Great Smoky Mountains National Park has announced that it is participating in Partners in Preservation (PIP), a community-based partnership of American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to raise awareness of the importance of preserving historic places, which is embarking on its first national campaign in the program’s 10-year history. In honor of the National Park Service’s Centennial, ...

The Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce Foundation has awarded scholarships to four seniors from Gatlinburg Pittman High School. Kelly Champagne, Sterling Fisher, Jordan Daniels and Mikayla Huskey, graduating seniors from Gatlinburg Pittman High School, have each received a $500 scholarship from the Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Funding for the scholarships is provided through various fundraisers throughout the year. The Gatlinburg ...

Welcome to the Big House! Alcatraz East, a new crime museum, announced they are scheduled to open in Pigeon Forge in fall 2016. The museum will give visitors the behind-the-scenes story of our nation’s crime history. “This is going to be the place for the public to learn about crime history, law enforcement, and all things related,” said Janine Vaccarello, ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park invites the public to comment through June 27, 2016 on a proposal to increase camping  fees at frontcountry campgrounds and picnic pavilion fees along with proposed changes to the management of three campgrounds by adding them to the national reservation system through Recreation.gov. The park is also hosting open houses at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center ...

Local and out-of-town guests gathered in downtown Sevierville for an opportunity to enjoy great food and world-class bluegrass music at Sevierville’s 12th Annual Bloomin’ Barbeque & Bluegrass festival held May 20 and 21, 2016. Forty-six cook teams attended the Bush’s Best Tennessee State Championship Barbeque Cook-Off held during the event, with Checkered Pig of Martinsville, Va. claiming Grand Champion while ...

A full slate of Meet the Author events is being planned in Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Sugarlands Visitor Center in the coming weeks. During these sessions, the authors will discuss their work and how the national park impacts their creative endeavors. Friday, May 27, 2016, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., retired GSMNP wildlife ranger Kim Delozier will discuss his books “Bear ...

Art is happening in downtown Sevierville. Local botanical artist Andrea Wilson will exhibit her international award winning etchings June 1–12, 2016 at Courthouse Donuts, 160 Court Avenue in downtown Sevierville, Tenn. This exhibition is the first in a series sponsored by the Sevierville Commons Arts Council and Sevierville Commons Association. A reception will take place Friday, June 3 from 7–10 ...

The Gatlinburg Police and Fire Departments are partnering with the Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force to present a workshop on how to protect private and rental properties from becoming hazardous drug labs. Topics that will be covered include; how to identify a meth lab operation, the process for the breakdown and destruction of clandestine labs and the decontamination process. Trained ...

In honor of the National Park Service Centennial, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, LeConte Lodge, and Great Smoky Mountains Association partnered together to provide the popular “Day Hikes of the Smokies” guide book to all 4th grade students in Sevier County. This generous donation, made possible by Leconte Lodge, is in recognition of the National Park Service’s Every Kid a ...

DNA results show a bear euthanized by Great Smoky Mountains National Park staff was not responsible for the bear attack near Spence Field Backcountry Shelter. Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials received results of DNA analyses comparing samples from bears found near the Spence Field Backcountry Shelter area where a bear attack occurred on May 10, 2016 involving a 49-year ...