The Smith County Drug Prevention Coalition will host Camp Prevention Rocks for 5th through 8th graders from July 31st – August 2nd, 10am-2pm at Carthage Church of God. 382 Main Street South located in South Carthage. The camp is free to participants.

Smith County Drug Prevention Coalition’s Camp Prevention Rocks is in the business to break the cycle of addiction.

Camp Prevention Rocks allows youth to:

• Connect with friends

• Reduce feelings of isolation

• Learn the skills to break the cycle of addiction in our community.

• Develop trusting relationships with adult mentors

• Build confidence and learn critical life skills

• Have fun!

The Smith County Drug Prevention Coalition strives to inspire and empower youth to find their natural high and acquire skills to break the cycle of addiction for good.

The City of Carthage will host a Carnival on Friday, June 23rd from 2-8 p.m.and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at 350 Industrial Drive in Carthage.

The family friendly event will offer free admissions and many free activities. Additionally carnival-type games, bounce houses, and face painting will also be available. Some activities will require tickets to participate. Food Trucks, Vendors and Live Entertainment will be a part of the day. Friday night will also feature a family friendly movie.

Long Branch Community Church will host Vacation Bible School June 25-28th 6-8 p.m. each night. Family Night will be June 28th with food, fun & games. Long Branch Community Church is located at 1820 Hickman Road, Brush Creek.

June is Dairy Month and to celebrate, our 4-H June Dairy Month Chair Kynlee Davis will be at the Smith County Farmers’ Market with games, activities, and freebies on June 23! In addition to all the fun and games, Mary will be offering a food demonstration, as well as selection and storage suggestions for the flavorful fruit and vegetables available at the market. The demonstrations and outreach are part of a UT Extension program called Farmers’ Market Fresh. The principal objective of the Farmers’ Market Fresh program is to encourage the purchasing of fresh fruits and vegetables at local farmers markets.

Mark your calendars for this Friday June 23rd from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. for these fun, tasty, and educational events! Hope to see you there!

Homemade Butter Pecan Ice Cream

3 tablespoons butter

¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt

¾ cup pecans, chopped

1 tablespoon plus ¼ cup sugar, divided

½ cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¹⁄₃ cup maple syrup

2 eggs, beaten

2 ½ cups milk

1 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine butter, salt, pecans and 1 tablespoon sugar, and spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Stir and roast 15 minutes longer; cool. Combine remaining sugars, cornstarch, syrup, and eggs in top of double boiler. Gradually add milk. Cook over boiling water until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and chill two hours or overnight. Stir in toasted pecans, cream, and vanilla. Place in ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Allow to ripen in ice cream freezer or firm up in refrigerator freezer an hour before serving.

Vacation Bible School will be hosted by Brush Creek and Gordonsville Churches of Christ on June 24th from 9 a.m. – 2p.m. The church is located at 106 Lisa Drive, Gordonsville. There will be classes for all ages.

Donate blood and help save a life at Kempville Chapel Old TIme Methodist Church on Tuesday, June 20th from 1-6 p.m located at 196 Kempville Highway, Carthage, TN. You can schedule your appointment by visiting RedCrossBlood.org and entering sponsor code Carthage19. Your pre-donation reading and health questions can be completed using your rapid pass visit RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass.

The Second Harvest Food Truck will be at the Smith County Agriculture Center on Friday, June 16th. The truck generally arrives approximately 8 a.m. Volunteers work to unload the truck and get the food ready for pick-up shortly after. Food is distributed until it is gone. Cars line up around the Ag Center early. Those hoping to receive food at this distribution are encouraged to be in line no later than 10 a.m.

The food trucks are sponsored by the Hunger Relief Fund of Smith County and grants from Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle TN. Churches, businesses and individuals donate to the hunger relief fund all year. Generally two dates are scheduled each month. For more information feel free to contact the Smith County Chamber of Commerce 615-735-2093.

Last year’s B2SB was absolutely amazing. With the help of some amazing sponsors and donors the Smith County Events Committee was able to give out over $10,000 in school supplies to Smith County students. They were also able to Give 12 Graphing Calculators to SCHS and 8 to the alternative school as requested by their principles for student use!

This year, the Back-2-School Bash will be held on July 29th, 2-8 p.m. at the Historic Smith County Courthouse. They hope to DOUBLE their impact and maybe even provide all SC students with free school supplies. BUT your help is NEEDED! There are several sponsorship opportunities available. Donations are also accepted for any amount. Email the Smith County Events Committee at smithcoutyevents@gmail.com or check out their Facebook page for more information.

Smith County High School will host a summer Baseball Camp for ages 5 and older on July 17-19th from 8 a.m.- noon.

Participants will et to sharpen their baseball skills, grow their love for the game, and have an opportunity to play beside all their favorite Owl players.

Participants will hit, field, catch, run and most Importantly have fun! Sliding skills will be tested on our super size water slide.

All Campers will receive a season pass to all regular season home SCHS Baseball games for the 2024 season.

Please get your Registration in by July 1st to be sure and get your Tshirt. Just click this form link .

The annual Defeated Creek Bluegrass Festival will be held at the Defeated Creek Marina and Campground on Friday, June 9th and Saturday, June 10th 2023.

Gates open at 6:00 p.m. on both nights, and live music will begin at 7:00 p.m.

Avery Trace and Bluegrass Solutions will perform on Friday night. Valley Grass and Mountain Blue Five Bluegrass will perform on Saturday. Admission to the festival is $5 per adult.

The hosts of the festival recommend bringing your own lawn chair and coming prepared to have a great time!

The Defeated Creek Bluegrass Festival is a fundraiser for the Defeated Creek Volunteer Fire Department, and all proceeds from the event go to the Fire Department.