In 1947, New York newspaper reporter John  Gunther, came into town, checked out the area, then returned to New York and wrote “Knoxville is the ugliest city I ever saw in America, with the possible exception of some mill towns in New England. Its main street is called Gay Street; this seemed to me to be a misnomer.”  Thus, in 1955, members of the Knoxville Garden Club, led by Betsey Creekmore, Martha Ashe and Betsy Goodson, along with a group of concerned citizens with a vision began a civic beautification project… the Dogwood Trails.

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Dogwood Arts Milestones:

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• 1955:  Dogwood Trails are established

• 1961:  First Dogwood Arts Festival

• 1970:  Bob Hope appears at Festival

• 1972:  Elvis Presley performs at Stokley Athletics Center

• 1977:  First Limited Edition Print

• 1978:  House & Garden Show established

• 1979:  A Very Special Arts Festival established

• 2009:  Bazillion Blooms and Chalk Walk established

• 2010:  Dogwood Arts Festival celebrates 50 years

• 2014: 60th Anniversary of the Dogwood Trails

• 2018: 40th Anniversary of the House & Garden Show

• 2018: 10th Anniversary of Chalk Walk

• 2018: 10th Anniversary of Bazillion Blooms

• 2019: 10th Anniversary of Rhythm N’ Blooms

• 2020: Celebrating 65 Years of the Dogwood Trails