Fine foods from Southwest Mississippi’s leading restaurants willbe gathered under one roof next week for the annual Taste of theTrust social.

More than 20 restaurants from Natchez to Brookhaven will testtheir trays on the palettes of an expected 400 guests at the event,which begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Brookhaven Recreation Departmenton Thursday, Nov. 5.

Brookhaven band Ghost Town will provide entertainment, and asilent art auction will be held. Tickets to the event are $25, andmay be purchased at We Frame It at the intersection of Highway 51and Chickasaw Street or by calling Brookhaven Trust board memberSloane Smith at 601-757-4725.

“It’s just a fun night to raise money for Brookhaven and thingsthat are going on in Brookhaven,” Smith said. “Restaurants andcaterers from the area, all the way from Natchez to Summit toWesson, represent their restaurant and their signature dishes. Thepublic is invited to come in, walk around, taste samples, listen tomusic … it’s just a fun night to get together.”

Brookhaven Trust President Matt Hall said this year’s Taste ofthe Trust would feature longtime contributors like Summit’s DixieSprings Café, which will show off its hot crawfish dip and chipotleseafood pasta; and local favorite Mitchell’s Steak and Seafood,which will roll out the steamship round, shrimp and crab bisque andbread pudding.

Taste of the Trust will also welcome newcomers I’m StuffedCatering, a McComb business that will feature crawfish dip ontoasted rounds and chicken cordon bleu; and Brookhaven’s TastefullySimple, a party-style catering business with dishes like BountifulBeer Bread and Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup.

“We try and open people’s eyes up to some things that areoutside of Lincoln County,” Hall said. “We live in a small town, sowe don’t have that many restaurants, especially since we’re (a drycounty).”

Hall said this year’s fundraiser would help pay for the DowntownFaçade Revitalization project, a historical preservation project inwhich the Trust will pay half the cost for interested propertyowners to refurbish their downtown buildings. The Trust has alreadyhad two participants in the program, and have two more linedup.

The next project begins on Nov. 1, and will see the originalfaçade of Lott Furniture on Railroad Avenue restored by removingthe metal face to reveal the building’s large, arched windows.

“We’re trying to take everything back to history as much aspossible,” Hall said. “It’s all about the overall purpose and useof the downtown area as a mixed use area, a live/work community.The new movement in new urbanism is live/work, so we’re justbringing live/work into the downtown community and making itviable.”

Hall said last year’s Taste of the Trust raised around $17,000,and organizers are hoping to topple that number this year.