Dolly and her not-for-profit Dollywood Foundation present the Chasing Rainbows Award annually to a teacher who has overcome adversity. Dolly was the first recipient in 2002. The award is given under the banner of the National Network of State Teachers of the Year (NNSTOY), a not-for-profit organization that seeks to improve student learning across the nation by defining, sharing and advocating for effective teaching practices and policies. Dolly’s Imagination Library is an official partner organization of the NNSTOY.
Edna Rogers, Director of the Dolly Parton Chasing Rainbows Award, also was the person who honored Dolly with the award in 2002,
“Dolly has overcome many obstacles in her life and is making a difference in the lives of children... Now Dolly, in turn, gives this award personally every year to a teacher who has overcome obstacles in his/her life and is making a difference in the lives of children.”
Each winner spends a week as Dolly’s guest at her Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, TN, and his/her name is inscribed on a plaque inside her Chasing Rainbows Museum at the park. NNSTOY selects the annual recipient.
Dolly explored new adventures in 2002 as she opened a new area Dollywood appropriately named Adventures in Imagination. The expansion included Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure, the world’s largest Turbo Ride® Action Simulator Adventure. It replaced Thunder Road which debuted in 1996. Clovis’ Wilderness Corner retail shop, named for one of the characters in Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure, provided guests with a unique shopping experience after their adventure.
A rainbow path throughout the area led to Chasing Rainbows Museum. The state-of-the-art interactive museum housed a collection that chronicles Dolly’s rise to fame from her humble East Tennessee beginnings. As Dolly became a superstar, she never forgot where she called home. It was a natural fit to create a space to showcase her dreams, both past and present, at Dollywood. Inside Chasing Rainbows Museum guests could find some of Dolly’s most treasured items including the famed coat of many colors and countless awards from around the world. Dolly says,
“I’m a collector of stuff, I keep EVERYTHING. And you know what I’ve discovered? A lot of stuff I’ve saved is tied to dreams that helped shape my life. I hope seeing my stuff inspires you to have some dreams you’ll want to collect.”
Adjacent to Dollywood theme park, Dolly opened Dolly's Splash Country in 2001. The water adventure park sits on 35 acres and is a $20 million investment featuring a 25,000 sq.-ft. wave pool, a family raft ride, a lazy river, an interactive children’s area, multi-person tube rides, two “extreme” body slides, shaded lounge areas and a restaurant.
Amusement fans now have two summer experiences when they visit Dollywood: roller coasters or wave pools. The waterpark operates Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Dollywood's Festival of Nations kicked off its first year with over 300 performers and artisans. Dolly has learned a lot from her travels around the world and she wanted to share those same lessons with the folks back home in East Tennessee.
During Dollywood's month long Festival of Nations, guests enjoyed a celebration of dance, food and culture from around the world. Dolly said,
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled all over the world, and the Festival of Nations is an opportunity for Dollywood to bring a world of entertainment to the Great Smoky Mountains!”
With the help of Dollywood's Festival of Nations the park’s season was extended earlier into the year and gave families more time to enjoy Dolly’s East Tennessee theme park.
Dreamland Forest captured the fun of a treehouse and created an area where imaginations could flow freely. The interactive attraction included the “wet and wild” area Bullfrog Creek water battle, The Bee Hive target shooting game and a water and toddler play area.
Dollywood’s $5 million Dreamland Forest featured 15,000 square feet of interactive games, gadgets, and gizmos for children of all ages. It inspired them to dream the same way Dolly did! She said,
“When I was a kid I loved the idea of a treehouse… a place among the leaves where I could get lost in my own imagination.”
