The Dogwood Arts Festival is an annual event in Knoxville, Tennessee, sponsored by Dogwood Arts, a

501(c)3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote and celebrate regional art, culture, and natural beauty. The event is held in April and celebrates the blooming of the dogwood trees. It includes a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

, a house and garden show, and demonstrations of various

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n arts and crafts such as quilting,

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ...

, and doll-making. Many events are held in

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.John Gunther in his 1947 book ''

Inside U.S.A. ''Inside U.S.A.'' is a musical revue by Arthur Schwartz (music) and Howard Dietz (lyrics). It was loosely based on the book '' Inside U.S.A.'' by John Gunther. Sketches were written by Arnold M. Auerbach, Moss Hart, and Arnold B. Horwitt. Produc ...

'' In that best-selling book, Gunther characterized Knoxville as the "ugliest city" in the United States, with what he called "an intense, concentrated, degrading ugliness." Other visitors to the city had also commented negatively on the city's appearance. In reaction to the insulting characterization of the city, Knoxville civic leaders started a community beautification campaign. Beautification efforts began with yard and neighborhood cleanups. In 1955, the first dogwood trail was designated in

Sequoyah Hills Sequoyah Hills is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, named for the Cherokee scholar Sequoyah (c. 1767–1843), inventor of the Cherokee alphabet.

. A second trail followed in

Holston Hills Holston may refer to: *Holston, Virginia *Holston River *Holston Formation *Treaty of Holston *Holston Conference, an annual conference within Methodism *Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport, Tennessee *The Holston, an NRHP-listed high-rise ...

in 1956, and additional trails were designated in 1957 in Fountain City and the Lake Forest neighborhood. In 1959, ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...

'' columnist Carson Brewer proposed a dogwood festival, pointing to the successful ramp festival in Cosby, Tennessee, as a model for the potential success of a festival in Knoxville. The city's

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

and Junior League embraced the idea and contributed $20,000 each to make it a reality, leading to the first annual festival in 1961. In 1995, journalist Paul Harvey praised the city's beauty during the festival, saying "there’s something about Knoxville that makes dogwood trees grow taller" and describing the dogwoods lining residential streets as "resplendent by day and moonlighted by night." Calling the city "a springtime blizzard of blossoms of dogwood", he noted the presence of other flowers, including violets, iris, May apples,

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...

narcissus Narcissus may refer to: Biology * ''Narcissus'' (plant), a genus containing daffodils and others People * Narcissus (mythology), Greek mythological character * Narcissus (wrestler) (2nd century), assassin of the Roman emperor Commodus * Tiberiu ...

, and flowering fruit trees. He said that the festival attracted a quarter-million visitors each year. In 2020, the event went virtual for the first time in its 66-year history, as the COVID-19 pandemic concerns caused cancellation of most art events.

References

External links

Dogwood Arts Festival
{{Coord, 35.9650, -83.9194, type:event, display=title Dogwood festivals 1961 establishments in Tennessee Culture of Knoxville, Tennessee Tourist attractions in Knoxville, Tennessee Festivals in Tennessee