Italy is the destination for this year's SMASH event as students treat diners to a Benvenuto in Italia experience.

SMASH is the annual event put on by hospitality management students in the U of A Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Science's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

The event, including this year's Italian theme, is planned and executed by hospitality and event management students, including the theme and decorations, registration, sponsorships and all meal planning, prep, cooking and serving.

SMASH — or Students Mastering the Art of Southern Hospitality — is a dining and networking fundraiser for the hospitality management program.

SMASH–Benvenuto in Italia, is Saturday, April 15, at the Fayetteville Town Center from 6-9 p.m.

Two hospitality classes are using the semester to coordinate and execute the event. A SMASH class is managing the planning and organization under the direction of teaching assistant professor Dede Hamm.

Meanwhile, a cooking lab class, Cultures and Cuisines of the World, is in charge of the meal, under the direction of instructor Lobat Bayyari.

The cooking class is the same one preparing and serving meals in Pineapple Café, a lunch service held in the Maudine Sanders Commons in the Human Environmental Sciences Building.

Tickets to SMASH are available for $85 each and can be purchased here. Tickets for HESC faculty and staff are $75, for hospitality alumni $60, a parents/grandparents package for two is $160 and a SMASH couples package is $170.

Sponsorships for seat and table options include various VIP packages: Venice (two guests, $300), Florence (four guests, $550), Rome (six guests, $1,500), Milan (eight guests, $3,000) and Naples (10 guests, $5,000). All packages include tickets for guests to the reception and the SMASH event and a thank-you award. The Florence package includes company recognition in the slideshow during the event, and the Rome, Milan and Naples packages include company recognition in the slideshow and on HESC social media platforms.

Tickets and sponsorships are available now through April 10. Tickets will not be available at the door the day of the event.

Proceeds benefit the hospitality management program through scholarships, resources, equipment and funds for educational travel.

Students on the Promotion and Communication Committee are Evan Carlton, Lauren Clark, Emma Kelley, Julian Lapicz, Caroline Ross, Grace Spades, Emily Stroope, Karalee Taves and Angelica Winters.

The Sponsors and Finance Committee includes Ella Bowers, Caylee Callaway, Lewis Carson, Olivia Clark, Hayley Klotz-Dryzga, Madison Mitchell, Skylar Montgomery and Chase Webb.

The Production and Tech Committee consists of Erin Land, Rhetta Massey, Sophia Miller, Jason Sta Ana, Anna Switzer, Zachary Williams, Cameranne Winfrey and Tatum Zapka.

Students on the Environment Committee are Mary Deren, Sophie Everett, Hallie Hutchinson, Sydney Johnson, Cassidy Miller, Brooklyn Myrick, Brooke Rice, Callan Seale and Sophia Zorrila.

The Logistics Committee includes Winfrey, Belle Birdwell, Alexa Everett, Kylie Gargiulo, Emma Keller, Carlie Malone, Syndney McCrea, Cracie Rogers and Chloe Tyner.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.