As fans of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Virginia Tech prepare for the Battle at Bristol coming up Sept. 10, Holston Habitat for Humanity is also offering a “battle” of its own for fans of the two universities.
While the two teams prepare for one of the biggest football games in the history of either institution, Holston Habitat created an academic challenge for the students of both schools. The “Battle of the Habitat Playhouses” is a friendly competition between the construction engineering programs at UT and VT, a competition that will also help Holston Habitat in their battle against substandard housing in the region.
“To get ready for the football game in our area, we asked UT and VT students to design and build university-themed playhouses, said Steve Clark, Holston Habitat’s construction manager. “They built and donated Hokie’s Castle and Smokey’s Doghouse for us.”
Eastman joined on as the primary sponsor for the event.
“They donated a lot of products for both schools to build the playhouses,” Clark said.
Some of the material used for the roof of Smokey’s Doghouse was specially crafted just for the contest.
“Eastman didn’t have orange in their formulary,” Clark said. “They formulated the color and shut down regular production just to make the UT orange for the playhouse.”
Keeping the school’s mascot in mind, the students at UT designed Smokey’s Doghouse. The playhouse comes complete with a front porch, a mailbox and back door for quick exits.
VT students looked to their own campus for inspiration, designing Hokie’s Castle to look like the school’s administration building — Burruss Hall. The castle features colored windows, a rear climbing wall and even a sky light in the center turret.
Both playhouses are currently on tour this summer with stops from Knoxville to Blacksburg, Va., to allow fans of both teams the chance to view the houses and cast their votes for their favorite team.
The playhouses made a brief stop in Elizabethton at the UT Extension Office on Thursday, but Clark said they will return to town on Saturday, August 13 and will make appearances at the Elizabethton Lowe’s and Chick-fil-A. Clark said they are looking for other locations to sponsor stops on the tour as well.
Raffle tickets are being sold and each $10 ticket allows the purchaser to cast a vote for either UT’s Smokey’s Doghouse or VT’s Hokie Castle.
“One school will be the winner of the Battle of the Playhouses,” Clark said. “One winner will be drawn from the pool of votes to receive the playhouse for their school.”
Votes can be cast online by visiting www.HolstonHabitat.org. Clark said there is no limit on the number of times a person can vote for their favorite playhouse or school.
“The Battle of the Habitat Playhouses is a fun fundraiser, but also a great way for Holston Habitat to encourage folks in Elizabethton to become Habitat homeowners,” said Art Pearce, Executive Director. “Holston Habitat for Humanity builds new homes and repairs homes in Carter, Sullivan and Washington counties, and Bristol, Virginia. Holston Habitat built a home in Roan Mountain last year, and we are completing a home repair project in Carter County this week.”
To see more pictures of the battling playhouses, to cast a vote for your favorite school, or to apply for the Habitat for Humanity home ownership or home repair programs, call the office at 423-239-7689 or visit www.HolstonHabitat.org.