The heat is on, but there's plenty to do in ET

"Max & Ruby: Bunny Party will be in Knoxville Wednesday, June 8.

June's first weekend brings a variety of events - from a silent movie to a festival about pottery - to East Tennessee.

Let's begin with festivals. The fourth annual Smoky Mountain Pottery Festival is 1-4 p.m. today and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the Townsend Visitors Center, 7906 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Townsend. More than 30 potters will set up on the grounds. Many are from Tennessee and North Carolina, but other potters are from as far as Texas.

Another festival this weekend is the 49th annual Lenoir City Arts & Crafts Festival. The expected 240 artisans and crafters make such items as rustic wooden birdhouses, soap, jewelry and stained-glass panels. The festival is 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday on the peninsula of Lenoir City Park. Shuttle buses take visitors to the park from parking lots around the area. There's a $2 donation requested at the festival gate.

Now for something indoors. The historic Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St., returns to the age of its youth with the presentation of the 1928 silent film "A Woman of Affairs" at 3 p.m. Sunday. It features some of the biggest stars of its era - Douglas Fairbanks Jr., John Gilbert and Greta Garbo. Accompanying the film will be music from the Wurlitzer organ played by Marietta, Ga., theater organist Ron Carter. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens or children. Tickets are available at the theater's Clinch Avenue ticket office or by calling 865-684-1200.

After the weekend, there's still some theater to be enjoyed. Two very different productions, one produced locally and the other a touring event, are coming up.

Local troupe The WordPlayers tells "The True Adventures of Pinocchio" at 7:30 p.m. June 10 and June 16-18 with 2:30 p.m. matinees June 11, June 15 and June 18. The play tells the story of a group of actors living during a time of war who take refuge in an abandoned puppet theater. An eccentric old puppeteer tells them the story of a wooden boy who learned life lessons to become a real boy. The actors use masks and puppetry to create more than 40 characters from the children's classic story.

Shows are at the WordPlayers' Theatre, 1540 Robinson Road, and tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and senior citizens, $6 for children under age 12. The ticket maximum per household is $35 at the door only. Thursday tickets are "pay what you can."

Tickets are available at the door or http://www.wordplayers.org. Playgoers who bring a new toy for a child ages 3-13 receive a free child or student ticket. The toys go to children with disabilities and their siblings at Joni and Friends-Knoxville family retreats.

The younger set may want to party with a pair of rabbits. The touring show "Max & Ruby: Bunny Party" plays at 3 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, at the Tennessee Theatre. Max and Ruby are the brother and sister bunny made famous by the books of Rosemary Wells. The 70-minute music-filled show was created and directed by Patti Caplette, who also created "The Backyardigans" live show. Tickets for "Bunny Party" are $19.50, $29.50 or $39.50 at the theater box office, 865-684-1200 or at http://www.knoxville.tickets.com.

© 2011, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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