KNOXVILLE—Longtime actor, director, and producer Bill Landry will be honored on March 31, at the tenth annual Appalachian Spring gourmet dinner and auction being hosted by the University of Tennessee’s Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management.
The student-led event will be held at 6:00 p.m. in the ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown. The evening will include a wine-and-beer reception, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and a four-course banquet with wine pairings.
Tickets are now available for $150 each. Participants also can sponsor a table and pay $1,000 for eight tickets. The deadline to purchase tickets is March 12.
Students are seeking auction items and sponsorships that range from $50 for a “Wall of Thanks” in the program to $5,000 for one full-page advertisement and two sponsored tables. The deadline for donations to the silent auction and sponsorships is March 1.
UT hospitality students will manage the event from developing the program to designing the menu with the help of several distinguished local chefs. Retail students will manage the silent auction.
Landry, during his thirty-year career, has written and performed in numerous plays around East Tennessee. The Heartland Series, for which he is most known, has aired more than 1,400 short features and about 150 half-hour length historical programs on East Tennessee. Landry has been awarded four Emmy Awards and six Iris Awards from the New York International Film and Television Festival. He also received the Theodore Roosevelt Award for “Best Outdoor Documentary.” Landry recently wrote a book titled Appalachian Tales and Heartland Adventures, which further explores the beloved stories first showcased in the Heartland Series.
Landry will autograph the book at the dinner. It will be available for purchase.
Money generated from the event will be used for student scholarships, industry trips, and internship support.
For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Ann Fairhurst at 865-974-6614 or fairhurs@utk.edu.
—
CONTACT:
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lola.alapo@tennessee.edu)