Last weekend, Dogwood Arts devotees kicked off April happenings with a ribbon-cutting of the featured Fountain City Trail and with the popular Chalk Walk artistry on Market Square.

Communications Department intern Beverly Banks captured some of the excitement with this video.

The Fountain City event was hosted by Gentry Griffey Funeral Chapel, 5301 Fountain Road. The home was built in 1899 and has housed Gentry Griffey for 64 years. Director Eric Botts says that several of the mature dogwoods on the grounds were planted 40 or 50 years ago. The gorgeous Memorial Garden is one of Dogwood Arts’ Open Garden Sites. And this year’s featured Dogwood Trail is accessible just a block away on Hotel Avenue.

Two of this year’s other open gardens are here in Fountain City: BAXTER GARDENS, which features more than 300 Dogwood trees throughout the property, and SAVAGE GARDEN, an English-style garden that Arthur Savage started 100 years ago and is listed on the National Register of Historic Place.

Meanwhile, the fun and highly-visual Chalk Walk drew lots of admirers - more than 25,000, in fact, organizers estimate. A record number of artists - more than 150 - participated. Here's some of the media coverage:

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2017/04/01/annual-chalk-walk-assembles-largest-group-artists-yet/99915372/

http://wate.com/2017/03/30/knoxville-chalk-walk-turns-sidewalks-into-canvasas/