Recently I’ve gotten involved in planning for an Earth Day event in Oak Ridge. On Saturday afternoon, April 12th, at the Oak Ridge Civic Center, there will be exhibits, speakers, a “kids’ village,” and live music from some of the region’s best-known bands. The theme of the event is Planting the Seeds of Change, and the event goals are “to educate, encourage, and empower the citizens of Oak Ridge and surrounding communities to create a sustainable community.” The people behind this event have a lot of energy and a lot of good ideas, so I’m looking forward to a fun (and free) community-based festival that will help make Oak Ridge a greener community. See OakRidgeEarthDay.com for details and updates. (Note: It’s not too late to volunteer to be an exhibitor or to help out on the day of the event, and the organizers are still looking for financial sponsors.)
The week before the Earth Day event, on Friday evening, April 4th, folk musician John McCutcheon will be performing in town, thanks to the efforts of up-and-coming local impresario Allen McBride. In years past I’ve enjoyed hearing McCutcheon perform at the Laurel Theater in Knoxville and at the Children’s Museum in Oak Ridge, but this will be our first chance to hear him in the new performance space in the former Grove Theater. All profits will benefit wheelchair accessibility at the
Children’s Museum. Check out Allen McBride’s website for details.
On the subject of festivals, Oak Ridge’s annual Secret City Festival is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 20Â and 21, 2008. I’m told that this event brings a lot of people to town who wouldn’t come here otherwise, and that many of them go away with a favorable impression of our city. (Based on conversations I had last weekend at the Children’s Museum’s International Festival, it has the same type of effect, but on a smaller scale.) The “big name” musical entertainment on Friday will be the ’60s-’70s rock throwback The Turtles and Saturday night’s entertainment will be by Mary Wilson of the Supremes, of Motown fame.
Spring and summer is a GREAT TIME in Oak Ridge.