Murphy – The pandemic has canceled and changed many local events, including the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce’s popular Forks & Corks.
In 2020, the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions and while those are slowly being lifted, the organizers felt like a contact free event would be ideal.
Sherry Raines, executive director of the chamber, said the annual event draws hundreds of people. In January, when the event was being planned, she didn’t know how the pandemic would still be affecting public outings. The chamber also didn’t want to put a strain on local restaurants and wineries after a tough year.
“The restaurant’s costs to enter in the event is usually around $1,500, including paying employees for participation and preparation, and we didn’t have the heart to ask the restaurants after coming back from the pandemic,” Raines said. “The virtual event will be helpful for local marketing and promotion, as well as the safest way possible to do it right now.”
The video series is being filmed by Raines and Ronda Birtha, who works at the chamber part time and operates the Birtha Strategy & Design Agency. Birtha will be editing and publishing the videos.
The Forks & Corks Local Savor video series will be available at 7 p.m. beginning Thursday, June 3, then running every Thursday through June on the chamber of commerce’s Facebook page and website, cherokeecountychamber.com.
The series will feature more than 20 vendors showcasing a food or beverage. All videos will remain available throughout the month, and indefinitely on the website.
Anyone will be able to view the videos but only ticket holders will receive gift certificates, merchandise and be able to vote for the “People’s Choice” awards. The chamber will award winners in four categories – Best Demonstration, Most Video Views, People’s Choice and Honorable Mention.
All vendor winners will be given the opportunity to appear on the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce’s regular Wednesday show on WKRK radio via Facebook Live. The vendor winners will also receive the traditional Forks & Corks awards included in the post-marketing phase.
Easter eggs or hidden items in the videos will be announced at the beginning of each video. The first ticket holder to be able to correctly identify where the easter egg is in the video by email or text for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to the vendor of their choice provided by the chamber.
There will only be four winners for that portion of the event. To enter, text 828-222-0287 or email at director@cherokeecountychamber.com.
Raines said registration is required to purchase a ticket and the information given will be used to determine ticket holders in the chamber’s registry. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at cherokeecountychamber.com.
