Chamber of Commerce to hold 12th annual Flavor of the Park

The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce will hold its

12th annual Flavor of the Park, presented by Arvest, from 5:307:30 p.m. Thursday at Exchange Street Parking Plaza.

The Chamber of Commerce’s annual food showcase offers the chance to sample many of the delicious and diverse restaurants Hot Springs has to offer, a news release said. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Children ages 10 and younger are admitted for free.

Tickets may be obtained at the Chamber of Commerce office,

659 Ouachita Ave., or by visiting http://www.hotspringschamber. com. Admission includes samples of food, beer, wine and soft drinks.

Entertainment will be provided by the Spa City Youngbloods, the youth band formed from Blues in the Schools. BITS, a nonprofit organization that is part of the Spa City Blues Society, teaches children 12 to 21 years old all aspects of the art of blues music, said Sarah Elmore, BITS director.

Local musicians donate their time and skills to teach and mentor students. Students learn to play an instrument of their choice and perform publicly with the band. The program, which is about six years old, has taught 30 to 40 students the art of blues music, Elmore said.

Other entertainment includes Grayson Goff, who will perform acoustic jazz in the VIP section.

“Flavor of the Park is one of Hot Springs’ most loved events,” said Betsy Atkins, chamber vice president. “It showcases our investor members and is a great way for attendees to discover a new favorite restaurant.”

The event provides a wide variety of flavors, from fine dining to fast food and catering companies and taverns.

The restaurants that will be in attendance include Trejo’s Mexican Restaurant, The Avenue, Fat Jack’s, Papa Murphy Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza, Silk’s Bar and Grill, Papa John’s Pizza, Outback Steakhouse, Buffalo Wild Wings, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Purple Cow, In the Raw Test Kitchen and Juice Bar, Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen, Bleu Monkey Grill, Kona Ice, Vina Morita, Fat Bottomed Girls Cupcakes, Pour Some Sugar on Me, Sam’s Club and Kilwins.

Drink vendors include Arkansas Beverage Sales, O’Conner Distributing, Tri-Lakes Liquor, Spa City Taproom, Coca-Cola and Mountain Valley Spring Co.