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Country music star Jo Dee Messina and bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley are among the premier events for the spring opening of Clayton Center for the Arts, with Messina headlining the grand opening weekend.

The Maryville College Choir Concert will start an extended weekend of events on Thursday, March 25, with the final event being the Banff Film Festival on Monday, March 29. The premier gala will happen midway through the five-day celebraion on Saturday, March 27, featuring East Tennessee dancers, musicians, singers, as well as art displays in the center's three galleries.

Messina, an award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist, will perform Friday, March 26. She's had nine No. 1 singles, has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and Grammy Awards, and was the first female country artist to score three multiple-week No. 1 songs from the same album.

On Sunday, March 28, Richard and John Contiguglia will perform as part of the Adams Foundation Piano Series. The Contiguglias are identical twins considered among the most acclaimed and versatile piano duos in the world today.

Other Clayton Center for the Arts events in spring

• Dr. Ralph Stanley and Clinch Mountain Boys with Cherryholmes, will perform Thursday, April 29. Considered bluegrass royalty and a three-time Grammy Award winner, Dr. Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys will team 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 will perform 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 upcoming events at the center

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 from the Kennedy Center Theatre for Young Audiences, is set for 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 is set for Thursday, April 8.



• April Foolies fundraiser and talent show is scheduled for April 10.



• "Peter Pan and Other Works" will be presented by Appalachian Ballet Company on April 24 and 25.



• "Our Town," presented by Maryville College Theatre Department, is scheduled for April 29 through May 2.