Downtown Knoxville News

Businesses Asked to Help Second Harvest Food Bank

As you may have heard, the Second Harvest Food Bank suffered damages to its building during the heavy rainstorm in Knoxville on February 28. They lost thousands of dollars worth of donated food, and their refrigeration systems were damaged. Until these are repaired, there is nowhere to store the food.

Dan Goss from the Downtown Grill & Brewery is spearheading a fundraiser that businesses can participate in by offering a promotion or discount that will be included in a coupon book. Businesses can also participate by simply offering to sell the book at their location or helping to cover the cost of printing. Inquiries and offers to help should be sent to Dan at dan@downtownbrewery.com.

Second Harvest's mission is to eliminate hunger in our 18 county service area by providing food, services and education to address the nutritional needs of all people at-risk of hunger. Each month Second Harvest feeds an average of 158,000 people. www.secondharvest.com

Stop Driving

Around in Circles

Get the Scoop on Downtown Parking

Spring is around the corner, and that means more time outside enjoying the weather -- along with everyone else. Not everyone realizes that there is plenty of parking downtown for everyone, even during busy festivals and on UT game days, so we wanted to help. We want you to focus on having fun when you come downtown, so we put together a primer on municipal parking in Downtown Knoxville so you can be confident the next time you are downtown-bound.

City/County-owned Parking Garages

Parking is FREE after 6 pm and on weekends in these locations and for all parking meters on the street. Additionally, parking is free in all City and County owned garages for parkers that display proper handicap credentials, hang tags or plates. Note: The parking attendants depart at 7 pm at all locations except for Market Square Parking garage, which is staffed until 8 pm. Parkers entering these garages after 6 pm park for free, but parkers entering the garages prior to 6 pm will be charged the variance from 6 pm if they depart prior to 7 pm while the attendant is still on duty. Same procedure for Market Square Parking garage except the attendant is present until 8 pm.

Dwight Kessel Garage

Entrance on Hill St., State St. and Main St., 964 spaces

Locust Street Garage

Entrances on Locust St. and Walnut St., 645 spaces

Main Street Garage

Entrance on Locust St., 475 spaces

Market Square Garage

Entrance on Walnut St., 700 spaces

Promenade Garage

Entrance on State St., 277 spaces

State Street Garage

Entrances on State St. or Union Ave., 842 spaces

City/County-Owned Parking Lots

Note that the free times for these lots vary.

State Street Lot

Entrance on Union Ave., 283 spaces. Free for UT football games and Boomsday

Poplar Street Lot

Entrance on Poplar St., 155 spaces. $30 charge for UT football games, Free for Boomsday

Blackstock Lot

Entrance on Blackstock Ave., 364 spaces. $25/day-RVs and $10-cars for UT football games; Free for Boomsday

Jackson Ave. Lot

Entrance on W. Jackson Ave., 180 spaces. Free after 6 pm and on weekends

Additional Areas of Free Parking All Day/Night:

I-40 lots - Two lots located in the Old City, one on E. Jackson Ave. and one on Magnolia

It's always helpful to have maps on hand too! Here are two of them to help you find a prized parking spot for your next downtown outing.

Map of all municipal parking facilities

http://knoxparking.com/pdf/parking_map.pdf

Map of all parking facilities, including private paid parking

http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/map/mapdowntown.pdf

If you have other questions about downtown parking, please call the Central Business Improvement District - Michele Hummel, 264-2654 or Elan Young, 264-2653.

Congratulations to Three Downtown Businesses!

Three out of the four Knoxville Chamber members that were selected as 2011 Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winners by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are Downtown Knoxville businesses! The winners are Hedstrom Design, LLC, Partners Development, and Prestige Cleaners, Inc. and are now eligible for the Dream Big Small Business of the Year Award. The winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000! Voting runs until Friday, March 11, at 5 pm. Show your support and vote today!

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Knoxville's Mardi Growl March 5

Little Brown Dog - who touched the hearts of dog lovers close to home and far away after being severely injured when her former owner dragged her behind a pickup truck - will be the grand marshal when Knoxville's Mardi Growl takes to the streets.

The fourth annual costume parade for dogs and their owners in downtown Knoxville is set for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 5, beginning at the city's PetSafe Downtown Dog Park. The park is located on the corner of Summit Hill Drive and Central Avenue.

A festival on Market Square will follow from noon-2 p.m with prizes for dogs and ownes. Click here to read more.

Hundreds Attend Trevor Bayne Rally

Hundreds of fans braved the weather to celebrate the Daytona 500 Win of Knoxville native Trevor Bayne on February 28 at the Knoxville Coliseum.

Bayne was honored by Knoxville Mayor Daniel T. Brown with a proclamation claiming the day as"Trevor Bayne Day." Additionally the City presented Bayne with his very own green street sign labeled "Trevor Bayne LN 21 - No Limits 2011 Daytona 500 Champion." Click here to read more.

Wipe Out Graffiti

The CBID encourages Knoxvillians who see graffiti on buildings to quickly call the city's 3-1-1 telephone system

to report it and thereby increase the likelihood that the owners can be notified and the graffiti removed expeditiously. Residents may also call 3-1-1 to learn about or request a host of city services.

Get connected to Downtown events and information. Click the icons to follow the CBID on Facebook and Twitter.

Take Our Wi-Fi Needs Survey

The CBID is trying to assess the public's interest in having Wi-Fi Internet connectivity available in the outdoor areas of downtown.

Please take our survey and let us know what you think -- only three short questions!

Coming Soon

CBID FY 2009-2010 Annual Report

We are wrapping up the FY 2009-2010 Annual Report, which will soon be available on our website. Postcards will be sent to CBID members when it's available.

Yesterday's News

The Knox County Public Library recorded a series of podcasts based on old Knoxville newspapers. Take a moment to listen here.

Podcast #1: "A Night on the Bowery," published in The Journal and Tribune, Sunday, July 8, 1900.

Check it out!

With so many events happening in Downtown Knoxville this spring, your schedule can get a bit crazy. Visit the Events Calendar page on the CBID website so you can plan ahead.

Upcoming events include:

3/5

4th Annual Mardi Growl

3/11

Praise Fest for the Healing of AIDS

3/31

Dogwood After Dark

You can also
submit your own upcoming events to the CBID calendar by creating an account here.

It Pays to Know Downtown

Thanks to everyone for playing our Ice Bears Tuesday Trivia contests, and congratulations to all the winners who exhibited excellent knowlege of downtown! It was a great success, with over 30 Ice Bears tickets given away. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more contests like this in the future.

Stay Informed, Get Involved

The CBID Board of Directors meets on the 4th Monday of every month at 11:30 a.m. Meetings are held in the Market House Room of the Knoxville Chamber Partnership office at 17 Market Square and are open to the public. Join us for the next meeting on March 28.