Last weekend, downtown Knoxville transformed into a lively street fair with one of a kind arts and crafts booths, demonstrations, entertainment, and food. As part of the Dogwood Arts Festival, the entire month of April was being celebrated with parades, bike tours, block parties, art exhibits, live bands, cooking demonstrations and more.
I was lucky enough to catch the Rhythm N’ Blooms Festival during the month of Dogwoods, where well known country, blues, jazz, rock, bluegrass and folk musicians played at different venues across town. The lineup included locally and nationally-renowned musicians such as Amos Lee, Citizen Cope, Darrell Scott, The Black Lilllies, Jessica Lea Mayfield, The Boxer Rebellion, Big Sam’s Funky Nation and Jake Shimabukuro. One of the most splendid venues was the Tennessee Theater, a historic opera style performing arts theater that stands as a landmark in downtown Knoxville.
While walking through the market square, sidewalks became the canvas for professional and student artists during this street painting festival. Street painting is thought to have originated in 16th century Italy. Artists in each age group showcased their work to passers by and the ones with the most votes won awards and scholarships at the end of the festival. From everyday cartoons to intricate paintings, there were all kinds of colorful vibrant images one could admirably walk through and the street painters seemed very confident and talented in their work.
For more than half a century, the Dogwood Arts Festival has celebrated the natural and cultural beauty of East Tennessee. Dogwood Arts Festival is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, presented by ORNL Federal Credit Union, whose mission is to help support arts education in schools, promote the visual and performing arts, and to preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the region.
