MARYVILLE, TN – The Clayton Center for the Arts is proud to announce the first events scheduled for the newest entertainment venue in East Tennessee. There are six premier events on the calendar in March, April and May presented by the Clayton Center.

A Grand Opening weekend in March features the Premier Gala, Saturday, Mar. 27.  The Gala highlights East Tennessee talent from a wide array of artistic forms.  The evening promises dancers, musicians and singers.  Also available for the public will be art displays in the three galleries featured at the Center. 

Other events presented by the Clayton Center during the Grand Opening weekend are:

• Jo Dee Messina in concert, Friday, Mar. 26.  Jo Dee Messina is an award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist who has given her heart and soul to find success. She’s had nine #1 singles, has been honored by The Country Music Association, The Academy of Country Music and The Grammy Awards and was the first female country artist to score three multiple-week #1 songs from the same album.
• Adams Foundation Piano Series concert, Sunday, Mar. 28.  Richard and John Contiguglia.  The identical twins, Richard and John Contiguglia, are among the most acclaimed and versatile piano duos in the world today.  The Adams Foundation Piano Series features America’s foremost piano performers in venues throughout the nation.
• Additional events included as part of the Grand Opening weekend include: Maryville College Choir Concert, Thursday, Mar. 25; Banff Film Festival, Monday, Mar. 29.

Three additional Clayton Center Presents events are on the calendar for the remainder of Spring 2010.

• Dr. Ralph Stanley and Clinch Mountain Boys with Cherryholmes, Thursday, April 29.  Bluegrass royalty and three-time Grammy Award winner, Dr. Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys have teamed up with the first family of bluegrass, Cherryholmes, to showcase the very best of this musical tradition’s past, present and future.
• Ball in the House, Friday, April 30.  Ball in the House is a tour de force of vocal sound that must be heard and seen to be believed.  This five-man, pop/R & B “mouth band” hails from Boston, Massachusetts, where they live when not touring on the road.

• Wood and Strings Puppet Theatre, Friday, May 14.  Wood and Strings Theatre uses the captivating and comprehensive nature of art to engage the imagination, create experiences full of meaning and provide tools to build positive solutions for life’s challenges. A puppet-making workshop will also be held in conjunction with this presentation.

Tickets for all the above events will go on sale Feb. 5.  

Other highlights of the first few months of operation for the Clayton Center for the Arts will feature arts and entertainment from many genres, and some of the events will feature community and Maryville College artists:

• Maryville High School Orchestra Valentine’s Day concert, Sunday, Feb. 14.
• “Chasing George Washington,” a children’s theatre musical brought to Maryville, Tenn. from the Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences, Wednesday, Feb. 24.  Two performances of this musical will entertain more than 1,600 school children from Blount and Knox Counties.
• Alcoa High School Choir concert, Thursday, April 8.
• April Foolies fundraiser and talent show, April 10.
• “Peter Pan and Other Works,” presented by Appalachian Ballet Company, April 24 and 25.
• “Our Town” presented by Maryville College Theatre Department, April 29 through May 2.
• Maryville and Alcoa secondary school band, choir and orchestra performances and many more exciting events.