September 2007 Archives

Changes are coming to the reservations system for campgrounds and recreation facilities manages by the US Corps of Engineers and the Forest Service. That includes sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
While the electronic campgrounds reservations system is revamped, the system will be unavailable for 17 days. The system will be unavailable from September 30th through the morning hours of October 17th. During that time, no new reservations can be made through the call center or website. Changes or cancellations will also be unavailable. The new system is set to come online at 10 am October 17th. If you need to cancel a reservation during the system's downtime, you can contact the campground directly.

The 10th Annual Taste of Autumn takes place on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at the Gatlinburg Convention Center featuring some of the area’s finest restaurants, featured jazz performer Karen Johns and a live auction all to benefit the United Way of Sevier County.
This year’s featured restaurants include Hard Rock Café, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, Gatlinburg Farms, The Veranda, Corky’s Barbecue, Nifty Fifties Café, The Lodge at Buckberry Creek, Charles Richard Resources, Cherokee Grill, Blaine’s Grill & Bar, No Way Jose’s, Fox & Parrot Tavern, Calhoun’s and Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant, among others.
A $25 donation to the United Way of Sevier County gets supporters in the door of the Gatlinburg Convention Center with access to unlimited sampling from all the participating restaurants. One hundred percent of the proceeds from Taste of Autumn go to the 2007 United Way of Sevier County Campaign.

How much is one little rubber shark worth? Well, it could be worth ten grand if it's one of the winning sharks in the Great Gatlinburg Shark Race in Gatlinburg this year.

September 29, 2007 is the date for the Great Gatlinburg Shark Race for the United Way of Sevier County. The grand prize this year is $10k in cash. Other great prizes include a 2007 ATV, $2,000 furniture shopping spree, pool table, stay in Orlando and four passes to Disney, iPod Nano package or VIP attractions packages for Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg.

It’s hard to say what is the bigger honor for Dollywood, hosting the Annual Golden Ticket Awards that spotlight the best in the theme park industry or winning the Publisher’s Pick Award for Park of the Year. Nearly 90 professionals in the amusement industry made a visit to the Smoky Mountains Wednesday for the annual event, which Dollywood was tapped to host.
Amusement Today, a newspaper dedicated to theme and amusement parks, organizes the awards, which are in their 10th year. Amusement Today Publisher Gary Slade said the awards were created “to honor the best of the best in the amusement industry.”