Wrap, Wrap, Wrap, Wrap it Up - And Start It All Over Again

It's time to say goodbye to the year ending and hello to a new one. I hope you are saying goodbye to a good year. If not, at least there is the looming new year full of possibilities. There is always hope the next one will be better.

For our city I think it was a pretty good year. Many businesses opened downtown. Property values seem to have stabilized. Our mayor is now our governor and we might hope he remembers the people back home as he assumes his new office. I think he will. On the down side, we appear to have completely lost hope of having a new downtown library and we don't know if our new city mayor will be as strong or effective an advocate for downtown development as our last mayor. At the county level we have replaced a very unpopular mayor and we'll see how the new mayor plays out.

For now, what can we do? Throw a big party and celebrate the good from the last year and our hopes for the coming year. I'm usually inclined to stay at home and quietly bring in the new year, but downtown offers too many tempting possibilities. First Night Knoxville is the city's official celebration and it looks to be very good this year. I caught part of it last year and while we aren't Time's Square, Market Square was a pretty exciting place to be. I'm sure it will be fun again this year. The stage at the newly named Bill Lyons Pavilion (congrats Bill) will be filled with great entertainers including two of my favorites to catch: Jodie Manross and the Lonetones as well as Hudson K and many others.

The traditional host of the Bijou New Year's Eve concert, Scott Miller, will be at the Shed this year and that promises to be a great show. The Bijou booked the Dirty Guv'nahs with opening band Dishwater Blonde and that's where I'll have to be. I would say join me, but unless you've got your tickets, it's too late: they sold out. I'll tell you all about it in a blog sometime soon.

In the meantime, I hope you have a safe, happy beginning as we turn the calendar over one more time.

I'm going to have to leave you with two videos. The first is logical: It's a great Dirty Guv'nahs video in honor of their New Year's Eve concert. The other was sent in by my friend Kevin and I can't help but use it just because it is so great. What does Bob Marley have to do with Knoxville and the New Year? Well, maybe we'll just Stir It Up a bit around this place! Happy New Year, Ya'll.