Dozens of local businesses color Carter County’s business landscape, but many of them do not get to interact with each other often, and even rarer can they interact with their customers in a meaningful way.

A new opportunity for local businesses to connect with each other, however, is forming, but it needs the community’s support in order to happen.

Taste of Carter County, a project initiated in part by Carter County Drug Prevention, is a way for businesses to better showcase what makes them special to the public at large.

“It is supporting a good cause,” Coffee Company co-owner Frankie Bailey said. “There are always people to reach.”

The Coffee Company, she said, plans to participate in the event, which will function like a local fair. Participants will pay for a wristband at the Witten Huddle that lets them explore various local businesses, from restaurants and more.

“This will be a fundraiser, and it gives the community an opportunity to support local businesses,” CCDP Director Jilian Reece said.

Bailey said the event can be crucial for businesses, especially in Carter County, because of the sheer exposure they can get.

“The folks who come, they have not heard of us before,” she said. “Not everybody can make it to the Coffee Company during business hours.”

This way, she said, people can experience what they are about for themselves, as well as see what Carter County has to offer as a whole.

“It is a great way to show who we are as a business,” Bailey said. “Sometimes you get so focused on what is going on around you, you do not always sit down with customers.”

As a first-timer, Bailey said the Coffee Company is excited to get involved.

“It is a great way for businesses to band together, to do something different,” she said.

Though a solid date is still in progress, those interested in showcasing their business can do so by contacting Reece at 423-342-8008. Tickets for visitors will be $10 per adult and $5 for children older than five.

“This event will have a tail-gating theme,” Reece said.

The currently planned date for the event will be February 29, which she said will let participants “take your extra day this year to support your community.”