Chapter 18 - Take Me With You, Day 2

Day 2 continued our trip through the Appalachian Mountains and found us in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had been here as a child but didn't remember a whole lot about it. Since we arrived there during the Big Ears Festival which we had no clue about, it was a very busy city.

Unfortunately for us, the Festival was sold out. If you have never heard of it, it is a four day arts festival touching on almost every sort of creative endeavor. "Nestled in Knoxville’s intimate and historic downtown, festival goers are offered nearly 200 performances during the festival—at restored historic theaters, soaring churches, refurbished warehouse spaces, museums, galleries, and clubs—with pop-up events and performances, exhibitions, films, literary readings, workshops, markets and talks taking place in cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants, in alleyways and other nooks and crannies of the city. The festival experience is full of surprises." It would seem there is something for everyone and a festival we will have to put on our calendar for future adventures!

We did go to the Museum of East Tennessee where we learned a lot about that part of the state. The current exhibits include one on the 1982 World's Fair and one about the settlement of that part of Tennessee. As a small museum it is well curated and extremely reasonable in cost.

Sharyn McCrumb writes mysteries which take place in East Tennessee. Her Spencer Arrowood series get great reviews and are very popular in bookstores around Knoxville. Bill Bryson makes a stop in Knoxville in his A Walk in the Woods and Lisa Wingate's Before We Were Yours is another book located in the state. Some Jefferson Bass books also take place in this part of Tennessee as the "body farm" is located at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

This city is a "must return" for us. Have you ever been to Knoxville? Let me know!