thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

No tickets? No problem.

The concerts at Theater in the Park may be sold out, but there's still plenty to see and do during the 2009 Foothills Fall Festival. In fact, those who couldn't afford tickets or waited too late to purchase them will find that all of the other activities taking place in downtown Maryville are just as enjoyable -- and in many cases, a lot more interactive.

In fact, the all-ages fun prompted a name change -- what used to be Children's Adventure Land is now just Adventure Land, according to chairperson Patti Clevenger.

"It was called Children's Adventure Land for so long, but it's really not just for children," Clevenger told The Daily Times this week. "Adults have fun, and the shows are for all ages. We thought about calling it Adventure Land Fun for Families, but we decided that was too long. So we're just telling people that we changed the name, but not the fun."

This year, a celebrity will return to Adventure Land -- Twiggy the Water-Skiing Squirrel, who made a splash a few years ago.

"We've got the heater ready, because he doesn't like cold water," Clevenger said.

Twiggy will perform at 1, 3 and 5 p.m. today; 11 a.m. and 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Saturday; and 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Another show destined to be a hit -- the "Muttallica Dog Sport and Comedy Show" -- will take place at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. today; 10:30 a.m. and 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday; and at 12:30, 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

In addition to the shows, Adventure Land will feature obstacle courses, an inflatable climbing wall, games and rides for young children at "Tiny Tot Adventure Land," face-painting, basketball demonstrations, laser tag and more.

Up the street, the other free part of the Foothills Fall Festival has undergone a name change as well -- the Arts and Crafts Area is now known as ArtWay, according to chairperson Carolyn Forster.

"It's more than just this fabulous arts and crafts show," she said. "It's grown to become a really special event because of the music and additional activities. It's expanded to so much more that we knew a new name was needed."

One of the big draws of ArtWay is the free live music at the former location of Roy's Record Shop. The schedule for those performances:

TODAY

12:30 p.m.: Rhythm Pickups of Music Row

2 p.m.: Steel String Swingers

3:30 p.m.: Gritte Fritter (John Dupree)

5 p.m.: Will Tate and Six Mile Express

6:20 p.m.: Jackie Wilburn

SATURDAY

10:15 a.m.: Songwriters-in-the-round: Jim Myers, Lilly Sutton and Bill Cabage

Noon: Shamrock Road

1:30 p.m.: Bary Roseman Trio

3 p.m.: Tri County

4:30 p.m.: Ian Feeback and Dave Mills

6 p.m.: The Mediocre Band

SUNDAY

12:15 p.m.: Maryville High School Stringers

1:45 p.m.: Sisters of the Silver Sage

3:15 p.m.: Pistol Creek Catch of the Day

4:45 p.m.: Open-mic performances

"All three days are totally filled with concerts back-to-back," Forster said. "We'll have plenty of chairs and hay bales in front of Roy's."

Forster credits Ed Harper, director of Senior Services at Blount Memorial Hospital and a member of Pistol Creek Catch of the Day, for organizing the free music.

"He's taken it and organized it, and it's just grown," she said. "We've had such a positive response to it, and because this is the 10th year of the festival, we wanted to make this a special year."

While the ArtWay will take up residence along the streets and sidewalks of Broadway Avenue in downtown Maryville, several businesses are scheduling special events around the festival as well. At The Capitol Theatre, 127 W. Broadway Ave., owner Heath Claiborne will show Halloween-themed horror trailers and clips; admission is free, and patrons can purchase ice cream and coffee at the theater's concession stand.

"It's a 30-minute montage of different Halloween thrillers combined with a light show, just to show off the theater," Claiborne said. "There will always be something going on. We do something every year, and we get slammed, so this year we're doing a short show so people can come in and get out in 30 minutes or so."

At Brackins Blues Bar, 112 E. Broadway Ave., owners Mark and Linda Brackins will feature food specials, but the live music won't begin until 9 p.m. It's a $2 cover for each night -- the band Soulfinger performs tonight and the Liz Melendez Band on Saturday -- but the cover charge is being donated to the Community Food Connection in Blount County, Brackins said.

"This is probably our busiest weekend of the year," he said. "People come up from the festival to hang out before the next show, and we get some of the performers and a lot of the background people -- the roadies and people like that -- in there, too."

At Two Doors Down -- 118 E. Broadway Ave. -- owners Jeff and Lisa Breazeale are kicking off the live music at 1 p.m. today and Saturday. Today's schedule will feature The Dirty Dougs from 1-5 p.m.; The Reigns Band from 6-9:30 p.m.; and Breazeale's own band, the Dixie Werewolves from 10:30 p.m. until close. On Saturday, singer-songwriter Brendon James Wright kicks things off from 1-4 p.m.; followed by Philip and Valerie Sharp from 4:30-6:30 p.m., Gritz from 7-9:30 p.m. and Guy Smiley from 10 p.m. to close.

On Sunday, open-mic karaoke begins at 2 p.m., followed by a performance from the band Mojo at 6 p.m.

"Last year was really good," Jeff Breazeale said. "We spent a lot of time doing barbecue and ended up selling out the first day; this year, we're primarily focusing on our pizza. Hopefully the weather's going to break for the weekend. But if it doesn't, maybe that'll help us by driving people indoors."

To kick off the festivities in Adventure Land and along the ArtWay, a birthday celebration -- designed to commemorate the festival's 10th year -- will take place at noon today at Pistol Creek Station, across the pedestrian bridge from the Blount County Public Library. According to Clevenger, there's a lot to celebrate -- continued success and a healthy dose of community spirit.

"We have 75 volunteers per shift and 10 shifts, so we have 750 volunteer slots -- and we've been full for about a month now," Clevenger said. "I think that's incredible what it says about our community and why it does something like this."