Oak Ridge Today





ORHS Masquers to present ‘Clue’

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Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s extracurricular drama program, will present “Clue” in three performances in November. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge High School Masquers, the school’s extracurricular drama program, will present “Clue,” the murderously funny play based on the classic film, for three performances in November, a press release said.

Two evening performances are scheduled at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 11, and Saturday, November 13. An afternoon performance is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 14.

The play will be performed in the Oak Ridge Performing Arts Center at ORHS.

“Seating is limited since we will be seating guests socially distanced by family groups,” the press release said. “Seating will be first come, first served.”

“Clue” is the story of a dinner party gone awry. Six guests are invited but told to use only the aliases assigned to them. When Colonel Mustard, Ms. Scarlett, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, and Ms. White figure out they are all being blackmailed by their host, they are presented with a weapon and an option: pay the blackmailer or take the blackmailer out.

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Oak Ridge Philharmonia resumes concerts

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Oak Ridge Philharmonia

The Oak Ridge Philharmonia is resuming concerts after more than a year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Great news!” the Philharmonia said on its website. “The orchestra will finally be in concert again!”

These are the first concerts since March 2020, and they are free.

The first concert is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, October 31, at Cokesbury United Methodist Church on Kingston Pike in Knoxville. The second is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, November 7, at First Baptist Church in Oak Ridge.

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Street Painting Festival honors Scarboro 85, raises funds for Roane State scholarships

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The theme for the 2021 Street Painting Festival, “Honoring Scarboro 85,” recognized the first Black students from the former Scarboro School who integrated Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High on Sept. 6, 1955. The Honoring Scarboro 85 award went to the team of Dawn and Her Guys. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

The 2021 Street Painting Festival, hosted by the Noon Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, is in the books having raised more than $14,000 to help fund scholarships for Roane State Community College students in Anderson County.

Held in Oak Ridge’s Historic Jackson Square each October, the festival blends art, history, and community for a fun event in support of local students. Nearly $300,000 in scholarships issued by the nonprofit Roane State Foundation have been provided since the start of the festival in 1999, a press release said.

Festival sponsors make a tax-exempt donation to the Foundation, with levels ranging from $5,000 for Platinum down to $100 for Individual. Sponsors’ names are assigned to sidewalk squares upon which the artists then paint pictures with chalk. Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. once again sponsored the event at the Platinum Level. 2021 marked the 20th consecutive year of festival sponsorship for the company.

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The SteelDrivers play in Oak Ridge

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ORNL Federal Credit Union Summers Sessions concerts are in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy ORNL Federal Credit Union)

Bluegrass group The SteelDrivers will perform at a free concert in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

It’s the last Summer Sessions concert of 2021, and the show is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Saturday, October 23, in the pavilion at Alvin K. Bissell Park.

The opening band will be Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper.

The concert series is sponsored by ORNL Federal Credit Union.

The SteelDrivers are based in Nashville and known for their dynamic songwriting and eclectic shows, a press release said. Current band members include Tammy Rogers on fiddle, Mike Fleming on bass, Kelvin Damrell on guitar and vocals, Brent Truitt on mandolin, and Richard Bailey on banjo.

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Clinch River Fall Antique Festival starts Friday

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Clinch River Antique Festival
File photo

The Clinch River Fall Antique Festival starts in downtown Clinton on Friday, October 1.

It’s the 20th annual festival.

“The Clinch River Fall Antique Festival is an autumn tradition that keeps growing as the years
go on,” a press release said. “What was created to commemorate the Clinch River mussel pearls and their
economic contributions to East Tennessee in the early 1900s is now the largest fall event
in Anderson County. Each year, the festival that’s held just a few miles away from I-75 in
Historic Downtown Clinton, Tennessee, brings in upwards of 15,000 people to the
community over two days.”

The 20th Annual Clinch River Fall Antique Festival is hosted by the Anderson County
Chamber of Commerce. It is scheduled from noon-10 p.m. on Market Street on downtown Clinton.

Day one of this two-day event will begin with many vendors set up on Market Street beginning at noon, the press release said.

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Secret City Festival has free admission to concerts

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A previous Secret City Festival is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

The Secret City Festival will offer free admission to concerts this weekend after daytime activities were canceled because of the resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

The concerts are Jimmie Allen on Friday, September 24, and All-4-One on Saturday, September 25. Gates open at 6 p.m., and the concerts start at 7. The concerts are in Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge.

The concerts will be first-come, first-served. Capacity is limited to 50 percent, a press release said.

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Bluegrass band plays in Oak Ridge Saturday

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Songs From the Road Band

A bluegrass group, Songs From the Road Band, will headline a concert in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

It’s the third Summer Sessions concert this year sponsored by ORNL Federal Credit Union.

The opening group at the concert on Saturday will be Grassroots Gringos, a bluegrass band based in Knoxville, a press release said.


Songs From the Road Band is from Asheville, North Carolina. They are known for their lively and exciting shows, which are often compared to the thrill and spontaneity of a NASCAR race, the press release said. The group features Mark Schmick (mandolin), Charles Humphrey III (bass), Sam Wharton (guitar), James Schlender (fiddle), and Gabe Epstein (banjo). With six albums under their belt, their most recent single “Amarillo Blue” topped the Bluegrass Today Grassicana chart earlier this summer, the press release said.

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Farm Fest in Jackson Square on Saturday

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Farm Fest in the Square is in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The festival will be in Jackson Square from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, September 18.

“The event will be a celebration of life down on the farm,” organizers said. “We have a pie bake off, square dancers, animals from Little Ponderosa Zoo, music from Liza Jane and Curly Fiddler, an open bluegrass jam, and vendors! The Oak Ridge Farmers Market will be right across the street, so come get some great eats and learn a bit about the history of farm life.”

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Updated: Day of Peace features Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday

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Dan Alcott

Note: This press release has been updated to include information about event changes if it rains.

The Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday will present the Oak Ridge premiere of “Adaptation Variations” by Japanese American composer Takuma Itoh.

It will be the featured musical selection during the United Nations International Day of Peace observance Tuesday, September 21, at the International Friendship Bell and Peace Pavilion in Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The outdoor Music for Peace performance will follow Haiku for Peace presentations and children’s activities by Oak Ridge Girl Scouts during a program focused on the Friendship Bell, Peace Pavilion, and the adjacent karesansui garden. Ziad Demian, architect who designed the Peace Pavilion dedicated in 2018, will speak about the tradition and technology in the pavilion design, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Community Band has Labor Day concert

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The photo taken by Bill Dodge shows the clarinet section of the Oak Ridge Community Band at the July 4 concert. (Submitted photo)

 

Submitted

Labor Day is often considered the unofficial end of summer, and what better way to celebrate the beginning of fall as well as the holiday weekend than to go to Alvin K. Bissell Park on Monday evening and enjoy great musical entertainment in a casual and fun atmosphere.

The evening will feature a concert by the Oak Ridge Community Band, directed by band conductor Shaun Salem. The concert is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Monday, September 6. It is a free family-friendly event. Organizers recommend you bring lawn chairs or blankets for outdoor seating. Ice cream will be available for sale.

The Community Band will play a variety of music genres including familiar patriotic marches, novelty pieces, classical, and the all-time crowd pleaser, which is so special for Tennessee Vol fans, “Rocky Top,” the press release said. Among the compositions on the September 6 program will be Robert Smith’s “American Flourish,” John Philip Sousa’s “The Thunderer,” the very fast-paced novelty piece Warren Barker’s “A Galop to End All Galops,” and James L. Hosay’s “Black Granite,” which was written to commemorate the men and women who gave their lives in the Vietnam War, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Community Band has Back to School concert Sunday

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Oak Ridge Community Band (Submitted photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Community Band will have a Back to School concert in Alvin K. Bissell Park on Sunday evening.

Oak Ridge schools started a new school year this week.

Sunday evening will feature casual, relaxing music performed by the Oak Ridge Community Band, a press release said. The concert is free, and it will start at 7 p.m. It is a great opportunity for family and friends to enjoy an entertaining program of music featuring popular selections that children and students know and love but that also appeal to listeners of all ages, the press release said.

Sunday evening’s performance directed by conductor Shaun Salem is focusing on familiar and well-liked numbers including “Young Person’s Guide to John Williams” with “Raiders March,” “Prologue from Hook,” “Theme from E.T.,” “Hedwig’s Theme,” and Disney movie favorites “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Incredibles.”

Other compositions on Sunday’s program will be band director Shaun Salem’s mysterious “Ghost Ship” and John Powell’s “How to Train Your Dragon” featuring “This is Berk,” “Move Ahead,” and “Coming Back Around.” The band will also perform Rossano Galante’s “Mt. Everest” and Percy Grainger’s “Children’s March: Over the Hills and Far Away.” [Read more…]

Arts Council of Oak Ridge closes

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For the past 63 years, the Arts Council of Oak Ridge has been more than just a nonprofit organization. It has forged friendships, worked with some of the best community leaders, fostered new arts organizations, and proudly supported a region rich in arts and culture, a press release said.

But now it is time to start a new phase for the arts in Oak Ridge, the press release said.

The Council has decided to close its doors. [Read more…]

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