Oak Ridge Today

Arts Council asks for help funding arts, music, ballet

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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…]

Arts festival in Jackson Square on Saturday

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Mad Hatters Art Festival Through Looking Glass 0718 390x600

The Mad Hatter’s Arts Festival in Jackson Square on Saturday will feature arts and crafts vendors, poetry, music, food, dancers, authors, and interactive arts stations.

The free festival, the first of its kind, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s presented by Through the Looking Glass Antiques and Collectibles in Jackson Square.

A Jabberwocky Poetry Slam is scheduled at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. An open mic will start at 2 p.m. for walk-ins who didn’t sign up for the family-friendly event but want to perform.

Sixteen local songwriters will perform original acoustic music all day, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the square. There will also be musicians playing cover songs at the festival, said Linda Johnston of Through the Looking Glass.

At noon, the Oak Ridge Civic Ballet dancers will perform in the square. [Read more…]

‘Oak Ridge Has Talent’ fundraiser at Grove Theater on Friday

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Ridge City Ramblers

Members of the Ridge City Ramblers, who will play at Oak Ridge Has Talent on Friday, are, from left, Gary Coleman, Mary Tuskan, Scott Linn, Abbie Hoerner, Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Steve Reddick. (Submitted photos)

The Grove Theater will host a fundraising talent show on Friday that will feature 10 groups from Oak Ridge and East Tennessee.

The show, called “Oak Ridge Has Talent,” starts at 7 p.m. Friday. It will mark the kickoff of Friends of the Grove Theater, a new nonprofit organization dedicated to maintain the Historic Grove Theater as a performing arts center for the Oak Ridge area.

Representatives from Sound Company Children’s Youth Choir will perform along with ensembles from Oak Ridge Community Band, Oak Ridge Symphony, and dancers from the Oak Ridge Civic Ballet. Bands will include the Ridge City Ramblers, an Oak Ridge Bluegrass band; the MOOD, a classic rock band; and an Irish music session representing the Traditional Irish Arts of Knoxville. Miss East Tennessee Scholarship Talent winners will also perform, and a distinctive surprise from the Emory Valley Center is planned. Comedian and humorist Tyler Gouch will serve as the master of ceremonies. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge talent showcase, pub quiz benefit Grove Theater on March 28, 29

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High Places Community Church

An Oak Ridge talent show and pub quiz night will benefit the historic, renovated Grove Theater on March 28 and 29.

An Oak Ridge talent show and pub quiz night will benefit the historic, renovated Grove Theater on March 28 and 29.

On Friday, March 28, the new nonprofit organization Friends of the Grove Theater will have a showcase titled “Oak Ridge Has Talent.” It will benefit the Grove, a legacy of the Manhattan Project era that is celebrating 70 years of history and a decade since its re-opening by High Places Community Church, a press release said.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

All proceeds from the March 28 show at the Grove will be used to maintain the facility as a performing arts center for Oak Ridge and East Tennessee organizations, the press release said. The show starts at 7 p.m., and it will include performances from community partners and other locals who want to support the Grove. Comedian and humorist Tyler Gooch will entertain between acts. [Read more…]