Things to Do in Maryville
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
At abc Art, brushes flick across canvas, a quiet swishing sound that serves as a backdrop for chattering students and clinking wine glasses. While pupils sip brought-in drinks, artists lead the class in painting images that have included cupcakes, landscapes, and abstract scenes. Tucked beneath arms, the paintings leave with proud students and are ideal for hanging over holes accidentally smashed in a refrigerator. The studio space also hosts private parties, which let guests bring in food and drinks to paint the evening away.
Visitors enter a gleeful realm of recreation and friendly competition amid the indoor and outdoor attractions of Putt-Putt Golf & Games. The emerald corridors of 54 mini golf holes meander throughout the playscape, forming three 18-hole courses that gradually escalate in both difficulty and the territorial aggression of their native windmills. The thunderous clap of bat barrels smacking line-drives resonates from the baseball and softball cages, where mechanical hurlers sling baseballs at four different speeds and softballs at fast- and slow-pitch standards. More than 50 arcade and ticket-redemption games hungrily devour tokens in the game room, and guests can sate their appetites with pizza ($9 for a large), hot dogs ($1.50), and scoops of Blue Bunny ice cream ($2 for one scoop).
A man runs through the forest, pausing briefly to take in his surroundings: rolling mountains and verdant trees as far as the eye can see. Suddenly, a twig cracks, breaking the silence, and the pristine view dissolves within a cloud of paint. The game is over.
At its outpost within the mountains, Smoky Mountain Paintball has converted the area's natural terrain into outdoor paintball fields. Here, players weave between trees and peak over walls in search of enemy combatants. The simulated battlefields are also a strategist’s dream; referees take requests, and will set up almost any type of game provided that players adhere to the rules and don't require a human-sized chessboard.
Away from the colorful warzone, a pro shop brims with camouflage and Tippmann markers, In addition to paint-fueled grudge matches, combatants can also settle scores with Smoky Mountain Paintball’s expanded arsenal of Airsoft and laser-tag battles.
Built in 1786, James White's Fort affords glimpses into the frontier lifestyles of America's forefathers while providing education on Knoxville founder and the fort's creator, James White. Each year, more than 10,000 visitors explore the residence, which was restored and opened to the public in 1970. Six cabins and a stockade wall surround the main two-story log house, where guests can experience hands-on interpretations of life as a pioneer by cooking on an open hearth or spinning retro cell-phone-charger cords on an antique loom. Special events held throughout the year keep a continuous line of visitors waltzing across the land of Tennessee's first capital, including an annual celebration of Cherokee heritage.
The early 20th century holds a certain charm. Even while peering through the apothecary's questionable brown bottles or cringing at the sound of the dentist's foot-powered drill, it's hard not to look back with wonder on men in straw hats and women with lacy parasols hopping onto streetcars as they clambered down cobblestone roads. With permanent exhibits set up to re-create such scenes—including an urban streetscape display with an original streetcar—the East Tennessee Historical Society allows visitors to literally take a stroll through state history. Since 1834, the organization has collected stories and artifacts from Tennessee residents, preserving many tales and genealogical records in the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection. The society shares its findings through publications and ongoing lectures, conferences, and interactive school programs.
The energetic pastors and staff at Friendship Church seek to help others discover their spiritual faith in an atmosphere reminiscent of a nondenominational church. They reach out to community members of all ages through youth and adult ministries and small discussion groups, constantly working to place theological debates within a modern context. For nearly a decade, they've augmented their main mission with a range of summer camps for children of all ages. Staffers of the church’s tech camps, which build appreciation for the outdoors and technology more effectively than challenging a bear to a game of Super Mario Bros., educate children through the use of robotics, video production, and video games and immerse them in outdoor games and activities such as waterslides and trampolines. They also hold competitive gaming weekends for all experience levels.
