Penny4Arts Offers Nearly 100 Free Cultural Events for Students
The Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville, in cooperation with the local arts and culture community, is proud to announce the tenth year of Penny4Arts, a program developed to meet the local arts community’s long-term goal of serving and educating East Tennessee’s children. Penny4Arts provides every child in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier, and Union counties, including home-schooled and private-schooled students, the opportunity to attend local arts and culture events/activities by more than 25 organizations at the maximum cost of ONE PENNY (or FREE) when accompanied by a paying adult during the 2019/2020 academic school year. Most organizations allow up to three children to attend for free.
Concerts, plays, dance performances, museums, festivals, historic home tours, and live radio broadcasts are part of Penny4Arts. Organizations whose admission is regularly free are offering special programs.
More than 75 events are included in Penny4Arts, and in addition, 11 organizations offer year-round opportunities for Knox County School children: Blount Mansion, East Tennessee Historical Society, Historic Ramsey House, Historic Westwood, James White’s Fort, Knoxville Museum of Art, Mabry-Hazen House, Marble Springs State Historic Site, WDVX, Flamenco West Knoxville, and Angela Floyd School for Dance and Music.
The schedule of performances is listed chronologically at www.Penny4Arts.com, where families may also sign up for a weekly e-mail notice (and occasional special events). Highlights include:
+ Eight productions by the Clarence Brown Theatre
+ Eight Masterworks and four Chamber concerts by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
+ Family fun days at McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture
+ A free admission day at Tennessee Valley Fair
+ Dogwood Arts Rhythm N’ Blooms Festival
+ The Knoxville Classical Guitar’s entire season of concerts
+ Four events at Clayton Center for the Arts
+ Three free days at Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame
Most participating events will allow one paying adult to bring up to three students for one penny each. Proof of residency (driver’s license) may be required. Students ages 16-18, not accompanied by an adult, may be asked to show proof of residency and if in a group, at least one in the group of up to four students ages 16-18 must purchase a regular adult admission/ticket (if applicable) for the group to be able to participate in Penny4Arts. Each participating organization’s specific guidelines are also listed on the Penny4Arts web site.
The following organizations are participating in Penny4Arts for the 2019/2020 school year: Angela Floyd School for Dance and Music, Asian Culture Center of Tennessee, Big Ears, Blount Mansion Association, Circle Modern Dance, Clarence Brown Theatre, Clayton Center for the Arts, Dogwood Arts, East Tennessee Historical Society, Flamenco West Knoxville, Historic Ramsey House, Historic Westwood, James White’s Fort, Knoxville Children’s Theatre, Knoxville Classical Guitar, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Mabry-Hazen House, Marble Springs State Historic Site, McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture, Oak Ridge Civic Ballet Association, Oak Ridge Civic Music Association, Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble, Tennessee Valley Fair, WDVX, and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.