Spring Brings New Life to Knoxville Tennessee: Dogwood Arts Festival
Since 1960, Knoxville has hosted the Dogwood Arts Festival each April. Today, people from all over the nation come to celebrate nature and the arts as festivities span seventeen days, over one hundred and fifty activities, and two counties! The city’s fantastic dogwoods remain the central focus with blossoms that can reach nearly four inches in length, rivaling Maryland’s famous dogwoods. While most of Knoxville’s dogwoods are white, our pink dogwoods are especially vibrant; the deep pink, almost red, color is caused by the natural acidity in our soil. Other varieties include a native pale pink dogwood and a “weeping” dogwood, similar to the weeping cherry tree.
While tours have been conducted since the Sequoyah Hills Trail opened 1955, other trails throughout the region have been added over the years; there are nine dogwood trails today spanning seventy miles and two counties. When I was a child, signs indicated the trails’ entrances and large pink or white spots were painted on the roads to lead the way. Today, self-guided motor-tourists follow pink and green lines, taking photographs, pacing themselves, often stopping for closer looks. Guided bus tours are also available and, for walkers, the historic Fourth and Gill Victorian neighborhood tour is a popular activity.
Also part of the celebration is a three-day festival held on Market Square in downtown Knoxville. Over one hundred arts, crafts, and food vendors crowd into the newly renovated, historic space to sample East Tennessee’s cuisine, culture, and creations. Shoppers will find everything from homemade soaps to hand-blown glass, and artisan jewelry to rare books. Many of Knoxville’s restaurants and caterers participate; one can find edibles ranging from funnel cakes and famous local bar-b-que to gourmet coconut shrimp and crispy spanikopita. Adding to the festivities, musical events are scheduled each year featuring a variety of musical styles from classical to country.
Last year, the festival introduced Art in Public Spaces, a sponsored display that continued throughout the month of July. Located in Krutch Park, adjacent to Market Square, the exhibit featured the large-scale work of twelve artists. Other artwork was available for viewing at more than fifteen galleries throughout Knoxville’s downtown area. Gallery Walk, was a one-night event in which artists were available and visitors were encouraged to mingle and browse.
There’s so much more! A parade, a jazz concert, children’s activities, and literary events hosted by the Knox County Public Library – there really is something for everyone. In the tradition of the South, the Dogwood Arts Festival brings people together with food and fun, music, nature, and friendship.
Check out the 2008 Dogwood Arts calendar here.
