Knoxville, TN - From 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 1, Labor Day Sunflower Project again will transform the western edge of the Krutch Park extension into a floral paradise. LDSP cofounders Gerry Moll and Joshua Bremseth will welcome Knoxville residents representing each city district to weave hundreds of harvested sunflowers into a circular design on a freestanding, 15’x15’ chain-link substrate.  Once completed, the installation will remain open to the public until Sept. 7 when it will be prominently featured during the First Friday festivities.  From 7-10 p.m. on that date, Circle Modern Dance will deliver a performance – inspired by the art – in the section of grass between the display and the 500 block of Gay St.

 

Labor Day Sunflower Project began in 2007 as a creative means of uniting a single neighborhood, but it has since grown to symbolize the unification of all of Knoxville’s disparate parts.  Each sunflower signifies the reward of individual labors while the circle embodies the coordination of those efforts.  In keeping with the event’s theme, this year’s installation will feature a video projection displaying publicly submitted photographs – gathered over several months – depicting various kinds of work.  At the de-installation on Sept. 7, participants will gather the seeds (which will be used to yield sunflowers for the next year’s display) in order to winnow them so that they can later be distributed to the public for growing, thus concluding this cyclical and unique yearly tradition.

 

 

COMMUNITY SPONSORS:

Central Business Improvement District (CBID)

East Tennessee Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia

Three Rivers Market

 

COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS:

The Birdhouse Neighborhood Center

Circle Modern Dance

East Towne Area Business and Professional Association

The Fourth and Gill Neighborhood Association

Ironwood Studios

Knoxville Arts and Culture Alliance

Knox Composts

Market Square Farmers’ Market

North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS)

Sow True Seeds

Stanley’s Greenhouse

 

COMMUNITY GROWERS:

Abbey Fields

Beardsley Farm

Birdhouse Community Garden

Century Harvest Farms

East Tennessee Consulate of the Republic of Slovenia

Ijams Nature Center

Knoxville Botanical Gardens

New Harvest Park Community Garden

A Place in the Heart Farm

Parkridge Community Garden

Pond Gap Community Garden

Project V.E.G.G.I.E. (UTK)

Seven Islands State Birding Park

The University of Tennessee Gardens