For the locals

- Where
- East end of the Old Sevier strip
If you know, you know.
It seemed like such a simple thing, years ago, when the traffic circle was first proposed. The chart above is the official update.


If you know, you know.
It seemed like such a simple thing, years ago, when the traffic circle was first proposed. The chart above is the official update.
Three acts, one Saturday: a morning 5K and yoga by the river, the street festival on Sevier from noon to six, and official after-parties scattered across SoKno from eight on.

Pride starts early and easy, down at Suttree Landing Park: a free, no-registration 5K fun run with the SlowKno Running Club at 7:30 (lululemon has refreshments at the finish), then community yoga with Nora Vines at nine. New to the park? Turn toward the river at the Citgo on Sevier. Details on @soknopride.
At noon the avenue belongs to the crowd: local vendors and makers, community booths, food, and four stages of live entertainment running drag, DJs, and live music — all free and all-ages, presented by Choice Health Network. Sevier Ave closes between Dixie and Davenport from 10:30 to 7:30, so leave the car: there's a free shuttle from noon to seven out of the Dwight Kessel and Riverwalk garages, with rideshare drop-offs at Honeybee and Alliance.
Bring a chair, sunscreen, cash for tips, and the friend who never comes out — this is the one.
Four stages run drag, DJs, and live sets straight through the afternoon. Set times are subject to change — the live grid is on @soknopride.
When the street clears, the party scatters. The official after-parties start at eight, with headline spots at The Pink Cactus, Hi-Wire Brewing (closing early), Club XYZ, Core, and Fly by Night — plus more at Alliance Brewing, Honeybee Coffee, the Redbud, South Coast Pizza, and Southside Garage. Each runs its own show; the full rundown's on @soknopride.
For a couple of perfect weeks the Ijams trails put on a show no ticket can buy — and this weekend a naturalist will walk you right into it.

The fireflies come up out of the grass around full dark, and if you stand still long enough you'll feel like you wandered into a snow globe someone forgot to shake. Ijams' Phenomenal Fireflies walk sends you out with a naturalist who knows where to look — and how to keep the magic going for the rest of us.
A few neighborly asks the guides will echo: skip the flashlight, wear real shoes (it's up to two miles over uneven ground), and let the little glowers do their thing. The walk is sixteen and up, and you'll need to register ahead — no walk-ins on this one.
One of the quietest little wonders in the city happens at 7:30 in the morning: migratory songbirds, safely tagged and sent on their way.

If you can be up and out by 7:30, the banding table is worth the early alarm. Volunteers gently catch migratory songbirds in fine nets, fit each one with a tiny numbered band, take a few quick measurements, and let it go — real data for science, and a once-in-a-while look at a warbler close enough to count its feathers.
It's a hike out to the table and an early start, so bring coffee and a little patience. The birds set the schedule, not us.
Sunday is Make Music Day, and SoKno is doing its part — free, all day, all over, from a bluegrass jam at Ijams to live-band karaoke on Sevier.

Make Music Day is the global, free, play-anywhere celebration of the longest day of the year, and the South Knoxville lineup is exactly as charming as you'd hope. Start at Ijams, where the East Tennessee Bluegrass Association holds an open jam from 2 to 5 — pull up a chair, or bring an instrument and sit in.
Then head up to Sevier, where The Pink Cactus hands you the mic for live-band karaoke with Tinca Tinca from 5 to 7 — yes, you, fronting an actual band. Down the street, Fly by Night runs sets from Lu Anderson and Villaphonic into the evening.
All of it is free. Wander, listen, and sing the one song you actually know.
The build-your-own mac-and-cheese spot has made its way to South Knoxville — and the word on the street is it's open.

Roni's Mac Bar — the build-your-own bowl of elbow macaroni and cheese — has set up shop inside Kern's Food Hall on the old bakery campus. We've heard from more than one neighbor that the doors are open and the cheese is flowing.
We're getting the full scoop (and, in the name of journalism, a full bowl) and we'll report back. If you beat us to it, you know where to send your review — we're all ears.
A residential parcel near the north end of Sevier has a rezoning request in front of the Planning Commission. Here's what's actually on the table.

A parcel at 2704 Sevier Avenue — up at the northeast end, near Baker — has a rezoning request working its way through the system. The owner, through Connolly Development Ventures, is asking to move it from RN-2, single-family residential, to C-N, neighborhood commercial.
In plain terms: a lot zoned for a house could be cleared for a small neighborhood business. Nothing's decided yet — the Planning Commission takes it up on July 9, with the staff recommendation due about a week before. It's the kind of small change that quietly shapes what Sevier Avenue becomes, so we'll be watching. You can too.
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