Eighth of August Jubilee, August 7 – 8
This weekend, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center is hosting multiple events in celebration of Eighth of August Jubilee. While most are now familiar with the history of Juneteenth, Aug. 8, 1863, is the day Tennessee’s military governor Andrew Johnson freed enslaved people. The 7th annual Jubilee Festival will be held at Dr. Walter Hardy Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue beginning at noon on Saturday, Aug. 7. Vocalist Kelle Jolly will open the Jubilee, and jazz artist Brian Clay will close out the day. On Sunday, Aug. 8, at 7:30 a.m., the annual Eighth of August Libation Ceremony will be held at the Freedmen’s Mission Historic Cemetery adjacent to Knoxville College. The Libation is held at the graveside of three of the people emancipated on Aug. 8, 1863. Minister Alan Jones, who has presided over this special tribute since its inception, will lead in the spirit of remembrance. On Sunday, Aug. 8, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center at 1927 Dandridge Avenue will host a Gospel Explosion under a tent. The program will open with artistic director of Knoxville Opera Brian Salesky and vocalist Michael Rogers, and will proceed with an assembly of quartets and soloists along with words of inspiration by Pastor Leah Burns, the Rev. Dr. Charles Lomax, the Rev. Dr. Harold Middlebrook, Elder Frankie Slay and Pastor Tonya Tucker. Bishop Farris Long will preside over the event. More info here.
First Friday, August 6
Selections from artist Kate Aubrey, featured this month at The Emporium.
Come celebrate regional artists and enjoy new exhibitions, live music and artist demos on First Friday, Aug. 6, from 5-9 p.m. at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. One of the featured exhibitions this month is that of watercolorist Kate Aubrey.
Aubrey is a past vice president of the Knoxville Watercolor Society as well as a member of the Arts & Culture Alliance and the Oak Ridge Art Center. She is a member of the National Watercolor Society with signature memberships in the Southern Watercolor Society and the Tennessee Watercolor Society (to name a few) and is a Master Artist at the Cape Cod Art Center in Massachusetts.
Aubrey’s work has earned many awards in multiple national and international exhibitions and has appeared in “Watercolor Artist Magazine,” “American Art Collector Magazine,” Artist’s Magazine’s “The Best of Watercolor,” and the “American Watercolor Weekly” e-zine. More info here.
Other First Friday happenings are detailed here, including exhibitions, music, performances, culinary arts, public art and more. Be on the lookout for the ArtWalk flags outside of participating downtown First Friday venues.
For info on other local events, contact the Arts & Culture Alliance.