ABR’s Rockin’ For the Rescue Benefit Concert 2026
Sunday, March 29
Join us from 12-7pm for a family friendly afternoon at The Shed in Maryville.
The line-up is stocked full of 5 amazing bands. Come for one or stay for all!
Limited Tickets Available – Buy Yours Here!
DONATE TODAY!!
March 3, 2026 - Concert T-shirt Pre Order⚡️
We have been working on a concert t-shirt design as cool as our Rockin' for the Rescue event will be. Luckily, our friends from Hart Graphics - Knoxville, TN (shoutout Rhonda!) knew exactly what to do.
Our T-shirt pre order is officially live. But grab yours quickly because you only have until the end of the week! Pre order closes at midnight on Sunday March 15th. The front of the shirt features our Rockin' for the Rescue poster logo along with ABR's 30th anniversary logo. The back of the shirt includes our venue sponsor's logo - The Shed (The Shed Smokehouse & Juke Joint)- the band lineup (including the headliner slipperywhenwetband.com/ ) and our presenting sponsor, Trushel Living Trust! This pre order is especially exciting because we are offering YOUTH sizes (YXS-YXL)
We will be selling a handful of these t-shirts in person at the event March 29th, but we cannot guarantee we will have your size day of (especially later in the day)! Grab your pre order shirt here*: appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/rockin-for-the-rescue-concert-t-shirt-pre-order
ABR's staff member Tracey Torres was recently featured on the radio on 97.5 WJXB with the Shed's managing partner Jay Proulx to talk about the Rockin' for the Rescue event. Thanks to host Frank Murphy and WJXB for hosting us! You can listen to that here: omny.fm/shows/east-tennessee-now/fundraiser-for-appalachian-bear-rescue
You can still grab your tickets for the rockin' concert for the bears here: appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/tickets-abrs-rockin-for-the-rescue-benefit-concert...
Check out more about what bears are doing this time of year here: bearwise.org/
*shirts will be sent out the week of March 23rd with USPS priority mail in hopes that you will receive them in time to wear them to the event on Sunday ... See MoreSee Less
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March 7, 2026 - A Full Work Week
Apologies for being somewhat quiet this week, ABR staff and board members (and multiple handy ABR friends) have been working non-stop all hands on deck🚢 this week with the good weather! We were able to check a few more things off of our "to-do" list. Every day we get closer to completing all necessary projects!
Here is what we accomplished this week:
✅ both electrical boxes were completed for all of the things that need electricity in new Wild Enclosures (WE) 5 & 6 (electric fencing, lights, future cameras, etc)
✅ ditches were dug and electrical conduit was run across the corridor between WE 1&2, to WE 5&6. Electric fence energizers were installed using this new electrical wiring
✅ Over 500 electric fence insulators were hung on the new WE fences for the electric fence wire to be pulled through (only about 1/4 of the way complete)
✅ Wes the Welder finished fabricating and installing the second of two guillotine doors in the divider fence of the new WE's
✅ Wes the Welder also replaced the iron door between WE 1&2 with a much lighter aluminum door
✅ Curator Tom took measures to "cub proof" the new oak saplings in the new WE's
✅ Curators checked on and tested the existing electric fencing in WE 1 & 2 and completed any necessary repairs
✅ Seth continues to work his way through processing 160 soil samples, a very time consuming effort. He is officially over halfway done this week!
✅ Brush and the previously cut down trees were removed from WE 3 & 4
✅ Measurements for water pipes to fill cub pools were taken
We still have a handful of projects to complete over at the Bear Facility but we are chugging right along!
Future projects specifically for WE 5 & 6 include (but are not limited to): finishing up hanging electric fence insulators (bottom and top of the fence), hanging electric fence, hanging visual barriers on the bottom half of the fence, building platforms, plumbing the cub pools, finishing up acclimation pens and a handful of other things.
Keep your fingers crossed the March weather will continue to be kind to us! Thanks for following along on this journey to being ready for any future cubs that need our help.🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
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This Day in ABR History (2 Years Ago)
Our former yearling residents, Twinkle and Tinsel, showcased the effectiveness of our plastic tree wraps on the Forbidden Trees. When it comes to "cub proofing" our buildings and Wild Enclosures, every last detail must be considered! Forbidden Trees are any trees that are in Wild Enclosures that are closer than 15 feet to the enclosure fence. They have to be wrapped at the bottom with unclimbable plastic because the trunks or limbs of the tree could provide a way of escape for our cub residents if they climbed them!
Cubs have thwarted many cub proofing attempts through ABR's 30 years, but luckily the plastic wrap on Forbidden Trees has a 100% success rate of thwarting cub residents' self releases. We think fondly of our former residents who tested the strongholds of the plastic (some tirelessly) as we repair some of the older wrapping around trees in Wild Enclosures 1-4. Thankfully, we spent extra time and thought on what trees to keep and remove from new Wild Enclosures 5 & 6, to greatly reduce the number of Forbidden Trees that need to be wrapped. This means less maintenance for curators, and less curiosity from future cubs in residence in these new Wild Enclosures. Don't worry, they'll still have plenty of trees to climb in these new enclosures, just not as many that could lead to self release!
We hope Tinsel and Twinkle are living their best wild lives in places where no trees are forbidden! ... See MoreSee Less
2 Years Ago
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Happy Sunday to All!
We just wanted to remind everyone that the early bird pricing for our Rockin' for the Rescue benefit concert on March 29th The Shed Smokehouse & Juke Joint in Maryville, TN ends TONIGHT (at midnight). Tickets will go up from $30 to $40. The price of your ticket includes access to the event for the whole day so you can stay for all 6 rockin' bands! Also this is a family friendly event - all kids 12 and under get in free!
The lineup:
*Featuring: Slippery When Wet (slipperywhenwetband.com/)
* SuperCharger
* Roger Hay Band
* Shady Sadie
* Crazy on Heart - Tribute to Heart
* Dreams: A Fleetwood Mac Experience
In addition to good music and good food, we have an awesome vendor booth lineup:
- Monica Wells Art: Live bear paintings and other bear related Paintings and Merchandise
- Cruze Farms Ice Cream
- Anya’s Gone Nuts: Homemade variety of Roasted Nuts & Bavarian Treats
- Cooks Apiaries: Local Raw Honey, Raw Honey Facial products, Raw Honey, Jerky and Pet Treats
- Poplar Hollow Farms: Designer Bear Cookies, Treats and Farm 2 Table products
- Craft Lamb Co: 3D printed products, Jewelry & Accessories
-Pretty Girl, Dirty Words- Inspirational Vinyl Record Artwork
- Forbidden Fruit Curiosities- Knitted Plush Bear Toys & more
There will also be a photo booth provided by The Shed and a professional face painter!
Grab your tickets before they go up in price: appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/tickets-abrs-rockin-for-the-rescue-benefit-concert...
Thanks to our presenting sponsor the Trushel Living Trust as well as our other sponsors, for helping make this event possible. If you or a business is interested in sponsoring this awesome event, let us know! ... See MoreSee Less
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If you're looking for something fun to do this spring, look no further because we have something SO fun planned!
Join ABR staff and ABR friend and artist Monica Wells (Monica Wells Art) at the Townsend Abbey for Paint Night on Saturday, March 28th from 4-6pm. You will be guided through a paint session and go home with a hand painted version of ABR's 30th Anniversary Logo on the lovely background of a Smoky Mountain sunset. Bring a friend (or 2) for good food and good fun. Don't worry if you don't have any prior painting experience, Monica will walk through the process step-by-step!
Tickets are $80 a piece (or 2 tickets for $150) and includes all paint supplies, food from the Abbey and non-alcoholic drinks.
Grab your tickets HERE (spots are VERY limited): appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/abr-member-paint-night-with-monica-wells
*This event is in-person only ... See MoreSee Less
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February 26, 2026 - It's Electric!🔌⚡️🕺
With each day that passes, we continue to make progress on our seemingly endless but steadily shrinking "to-do list" for the new Wild Enclosures. This Tuesday, we began installing the power supply to the new enclosures! By some measures, this task may be the most important of them all. Without electric fencing in addition to the chain link we would never be able to ensure the cubs in residence would stay in the enclosures. They are a crafty bunch, after all.
Lucky for us, our Board President, Mike Smith is a man of many talents. Along with being a retired engineer, Mike is a certified electrician and, best of all, he works for free! Tying in new electrical wires to an existing box is no laughing matter and not an endeavor the curators (especially Tom) could safely embark upon on their own! Mike made sure that we had all of the materials, tools, and knowledge to get the job done expeditiously and safely.
This electricity will power electric fencing, new cameras, and lighting fixtures in the new enclosures. It also provides power for the possibility of installing another indoor building in the future.
Step 1: Drill hole through Hartley House wall to run conduit from existing power supply down to new enclosures.
Step 2: Acquire many hundred feet of electrical conduit.
Step 3: Zip tie 10 foot sections of conduit to the outside of the enclosure fence top bar.
Step 4: Push and pull bundles of 3 strands of 10 gauge wire through nearly 400 feet of the pre-hung conduit.
Step 5: Install a utility box on a post near the entrance of the new wild enclosures.
Step 6: Glue all sections of conduit together. Secure conduit to fence with steel cable ties.
Step 7: Wire utility boxes for use with electric fence energizers and lighting fixtures.
Step 8: Install wires to existing power supply in Hartley House and cross your fingers! ... See MoreSee Less
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February 25, 2026 - Executive Director Greg as local podcast guest
The curators and some handy board members have been taking advantage of the dry(ish) weather the past few days to get some more outdoor projects done for the new Wild Enclosures (5&6). This week, they are working on getting electricity run down to the new enclosures so that a few flood lights can be installed, but more importantly so that the new electric fences can be installed! We will share some photos of that later this week.
As many of our ABR friends know, Executive Director Greg has a fondness for talking, especially if it is on the subject of bears! Recently, he joined Marc and Ann Bowman's podcast on My Smoky Mountain Guide to talk about all things Appalachian Bear Rescue and smoky mountain black bears. Marc and Greg cover everything from ABR's recent facility tours to how Greg started his career in wildlife to ABR's upcoming Rockin' for the Rescue event. A special thanks to Marc and Ann Bowman from mysmokymountainguide.com for taking the time to interview Greg and giving Appalachian Bear Rescue some airtime!
Listen to the podcast on Apple Music or Spotify or online here: mysmokymountainguide.com/blog/episode-13-appalachian-bear-rescue/ ... See MoreSee Less
Episode 13: Appalachian Bear Rescue with Greg Greico
mysmokymountainguide.com
Episode 13: Appalachian Bear Rescue Podcast Notes We are absolutely thrilled to bring you this very special episode all about one of our favorite organizations in the Smokies, Appalachian Bear Rescue ...16 CommentsComment on Facebook
February 23, 2026 - Hooray for our 30th Anniversary T-shirts!🌄
We are SO excited to share our 2026 Spring T-shirts - 30th Anniversary Edition🏅! The back of the t-shirt features the "scene" from our 30th anniversary logo with a larger adult bear reaching down toward a cub set on the scene of a Blue Ridge/Smoky Mountain sunset. Underneath the colorful scene features the words "Appalachian Bear Rescue - 30 Years of Giving Bears A Second Chance". The front of the t-shirt features a small version of our official 30th anniversary logo.
All shirts are Comfort Colors 100% Cotton short sleeve T-shirts! The shirts come in THREE different colors - Ice Blue🧊, Brick (red)🧱, and a LIMITED Edition tie dye shirt in Fern (green)🌿!
The Ice Blue and Brick come in sizes S-4XL and the tie dye in Fern comes in S-3XL. Comfort Colors T-shirts fit true to size and come pre shrunk!
Grab yours in store today or online here: appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/abr-30th-anniversary-t-shirt ... See MoreSee Less
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February 20, 2026 - Happy Friday!
We are so excited to announce that we have another great addition to our already great lineup of bands for our Rockin' For the Rescue concert event on March 29th!
Slippery When Wet, a Bon Jovi cover band, will be playing a full 1-hour set from 6pm-7pm on the 29th! Slippery When Wet is the ultimate Bon Jovi tribute, being officially authorized by Bon Jovi to preform their show. They've been together for over 20 years and have played thousands of shows all over the world. We are stoked to have them come play at our concert event! slipperywhenwetband.com/
Come out, have some fun and listen to some really great music - all in support of Appalachian Bear Rescue.
Grab your tickets here: appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/tickets-abrs-rockin-for-the-rescue-benefit-concert... ... See MoreSee Less
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