The Knoxville Opera Company Presents The 14th Annual Rossini Festival International Street Fair Today

Knoxville Opera celebrates the arts with a spectacular feast of dance, music and performance through Knoxville Opera's annual Rossini Festival International Street Fair today, April 25 from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. The event is free to the public and draws attendees from around the region and country.

In its 14th year, the Rossini Festival International Street Fair is a full day cultural celebration, spanning 14 city blocks of downtown Knoxville including Gay Street and into Market Square. The approximately 60,000 to 100,000 attendees can celebrate the arts with local and regional artisan exhibits featuring handcrafted works, live musical and dancing entertainment and a plethora of culinary delights.

"The Rossini Festival adds a broader element to our love of the arts," said Brian Salesky, executive director at Knoxville Opera. "As the festival garners more national attendance each year, it encourages our community to embrace and celebrate local artistic offerings."

The Festival has something for the whole family. Local and regional multicultural music and dance performances featuring over 800 entertainers will perform on 5 outdoor stages throughout the event. The YMCA FunZone provides interactive games for the youth in Market Square. Inflatables, spider jump, moonwalk & slide, an obstacle course, hop scotch and other activities are available as YMCA recognizes Healthy Kids Day.

The Street Fair will also feature Brewtopia: A Craft Beer Garden presented by The Casual Pint in the Bijou Theatre parking lot. Craft beer will be available in the Garden including draft selections by Tennessee brewers. A world tasting of Constellation Brands Wines and Spirits will be in the Krutch Park Extension from noon to 9:00 pm, surrounded by food, beverage, and artisan booths. New this year - Soulfful Sounds Revue will perform at the main stage in Krutch Park Extension from 8:00 - 10:00pm. Specializing as an R&B, Soul, and Funk variety band, Soulful Sounds Revue & the K-Town Rhythm Section featuring Lee Willis "Mr. Excitement" is an R&B cover band. Performing R&B and soul music by such greats as Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, Sam Cooke, The Temptations, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Etta James & many more that will be sure to get your feet movin' & groovin'!!

For more information on the 2015 and previous years' Rossini Festival, visit KnoxvilleOpera.com/Rossini. To speak with a Knoxville Opera representative, call 865-524-0795 x28.

About Knoxville Opera - Knoxville Opera's mission is to provide the residents of East Tennessee with high quality, locally produced operas and to contribute to the future of the operatic art form by educating the community about opera and its role in our culture. Knoxville Opera, founded in 1978, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization presenting productions made possible, in part, by generous funding from our patrons, The Aslan Foundation, the Tennessee Arts Commission, Regal Entertainment Group, Knox County, The Cole Foundation, the City of Knoxville, Pilot Flying J,

DV Communications, Home Federal Bank, Comcast, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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