The room where Knox Kpop learned to dance.
Drive out Beaver Ridge Road in Karns and you reach a plain single-story hall: block walls, a brick accent wall, ceiling fans, and a wide-open floor. This is the Karns Community Club Event Center at 6616 Beaver Ridge Road. Knox Kpop classes meet here, Knox K-Pop Group grew out of those weekly classes into Knoxville’s most recognized K-Pop dance crew, and it is where KPCA Young People rehearse, film covers, and find their people. K-Pop Crush Night filled it in February 2026, and K-Culture Day returns to it on September 27, 2026.
The club that keeps that room open was established in 1954 and has been a recognized nonprofit since 1968. Its stated purpose is simple: own and maintain land and buildings for public use. Its motto is “Inform & Unite for Progress.” Every Karns resident and business owner is a member, meetings are open to anyone who wants to take part, and volunteers maintain two buildings: the Community Building on Oak Ridge Highway, the old Karns library, and the Event Center on Beaver Ridge Road where we dance.
The club’s signature event is the Karns Community Fair, billed as Tennessee’s longest-running community fair. The 73rd edition ran on July 18, 2026 at Karns High School, free to the public, with a carnival midway and an indoor vendor hall. The club also runs the Karns Fall Festival each October and the Karns Christmas Parade, and publishes a monthly newsletter called The Beaver’s Tale.
Brent Howell became president in January 2026, succeeding Don Gordon after more than seventeen years. In his first summer he proposed Music in the Grove, a free outdoor concert series in the cedar grove behind the Community Building. Urban Engineering sponsored construction of a stage, and club members built it themselves on a Saturday. Knoxville bluegrass group Timberwinds opened the series on August 15, 2026, with shows following through the fall.
A volunteer club that builds a stage so neighbors can hear live music for free understands exactly what we are trying to do for Young People. That is why Karns Community Club is on this page, and why we are grateful.
- 1954Karns Community Club is founded to bring neighbors in Karns and along Beaver Creek together.
- 1968Recognized as a nonprofit whose mission is to own and maintain land and buildings for public use.
- 2023Weekly Knox Kpop classes at the Event Center give rise to Knox K-Pop Group (KKG), Knoxville’s first dedicated K-Pop dance cover crew.
- Jan 2026Brent Howell becomes club president after Don Gordon’s seventeen-plus years in the role.
- Feb 2026K-Pop Crush Night, our Valentine’s K-Pop celebration, fills the Event Center.
- Jul 2026Volunteers build the Music in the Grove stage. The 73rd Karns Community Fair runs July 18. KKG films “BAD” by ATEEZ in a packed class at the Event Center (pictured above).
- Aug 2026Timberwinds play the first Music in the Grove concert, free, in the grove behind the Community Building.
- Sep 2026K-Culture Day: From HUNTRIX to Hangul takes over the Event Center on September 27.
