Out & About: Arts and entertainment throughout the region | Arts & Entertainment

Friends of Steele Creek Nature Center & Park is accepting digital submissions for the 19th annual Wildlife Weekend Photography Contest held each year in conjunction with Wildlife Weekend. Amateur photographers of all ages are invited to submit photos that capture the natural beauty of Steele Creek Park and its inhabitants. The submission deadline is Monday, Sept. 15. Complete rules and instructions for submitting entries are available on the Friends website at www.friendsofsteelecreek.org. For more information, contact Robin Feierabend at 423-764-3336 or [email protected].

Kingsport native Dave Turner is the latest exhibiting artist at The Circle Gallery. Turner’s exhibit, “Colors,” will be on display until Sept. 22. The Circle Gallery is located on the first floor of Kingsport City Hall, 415 Broad St.

The monthly meeting of Birding Kingsport will be held Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 7 p.m. in the fellowship hall of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church at 584 Lebanon Road, Kingsport. The program will be “If You Can’t Take the Heat: Birds and Behavior in a Warming World” by Emmy James. James is a first-year graduate student at the University of Tennessee earning her doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology. Visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend.

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, will offer a monthly Birding in the Gap series on the second Saturday of each month. Participants should meet at the front gate of the museum. The Birding in the Gap monthly series will be held rain or shine. Participants are asked to wear appropriate clothing for the weather and comfortable walking shoes. Binoculars are encouraged but not required. Registration is not required for this program. For more information email [email protected] or call 276-523-1322.

Local author Mary Ellen Miller will participate in a book signing at Barnes & Noble in Johnson City Saturday from 1-4 p.m. Miller will sign copies of her book “Fill the Dam Thing Up!” about the Boone Dam project.

Music on the Square takes place each Friday evening on the steps of the Washington County Courthouse in Jonesborough through Sept. 26. A rotating food truck will be featured each week throughout the season. Music on the Square is a free event open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket to ensure a seat. For more information call 423-753-1010.

The Larry Prevatte Memorial Duffield Jam is held on the first, third and fifth Thursday of each month from 6-8 p.m. at the Thomas Village Community Center, 355 Cecil D. Quillen Drive in Duffield, Virginia. For more information call 276-431-1083.

The Candlelight concert series is coming to MeadowView Conference Resort and Convention Center in Kingsport. Scheduled performances are: Coldplay & Imagine Dragons, Oct. 25 and Nov. 21; Halloween Classics, Oct. 25; Rings and Dragons, Nov. 21; Queen vs. ABBA, Dec. 20; and Christmas Carols on Strings, Dec. 20. Tickets can be purchased at: https://feverup.com.

Mania: The ABBA Tribute, is coming to East Tennessee State University’s Martin Center Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets visit ETSUMartinCenter.org or call the Martin Center box office at 423-439-2787.

Outdoorsman, 4535 Highway 11W, Blountville, hosts an intermediate line dance from 5:30-6 p.m., line dance from 6-7 p.m., and concerts from 7-10 p.m. Potluck is at 6:15 p.m. Julie Williams and the Hired Guns will perform on Aug. 29.

A Beginner/Intermediate Line Dance Class will begin Thursday, Sept. 4, at 6:30 p.m. at Living Praise Assembly of God Church gym, 207 New Beason Well Road, Kingsport. For more information, text or call 276-393-3627 or 423-732-2273.

The Historic Jonesborough Dance Society holds dances at the Jonesborough Visitors Center, 117 Boone St., the second and fourth Saturday of each month. Dancing to live music is open to community members of all ages. There will be a lesson of basic contra dance moves for beginners at 7 p.m. with dancing from 7:30-10:30 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the door. Contra dance is for all ages. No partner is needed. Contra dances are family friendly, alcohol-, tobacco- and fragrance-free. For more information visit the group’s site on Facebook.

The Kingsport Aquatic Center has expanded its end-of-summer Drool Party for dogs to five days. The Drool Party schedule is: Wednesday, Sept. 3, 5-7 p.m. (big dogs only – over 25 pounds); Thursday, Sept. 4, 5-7 p.m. (small dogs only – 25 pounds or less); Friday, Sept. 5, 5-7 p.m. (all dogs); Saturday, Sept. 6, 10 a.m. to noon (all dogs); Saturday, Sept. 6, 2-4 p.m. (small dogs only); Sunday, Sept. 7, 10 a.m. to noon (small dogs only); and Sunday, Sept. 7, 2-4 p.m. (big dogs only). Admission is $5 per dog (preregistration) and $7 per dog at the door. Owners are admitted for free. Limit two dogs per person, and the dogs’ handler must be over 18. Vaccination records are required for entry to the Drool Party. To register for the Drool Party, visit https://bit.ly/3P2HNBD.

The Kingsport Parks and Recreation Department will celebrate National Dog Day on Tuesday, Aug. 26, with an Ice Cream Social at Kingsport’s Dogwood Park. There will be free pup cups for dogs and Freddy’s Frozen Custard for sale for the humans. The Ice Cream Social will take place from 6-8 p.m. at the park, located at 800 Granby Road. Though the event is free, Kingsport Parks and Recreation officials are asking folks to register to know approximately how many pup cups will be needed. To register, please visit https://bit.ly/4lcRqKK.

Bays Mountain Park has unveiled a new, interactive exhibit in the Nature Center. The exhibit is titled Discover Our Appalachian Highlands Home and features a large lake diorama with various mammals, reptiles, birds and aquatic life native to our region. The exhibit also includes information panels and interactive sensory stations. For more information about Bays Mountain Park and its programs, events and activities, visit www.baysmountain.com.

“Beyond the Sun” is now showing in the Bays Mountain Park Planetarium Theater through Aug. 31. The 35-minute program is being shown Tuesday through Friday at 4 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays at noon and 4 p.m. “Beyond the Sun” is a wonderful, animated program for the whole family, telling the story of one girl’s search for exoplanets. The alternate planetarium feature showing Saturdays and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Aug. 31 will be “Appalachian Skies.” “Appalachian Skies” takes visitors on a majestic tour of the current evening sky using the Zeiss optical star projector instrument. For more information about Bays Mountain Park and its programs, events and activities, visit www.baysmountain.com.

Project Friendship by the Kingsport Altrusa Club is continuing its meet-and-greet events at Shooters Billiards in Kingsport on the second and fourth Fridays at 6 p.m. This event is for anyone who works from home, is new to the area, or just doesn’t get out often. It’s a low-key way to meet others and have fun! Text to 423-384-0425 for more information.

Gardner family reunion for the descendants of William and Elizabeth Palmer Gardner and their families and friends will be held on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 1 p.m. at the home of Terry Gardner, 4162 Ann Goode Cooper Road, Hiltons, Virginia, on the North Fork of the Holston River. Please bring a potluck dish.

Holston Eagles 2025 high school reunion will be held Sunday, Aug. 31, at Warriors Path State Park’s Duck Island Recreation Building. All Holston alumni and friends welcome. Bring your favorite covered dish, finger food or dessert. Socializing will begin at 3:30 p.m. with dinner at 4 p.m. and music and dancing from 5 p.m. until dark. For more information, call or text 423-914-3694 or 423-408-4241.

The annual Newton family reunion, for the descendants of James Madison Newton, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6, at Eastman Shelter #8 beginning at 4 p.m. Call Pamela Newton Osborne at 423-245-1704 for more information.

Hands On! Discovery Center is an all-ages science center that offers a guest experience that includes fun, interactive programs and immersive, STEM-based exhibits for the whole family as well as exhibits and information about the Gray Fossil Site, an active fossil dig site dating back 5 million years. Tickets may be purchased at https://visithandson.org/tickets.

Storyteller and songwriter Andy Offutt Irwin will be featured at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough Tuesday, Aug. 26, through Saturday, Aug. 30. Daily matinees start each afternoon at 2 p.m. Irwin will host a special evening concert on Thursday, Aug. 28, at 7:30 p.m. Many performances are expected to sell out, and reservations are strongly recommended. To purchase tickets, visit www.storytellingcenter.net or call 800-952-8392.

The Foggy Valley gang returns to the stage at LampLight Theatre for “Not from Here” now through Aug. 31. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. For tickets call 423-343-1766 or visit www.lamplighttheatre.com.

Pro-Art will present Shreds & Patches Theater Company in “Peter/Wendy” on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m. at Lyric Theater in St. Paul, Virginia. Children and students will be admitted free to the performance. Adult tickets are $15 at the door. Learn more at proartva.org.

Theatre Bristol will bring “The Mockingbird Sings” to its ARTspace Stage Sept. 12-14 and Sept. 17-18, leading into the 2025 Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion Festival with a special presentation of this uniquely Bristol recording sessions story with a uniquely Bristol-area cast. Tickets are on sale now for this limited engagement live music presentation at www.theatrebristol.org/tickets.

“Elf The Musical,” inspired by the hit film, will be presented at East Tennessee State University’s Martin Center Nov. 3-4 at 7 p.m. nightly. To purchase tickets visit ETSUMartinCenter.org or call the Martin Center box office at 423-439-2787.

The Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society and Museum will sponsor a steam train excursion on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad on Saturday, Sept. 6. Participants will have the opportunity to relax and enjoy the beauty of Western North Carolina while riding the rails behind a steam engine in vintage passenger railroad cars. Participants can meet at the Bryson City (N.C.) Train Depot or ride a chartered tour bus from Johnson City. All excursion tickets include free admission to the Smoky Mountain Lionel Train Museum near the Bryson City Depot. Tickets and pre-purchased meals must be ordered online by credit card at Click on the “Excursions” link. The excursion runs rain or shine. For more information email [email protected].

The Kingsport Model Trains Project operates eight model train layouts in six rooms at the Lynn View Community Center including a 24-by-20 “O” scale representation of the Santa Train. The site is open every Tuesday from 1-3 p.m., and items from excess inventory are added to the 30% off sales room every day. N , HO, S and O/027 are all available. The eight layouts are all still running including the Santa Train project and the new room-size DCC N Scale. The project continues to seek a new home or at a minimum 3,000 to 4,000 square feet of storage until a new home is found.

The Chuckey Depot Museum in Jonesborough is open free of charge, but donations are appreciated. Museum hours are: March through September: Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. October through February: Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information visit Jonesborough.com or call 423-753-1010.