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Triwizard Tournament in Jackson Square today

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Jackson Square Triwizard Tournament Oct 2017

The Triwizard Tournament is in Jackson Square from 3-6 p.m. today (Saturday, November 11).

The Triwizard Tournament includes games, buttered beer, food, shops, a silent auction, owls exam, and trivia at 5 p.m. followed by 110 in the Shade playing at Razzlebery’s Lab at 7 p.m., organizers said.

“Join us for an afternoon full of family fun!” organizers said.

See the Jackson Square Oak Ridge page on Facebook for more information.

The Triwizard Tournament was rescheduled from October 28 due to rain.

Triwizard Tournament is in Jackson Square on Saturday

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Jackson Square Triwizard Tournament Oct 2017

 

Calling all Muggles and Wizards! On Saturday, October 28, from 5-9 p.m., the Jackson Square Association will be hosting its Harry Potter Triwizard Tournament.

Students of Hogwarts will be able to test their skills at the games, complete their OWL exams, observe a Quidditch demonstration by Nox Quidditch team, drink buttered beer, and shop the many stores and booths at Hogsmeade.

Professor Pott’s will be hosting a pumpkin carving contest with Harry Potter theme. Judging will begin at 8:30. Prizes will be awarded for best pumpkin.

Albus Dumbledore will be hosting a trivia tournament at 6 for interested parties. Teams of four are encouraged to register by texting Linda Johnston at (865) 335-5614 or sign up day of event. Prizes will be awarded to best dressed team and winners! Cost is $20 per team, and snacks and drinks will be provided to participants. [Read more…]

More than 400 attended Taste of Anderson County

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A file photo showing a previous Taste of Anderson County in Jackson Square. (Photo courtesy United Way of Anderson County/Taste of Anderson County)

 

More than 400 people attended the Ninth Annual Taste of Anderson County in Jackson Square the last week of September.

“Thanks to the volunteers, vendors, sponsors, and over 400 attendees, the event was a great success!” a press release said. “The whole evening was full of food, fun, and friends.”

This year, 11 restaurants from around Anderson County showcased some of their most delicious treats and eats, the press release said. Among them were Aubrey’s, Burchfield’s, Centennial Golf Course, Hot Bagel Company, Panda Express, Pizza Inn, Razzleberry’s Cafe, Riverview Grill, Smoothie Patch, and The Soup Kitchen.

McAlister’s, McDonald’s, Kroger Marketplace, and Panera donated the tea and lemonade at the event, the press release said. [Read more…]

Vehicle crashes into Jackson Square businesses

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A vehicle crashed into two businesses in Jackson Square on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, causing interior and exterior damage, authorities said. (Photo by Daniel Powers)

A vehicle crashed into two businesses in Jackson Square on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017, causing interior and exterior damage, authorities said. (Photo by Daniel Powers)

 

A vehicle crashed into two businesses in Jackson Square on Sunday, causing interior and exterior damage, authorities said.

The single-vehicle crash was reported at about 1:20 p.m. Sunday, August 20.

The Oak Ridge Police Department said the crash injured the driver, who was taken by ambulance to Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge for treatment.

“The extent of their injuries is unknown,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a statement Wednesday. “No other injuries were reported.”

The two damaged businesses are Through the Looking Glass and All About U Hair Salon. [Read more…]

Arts & Antiques in Jackson Square on Saturday features cars, chalk art, movie, book exchange

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Arts in the Square Summer 2017 500x773

Arts and Antiques in Jackson Square on Saturday will feature vintage and antique cars, chalk art and crafts, arts and antiques, food and the Oak Ridge Farmers Market, storytellers and authors, and a book exchange and the movie “The Pagemaster.”

There are two separate rounds of activities. Both will be in Jackson Square in central Oak Ridge.

The first round of activities, Arts and Antiques in the Square, is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. It will feature the Fast ‘N Classy Car Club, which is bringing vintage, antique, and new cars that are “fast and classy.”

Also as part of the activities, Jackson Square merchants have partnered with the Oak Ridge Rotary Club to promote the upcoming Street Chalk Festival. Sponsors and artists can come and register for that festival in advance on Saturday, said Linda Johnston, owner of Through the Looking Glass in Jackson Square. Artists will be doing chalk art in the square on Saturday, Johnston said.

Arts and Antiques will also include arts and crafts vendors, the Oak Ridge Farmers Market in the parking lot on the north side of Broadway Avenue, the Jackson Square shops, and food, including funnel cake, Johnston said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge could set up committee to celebrate its 75th anniversary

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Y-12 Calutron Girls

Women enriching uranium in calutrons at Y-12 as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II. The 75th anniversary of the city that became Oak Ridge and still includes Y-12 is Sept. 19, 2017. (Photo by Ed Westcott)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider setting up a committee to celebrate the city’s 75th anniversary.

Oak Ridge’s birthday has been recognized on September 19. That’s because the city that is now Oak Ridge was picked for the top-secret Manhattan Project on September 19, 1942, almost 75 years ago. That was the day that General Leslie Groves approved the acquisition of 59,000 acres of land along the Clinch River for what soon became the Manhattan Project, a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs, before Germany could. Oak Ridge was then 90 square miles of East Tennessee farmland. It was the first site for Manhattan Project facilities.

By the time President Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized the Manhattan Project on December 28, 1942, work on the East Tennessee site where the first production facilities were to be built was already under way.

Oak Ridge became the home of two uranium enrichment plants (K-25 and Y-12), a liquid thermal diffusion plant (S-50), and a pilot plutonium production reactor (X-10 Graphite Reactor). Groves approved Oak Ridge as the site for the pilot plutonium plant and the uranium enrichment plant in 1942. Manhattan Project engineers had to quickly build a town to accommodate 30,000 workers—as well as build the enormously complex plants. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project program in Jackson Square on Saturday

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You can join Manhattan Project National Historical Park staff for a walk through Jackson Square on Saturday, July 1, at 10 a.m.

The program is free. It will begin in the upper parking lot of Jackson Square in front of the fountain, a press release said.

“During the program, we will discuss how routine, tradition, and the comforts of home helped keep Oak Ridge residents focused on the mission and not their hardships,” the press release said. “We will walk to the Alexander Inn Guest House and the Chapel on the Hill during the program.” [Read more…]

Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17

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The 19th annual Lavender Festival returns Saturday, June 17, 2017, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)

The 19th annual Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17, 2017, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. (Photography by Shawn Millsaps)

 

The 19th annual Lavender Festival is Saturday, June 17, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., in Historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. The Lavender Festival is a perennial crowd favorite, full of tradition, fun, and always something new, a press release said. The festival celebrates all things herbal, crafts, local foods, and more.

Admission to the festival is free, with plenty of free parking available in surrounding city and business lots, and on side streets, the press release said.

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.

Also returning for a second year is “A Taste of Tennessee Wines,” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., benefitting the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. The tasting is hosted by Great Valley Wine Trail, which is made up of four independent wineries in East Tennessee. Your $10 tasting ticket is available at the gate (for those who are 21 with a valid identification). Tasters receive a complimentary wine glass, and if they purchase wine, a six-compartment wine tote. Customers are allowed to enjoy the wine outdoors in the Square during festival hours, with lunch served all day by plenty of food vendors and food trucks, restaurants, and even hors d’oeuvres by Chapel on the Hill. [Read more…]

Fountain open again in Jackson Square

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The splash pad in Jackson Square is open. Here's a picture shared by reader Anna Freeman on Saturday, May 27, 2017. Pictured is her son Eli Freeman, 15 months. (Photo by Anna Freeman)

The interactive fountain or splash pad in Jackson Square is open again. Here’s a picture shared by reader Anna Freeman on Saturday, May 27, 2017. Pictured is her son Eli Freeman, 15 months. (Photo by Anna Freeman)

 

In the past month or so, we’ve had a few inquiries from readers about the splash pad or interactive fountain in Jackson Square and when it might open.

On Saturday, reader Anna Freeman reported that it’s open, and she shared a photo with Oak Ridge Today.

On Tuesday, the Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department said the fountain, which some refer to as a splash pad, had been closed so the pumps could be repaired. It’s back open now, the City of Oak Ridge said in a statement.

Reminder: Second year of Arts & Antiques in the Square kicks off Saturday

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The second year of Arts & Antiques in the Square kicks off Saturday, April 29, in Jackson Square. Vendor spaces are available, and you can have items appraised at the kickoff. Pictured above are Linda Johnston, right, owner of Through the Looking Glass Antiques and Collectibles and Meghan O'Neal of Southern Bliss Boutique. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The second year of Arts & Antiques in the Square kicks off Saturday, April 29, in Jackson Square. You can have items appraised at the kickoff. Pictured above are Linda Johnston, right, owner of Through the Looking Glass Antiques and Collectibles and Meghan O’Neal of Southern Bliss Boutique. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Reminder: The second year of Arts & Antiques in the Square kicks off Saturday, April 29, in Jackson Square.

You can have items appraised at the kickoff. The appraisals will be done by Case Antiques Inc. of Knoxville. It’s the Tennessee Treasures Appraisals Fair, which is part of the April 29 kickoff of Arts & Antiques in the Square. Items can be appraised for $10 per item, or $50 for six items. The appraisals will be done from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 29, in Jackson Square.

“Browse our shops and Arts & Antiques vendors while your items are appraised,” the Jackson Square Merchants Association said. If you have furniture to be appraised, you don’t have to bring it. You can bring photos or send them in advance.

Arts & Antiques in the Square itself is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 29.

The series is usually, but not always, held on the last Saturday of the month. The events highlight the arts: dance, music, visual arts, and theater. They also allow vendors to showcase and sell their products.

“We’re trying to revitalize Jackson Square to its former glory,” said Linda Johnston, owner of Through the Looking Glass Antiques and Collectibles. “This used to be where everybody came.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Farmers Market opens Saturday

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Farmers Market

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market opens for the season in Jackson Square at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 15. It will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, and from 3 p.m. to sellout on Wednesdays starting June 7. (File photo)

 

The Oak Ridge Farmers Market opens for the season in Jackson Square on Saturday, April 15.

The Farmers Market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. It will be open from 3 p.m. to sellout on Wednesday starting June 7.

The farmers markets are operated by the East Tennessee Farmers Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM. FARM celebrated its 40th anniversary last fall.

According to FARM history, two law students from the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University organized Food Fairs in 1976 that would bring farmers together to eventually create the Farmers Association for Retail Marketing.

“The primary objectives of the project were to increase income for family farmers in Tennessee by providing new markets and to get fresh, homegrown produce to urban consumers at fair prices,” the FARM history said. [Read more…]

Second year of Arts & Antiques in the Square kicks off April 29

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The second year of Arts & Antiques in the Square kicks off Saturday, April 29, in Jackson Square. Vendor spaces are available, and you can have items appraised at the kickoff. Pictured above are Linda Johnston, right, owner of Through the Looking Glass Antiques and Collectibles and Meghan O'Neal of Southern Bliss Boutique. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The second year of Arts & Antiques in the Square kicks off Saturday, April 29, in Jackson Square. Vendor spaces are available, and you can have items appraised at the kickoff. Pictured above are Linda Johnston, right, owner of Through the Looking Glass Antiques and Collectibles, and Meghan O’Neal of Southern Bliss Boutique. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The second year of Arts & Antiques in the Square kicks off Saturday, April 29, in Jackson Square. Vendor spaces are available, and you can have items appraised at the kickoff.

The appraisals will be done by Case Antiques Inc. of Knoxville. It’s the Tennessee Treasures Appraisals Fair, which is part of the April 29 kickoff of Arts & Antiques in the Square. Items can be appraised for $10 per item, or $50 for six items. The appraisals will be done from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 29, in Jackson Square.

“Browse our shops and Arts & Antiques vendors while your items are appraised,” the Jackson Square Merchants Association said. If you have furniture to be appraised, you don’t have to bring it. You can bring photos or send them in advance.

Arts & Antiques in the Square itself is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 29.

The series is usually, but not always, held on the last Saturday of the month. The events highlight the arts: dance, music, visual arts, and theater. They also allow vendors to showcase and sell their products.

“We’re trying to revitalize Jackson Square to its former glory,” said Linda Johnston, owner of Through the Looking Glass Antiques and Collectibles. “This used to be where everybody came.” [Read more…]