In this Knoxville Insider Issue…

🌤️ Weather | Partly Cloudy with a High of 76

🗓️ Where Fresh Food Meets Fun - Pavilion Farmers Market this Thursday

📰 Bringing Peace of Mind Home: A Story of Care and Community Support

🗓️ UT Creative Writing Alumnae Return for Reading & Celebration of Debut Short Story Collections

🗓️ Upcoming Events

📣 We Want to Spotlight Your Business! Apply Here

✅ Advertising Opportunities
 

Where Fresh Food Meets Fun - Pavilion Farmers Market this Thursday

If you haven’t made it out to the Pavilion Farmers Market yet, you’re missing one of the best weekly gatherings in town. The brand-new Hardin Valley Event Center is now home to the Pavilion Farmers Market, happening every Thursday from 4:00–7:00 pm.

Browse a fantastic selection of 100% locally grown produce, farm-fresh meats, baked goods, plants, and handmade products from small businesses across our region. You’ll also find unique vendors offering home, health, and beauty items you won’t see anywhere else.

This week’s live music is by Wilder Things Than Us, plus food and drink from local favorites including Kazoku Hibachi Express, Smiley Swirl, and The Casual Pint. Bring the kids to enjoy family-friendly activities, explore the vendors, and even check out kayak rentals for extra fun (with a free shuttle from 1:00–4:00 pm).

✨ It’s rain or shine, and every week brings something new — so invite your neighbors, leash up the dog, and kick off your weekend with us!

📍 Hardin Valley Event Center - 2620 Willow Point Way - Thursdays from 4pm-7pm

Bringing Peace of Mind Home: A Story of Care and Community Support

Peace of Mind at Home is a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting cancer patients and their caregivers across East Tennessee by providing essentials like household supplies, comfort items during treatment, and gift cards.

This summer has been a season of growth and impact. They welcomed two new volunteers and a UT Social Work intern. Their help means they can reach even more families in need.

They’re also strengthening their partnership with UTMC’s Cancer Institute Satellite Campus in Alcoa, where they currently serve eight patients. Each visit includes $100 in gift cards plus supplies and comfort items—about $170 per visit and $1,020 per patient over three months.

One of our newest patients, CW, a 74-year-old lung cancer patient, was struggling in 98-degree heat when her AC broke. Thanks to support from local area residents, they provided fans and Walmart gift cards, which allowed her to purchase a window AC unit. CW shared this was a blessing during her treatment.

🛒 Want to help? Visit their Amazon Wishlist to provide comfort items directly to patients in need.

Discover all upcoming events on our Community Events page

Upcoming Events:

Ready to flex that vocabulary after a drink or two? 🍻 Join us for BUZZED!, an adults-only spelling bee happening August 29 at 7:00 PM at Hi-Wire Brewing in Knoxville! More Info

Get ready to light up the night at AMP’D, the ultimate silent disco experience at the American Museum of Science and Energy! On Friday, August 29, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT, the museum transforms into a vibrant dance floor where you control the vibe. More Info

Big Kahuna Wing Festival - Get ready for one of the South’s tastiest and most exciting events—The Big Kahuna Wing Festival returns this Labor Day weekend on August 31st at The World’s Fair Park! More Info

Boating Safety Course - The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary will host the BOAT AMERICA boating safety course on Saturday, September 6th, from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. at Carson-Newman University, 1645 Russell Avenue, Jefferson City. Register by September 3rd by emailing [email protected]. For more information, please visit www.cgaux.org.

Get ready for... Camp GalFunction: A 2-Year Celebration! Grab your marshmallow roasting sticks for the ultimate end-of-summer camp-themed celebration! Join us on Tuesday, September 16th at 7 PM as we celebrate two incredible years at The Hub Pro Studio with a night full of cozy, camp-inspired fun. More Info

Grab your clubs and join the East Tennessee Kidney Foundation (ETKF) for an afternoon of fun, fellowship, and fundraising at Golfing for Kidneys on Thursday, September 18th, from 2:00–5:00 PM. The event will be held at Topgolf Knoxville (11400 Outlet Drive, Farragut). More Info

Networking:

See Recurring Weekly & Monthly Networking Events

Veterans:

Free Veterans’ Breakfast: The United Veterans Council of East Tennessee presents 14 free breakfasts for Veterans and guests on four Saturdays, monthly. Coffee line starts at 8am, Chow line starts at 8:30am. Locations and Dates

UT Creative Writing Alumnae Return for Reading & Celebration of Debut Short Story Collections

The UT Creative Writing Program is hosting a special evening celebrating the debut short story collections of two of its accomplished alumnae: Samantha Edmonds and Mariah Rigg.

The reading will take place on Monday, September 8th, at 7:00 pm in the Lindsay Young Auditorium of John C. Hodges Library, Room 101 on the UT campus at 1015 Volunteer Blvd. Admission is free and open to the public.

Samantha Edmonds, MFA ’UTK, is the author of A Preponderance of Starry Beings (Triquarterly, 2025) and the chapbooks Pretty to Think So and The Space Poet. Her wide-ranging work has appeared in The New York Times, Fourth Genre, Ninth Letter, Michigan Quarterly Review, Mississippi Review, Creative Nonfiction, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and more. Edmonds is now an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Berry College and lives in Rome, Georgia.

Mariah Rigg, PhD ’UTK, is a Samoan-Haole writer born and raised on the island of O‘ahu. She is the author of Extinction Capital of the World (Ecco, 2025) and the chapbook All Hat, No Cattle (Bull City Press, 2023). Her honors include fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, MASS MoCA, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Lambda Literary. Her work has been featured in The Sewanee Review, Oxford American, Electric Lit, Chicago Review of Books, and more.

Join us for an evening of powerful storytelling, literary celebration, and community as two of UT’s own return to share their extraordinary new works.

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