Dollywood’s Great American Summer provides the ideal atmosphere for families to create lifelong memories thanks to a number of new entertainment offerings. This year, visitors can enjoy extended park hours and a nightly fireworks show. It’s the perfect way to enjoy the award-winning park’s 30th anniversary season!
Dollywood celebrates 30 years of the world’s best entertainment with the debut of two dance parties and an interactive new show. The new production features a number of America’s chart-topping songs. The Little Engine Playhouse features two new children’s stories, "Betty Bunny Didn't Do It" and "Old Bear and His Cub." Both shows are based on books of the same name from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library book selection list.
"Dolly’s Nights of Many Colors" has been reimagined to feature popular music from the last 30 years. Another guest favorite, "The Gazillion Bubbles Show," moves to D.P.’s Celebrity Theater. The new location offers an even larger space to fill with the fantastic bubble-making spectacle. Extended park operating hours—10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily— give guests more time to create the perfect summer getaway.
In a Country Weekly magazine cover article, Dolly takes a look back at three decades of Dollywood milestones. This year, marks the park’s 30th anniversary. A year-long celebration is well underway, including the grand opening of Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort, set for later this summer.
Over the past 30 years, Dollywood has grown in size and appeal. Its award-winning shows and attractions offer a unique brand of family entertainment. In 2010, Dollywood received the coveted Applause Award, the theme park industry’s highest honor. Additionally, it has earned nearly 30 Golden Ticket Awards and received 24 Brass Ring Awards for Live Entertainment (more than any other theme park in the world).
The park, located in Pigeon Forge, TN, opened in 1986. It was Dolly’s way of giving back to her community and the people who live there. Today, Dollywood sits on a 150-acre site. It supplies the largest amount of seasonal jobs in Sevier County. After the new resort opens, Dollywood properties will be responsible for over 3,000 jobs.
Country Weekly is an American-based, weekly magazine covering the latest news on country music’s hottest stars. Dolly last appeared on the cover on December 22, 2014.
Dyane Smokorowski was named the 14th recipient of the Chasing Rainbows Award. She enjoyed a weekend trip to Dollywood where Dolly herself presented Dyane with the award. Each year, the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY) honors one outstanding educator with this prestigious award. The honoree is someone who "has overcome great obstacles in his or her life, has captured the rainbow and is helping children." This year’s winner serves as the Instructional Technology Coach for Andover Public Schools in Andover, KS. Smokorowski said,
“It is difficult to admit that my personal struggles actually prepared me to be a stronger person today. I wanted to be someone who could inspire others to reach beyond their environments, beyond their extremities, and to do as I have always done—to dream big!”
In 2002, Dolly became the first to receive this award from the NNSTOY. The award celebrated her commitment to fostering a love of reading among children through her Imagination Library. Since then, Dolly has presented the award each year.
Dyane Smokorowski's name will be added, along with past recipients, to the award displayed in the Chasing Rainbows Museum at Dollywood.
For more information on the award and how to nominate an outstanding teacher, visit the NNSTOY website.
For the first time in a decade, the Showcase of Stars brings some of the biggest names in entertainment to Dollywood. Dolly, whose last benefit concert at the park was in 2005, kicks off the series with four concerts August 8 and 9 at D.P.’s Celebrity Theater, a venue which provides the perfect atmosphere for fans to enjoy this stellar concert schedule. Performers include Parton herself, as well Kenny Rogers and a few other special friends. The concert series takes place in August and September.
Thirty years ago Dolly envisioned a place in her hometown where families could spend time together and make memories; she found that in Dollywood. Thirty years later the theme park is the largest ticketed attraction in Tennessee and Dolly’s dream of helping to employ people in her hometown and bring families closer together has been fulfilled. In honor of Dollywood's 30th anniversary season, Dolly will open Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in the summer along with new shows, events and exciting announcements all season long! Dolly isn’t done dreaming and the 30th anniversary season promises to kick off another 30 years of fun.
