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More than 20,000 people expected to visit Knoxville this weekend

Between the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, the Big Ears Festival, and several other conventions, the scruffy city will be busy this weekend.

KNOXVILLE — If you are bored in Knoxville this weekend, you are probably doing something wrong.

Between the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, the Big Ears Festival, the Tennessee Valley Cat Show and the robotics competition at the Thompson Boling arena, there is no shortage of things to do around town this weekend.

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"This is a huge weekend for Knoxville. We are going to have so many different events," said Kim Bumpas, President of Visit Knoxville. "This weekend is just kind of eclectic because you have all these different groups coming together."

Bumpas says more than 20,000 people from out of town are expected to visit Knoxville this weekend.

For people like food truck owner Byron Sambat, that means 20,000 potential new customers.

"We’re expecting a big crowd. I know it’s a big weekend for Knoxville," said Sambat, who owns the Sweet & Savory food truck with his wife. "This is a good way to kick things off. Spring in Knoxville, get things going again."

Hotels are also filling up quick. At the Crowne Plaza downtown, all the rooms are booked.

"Between the folks coming to the festival and all of the artists that come to town, they all need a place to stay, so yes, this is a high demand weekend," said Ken Knight, the General Manager of the hotel. "The festival seems to draw a much larger amount of folks than the marathon does, from out of town anyway."

People from all over the world will spend their weekend in the Scruffy City, a chance for Knoxville to show off it’s best side.

"Not only does it add a vibrancy to downtown that didn’t used to exist," Knight said. "But it attracts people who wouldn’t normally be here to spend their dollars in our community."

Traffic will surely be a problem this weekend. In addition to street closures and parking limits around the city, TDOT plans to continue roadwork on I-40 in West Knoxville that will cause lane closures.

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