Dogwood Arts Festival President Janet Testerman’s family lore with Knoxville’s spring celebration goes back to the days of Elvis when he was a showstopper at the event. Her mother, also named Janet, had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the King.
The 55-year-old festival celebrates the arts in April as the dogwoods are blooming and East Tennessee is thawing from the winter blues, but the festival organization offers year-round activities that support the arts.
Testerman remembers growing up involved in festival activities – although she wasn’t born when her mother met Elvis – and seeing how the organization has evolved through the years.
Back when Testerman’s father, Kyle Testerman, was mayor of Knoxville the first time around in the early 1970s, her mother had the opportunity of greeting the festival’s entertainers, and that led to her encounter with Elvis.
Dogwood trees along Cherokee Blvd.
(Chase Malone/The Ledger)
(Kyle Testerman, who served as mayor twice from 1972-75 and 1984-87, died Saturday, April 11, at the age of 80.)
“We used to have some very A-talent come in for Dogwood,” Testerman explains. “So we’ve had Bob Hope and Elvis. She (Janet Testerman’s mother) had the privilege of pinning the annual Dogwood pin on Elvis’ lapel as he got off the plane.
“Of course, that was memorable for her. I was not a concept quite yet, but at the same time, that’s been a fun family story. I think that’s what’s really great about Dogwood. You get to hear these generations talk about their memories.”
Testerman recalls that a local newspaper ran a photo of her eating a candy apple on Market Square during the festivities when she was about 8 years old.
Dogwood Arts Festival Board President Janet Testerman.
(Bonny C Millard/The Ledger)
“Being a Knoxville native, Dogwood was certainly a part of growing up. I just remember as a child on Market Square every spring. It was very symbolic. It was sort of the indication and the official ‘spring has arrived’ festival,” Testerman points out. “Our neighborhood was on the Dogwood Trail, so I always remember the pink-dotted lines and cars driving through.”
Testerman is referring to the familiar pink lines and dogwood flower shapes painted on Knoxville neighborhood streets and surrounding areas designating that the route is on the Dogwood Trail. Anyone who has grown up in the area or visited during this time of year instantly recognizes the symbols’ meaning.
The festival’s “become very iconic and very much a part of Knoxville’s culture,” she adds.
Many people think of Dogwood Arts as a festival that only encompasses the month of April. However, with a staff of seven full-time employees, Dogwood Arts is a nonprofit organization that offers events throughout the year.
“Dogwood is not just a month-long festival, and I think people perceptually still think that’s the case,” Testerman says. “But we’re a yearlong endeavor.
“So we’ve kind of gone from Dogwood Arts Festival to the organization is Dogwood Arts because we have Market Square Art Fair (now known as Dogwood Arts Festival on Market Square), Rhythm N’ Blooms. We’ve launched a film festival. This will be its third year in September. We have Bazillion Blooms in December. House and Garden Show in February. So it really is a lot.”
Dogwood calendar
A 55-year Knoxville tradition, the Dogwood Arts Festival is now a 12-month celebration of art, culture and national beauty. To help you plan your Dogwood Arts Festival activities, here’s a calendar of upcoming events:
April 17-19:
Dogwood Arts Festival on Market Square
Formerly known as Market Square Art Fair, several blocks of downtown Knoxville becomes a dynamic street festival encompassing high-quality visual, performing, culinary, and children’s arts.
April 25 26:
Bikes Blooms
A featured event of Outdoor KnoxFest, experience the Dogwood trails the lean, green way – on a bicycle by way of an organized or self-guided ride.
Through April 25:
Regional Fine Art Exhibition
Progressive emerging and professional regional artists exhibit their work in a variety of genres.
Through April 26:
Dogwood Trails, Open Gardens and Camera Sites
Explore more than 60 miles of trails,open gardens, camera sites, and historic homes as you enjoy a walk, bike, or drive.
Through April 26:
Walking Trails
Focusing on the idea of stepping out into our community, the trails are at least one-mile in length and folks are encouraged to walk, run, or bike these trails.
Through April 30:
Synergy: Student Art Exhibition
Knoxville’s next generation of artists is on display, featuring the work of gifted art students from area schools.
Synergy: East Tennessee Art Educator Exhibition
In its second year, this is an exhibit promoting the work of East Tennessee’s finest K-12 art teachers and current art interns/student teachers from public schools, private schools and academies.
Through May 19, 2016
Art in Public Places Knoxville
A world-class exhibition of large-scale outdoor sculptures enlivens downtown Knoxville and the McGhee Tyson Airport.
The Bazillion Blooms program has helped restore the thinning dogwood population. Disease and neglect have taken a toll on the pink or white blooming trees, but in the last several years about 8,000 trees have been planted as a result of Dogwood Arts’ efforts.
Like many long-running organizations, the festival went through a stagnant period when it was struggling to keep events and activities fresh. Event organizers also wanted to get the younger generation involved with planning. This was about seven or eight years ago and before Testerman renewed her involvement with the festival.
Knoxville businessman and philanthropist Eddie Mannis steered the Dogwood Arts back into a vibrant and thriving celebration, she explains.
Mannis, a good friend of Testerman’s, assembled a group of individuals who helped generate new excitement and developed engaging public events.
“I give him full credit for bringing Dogwood back to the forefront of the community,” Testerman says. “Blood, sweat and tears (went) into it because I think he saw the value of Dogwood for Knoxville and understands what it means for art to be central to any community.
“From a recruiting standpoint for businesses. For tourism. And for an identity of a community. Art is very part and parcel to all of that. Nobody can do it singlehandedly, but he had a vision for it.”
To see what other communities were doing, Mannis visited festival events in cities such as Columbus, Ohio, and Asheville, she says.
“Eddie Mannis spent a lot of time traveling the country to different festivals in different cities, in cities that were really known for their arts culture,” she recalls.
“Art in Public Places was born through his due diligence in taking the time to go see what other communities were doing well and help bring those ideas to Knoxville.”
Testerman’s interest and involvement in the festival was renewed five years ago when she participated on a committee that organized “Dogwood After Dark,” a kickoff party for festival sponsors. The following year, in 2011, she was asked to be the festival co-chair.
“That was exciting because for me I had seen the rebirth of Dogwood so it was exciting to get involved at that level,” she says, noting her festival history, such as being a teenager attending many events on Market Square that were a fun and memorable part of her years growing up.
Not only does Dogwood Arts Festival provide community members with an unforgettable connection to Knoxville, it also is an economic boom for the city.
“The economic impact on this city is tremendous,” Testerman says. “With all of our corporate and community partners, we cast a very broad net to accomplish what we do.”
Dogwood Arts Executive Director Lisa Duncan says in an email that Visit Knoxville estimates that it generates $6-$9 million for the local business community including restaurants, shops and hotels.
Testerman agrees with the influence the festival has had both historically and currently.
“The Dogwood Arts Festival positively impacts our economy as it attracts cultural tourism to our area generating revenue throughout the city and the region,” Testerman says. “Downtown restaurants and retailers report record sales during Dogwood Arts event weekends and have joined our volunteer force of over 600 to plan and implement a successful festival.”
The festival continues to evolve through the years with new offerings, but the board of directors also has to serve as the overseer that is entrusted with the organization’s continued success.
“We’ve had to make some hard decisions,” she notes. “We don’t have the parade anymore, but at some point, again, as you start to reevaluate and restructure an organization you have to determine what makes sense and what’s fiscally responsible.”
The parade was discontinued after 2013, and even though it has nostalgic value, there hasn’t been any push back from the community, she says.
“We’ve been able to redirect those resources and those dollars into some really new fresh ideas. Like Rhythm N’ Bloom, and some of our Art in Public Places, which is our sculpture exhibit throughout the city that’s on display throughout the year.”
The Art in Public Places showcases the work of artists from all over the country.
A selection committee chooses sculptures from submitted pieces, and the artists are paid a fee for displaying their work. The pieces are for sale and have sold during the yearlong exhibit. Most of the large-scale sculptures are located in the downtown area, but the McGhee Tyson Airport also has some pieces on display.
“It’s a really great visual art because they’re massive pieces,” she says. “When you see them collectively in different areas around the city, it helps bring Dogwood as top of mind, and not just Dogwood, but the appreciation that Knoxville does have for the arts community.”
The Art DeTour offers community members a chance to see the work of different artists at dozens of galleries in Knoxville.
“We’re always looking for fresh new talent. That’s what makes it (the festival) new is that every year is different when we’re able to tap into new talent, both for Market Square Art Fair (and Rhythm N’ Bloom). I know we’ve got some great new performers coming in and talent coming in for that – as well as artists. It just continues to grow and flourish.”
Rhythm N’ Bloom was held last weekend on Jackson Avenue in the Old City with a stage under the viaduct. The weekend long concert included numerous bands and genres of music. One particular band, Subtle Clutch, a trio of local high school students, set up and played on Market Square last year on their own, she says. They received such a good reception that they were invited this year to be officially part of the musical venue.
“This year they’re part of the lineup,” she says. “And they’re local, and that’s always fun to kind of uncover that hidden gem. But there’s so many stories like that.”
These are the kinds of stories that Dogwood Arts wants to encourage and share about the talent in the area.
“Dogwood’s mission is to promote the area’s art culture and natural beauty. And that’s our motto and our tagline, but more than that, art is expression, and it’s the talent that enables us to celebrate the region, the culture and the art. There’s always a story going on behind that art with those artists. And I think that’s one thing that the organization would like to do more of is to share with the community… these stories that exist.”
But the community doesn’t have to wait for April to come around each year to enjoy this promotion of the arts.
“That would probably be one of my biggest messages,” Testerman says. “It’s not just April, even though so much is happening during that time. We have festivals within festivals, but we really are committed throughout the year to our mission.”
Information: www.dogwoodarts.com
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