On the first day of meteorological summer, the Office of Special Events was playing outdoors with kids, books, blocks, leaves and mud. 

It’s all part of a summertime #KnoxvilleJobWellDone. 

Summer is a busy time for Brewer and her team: Elaine Frank and Rachel White, as well as the Parks and Rec employees who host many of the events and public service crew members who help prep and haul the gear involved in the tons of fun. 

Kid A’Riffic Fun in the Park began June 1, 2022 and will continue Wednesdays through the end of July, bringing together City staff and community partners like Friends of the Library and The Muse at Ijams Nature Center.

Director Kyndra Brewer said this year’s kick-off event drew a record crowd, probably about 200 people.

WBIR reporter Katie Inman was on the scene documenting the activity.



Concerts on the Square, the live music series held on the Market Square stage, began May 3 with the first Jazz Tuesday performance. Variety Thursdays continue June 16 with Evelyn Jack. 

And the team is looking forward to the department’s biggest event of the year: Festival on the Fourth. 

This patriotic, family-friendly celebration will be the first Festival on the Fourth since 2019. The event in 2020 was canceled due to the risks of spreading the COVID-19 virus through large gatherings; the event was adapted in 2021 to include two nights of live music, but not on July 4. 

"The events office is so excited to be planning a full Festival on the Fourth again," says Brewer. "Last year we hosted an adapted version we called Celebration of the 4th with COVID protocols in place, no food trucks or activities. It was nice, but it was definitely not the same. It has been so much fun planning this year's festival."
 
She says the team especially looks forward to a few moments unique to this festival:

• The hush of the crowd as the lights go off around World's Fair Park

• The anticipation of that first beat of the 1812 Overture performed by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra

• The cheers of the crowd as the first firework lights the sky. 
 
No wonder Brewer calls the Festival on the Fourth "a perfect Summer night." And it's less than a month away!

Make plans with your family -- work or otherwise -- and find additional festival details here on our website. 



City staff at Festival on the Fourth in 2019.