Knoxville’s annual Dogwood Arts Festival returns to World’s Fair Park this year April 26-28. A nonprofit and mostly volunteer group of workers puts on the event year after year — one that’s been a staple of Knoxville living for over 60 years.
The three-day festival will feature a variety of local and national vendors and artists of all sorts, including live music and food trucks stationed throughout the lawns of the park as well as the Tennessee Amphitheater. For everyone involved, the festival always marks the end of a year’s diligent work and tireless efforts to keep one of the city’s biggest traditions alive and growing.
“If you were born and raised here, or you’ve lived here for the last few years, you become accustomed to April being ‘Dogwood month,’” Shanna Browning, co-chair of the Dogwood Arts Festival, said. “I think as the staff evolves, and as a younger group evolves, it’s an introduction to people who have no idea about the festival. When they get immersed into it and they see it, people find something they love. It’s something for everybody.”
Since 1961, the Dogwood Arts Festival has been a highlight in the calendar year and a grand ushering-in of the spring season for every Knoxvillian. While previously held in the historic Market Square, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a move to a more expansive venue at World’s Fair Park. Since 2021, they’ve been camped out on those lawns just under the Sunsphere and haven’t looked back since. Those at the helm say the move hasn’t hindered their growth at all — but rather inspired it.
“We’re really enjoying that space,” Shannon Herron, the marketing and creative director at Dogwood Arts, said. “It allowed us to include even more vendors than we were able to include downtown, so this year we have just over 100 fine art vendors. We usually have seven to eight food trucks throughout the weekend, two different stages with live music, a kid’s area, the maker market and emerging maker’s tent. So, the new space has really allowed us to expand, and there’s still more room to expand. We’re only on one of the lawns and the amphitheater right now, so we’re excited to continue to grow this event bigger and bigger every year.”
While local art is a big highlight of the festival, Herron said that they’ve been blessed enough to expand their horizons past county lines and into the national circuit. With around 30% of the vendors being local artists, the other fraction of those come from a long list of applicants from across the country and across the spectrum of the arts world as a whole.
One of the newer areas being highlighted this year is the performing arts, with over 42 live performances slated for this year’s festival. From live Americana music all the way to dance, opera, ballet and even spoken-word poetry, many areas are highlighted in this year’s lineup.
But again, live performance is just a fraction of what the festival has to offer. Across from the booming main stages, you’ll find vendors selling fine art as well as more reasonably priced pieces, food trucks from local favorites and even family-friendly activities for children. Some of those include a creation station, which allows kids to dabble in creating their own art, as well as a playground and children’s area. Whatever there’s a need for, it can likely be filled on these lawns during a sunny April afternoon.
Another thing Dogwood Arts prides itself on is the immense use of volunteer service. The festival itself, while a year-round effort, only has about six employees in total on its full-time payroll. Even the committee for applications and planning mostly operates on a volunteer basis. When the gates open, there’s sure to be a need for some helping hands.
Aptly enough, a majority of the volunteers come in the form of undergraduate students right here at UT. Information on volunteering for the festival can be found on their website.
The festival will be rolling all weekend, with hours on Friday and Saturday being 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aside from purchasing food and vendor items, admission is completely free and open to the public through those hours. Additional information can be found online as well as upon entry to the festival.
