because the concert and fireworks traditionally attract large crowds, the public is encouraged to come early for good seating,” a press release said. “Bring chairs or blankets and plan to enjoy an exciting evening of music and fireworks celebrating the 242nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Community Band director retiring

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The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above in a concert directed by Dale Pendley at Oak Ridge High School. (File photo/Submitted)

The Oak Ridge Community Band is pictured above in a concert directed by Dale Pendley at Oak Ridge High School. (File photo/Submitted)

 

Oak Ridge Community Band Director Dale Pendley is retiring, and the band is searching for a new director.

Pendley’s retirement will be effective after the Labor Day concert, a press release said.

Those interested in applying for the director position can send an email to lannyhuddleston2@gmail.com or send mail to Lanny Huddleston at 225 Iroquois Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37830.

People who would like to apply should submit a cover letter, resume, three examples of programs from performances they have produced and conducted over the past five years, and video recordings of performances, the press release said. Applicants will be reviewed by the selection committee, and selected applicants will be invited to conduct one or more Community Band rehearsals. Finalists will be interviewed by the Selection Committee and Board of Directors, the press release said. [Read more…]

Lavender Festival is Saturday in Jackson Square

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Image Credit: Shawn Millsaps

Lavender Festival (Image Credit: Shawn Millsaps)

 

The Lavender Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday will celebrate health, herbs, crafts, local foods—and lavender. There will also be music, children’s activities, and a wine tasting. It’s the 20th year of the festival, which is the only Lavender Festival in Tennessee.

“The Lavender Festival is a perennial crowd favorite, full of tradition, fun, and always something new,” a press release said.

The 20th annual Lavender Festival is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 16, in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge.

The festival, which attracted about 8,000 people last year, is always free, with plenty of free parking available in surrounding city and business lots, and on side streets.

As is tradition, a 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. A complete music schedule is found below.

Informative presentations will be held in the lobby of Pinnacle Financial Partners, and they will include Thyroid Health & Tips for Optimal Brain function (10 a.m.), Home-Crafted Lavender Products (11:30 a.m.), and Turning Back the Bones of Time (1 p.m.).

Also returning for its third year is “A Taste of Tennessee Wines,” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., benefitting the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Friends of Library has authors table, readings at Secret City Festival

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Danita "Dee Dee" Ashley

Danita “Dee Dee” Ashley

The Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library will participate in the Secret City Festival held at the Oak Ridge Civic Center on Friday and Saturday, June 8-9, by sponsoring local authors. The authors will be in the Club Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, autographing and selling their books at the following times:

Friday, June 8

  • 10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Danita “Dee Dee” Ashley; Charles and Beverly Connor
  • 12 p.m.-2 p.m. Connie Green; Carol Grametbauer
  • 2 p.m.-4 p.m.: Wes Sims

Saturday, June 9

  • 10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Carol Oen; Judy DiGregorio
  • 12 p.m.-2 p.m.: Shirley Raines; Patricia Hope
  • 2 p.m.-4 p.m.: Ray Smith

The featured local authors will read from their work at 15-minute intervals, and they include: [Read more…]

Tucker to be honored, money raised for journalism education at Front Page Follies

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Anne McKinney, left, Myranda McGhee, Sharon Lord, and Adina Chumley rehearse for the 40th anniversary Front Page Follies on June 14, 2018, at the Bijou Theatre. (Submitted photo)

Anne McKinney, left, Myranda McGhee, Sharon Lord, and Adina Chumley rehearse for the 40th anniversary Front Page Follies on June 14, 2018, at the Bijou Theatre. (Submitted photo)

 

Maurice Hendricks, a baritone with the Knoxville Opera and the Marble City Opera, will solo the reprise of “Let My People Golf” in the 40th annual Front Page Follies, which roasts state and local newsmakers, on June 14 at the Bijou Theatre in Knoxville. The cast of local media folks and friends is ready to present the musical revue of the year’s news and newsmakers, a press release said.

Front Page Follies offers an evening of laughs as the Front Page Foundation, host of the show, raises funds for journalism and broadcast scholarships and media education programs for students. Lori Tucker, WATE-TV news anchor, will be the honoree at this year’s Follies.

Regarding his role in the performance next week, Hendricks said: “I got an email from a friend saying they were looking for someone to sing this song. I like being involved in all-around fun craziness as an artist, meeting and singing with new people, and networking. So I said, ‘yes, let’s do it!’”

Hendricks has won the Encouraging Award in national auditions for the New York Metropolitan Opera.

The song, “Let My People Golf,” skewers the attitudes that prevented then-University of Tennessee basketball coach Wade Huston, an African-American hired in 1989, from joining a local country club. “It’s interesting to see that situation was only in 1989, not in the ‘60s,” Hendricks said. “We’ve come a long way but still have a long way to go.” [Read more…]

Secret City Festival is this weekend

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Although numbers weren't immediately available, organizers said a record-setting crowd attended the Three Dog Night concert at the Secret City Festival on Saturday. (Photo by Jon Hetrick)

A record-setting crowd is pictured above at the Three Dog Night concert at the Secret City Festival in June 2015. (File photo courtesy Jon Hetrick)

 

The Secret City Festival on Friday and Saturday will feature music, food, children’s activities, historic exhibits, arts and crafts, technology, robotics, magic, a juggler, a K-9 search demonstration, wine tasting, tours of two federal sites, veterans parade, an attempt to set a world record in a basketball game, and headline concerts featuring Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx, and Little River Band.

There have been pre-festival events this week, including a Battle of the Bands tonight (Thursday, June 7), and a live radio broadcast featuring two bands on Monday, and a Children’s Movie Night on Wednesday.

At the Secret City Festival this weekend, a main stage concert on Friday night will feature Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx. The opening band is The Band Legacy. The show starts at 7 p.m.

The main stage concert on Saturday night will feature the Little River Band. The opening band is Janelle Arthur. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available online or at Citizens First Bank at 1298 Oak Ridge Turnpike for $25. [Read more…]

Pre-Festival tonight: Battle of the Bands at A.K. Bissell Park

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There is a Battle of the Bands at the pavilion at Alvin K. Bissell Park tonight (Thursday, June 7).

The Battle of the Bands is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and it is presented by United Way of Anderson County, the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board, and MERLE FM.

It’s a pre-festival event for the Secret City Festival this weekend.

The first pre-festival event was Monday, a live radio broadcast by WDVX 89.9 FM, featuring Ridge City Ramblers and Kukuly and Gypsy Fuego. Then, there was a Children’s Movie Night on Wednesday featuring “Despicable Me 3.” [Read more…]

Pre-Festival Wednesday night: Children’s Movie Night features ‘Despicable Me 3’ at ORHS

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Children’s Movie Night tonight (Wednesday, June 6) will feature “Despicable Me 3” at Oak Ridge High School. It’s a pre-festival event for the Secret City Festival this weekend.

The movie is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Wednesday at Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School.

The first pre-festival event was Monday, a live radio broadcast by WDVX 89.9 FM, featuring Ridge City Ramblers and Kukuly and Gypsy Fuego.

Another pre-festival event this week, before the Secret City Festival on Friday and Saturday, is a Battle of the Bands at the pavilion at Alvin K. Bissell Park at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, presented by United Way of Anderson County, the Oak Ridge Youth Advisory Board, and MERLE FM.

There are many events scheduled for the Secret City Festival on Friday, June 8, and Saturday, June 9. [Read more…]

Pre-Festival tonight: WDVX live broadcast with Ridge City Ramblers

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Ridge City Ramblers

Ridge City Ramblers

 

A live radio broadcast show in Oak Ridge tonight will feature Ridge City Ramblers and Kukuly and Gypsy Fuego. It’s a pre-festival event for the Secret City Festival this weekend.

Ridge City Ramblers plays bluegrass, and Kukuly and Gypsy Fuego plays gypsy jazz, according to WDVX 89.9 FM, a listener-supported radio station that will broadcast the show live.

The concert is this evening (Monday, June 4). The music is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., according to WDVX and ORNL Federal Credit Union, which is presenting the show.

It’s the first in a series of free summer concerts in Oak Ridge called the “Summer Sessions” and presented by ORNL Federal Credit Union. Performers will include bluegrass and Americana bands from throughout the region. Future concerts will be held on the following Saturdays: July 21, August 18, September 8, and October 6. All concerts will be held outdoors at the pavilion in Alvin K. Bissell Park at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge. They are free. The full lineup can be found on ORNL FCU’s Facebook page or at ornlfcu.com/summer-sessions. [Read more…]

Reminder: Flatwater Festival, Flatwater Tales this weekend

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Ridge City Ramblers perform at the Flatwater Festival in 2017. (Photo courtesy Flatwater Festival)

Ridge City Ramblers perform at the Flatwater Festival in 2017. (Photo courtesy Flatwater Festival)

 

Reminder: The second Flatwater Festival presented by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge will be held from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Melton Lake Park.

And the Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival, which will feature three world renowned storytellers, has events on Friday and Sunday. It is the first storytelling festival in the Oak Ridge area.

Organizers said the Flatwater Festival on Saturday will include bands, beer, boat races, and bounce houses; wine, water, and soda; and face painting, food vendors, and fun for all, including corn hole games.

New this year is a team-building regatta featuring up to 20 boats. It will be held from 12:30 to 5 p.m. in collaboration with the Oak Ridge Rowing Association. A “build a boat” race by participants who make their own cardboard boats ahead of time will be held at 5 p.m. [Read more…]

Local bands benefiting charities tonight, Saturday

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The Teno Family Band is one of the many performing groups to provide entertainment at the Turning Wheel Revue on Friday evening, May 25, 2018, at Swifty’s Atomic Bar & Grill, and Saturday evening, May 26, at the Historic Grove Theater. (Submitted photo)

The Teno Family Band is one of the many performing groups to provide entertainment at the Turning Wheel Revue on Friday evening, May 25, 2018, at Swifty’s Atomic Bar & Grill, and Saturday evening, May 26, at the Historic Grove Theater. (Submitted photo)

 

“Local musicians benefiting local charities.”

That’s the tagline for the Turning Wheel Revue, a fundraiser to be held Friday, May 25, and Saturday, May 26, in Oak Ridge.

The Friday event will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. at Swifty’s Atomic Bar & Grill (119 South Illinois Avenue), and the Saturday fundraiser will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Historic Grove Theater (123 Randolph Road).

The bands that will trigger toe-tapping on Friday evening will be The Lewis Brothers (Robbie & James), The Ryan Meeker Band, $teve, The Thrips, The Unnamed, and special guests.

Turning to the Saturday evening event, attendees will hear Jeremiah Johnson & Jackson Coleman, Joey Shackleford, Kasey Moore, Samantha Mason & Marian Vacaluic, Sarah Joyal, (Rick) Payson Lyon, The Teno Family Band, Tim & Jodi Harbin, The Young Band, Nothing Band, and special guests.

The 13 local nonprofit service organizations that will benefit from your presence are: [Read more…]

Flatwater Festival announces first storytelling festival in Oak Ridge

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From left are Bil Lepp, Tim Lowry, and Minton Sparks. (Photos courtesy Flatwater Tales)

From left are Bil Lepp, Tim Lowry, and Minton Sparks. (Photos courtesy Flatwater Tales)

 

Internationally acclaimed storytellers to perform, share laughter and tears, and create memories

The Flatwater Festival in Oak Ridge has announced a major addition to its 2018 schedule: The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival, featuring three world renowned storytellers. This will be an annual event sponsored by the three Rotary Clubs in Oak Ridge, all volunteers, as part of the Flatwater Festival weekend. This is the first storytelling festival in the Oak Ridge area, a press release said.

Bil Lepp, Tim Lowry, and Minton Sparks will perform for this inaugural festival. They have achieved national and international recognition and appear regularly at festivals, including the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, the press release said.

Flatwater Tales kicks off on Friday, June 1, with a three-hour interactive writing workshop, “Create Your Own Story,” with Minton Sparks. The goal is to help participants discover their own stories from their family history and experiences, structure their stories, and share them with others. The workshop is being held in a serene woodland setting at the auditorium in the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge. No previous writing or performing experience is needed, the press release said. [Read more…]