East Tennessee's Great Cake Bake accepting entries

KNOXVILLE -- East Tennessee's sugar artists will have an opportunity to show off their cake baking skills on February 23 in the Tennessee Terrace at UT's Neyland Stadium. All bakers and cake makers are invited to participate.

Water pitcher in Regina Long's cake depiction of Tale of Peter Rabbit in the 2012 Great Cake Bake.

The annual cake bake is a product of Knox County Public Library and is designed to highlight the regions' best cake decorating skills in a public exhibit. It's a sweet way to support Imagination Library program—making sure Knox County children will continue to get free books in the mail, every month, until age 5.

"The Imagination Library program provides an important building block for Knox County's children," Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett said. "By sending books in the mail every month, we are helping families put a priority on learning to read. Programs like the Imagination Library foster children's natural curiosity and encourage our young people to read, and the Great Cake Bake is a good way to support those efforts."

Participants can enter in one of four divisions: Junior (under 18), Beginner, Intermediate, and Professional; and can bake in one of three categories: All Occasion Cakes, Wedding Cakes, and a single brilliantly decorated cupcake. The decorated cakes will be separated into different groups: buttercream frosting only and fondant/gum paste/mixed sugar art. There's a place for every cake!

To enter online, go to www.knoxlib.org/cakebake and fill out an easy registration form. Each entry costs $12, which is the cost of sponsoring one child in Imagination Library for a year. Entries must be received by February 13 in order to be entered in the Great Cake Bake. Paper forms can also be downloaded from the Knox County Public Library's website or picked up at Sugarbakers Cake, Candy & Wedding Supplies.

Winners in each category and division will receive a trophy and bragging rights for an entire year! The public will vote on their favorite cake to find a People's Choice Winner.

A program of the Knox County Public Library, Imagination Library mails one free, age-appropriate book each month to all registered Knox County children from birth to age 5. Currently, over 1,400,000 books have been sent to over 40,000 children since the program began in 2005. 68% of children under age 5 in Knox County are signed up for Imagination Library, helping prepare our youngest citizens for success in school.

The Great Cake Bake is made possible through the generous support of Food City, Sugarbaker's, Friends of the Library, WVLT, Knoxville News Sentinel, B97.5 and Sisters of the Skillet.

Published January 8, 2013