It's Holiday Time at New Harvest Park
Knox County's New Harvest Park Farmers Market will transform into a Holiday Market beginning this week, moving inside the community building and adding new gift and craft items to the fresh produce and local gourmet foods. Hours for the Holiday Market have been extended; it will be open from 2 until 6 p.m. each Thursday through December 15, excluding Thanksgiving Day.
Several new vendors feature holiday gift and craft items including candles, bird feeders, jewelry, needlecrafts, wind chimes, pottery, and Christmas candies. These, in addition to the fresh produce provided by traditional vendors make the Holiday Market a great place for all your festive meals and gift needs.
In addition, the Holiday Market will be a drop off location for Blankets for the Homeless, a project for Water Angel Ministries. No-sew, fleece blankets will be accepted through December 1 and distributed throughout our community on December 4. The pattern for the tied blankets is available on the New Harvest website, www.knoxcounty.org/farmersmarket.
Local fall produce available this week includes sweet potatoes, several different varieties of squash, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, carrots, turnips, and eggplant. Always available are sweet treats and freshly baked breads, all natural beef products, salsa, and jams and jellies.
New Harvest Farmers Market vendors accept SNAP benefit cards. New Harvest Park is located at 4775 New Harvest Lane, just past the Target shopping center on Washington Pike.
Beaver Creek Stream Restoration
It's not the beavers chopping trees at Beaver Creek, but a few are coming down to accommodate the stream restoration project along the Halls Greenway. Knox County Parks and Recreation, in partnership with the county's Stormwater Management and The University of Tennessee, is rehabilitating about 1,000 feet of Beaver Creek behind the Halls Plaza shopping center in order to restore health to the creek and recreate conditions necessary for fish and other aquatic life to flourish.
A new technique is being used to reestablish the "pool/riffle" sequences found in a healthy stream. "We are excited to be a partner in this project," said Rebekah Jane Justice, Knox County Parks and Greenways Coordinator. "When complete, our park and greenway visitors will see and experience the creek in a new way. It will definitely be an environmental asset for Halls Community Park," she added.
With good weather, the construction should take about two weeks. A temporary alternate route for the greenway has been developed for users during construction and Knox County encourages the community to use the alternate route for their safety. The best access to the greenway will be from the Halls Library at 4815 E. Emory Road or from Halls Community Park at 6983 Recreation Lane. Access from Andersonville Pike and the shopping center will be closed until the work is completed.
Oversight of the project is provided by the Beaver Creek Task Force and the $150,000 cost is funded by a Tennessee Department of Agriculture grant.
Click here for the greenway reroute map.
Click here to read more about Beaver Creek.
Second Saturday Concerts
Grab your blankets, lawn chairs, and picnic basket and head to The Cove at Concord Park for this season's Second Saturday Concerts. Knox County Parks and Recreation has announced the line up for the free concert series presented the second Saturday of June, July, August and September, from 6 until 8 p.m.
Enjoyed by land or by lake The Second Saturday Concerts are one of the community's most anticipated summertime events. The schedule for this year is:
June 11 Good Times Jazz Band
July 9 Kelley McRae (folk singer/songwriter with country and gospel influences)
August 13 Knoxville Symphony Brass Quintet
Sept. 10 The Atomic Horns (ten piece show band playing rock, soul, rhythm and blues)
In addition to the monthly concerts, The Cove at Concord Park features a sandy beach, walking trail, sand volleyball courts, playground, fishing pond, kayak and canoe rentals, and a lot of open green space. The park is located at 11808 S. Northshore Drive in west Knox County.
Walk to Improve Your Health!
According to the Mayo Clinic, “walking is a gentle, low-impact exercise that can ease you into a higher level of fitness and health. Walking is one of your body's most natural forms of exercise. It's safe, simple, doesn't require practice, and the health benefits are many.”
Walking, like other exercise, can help you achieve a number of important health benefits. Walking can help you:
- Lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol)
- Raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good" cholesterol)
- Lower your blood pressure
- Reduce your risk of or manage type 2 diabetes
- Manage your weight
- Improve your mood
- Stay strong and fit
Knox County, including the city of Knoxville and Farragut, has over 50 miles of greenway trails. There is bound to be a greenway near you. Check out the locations here.
Fall Golf Special
While the Vols are out of town, you can still enjoy the season with the UT Tailgating Special at Three Ridges Golf Course. The deal, 18 holes on a championship course, a cart, hotdog and fountain drink all for just $25, is for Saturdays through November 13. The coupon, which must be presented at check-in, is good for up to four players. Click here for the tailgate special coupon.
With tomorrow's weather expected to be mostly sunny, it will be a great day for golf!
Scarecrows in the Park Returns for Second Season
After an impressive response to the inaugural event last year, Knox County Parks and Recreation is again encouraging local individuals and groups to enter their most creative scarecrows in the Scarecrows in the Park event to be held October 21-31 at New Harvest Park, 4775 New Harvest Lane. Scarecrows in the Park will open on Thursday, October 21, at 3 p.m. at the New Harvest Park Farmers Market, and conclude on October 31.
This community celebration of fall is a competition to make the best and most original scarecrow. The scarecrows will be placed along the greenway loop at the park. Folks will walk the loop (getting some good exercise and fresh air) and then have a chance to help choose the winners. Public voting, open from October 21 through 26, and a panel of celebrity judges, will determine the winners...more>>
Knox County Offers Fall Golf Programs
The Knox Area Junior Golf Association presents several opportunities to play or learn to play golf this fall. At both Concord Park and Beverly Park Par-3 courses, Fall Break Golf Camps, Player Development Programs and Youth Golf Clinics will be available. Both courses are affiliates of The First Tee program, which teaches character development as part of the golf curriculum.
Fall Break Golf Camp, October 14-15, for ages 8-14, will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at both courses.
After School Player Development Classes run through October 26/28 on Tuesday (Beverly) and Thursday (Concord) for youth ages 6 through teens.
Golf Clinics, beginner classes in a group setting for ages 5-14, are scheduled on Saturdays, October 9 and 23, at 9 a.m. at Concord. Beverly will offer clinics on October 2 and 9, at 9:30 for youth, and 10:30 for adults.
For more information or to sign up please call the course directly, Beverly Park at 689-6445, or Concord Park, 966-9103.
Traveling Singers to Perform at New Harvest Farmers Market
Coco and Lafe, a nationally touring songwriting duo, will perform at the New Harvest Park Farmers Market this Thursday, September 23, from 3 until 6 p.m. The market is located at the park, 4775 New Harvest Lane, in northeast Knox County.
The Vermont and California based singer-songwriters are performing as part of their 100 market ocean-to-ocean “Get Fresh” tour. Their mission is to bring attention to buying local and eating healthy, and they are traveling 10,000 miles over six months to drive the issue home. “Farmers Markets get people to come out and talk to each other and connect, often between groups differentiated by age, race, and income that might never have had a reason to mingle,” explains Coco...more>>
Second Saturday
Kelley McRae, a singer-songwriter living in Brooklyn, but with roots in the south, will be the featured artist at Knox County's final Second Saturday Concert at The Cove on September 11, from 6 until 8 p.m. The Cove is located at 11808 Northshore Drive. The conert is free and open to the public...more>>
Construction to begin on Concord PetSafe Dog Park
Knox County broke ground on the Concord PetSafe Dog Park on Thursday, August 12, 2010. Mayor Ragsdale, Randy Boyd, owner of PetSafe, representatives from the department of Parks and Recreation, and pets and their owners were on hand to see the first shovels of dirt turned at the site.
The park, one of five funded by a generous donations from PetSafe, will be located behind the Concord Park Par 3 Golf Course, on the site of the old swimming pool. The park, covering nearly three acres will have access to the water, a specific area for large and small dogs, shade structures, and walking trails. The construction will be done by Knox County staff and should be completed by spring 2011.
...more>>
Second Saturday
The Air National Guard Band of the Smoky Mountains is the featured group at this weekend’s Second Saturday Concerts at The Cove from 6 until 8 p.m. Bring your lawn chair or blanket and a picnic, or come by boat, and enjoy the big band and patriotic sounds of this great local group of musicians. The park is located at 11808 Northshore Drive.
The Cove features a sandy beach, sand volleyball courts, a playground, greenway loop, several grills, and picnic tables. The concert is free, and much of the seating area is in the shade.
Evolution of a Park
The construction at Burlington Park, 4618 Asheville Highway, is nearing completion. Here you can see the final stages of construction.
...more >>
Activ-8
activ-8 is a free community-wide effort to improve the health and reduce the risk of chronic disease in Knox County residents. By joining the program, participants will be given information about healthy eating and a list of opportunities to increase physical activity through eight weeks of planned events.
The idea is to encourage people to try something new - such as canoeing, disc golf, or tennis - that may lead to a lifetime of fitness. Equipment and instruction will be available at each activ-8 event. Come and TRY IT!
Registration is available at www.knoxcounty.org/health
Clayton Park
Knox County Parks and Recreation will hold an open house to present the plans for Clayton Park on Tuesday, May 11, from 5 until 7 p.m., at the Halls Senior Center, 4410 Crippen Road.
The new Clayton Park, located at 7347 Norris Freeway, is being designed by Ross/Fowler architects. The concept plan includes walking trails, picnic shelters, an adventure playground, amphitheater, and interpretive signs. The park is designed to highlight the natural setting along Beaver Creek, while protecting the wildlife habitat and wetland areas.
The design will be on display for community feedback at the open house. Representatives from PBA, Ross/Fowler, and Knox County Parks and Recreation will be available for questions and comments. Click here for larger view of plans.
Knox County Expands Recycling Program to Athletic Parks
Sports drinks and water bottles make up majority of trash at sites
Knox County Parks and Recreation has expanded the recycling program, begun last fall at John Tarleton Park, to two other parks with community-wide sports programs. Tommy Schumpert Park, 6400 Fountain City Road, and the Knox County Sportspark, 8050 Oak Ridge Highway, will now have recycling containers for bottles and cans...more >>
Knox County Parks and Recreation has received a $2,500 State Park Connections grant from the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation (TP&GF) to continue the signage and wayfinding program on county greenways.
“This funding will really help in our effort to enhance the experience for all greenway users,” said Doug Bataille, Senior Director of Parks and Recreation for the County. “We are essentially branding the greenways, and providing useful information about directions, distances, and connections.”...more>>
Burlington Park Construction Is Underway!
 |
| Left to Right: Trey Benefield, Michelle Carringer, Nick DellaVolpe, Dave Wright, Tank Strickland, Mayor Mike Ragsdale, Sharon Davis, Sam McKenzie, Marilyn Roddy, Ed Shouse. |
On February 18, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, with the help of community representatives, turned the first shovelful of dirt on the property that will become the Burlington neighborhood park. The park, which is adjacent to the Burlington branch library, has been in the planning stage for several months, and will open later this spring.
With community input, the park was designed as a passive space, with places to sit under shady trees, paved paths, and a small children’s play area. Site preparations included the restoration of a stream. Other features include native plantings and an informal amphitheater-style grass seating area...more>>
Facebook
