KNOXVILLE TENNESSEE : APRIL 2011 : ATTRACTIONS

World's Fair Park : On our way to Atlanta (post to come), we decided to stop in Knoxville overnight and check out some of the sights. Way back in 1982, my sister’s gymnastic group was invited to perform for almost a week at the World’s Fair which was held in Knoxville that year. I had hoped that when we visited the World’s Fair Park in downtown Knoxville I’d actually recognize some of the places. With the exception of the Sunsphere which was used in most of the promotion materials, I didn’t recognize anything.

World’s Fair Park is a nice little area downtown where they have a pond, an amphitheater, walking paths and the Sunsphere, which has been reopened. It’s open daily April-October from 9 am-10 pm and November-March from 11 am-6 pm and it’s free to go up. We went up during the day and then went back at night to see the city in the dark but unfortunately there are several lights on inside the observation deck so we didn’t really see much at night.

One memory I have from the World’s Fair was that they had a "new technology" that allowed them to put on a Laser Light Show every night. I also remember there was a 4-foot tall ketchup bottle that passed out pickle-shaped pins. We didn't see any laser lights or robotic ketchup bottles on this trip, but I still have my pickle pin.

The Knoxville Museum of Art : is a small but nice art museum with some permanent collections and several rotating exhibits. I was fortunate that the Knoxville Watercolor Society was exhibiting there during our visit as I really like watercolors.

The museum literally looks over World’s Fair Park and is open Tues.-Sat. from 10 am-5 pm and Sun. 1-5 pm. Admission is free but donations are welcome.

Market Square : is a little area in downtown Knoxville with a closed street that has several restaurants and shops.

Market Square is adjacent to a nice little green space named Krutch Park which boasts a pond and some water play fountains.

There are several public art pieces located in Krutch Park including this red piece which I didn't get the title of.

Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum : this little gem sits on a ridge-top 5 minutes from downtown Knoxville surrounded by an urban community. Since it is April and has been a pretty cold winter in Ohio, visiting the gardens was very relaxing.

The gardens are a magical place with whimsical round stone buildings, stone-sided greenhouses and secret garden paths and alleys and features distinctive stone walls and buildings. The buildings even had curved doors. I'd love one of these for a painting studio.

The site is located on the former property of the Joe N. Howell Nursery and the C.B. Howell Nursery and features distinctive stone walls and buildings constructed by Joe Howell's employees. The Howell family's nursery business was originally established in 1786 and the Gardens represent a significant cultural landscape in Knoxville's history. They even have an area where they are growing bamboo which was neat to see.

Knoxville Botanical Garden is open to the public from sunrise to sunset, 365 days a year. Admission is free.