GATLINBURG – Featuring the fare of approximately 20 of the area’s finest restaurants and businesses, the return performance of jazz performer Karen Johns and a live auction, the Taste of Autumn returns to the Gatlinburg Convention Center on Thursday, September 18, all to benefit the United Way of Sevier County.
 “For the past eleven years, the Taste has always delivered a fun and tasty way to help the United Way of Sevier County,” commented Jon Elder, Special Events Coordinator for the City of Gatlinburg.
For a $25 donation to the United Way of Sevier County, attendees can enjoy unlimited sampling from all the participating vendors plus the return of the jazzy sounds of Karen Johns & Company from Nashville, Tennessee.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the Taste of Autumn go to the 2008 United Way of Sevier County Campaign.
Participating vendors include All Sauced Up, Blaine’s Restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Calhoun’s Restaurant, Charles Richard Resources, Cherokee Grill, Fox & Parrott Tavern, Gatlinburger, Guarino’s Italian, Hard Rock Café, Knoxville Coca-Cola, Nifty Fifties Café, No Way Jose’s, Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies, Smoky Mountain Brewery, Smoky Mountain Winery, Smoky’s Pub and Grub, The Lodge at Buckberry Creek, and Touch of Love Catering.
“Last year we had a great response to Karen Johns & Company and her beautiful jazz performance and we wanted to keep that same classy feel to the Taste this year,” said Elder. “We are very happy to have her back again.”
 Though Johns has been performing since 1983, Karen Johns & Company was formed only in 2004, and since then has performed across the Southeast with recent appearances at the Faces of Art Masquerade at the Tennessee Art League in Nashville, the French Quarter Café in Nashville, and a private party for former Vice President Al Gore.
As part of the fundraising activities, a live auction will be held with auctioneer services provided by Thompson-Carr & Associates.
The United Way of Sevier County distributes funds to local organizations providing services and programs to our community.
Tickets are available at the Gatlinburg Welcome Centers on the Spur and at the Aquarium as well as on-line at www.uwosc.org. Table reservations are also available. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with tickets available at the door. To sign up as a vendor, or volunteer, or for more information, please call the Special Events Office at 436-0500.

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