Child & Family Tennessee and Bob Withers will host Cupcakes in the Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 22 in Krutch Park Extension in downtown Knoxville.

Some of East Tennessee’s favorite bakeries including Magpies, the Cup, Gigi’s Cupcakes, Cafe 4, Panache, Lenny’s Catering, KupKatie’s Kupcakes, The Bakery Lady, Scrumps Cupcakes, Sweetpie’s Bakery, Sugarbuzz Bakers, Benefit Your Life, Southernly Sweet, Mer-Mer’s Bakery, Chez Liberty, House of Cake, Pellissippi Culinary School, Cakery Bakery and Emma Lou Bakery will compete in the professional competition for the Judges’ and People’s Choice Awards. Celebrity judges, featuring Ice Bears Coach Mike Craigen, Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, Marc Anthony from Star 102.1′s “Marc & Kim and Frank show,” Red Hickey from WDVX, Tearsa Smith from WATE Channel 6 and Heather Grubb, formerly of TLC’s “Cake Boss,” will select their favorite cupcake. Event goers can purchase a ticket for $5, which includes five mini-cupcakes and one vote in the People’s Choice contest. 

A limited number of spaces are still available for professional competitors as well as aspiring adult and children bakers. Registration information can be obtained by contacting Amy Lawrence at 865-524-7483, ext. 261 or alawrence@child-family.org.

At the Sugarbakers booth, guests will be able to try their hand at decorating cupcakes like the pros for just $3 a cupcake. Other family-friendly activities include face painting and watching a balloon animal artist make colorful creations.

The funds raised will benefit Child & Family Tennessee’s Kent C. Withers Family Crisis Center, which Bob Withers’ father, Kent, helped found in 1978. Last year, 229 women and children received emergency shelter, case management and therapeutic services through the center, which also provides Knoxville’s only domestic violence crisis hotline 865-637-8000.

“Cupcakes in the Park is a great way for families to spend a Saturday,” said Donna Morris, Director of Resource Development & Grants Management at Child & Family Tennessee.  “Not only will they be able to enjoy delicious cupcakes made by some of Knoxville’s best bakeries, but they will also help us raise funds for our domestic-violence-related programs. It truly is a way for everyone to have their cake and eat it too.”

The event sponsor is Morris Creative Group. Other sponsors include the following: Earthfare, the Knoxville Zoo, Mellow Mushroom, Petrees Florist, Pilot, PrintEdge, Stowers Cat, The Knoxville Journal, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Kramer Rayson LLP Attorneys at Law, Scripps Networks Interactive, Star 102.1, Sugarbakers, TIS, Trinity Benefit Advisors and UT Medical Center.

For more information on Cupcakes in the Park or to sponsor the event, contact Stephanie Edwards at 865-524-7483, ext. 264 or sedwards@child-family.org.