Marketing and Communications

The popular musical “The Fantasticks” continues its successful run at Pellissippi State Technical Community College.

The final performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 5. All performances are in the Clayton Performing Arts Center on the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road.

“The Fantasticks” tells an age-old story of a boy, a girl, two fathers and characters who emerge to reveal the true meaning of love. The musical has delighted audiences worldwide for nearly 50 years with its simple set, charming book and eclectic score, which includes the song “Soon It’s Gonna Rain.”

The veteran cast for the Pellissippi State production includes Kevin Smathers, Robby Griffith, Dan Maxwell, Art Dworkin, and Matthew McDonald, with Casey Maxwell and George Fox as the young lovers. The production is directed and staged by Steven McBride, with musical direction by Hannah Kyzer. Charles Miller, associate professor of Theatre at the college, is the producer.

Tickets are available at the Clayton Performing Arts Center Box Office 30 minutes before each show. Suggested donations of $8 for Pellissippi State students and faculty, $10 for area students and seniors, and $12 general admission will go to the Pellissippi State Foundation to support the theatre program. Seating is limited.

For more information call (865) 694-6684.

When Jerry Burns, professor of Chemistry at Pellissippi State Technical Community College, launched the college’s Arbor Day event three years ago, he wanted to do more than talk about trees.

“Discussions with students,” Burns said, “made me think we needed something like Arbor Day here to make people realize what’s really good and effective for the environment and what’s just ‘spin.’”

National Arbor Day this year is April 24. The Arbor Day celebration on the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road is April 8.

“This is a day for education about the benefits of trees and about actions that individuals can do to minimize their own impact on the environment,” said Burns. “It is also for education about ‘environmental issues’ that really aren’t what they seem; some actions portrayed as being environmentally friendly are actually misguided or even detrimental.”

Burns cites global warming and biofuels as two such issues. The film “What Is Normal?” which addresses global warming, will be shown in the Goins Building Auditorium at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

In addition, two local experts will speak in the Auditorium.

At 10:45, Tom Simpson, an urban forester for eastern Tennessee, will address the benefits of trees in an urban environment. David Bolt, a local contractor specializing in solar energy, will speak at 1:30.

Simpson will supervise the planting of hazelnut bushes near the campus’ west entrance at noon.

The Pellissippi State celebration also will include information, polls and prize giveaways in the Courtyard, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. The event is free and open to the community.

Global warming, hiking and self-discovery are a few of the topics to be discussed at this year’s Earth Day celebration at Pellissippi State Technical Community College. The event is April 14-15 on the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road.

A nature photographer, a geology instructor and a wildflower expert are scheduled to speak in the Goins Building Auditorium, and area environmental organizations will have displays in the Courtyard.

There is no charge for the event, and Pellissippi State invites the community to participate. Guests may park in any “Open” lot.

“Among American cities, Knoxville is sixth in the amount of smog we produce,” said one of the event’s organizers, Edward Francisco, an English professor and the college’s writer-in-residence.

“We need to be more environmentally savvy in taking care of our resources. I think we have an important responsibility to the community and to our children’s children.”

On April 14 three speakers are in the queue:

Ben Bryan, who teaches geology at Pellissippi State, will talk about the book “Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet,” as well as address other environmental issues, at 10 a.m.

Elizabeth Etnier, hiking and wildflower expert, will speak at 11 a.m.

Donna Savage will discuss “The Man and the Shark: A Modern Day Fable of Awakening and Rebirth,” her book about self-discovery, at noon.

On April 15, Bob Schatz, nature photographer, will talk about his role as a documentarian at 9:45 a.m. Schatz also will display some of his work.

The husband-wife team of Fred Brown and Jeanne McDonald will speak on snake handling: Brown at 10:45 a.m. and McDonald at 12:45 p.m. The team wrote the nonfiction book “The Serpent Handlers: Three Families and Their Faith.”

For more information, contact Francisco at (865) 694-6744.