Heavenly Peace

An archived image, but still lovely and peaceful: sunset and moonrise over Old North Knoxville.

Rummage Sale

The society recently had its annual rummage sale to raise money for improvements to the Center. As you can see, our members are not shy about advertising. When I wasn't doing the photo shoot for the event, I was at the chili booth in front of the window.
Heh, photo shoot - makes me sound like a photographer.

Sign of the Times

Tai Chi is looming large in my life right now, especially for the next few days. Chaos is too kind a word to describe them.
Retreat to ride tiger. Ahh, my chi is so much better now.

Spotlight

One more from Hollerpalooza. The music for this little street festival was continuous - and fantastic. Here's the last act of the night - local favorite Cruz Contreras delights the crowd with a spirited blend of country and bluegrass music. I took a lot of photos of the band, but I like this one the best because of the lighting. Maybe he's about to ascend in a tractor beam to the Mothership.

Happy Hollerpalooza

OK, so I'm a few weeks late posting this, but I wanted to show you the annual street fair in the Old North Knoxville neighborhood. This little block on Central Avenue was once known as Happy Holler (or Happy Hollow, to people like me who ain't-from-around-here), and in it's day at the turn of the last century it was apparently a den of iniquity, a concentration of saloons and houses of ill repute.

Happy Holler gradually faded into a forgotten neighborhood, a marginal area of empty storefronts and the occasional prostitute wandering the street looking for business. But what you see in this photo is revival. Not to mention a cool motorcycle.

I've posted photos before of the Time Warp Tea Room, and Mr Freezo, the tiny ice cream shop. But this block also houses an eclectic mix of other businesses and organizations including the Taoist Tai Chi Society, the XYZ gay bar, the Angelic Ministry that feeds the homeless, a pet shop, and some antique and second hand shops. A new vegetarian restaurant is set to open soon.

The city also has it's redevelopment eye on Central Avenue, and I'm very ambivalent about that. What gains we make in gentrification are often offset by what we lose in unique local color.

My Chi Is Fine, Thanks

Here's a sunset over Happy Hollow that I snapped as I was leaving my tai chi class. My fellow tai chi'ers think it's funny that I always have my camera with me, but I never know what I'll see that takes my fancy.

Soft Swirl

It's the Independence Day holiday in the U.S., and for many that means picnics, fireworks, and that favorite of summer, ice cream. Here's Mr. Freezo in the Happy Hollow section of Old North Knoxville to help you visualize your ice cream fantasies with the soft swirl of vanilla clouds in the sky.

For more fabulous photos of the sky above us, let Tom be your guide at Sky Watch Friday @ Wigger's World. You know you want to. 

Time Warp Tea Room

The Time Warp Tea Room is not your mother's tea room - unless she rides or races vintage motorcycles. Located on North Central Avenue, in the part of the Old North Knoxville neighborhood that used to be known as Happy Hollow, the Time Warp is cycle friendly. Forget the white linen tablecloths, bone china, and cucumber sandwiches that come with most tea rooms. The Time Warp is decked out in vintage motorcycle memorabilia and serves a mean bowl of chili, not to mention a great cup of coffee or (gasp!) tea. There is often live music on weekends, like the night I took this photo: if you peer into the window, you can see local wordsmith Jack Rentfro at the microphone. It's a fun place to hang out, even if you don't own or ride cycles, and I expect the Honda Hoot folks will be congragating there this weekend.