Dollywood’s Days of Praise returns for the 2003 season to rock, roll and raise the spirits of teens and youth groups from across the south. Leading the celebration was Avalon. The Adult-Contemporary Christian superstars headlined a group of bands with styles from mainstream Pop to Alternative. Other performing favorites included KJ52, Pillar, Skillet and Tree63. The groups performed in theaters across the park.
Dollywood theme park opened for the 2003 season with more than 300 performers from 14 countries around the globe. Dolly was looking forward to another year with Festival of Nations ushering in the new season at her park. She said,
“Music is a universal language. In my travels around the world, I have found that people are drawn to music. Whether or not you understand the words music touches the heart in a way that unites us all. It is the ambassador of our world, and the most beautiful language ever spoken.”
New in 2003, Dollywood celebrated the cuisines of the world with an International Food Faire which showcased an incredible variety of foods on six continents. International Food Faire provided guests the opportunity to "travel" from continent to continent and country to country in mere steps.
The wizards in the kitchen at Dollywood developed another appetite-whetting winner! The Dollywood cuisine team’s creation—The Hokey Pokey Stick danced away with the "Best Quality Sample" award at the 2003 East Tennessee Chocolate Fest.
Created for KidsFest, Hokey Pokey Sticks are rice cereal bars double dipped in chocolate and then rolled in a candy or nut coating. The Hokey Pokey Stick was sold throughout KidsFest. Chocolate Fest is an annual fundraising event held by the National Kidney Foundation of East Tennessee.
Promising visitors the same family-fun quality as they can expect at the theme park, Dolly’s Splash Country becomes Dollywood’s Splash Country for its second season. Open Memorial Day through Labor Day, visitors come to enjoy the Cascades, an 8,000-sq.-ft.lagoon-style leisure pool; Mountain Waves, a 25,000-sq.-ft wave pool; Slick Rock Racer, a multi-mat slide; the Downbound Float Trip, a relaxing lazy river; as well as interactive children’s play areas. Dolly looks forward to another splash-filled summer in her Smoky Mountains.
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.
