KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It's time to travel back in time, all the way back to 1982 at the World's Fair Park.
Were you there? Do you have any photos? Do you know someone who was there? What can YOU share?
Yes, this means it's time for you to dig through old shoeboxes in your closet to find pictures from Knoxville's World's Fair.
The Knoxville World's Fair is coming up on its 40th anniversary in 2022. But, local historians are preparing the celebration a little bit early. The Knoxville History Project executive director Jack Neely said he wants to bring back connections, photos and memories from the fair.
"We're trying to figure out now - after 40 years, what is the history? What history was made here?" Neely said.
The World’s Fair brought people from all over the world to Knoxville to see exciting new inventions, food and international displays. The fair's theme, “Energy Turns Our World,” debuted many inventions pertaining to energy and its practical applications.
For Neely, he wants to remember the 1982 World's Fair picture-by-picture.
"One thing we have found in our earlier search is that we are not finding a lot of good photographs of the world's fair," Neely said. "We want to make sure we have everything together that we need to tell the story."
He's tagging along with Paul James, the developer of a program known as the Knoxville Shoebox.
"We engage the public to share photographs, posters or publications," James said.
James said he wants to create a digital archive of all the photos from the fair.
"We are trying to build a better visual picture of the World's Fair in 1982 here in Knoxville," James said.
From May 1982 to October 1982, over 11 million people from across the world visited the fair. For Neely, he remembers it like it was yesterday.
"The Japan Pavilion had a painting robot and a kind of IMAX bullet train experience," Neely said.
Whether you were a local or international visitor, Neely said he wants to share your photos, memories and connections.
To include yours, you can send an email to Knoxville History Project at paul@knoxhistoryproject.org.
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