The Great Smokies Welcome Center is located at 7929 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Townsend, Tenn., offering visitor information as well as parking tags and a selection of books, gifts and other Smokies merchandise for sale. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of November, then 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. December through February. Courtesy of Smokies Life

TOWNSEND, TN - Smokies Life, a nonprofit partner to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, announces fall events and explorations at its Great Smokies Welcome Center in Townsend, Tenn., and in nearby Cades Cove in the park. Kicking off the autumn harvest season are free sorghum-making demonstrations by Mark and Sherry Guenther of Muddy Pond Sorghum, taking place at Great Smokies Welcome Center in Townsend Oct. 16–18 and Oct. 23–25, and in Cades Cove, in front of the Becky Cable House Nov. 19–22 and Nov. 27–29.

Kicking off the autumn harvest season are free sorghum-making demonstrations by Mark and Sherry Guenther of Muddy Pond Sorghum, taking place at Great Smokies Welcome Center in Townsend Oct. 16–18 and Oct. 23–25, and at the Becky Cable House in Cades Cove Nov. 19–22 and Nov. 27–29. Courtesy of Smokies Life

The couple travels with their mules Ada and Ida, tools, equipment and supplies in tow, demonstrating their chosen craft for crowds of onlookers—with the smell of simmering syrup signaling the onset of cool days, autumn leaves and memories of communities coming together to harvest and mill their crops.

“Everybody calls it molasses, but it is sorghum cane, and the correct name for it is sorghum syrup,” explained Mark Guenther. For three generations, the Guenther family in Monterey, Tenn., has practiced the old-fashioned mountain art of harvesting sorghum and processing it into a sweet syrup—a regional delicacy typically paired with butter on a hot biscuit, drizzled onto a pancake or mixed into porridge or grits.

“Fall is when the sorghum is ripe and ready to start cooking, and that smell is what makes the whole season,” said Sherry Guenther, Mark’s wife. “We’ll be at Townsend and Cades Cove as the fall colors come in, and together with the smell of it cooking, it transports you back to a simpler time. It’s so relaxing.”

Determined to keep the practice alive, the Guenthers use a labor-intensive process to make 100 percent pure sorghum that involves squeezing juice from the cane, bringing the juice to a boil and then reducing it down over a wood-fired furnace. Visitors to the demonstrations may sample and purchase Muddy Pond’s jarred sorghum molasses on site. Pints and quarts are also available for purchase at the Great Smokies Welcome Center in Townsend or online at SmokiesLife.org

"Fall is a time of transformation in the mountains, and the Great Smokies Welcome Center is the perfect place to anchor that experience,” said Smokies Life Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Harp. “Our upcoming autumn calendar is designed to cultivate a fun, educational and personal connection to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Whether you are a lifelong resident or a first-time visitor, these events offer a unique window into the rich history, vibrant wildlife and seasonal wonder of the Smokies."

Other Events at Great Smokies Welcome Center

In addition to the free sorghum demonstration, history comes alive through two engaging storytelling programs this fall at the Great Smokies Welcome Center. Both are Branch Out events for Smokies Life Park Keepers. Membership can be purchased to attend. Grandma Gatewood’s Walk on Nov. 4 explores the inspiring story of the first woman to solo hike the Appalachian Trail in 1955, while the Aunt Liddy Monologue on Nov. 12 introduces audiences to Lydia Kear Whaley, a midwife, healer and Civil War widow who lived in Sugarlands from 1840 to 1926.

Cost for Branch Out events: For current Park Keepers, $45; to join and attend, $85 (Park Keeper basic membership $40 + event registration $45). Participation fees help cover the costs associated with planning and hosting, and all additional revenue supports the projects and services of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For more info, see SmokiesLife.org/branch-out-events or email membership@smokieslife.org. 

The wetlands display at the Great Smokies Welcome Center in Townsend, Tenn., features photographs and illustrations showcasing four of the ten different wetland types found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Courtesy of Smokies Life. Courtesy of Smokies Life	Created by Curtis Glover of Curtis Glover Creative, the mural on the west exterior of the Great Smokies Welcome Center is bursting with life and color that mirrors the diversity found within the park itself. Courtesy of Curtis Glover Creative

Exhibits at Great Smokies Welcome Center

The Townsend area is an increasingly popular gateway to the park, and the Great Smokies Welcome Center’s exhibits help visitors orient themselves, learn the significance of the park’s natural and cultural history, and ultimately get more out of their visit.

Mural – A visit to the center begins by taking in the realistic, three-dimensional exterior mural, bursting with life and color that mirror the living world of the park. Created by artist Curtis Glover of Knoxville, Tenn., the 410-square-foot space displays such iconic wildlife species as the black bear, red-cheeked salamander, indigo bunting and pipevine swallowtail butterfly, as well as an array of native plants—trout lily, scarlet beebalm and spring beauty. These images represent only a sliver of the abundant biodiversity found within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Large maps – At the rear of the center’s interior is a wall-width map featuring ten popular destinations, with descriptions of notable landmarks and points of interest, to help visitors visualize and plan their explorations within the more than half-million acres of the park. Adjacent is a topographical relief showing the elevation changes they may encounter.

Artifact display – Visitors can view a curated item from Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s extensive artifact collection in this rotating exhibit that focuses on a single historical item at a time. Items, such as a cotton gin used by the Walker sisters and a stencil for labeling bags of flour at Mingus Mill, are hand-selected by park archivists and offer a snapshot into park history: every artifact telling a rich story about the people who made it, used it, cared for it or discarded it.

Wetlands display – Pulling together photography, illustration and writing, the center’s wetlands display shares the wonder of four of the ten unique wetland types found in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Such habitats cover just a tiny portion of the park’s vast acreage, and most are located in remote areas far from roads and trails, yet they are an important feature of the Smokies’ ecology and biodiversity. Smokies wetlands help store water, prevent flooding and recycle nutrients. They’re also home to many animals and more than 500 species of plants—many of which are found nowhere else in the park.

Great Smokies Welcome Center is located at 7929 Lamar Alexander Parkway, Townsend, Tenn., two miles from the west entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The welcome center is open daily, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. from March–November and 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m., December–February. Visitors can learn about things to see and do in and around the national park and shop from a wide selection of books, gifts and other Smok

Smokies Life is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the scientific, historical and interpretive activities of Great Smoky Mountains National Park by providing educational products and services to park visitors. Smokies Life depends on the generous support of its members to fulfill its mission, preserving the Smokies for generations to come. Proceeds from members’ dues and retail stores also support dozens of seasonal rangers and interns who protect and interpret the 800 miles of trails, 100 historic structures and 21,000 documented species of life preserved in the park. For more information about Smokies Life and to join, visit SmokiesLife.org.