The 4th Annual
Cattywampus Fall Ball

An unforgettable evening supporting community-powered art in Knoxville.

Join us for the 4th Annual Fall Ball on Friday, October 23rd at The Knoxville Botanical Gardens for an unforgettable evening of food, drinks, music, dancing, giant puppets, and illuminated surprises-all while investing in Knoxville's creative community. 

WHAT TO EXPECT

• Food & Drinks from amazing local restaurants like Tarik's, Potchke, Otsu, Humble Hog & many more
• Live Music from the Knox Honkers & Bangers community marching band
• A Vinyl Dance Party with DJ Captain Ed
• A Silent Auction with one-of-a-kind items (rumor has it there may be a Wayne White original up for grabs)
• Giant Puppet Performances throughout the night...and so much more!

This year's Fall Ball theme is GLOW. Think moonlight, fireflies, bioluminescent fungi, stardust, glitter and anything that shimmers, sparkles, or shines. We're inviting you to dress up silly, fancy, or in whatever attire helps you embody the most radiant version of you. 

WHO WE ARE

• A 501c3 community-based arts nonprofit in Knoxville, TN
• We create tools for resilience through play, celebration arts, and storytelling to transform individuals and communities
• 10+ years of bringing interactive parades, theater, play, and giant puppets to communities across East Tennessee and the South
• We utilize the arts to help communities tell their stories, build relationships with one another and cultivate power, joy, creativity, and justice together

WHAT YOUR SUPPORT FUNDS

Cattywampus is a primarily volunteer-run organization, bringing giant puppets and innovative, free community-based art programming to Knoxville. With the funds raised from last year's Fall Ball, we were able to:

• Provide an incredible season of afterschool arts programming at 10 sites across Knoxville, serving over 300 youth
• Host 2 Art Parades (including our first school-based one at Inskip Elementary) and dozens of free art making workshops for all ages 
• Teach Community Art course at the University of Tennessee School of Art
• Employ 8 youth through our Intern Squad workforce development program
• Collaborate with dozens of local organizations to make art amplifying their work including the NAIWA Daughters of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, Workers' Dignity, AKIN, Centro Hispano, The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knox County Schools, and so many others

2027 PROGRAMMING

We are truly a community-supported organization and your donations make our work possible. Funds raised through this year's Fall Ball will directly support our 2027 programming including:

The Cattywampus Parade & Block Party 

Now entering its 10th year, Cattywampus’s people-powered Parade & Block Party has become an annual spring tradition in Knoxville. It brings together diverse and intergenerational cross-sections of our community to play, create, and build relationships with one another, while using the visual and performing arts as tools to help tell our stories and envision what futures we might create together. Community members of all ages are invited to make giant puppets, masks, costumes, and other art and come together to parade as one! Check out our most recent "Where the Waters Meet" Parade & Block Party, which happened on May 17th at Suttree Landing Park.

This public art event included: 

• 1,500+ participants
• 40+ local non-profits 
• 15+ Knox County Schools 
• 12 free community workshops and open studio days
• Way too many amazing giant puppets to count!!

Youth Art Residencies

As part of our parade programming, Cattywampus hosts 10-week long giant puppet and parade art residencies at afterschool partner sites in Knoxville, including Centro Hispano, the Boys & Girls Club, The Shora Foundation, The Wesley House, Knox County Schools and others.

During our 2026 season: 

• 300+ K-8th youth received free art programs throughout Knoxville 
• Students exhibited their original art publicly through community parades and performances
• 95% of participants showed a significant improvement in relationship-building, leadership, problem solving and group decision-making skills

Youth Intern Squad

Each spring, Cattywampus hires local high school art students as teaching artist assistants for our Youth Art Residencies. Through this paid workforce development program, students have an opportunity to explore teaching careers in the arts, learn leadership skills, and so much more:

• 8 paid youth interns at $17/hr
• 100% of graduates express increased confidence, leadership, youth education skills, and job readiness post-intership
• Since its inception in 2018, we have gone on to hire 3 former interns as Cattywampus teaching artists

The Knox Honkers & Bangers (and Shakers)

Birthed from the Cattywampus ethos that everyone is an artist and that bringing joy & magic to public spaces can transform them, this raucous, hot-pink community brass band is open to everyone. Since its inception in January 2023, we've grown to 60+ members of honkers, bangers, flag twirlers, dancers, and more. During this time, we've honked & banged at Cattywampus events and many other community celebrations including SoKnoPride, Bonnaroo, the Knoxville Museum of Art, Outlandish Fest, Art Struck in Johnson City, Rossini Fest, the Charlotte International Arts Festival, and more. 

AND SO MUCH MORE!