Dollywood certainly has earned a number of major accolades in recent years, and the Smoky Mountain theme park won three more on Saturday night during Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards ceremony held at Silverwood theme park in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Dollywood earned finalist placement in seven total categories and won more awards than any other park. Dolly Parton said,
“I’m so proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish here since we opened Dollywood in 1986. First, we’ve been able to provide so many jobs to the great people who live here in the Smokies. Second, I wanted the world to know how beautiful this area truly is. I’ve been able to travel the world and see so many great things, but in the end, the Smokies are where my heart sings. I wanted to give folks the world over a reason to come here and see it for themselves.”
Dolly continued,
“We don’t do what we do to win awards. They are nice, but we do it because we want to provide families an escape to a beautiful place where they can forget about all the things going on in their daily lives and truly enjoy each other.”
The Golden Ticket Awards are the most sought-after awards in the business of amusements and attractions. The awards have become the subject of much discussion by park aficionados the world over and garnered mentions in such notable media outlets as USA Today and the Chicago Tribune, and by the late radio newsman Paul Harvey. The awards also were the topic of a one-hour Travel Channel documentary.
“The Golden Ticket for Best Kids’ Area reinforces what guests have been telling us since it opened; Wildwood Grove is a place where families can laugh, play and make memories together,” said Craig Ross, President of The Dollywood Company. “Dolly wanted Wildwood Grove to truly reflect the experiences she had as a little girl growing up here in the Great Smoky Mountains. As we started to develop the area and she began telling stories—some we had heard and some we hadn’t—we knew kids were going to love exploring the wilderness of Wildwood Grove she had dreamed up.”
Two categories Dollywood has dominated for a number of years—Best Shows and Friendliest Park—have been retired and replaced with new categories. Best Guest Experience combines the previous Friendliest Park award with the Cleanest Park award into one prestigious new category. Pete Owens, Dollywood's Vice-President of Marketing and Public Relations said,
“Winning the Golden Ticket for Best Guest Experience further solidifies what we’ve known for so long. The Dollywood experience provides guests a genuinely friendly, clean and warm environment to create memories they will be able to share forever. From our welcoming hosts and picturesque natural surroundings to our unique attractions, entertainment and food, Dollywood offers an experience that is hard to find elsewhere.”
Calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today, the industry’s leading trade publication, the Golden Ticket Awards are the results of a detailed survey sent to a database of experienced and well-traveled amusement park fans around the world in balanced geographical regions. Voters are asked to rate the “best” in a number of categories such as best parks, roller coasters, water rides, kids’ area, food and more.
“It has been fascinating to observe the results over the past two decades,” said Amusement Today’s Tim Baldwin, Golden Ticket Awards Communications Coordinator. “I have watched Dollywood ascend from a great regional theme park to a world-famous destination. That continual climb has been the result of offering an outstanding product at all levels — food, shows, innovative rides and a fantastic atmosphere. Dollywood is just the complete package! It has been inspiring to watch the park trying to continue to better itself — and it is succeeding in a huge way. The fact that they are recognized in numerous categories is testimony to that.”
There are still a number of great opportunities for guests to enjoy what has arguably become the biggest season in Dollywood’s history. Dollywood’s Harvest Festival presented by Humana features the return of an even larger Great Pumpkin LumiNights*, which includes new experiences in Wildwood Grove! Additionally, more than 600 Southern gospel concerts take place throughout the festival.
Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas presented by Humana, now the 12-time winner for Best Christmas Event, features the second year of Glacier Ridge, as well as the first year of Christmas in Wildwood Grove. Now boasting five million spectacular lights, Smoky Mountain Christmas puts guests in the holiday spirit with stunning lights displays, tantalizing food options, traditional shows and fun experiences like the Parade of Many Colors and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and friends.
For more information about Dollywood, visit Dollywood.com, call 1-800-DOLLYWOOD or download the Dollywood App.
*Dollywood was also crowned winner of another notable award by USA TODAY this past Friday. Dollywood's Great Pumpkin LumiNights won the 2019 USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Travel Award for Best Theme Park Halloween Event!
Bringing together their Nashville roots, Dolly Parton, The Grand Ole Opry and Kirkland’s have formed a unique artistic and philanthropic partnership to commemorate Dolly Parton’s 50 years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry with an exclusive wall art collection entitled Dolly Parton: From the HeART.
Available only at Kirkland’s stores and at Kirklands.com beginning Sept. 5, the collection is inspired by eight of Dolly’s beloved songs, beautifully interpreted on canvas by artist David Diskin. The collection will also feature an iconic black and white performance photograph of Dolly, taken at the Ryman Auditorium in 2015.
"I am very excited to be working with Steve Woodward and all of the folks at Kirklands,” said Dolly Parton. “I'm real honored to have the great artist, David Diskin, make my songs come to life with these great paintings."
A portion of proceeds of the limited-edition works will benefit the Opry Trust Fund, whose mission is to help those in the country music industry when they need it the most, by offering financial assistance during their time of need.
“As a Tennessee-based company, Kirkland’s could not be more honored to partner with the state’s two biggest icons – Dolly and the Opry – to offer this collection to our customers,” said Kirkland’s CEO Steve “Woody” Woodward. “Dolly’s From the HeART collection will give our customers the opportunity to fill their homes with beauty and meaning while also supporting musicians that have brought us all so much joy.”
Collection prices range from $99.99 to $129.99.
Shop Kirkland's From The HeART Collection
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Based in Brentwood, TN, and founded in 1966 by Carl Kirkland, Kirkland’s (NASDAQ: KIRK) is a leading retailer of home decor accents and gifts, with more than 400 stores in 37 states. With a wide selection of unique indoor and outdoor furniture, rugs, mirrors, lighting, wall art, home and garden accessories, seasonal items and gifts, Kirkland’s allows customers to create inspiring living spaces at affordable prices. More information is available at Kirklands.com and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @kirklands. For ideas and inspiration, go to Pinterest @kirklandshome.
The Grand Ole Opry® is presented by Humana®. Opry performances are held every Friday and Saturday of the year, with Tuesday night shows through December 11 plus season Wednesday and Thursday Opry Country Classics performances. To plan an Opry visit, call (800) SEE-OPRY or visit opry.com. The Opry presents the best in country music live every week from Nashville, Tenn. Celebrating nine decades of entertainment, the Opry can be heard at opry.com and wsmonline.com, Opry and WSM mobile apps, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, and its flagship home, 650 AM-WSM. The Grand Ole Opry is owned by Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE: RHP). For more information, visit opry.com.
The Opry Trust Fund began in 1965 with a mission to help those in the country music industry by offering financial assistance during a time of extraordinary need, emergency, or catastrophe. This includes individuals who are or have been employed full time in a facet of the country music industry (i.e. performer, songwriter, publisher, radio, session musician, etc.). The fund pays for items such as medical bills, living expenses, utilities, and rent or mortgage. The Opry Trust Fund accepts referrals from individuals within the country music community, including Opry members, as well as from other charitable organizations such as MusiCares, ACM Lifting Lives and Music Health Alliance.
In a USA Today/Tennessean exclusive, for KING & COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone explained how the collaboration came to be. After watching Dolly’s Netflix movie, “Dumplin,” Joel fell in love with the film’s plot and soundtrack, leading him to reach out to Dolly.
“When I first heard ‘God Only Knows’ I thought it was one of the best songs I’d ever heard,” Dolly said. “I came from a very spiritual background, and I love anything to do with inspirational songs that lift people up. I feel that this is a good song for right now, and it’s so well written. I know that it touched me at a time when I needed to be lifted up.”
Dolly Parton has joined two-time GRAMMYⓇ award-winning duo for KING & COUNTRY for a brand-new version of the group’s award-winning single “God Only Knows,” as well as a powerful music video. Dolly’s presence on the track takes the song to new heights, with shimmering acoustic guitars complementing the song’s message of hope.
For KING & COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone reflected,
“Hearing Dolly sing that chorus and those words was an out of body experience for us as writers and artists. As soon as we heard her vocals on the track, we immediately realized that this song was meant for her voice.”
Additionally, Dolly is featured in a powerful new music video for “God Only Knows,” as she and the Smallbone brothers struggle to find themselves before resigning to faith and belief. The full-length video was shot in Nashville, produced by Patrick Tohill and directed by Benjamin Smallbone.
“God Only Knows” recently won “Song of the Year” honors at the K-LOVE awards, received a Dove Award nomination for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year, and held the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Christian Songs chart for 11 weeks. Additionally, the song hit Top 30 on Mediabase and Billboard’s Hot AC charts while garnering 330 million radio impressions and over 65 million streams across all digital platforms.
Dolly Parton is about to celebrate 50 incredible years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and she wants YOU to be there as her VIP guest. Time to skip out on your 9-5, pack your most bedazzled clothes and head to Nashville to join the Queen of Country herself at the world-famous Opry House. You'll enjoy a backstage tour, exclusive passes to the exhibit "Dolly: My Opry Memories" and even have your own private dressing room, which is where Dolly will meet you to chat and take a picture. Then, you'll watch Dolly's knock-your-socks-off anniversary performance from the best spot in the house. Flights and stay at the Gaylord Opryland Resort included.
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In 2019, Dolly Parton was honored as MusiCares Person of the Year. MusiCares provides a safety net of critical assistance for the music community in times of need. Their services and resources cover a wide range of financial, medical and personal emergencies, and each case is treated with integrity and confidentially. MusiCares also focuses the resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues that directly influence the health and welfare of the music community.
In celebration of Dolly Parton’s 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member, the Opry House will host "Dolly: My Opry Memories"- an exclusive exhibit featuring 24 wardrobe pieces the internationally-known country music icon has worn on the Opry stage and at events held at the Ryman Auditorium over the last 50 years.
Among Parton’s fashions to be featured:
Also included in the exhibit in the Opry House’s historic Studio A are exclusive videos of Parton recounting some of her favorite Opry memories along with rarely seen performance clips spanning her five decades of Opry membership. The limited-time-only exhibit was curated and designed to celebrate Parton’s milestone anniversary and will tell the storied career of one of the Opry’s greatest global ambassadors.
Tickets for the "Dolly: My Opry Memories" exhibit are $12 when guests add it on to the purchase of an Opry backstage tour. Exhibit-only tickets are $17. Packages and tickets will go on sale tomorrow August 21 at 10 am at Opry.com. Check the Grand Ole Opry website for available tour times.
As part of Parton’s 50th Opry anniversary celebration, flagship station WSM will flip its Opry Nashville streaming channel to “Dolly Radio” to coincide with the exhibit. The 24/7 “all things Dolly stream” will feature the music legend’s many hits from her catalog of over 3000 songs, past Opry performances, archived interviews, special features from fellow artists, and much more. Fans will be able to access “Dolly Radio” 24/7 via WSMonline.com and the station’s free mobile app.
In celebration of Parton’s 50th Anniversary as an Opry member, The Opry Shop—also located at the Opry House-- will feature a unique collection of eleven custom-designed items for women, men and children celebrating the milestone anniversary. A special Dolly Parton Queen of Country 50th Anniversary graphic was created by Opry Entertainment Product Development Manager Molly Brooks, who was inspired by a Parton photograph captured by longtime Opry photographer Les Leverett.
In June, the Opry premiered a new immersive film experience featuring video hosts Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood and showcasing more than 100 Opry artists, Parton included. The film shown in the Opry House’s new Circle Room opens the Opry’s daytime backstage tour.
On January 4, 1969, Dolly Parton was fresh off the release of her first solo album released on RCA Records Nashville, the now-seminal "Just Because I’m A Woman", and on that date the singer-songwriter received the biggest accomplishment of her then-young career: being inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member. Fifty years later, Parton has achieved nearly every honor and accolade an entertainer can receive, and she is cemented as the female Country artist with the most Billboard Top 20 hits according to Guinness World Records.
The global superstar will perform on two sold-out shows on Saturday, October 12, 2019, capping a week-long celebration of Parton’s impact on music and the Opry, dubbed Dolly Week 2019.
Additional participating artists for Dolly Week Opry shows will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets are on sale now at Opry.com, with every ticket purchaser having the option to buy Parton’s "Dumplin’ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack."
