Traveling story telling museum makes a stop at Knoxville today

KNOXVILLE, TN (SPECIAL TO WLAF)- The traveling story telling museum  People of Hope is making stops in two East Tennessee communities today and the next few days. First stop is at Knoxville on August 7-8 at World’s Fair Park and then to Chattanooga on August 11-12 at Miller Park hosted by Catholic Charities of East Tennessee.

People of Hope: Faith-Filled Stories of Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a traveling  story telling  museum celebrating the power of Christian service, began its two and a half-year journey around the United States earlier this year in March in New York City.

People of Hope Museum will  visit more than 150 communities to promote empathy and inspire visitors to find ways to serve those in need in their local areas. The national tour will progress through 21 states in 2026, from Texas to Ohio and from Maine to Florida, mostly in the eastern half of the United States. It is set to make tour stops in Knoxville on Friday and Saturday, August 7-8 from 9AM to 3PM at World’s Fair Park and in Chattanooga on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 11-12 from 9AM to 3PM before heading to Memphis.

Housed in a retrofitted tractor-trailer, the People of Hope Museum is an immersive experience that will tour the United States for two-and-a-half years. Produced by Catholic Charities USA, the national membership organization for 168 independent Catholic Charities agencies around the country, and made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., the museum seeks to inspire visitors to engage in their local communities; deepen their understanding of the awe of encountering others at their most vulnerable; and experience the transformation that occurs when we live out our faith through service.  

EVENT DETAILS

• What: People of Hope Museum coming to Knoxville, Chattanooga

• When:  August 7-8 from 9:00 –3:00 p.m. (Knoxville) | August 11-12 from 9:00 –3:00 p.m. (Chattanooga)

• Where:  World’s Fair Park (Knoxville) | Miller Park (Chattanooga) 

• Who:  Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, community members, and Bishop James Mark Beckman to give a blessing during the opening ceremony in Knoxville. This exhibit is free and open to the public. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-08/07/2026-6AM)