by Anna Oakes
Staff Writer

Local restaurants cook up cuisine for a cause at the 12th annual “Taste of the High Country” May 4.

The event will last from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center’s Trillium Ballroom. All ticket proceeds benefit the Watauga Habitat for Humanity.

“‘Taste of the High Country’ is our annual fundraiser,” Watauga Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Dolly M. Bandura said. “It is intended to be a community event.”

Ticket prices have remained the same since the benefit began, Bandura said.

Appalachian State University’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity is also participating. During the event, club members will auction off items donated by local businesses, Appalachian chapter treasurer Phillip A Zucchino said. Zucchino, a sophomore, plans to double major in history and geography.

The club will put part of the money raised from the auction in its account and tithe the rest to Habitat for Humanity in Ghana, Zucchino said.

Music will be provided by keyboard and saxophone player Blackie Nelson, he said.

Advance tickets are $15 and can be purchased at any Boone Drug location or in Plemmons Student Union Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets will be $20 at the door. Student tickets are $10 in advance and at the door.

Watauga Habitat for Humanity hopes to raise $20,000, Zucchino said.

Twenty-one restaurants are participating this year.

“[The restaurants] get exposure, and we get their food,” Zucchino said.

Participating restaurants are Backyard Burgers, Ruby Tuesday, Dos Amigos, Canyons Restaurant, Casa Rustica, The Corner Palate, Elliot’s at the Westglow Spa, Gad About Catering, Jackson Dining Room at the Broyhill Inn, Kojay’s, Maw’s Produce in Foscoe, Mother Nature’s in Blowing Rock, Pepper’s Restaurant, Sagebrush Steakhouse, Stick Boy Bread Company, Storie Street Grille, The Wildflower, The Ham Shoppe of Boone, The Parkway Cafe, The Red Onion, and Woodland’s Barbecue.

Each restaurant will serve food at a table in Trillium Ballroom, Zucchino said.

The food is prepared just before the event and kept warm throughout the evening, he said.

Sponsors of “Taste of the High Country” include Cedar Falls Realty, BB&T, High Country Bank, Mast General Store, the Law Offices of Jeffery J. Walker, RBC Centura, Piedmont Federal, Wachovia, and Hardees.

About 700 people attended last year’s “Taste of the High Country,” Zucchino said.

Money from this event is used to buy land and materials for Habitat homes. Families who qualify for a Habitat house must assist Habitat for Humanity volunteers build the house and eventually pay for the cost of materials through a no-interest loan, Zucchino said.

Families do not have to pay labor costs.

“I think affordable housing is important for Watauga County,” Bandura said. “It has the third most expensive housing market in the state, so there’s a lot of work to be done here.”

This year the Appalachian chapter has helped the Watauga chapter complete two houses, Zucchino said. One, the Rubio house, is the first home to be completed for a Hispanic family in Watauga County, he said.

In the fall, the Appalachian Habitat for Humanity holds a “Rake-a-Thon” to raise money. Volunteers rake the yards of community members, who give donations in return, Zucchino said.

Junior Rachel F. Hutto is president of the Appalachian chapter. Hutto, a political science major, has been a Habitat for Humanity volunteer since Fall 2001.

“I [volunteer] because…I discovered that I just like helping people and doing community service,” Hutto said.

Hutto said she enjoys volunteering for Habitat for Humanity because it allows her to get outside and use her hands.