With the evening air of the Smokies developing a refreshingly crisp coolness, the time is perfect for Dollywood’s Harvest Festival presented by Humana (Sept. 20- Oct. 30). A longstanding tradition for many, the Harvest Festival greets guests with an amazing autumn atmosphere, thanks to stunning park décor and the surrounding beauty of the mountainsides draped in vibrant fall colors.
“I wrote a song several years ago called ‘God’s Coloring Book,’” Dolly said, “and there’s no doubt that the Smokies—especially in the fall—display so many of those beautiful pages for everyone to admire. The mountains transform and just become so alive with all the different colors that you want to be outside enjoying the power and beauty of nature. I’m so glad we’re able to share that with all of the guests who come visit Dollywood during this special time of year.
"I truly believe Dollywood is the most beautiful theme park in the whole world because it’s built right here in the middle of God’s Coloring Book”
During the day, guests can experience immersive live music, rich harvest-themed culinary creations, and picture-perfect photo ops with more than 12,000 pumpkins throughout the park. By night, the pumpkins come to life thanks to Great Pumpkin LumiNights presented by Covenant Health. A family-favorite since its inception, the event grows again this year with a “bee-utiful” new display located in Craftsman’s Valley. Guests will be buzzing for the new display located near Hug-a-Bee Honey, the interactive honey bee exhibit which debuted during this season’s Flower & Food Festival.
The bees are not the only ones creating something sweet during the Harvest Festival. Guests are greeted by the comforting smells of sweet pumpkin treats and warm apple cider created by the park’s award-winning culinary team. Delicious fall favorites include a pulled pork sandwich with pumpkin spice BBQ sauce, three bean pumpkin chili, salted maple potato tornado, toasted pumpkin sausage and ricotta flatbread, and spiced pumpkin bisque with toasted pepitas.
A deep-seated tradition in the Great Smoky Mountains, live music is at the heart and soul of fall at Dollywood with Southern gospel, bluegrass and country artists found performing throughout the park. Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, Jeannie Seely, Emily Ann Roberts, Dailey and Vincent, Triumphant Quartet, Hannah Dasher and The Isaacs are just a few of the performers set to take the stage at Dollywood.
Performances take place on indoor and outdoor stages throughout the park, allowing the beautiful sounds to echo through the surrounding hillsides and create a highly-engaging entertainment offering. More than 1700 individual performances take place during the festival. A complete schedule can be found on Dollywood.com.
Also new this year, guests will find thousands of vibrant, shimmering leaves swaying in the breeze along Showstreet. Harvest Sky serves as a striking photo backdrop as soon as people step into the park. Hoot Owl Hollow—which debuted last season—returns this year, while other displays have been refreshed or relocated within new areas of the park, extending the footprint of Great Pumpkin LumiNights.
Several other guest favorites return to the Harvest Festival, including the colossal pumpkins—last year’s pumpkins ranged in weight from 800 to 1500 lbs. each—which come from growers across the East Coast. The combined weight of all the colossal pumpkins totals more than 19,200 lbs.! Visiting artisans and makers display their handmade wares at locations throughout Dollywood, with many demonstrating the talented skills and techniques used to create their one-of-a-kind treasures.
The Harvest Festival fun also is celebrated at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa with themed activities and harvest décor planned throughout the resort’s property.
Guests can enjoy live entertainment in the resort’s atrium every Tuesday and Thursday night including performances by Maggie & Owen, Lonesome Roses, Tommy Cox and more. Daily roaming performers also can be found throughout the resort.
The resort’s culinary team is cooking up seasonal dining experiences. In The Lounge, guests can feast upon delicious Harvest-themed food and beverage options with a special Harvest Festival Menu. In The Spa at DreamMore Resort, guests can relax with special treatments infused with honey, pumpkin and vanilla that are reminiscent of harvest in the Smoky Mountains.
With so many opportunities for creating vibrant new family traditions, Dollywood’s Harvest Festival is a must-see experience this season.
Dollywood is open 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. each day of operation (Sept. 20- Oct. 30) during the Harvest Festival. The park is closed on Tuesdays throughout the festival. For more information and the park operating calendar, visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.
Dollywood guests are sure to have a hoot during this year’s Harvest Festival presented by Humana (Sept. 23 - Oct. 29), thanks to a brand new area created within the family-favorite Great Pumpkin LumiNights presented by Covenant Health.
Appropriately named Hoot Owl Hollow, the area features hundreds of pumpkins in Dollywood’s Craftsman’s Valley that celebrate the nocturnal creature, including a massive 14-foot tall version created with more than 150 carved white pumpkins. It’s just the latest addition to the event that has overwhelmingly become one of America’s favorite fall family destinations, and it will surely have guests pulling an “owl-nighter” in order to experience “owl” the fun!
“I just know folks are going to get a kick out of the new Hoot Owl Hollow,” Dolly shared. “And in ‘owl’ seriousness, I hope our guests make their own precious Smoky Mountain memories while they are here. As I look back on my favorite family memories, so many of them took place during this time of year, and I hope our guests leave with those special moments they’ll share forever.”
A longstanding tradition for so many, the Harvest Festival greets guests with the surrounding mountainsides draped in vibrant colors. Dollywood’s landscaping and fresh décor accent the autumn atmosphere and bring the beauty right into the park, making it ripe for families to create their picture-perfect pumpkin photo ops to share with friends!
“I think everybody knows I believe every day in the Smoky Mountains is beautiful and truly a gift from God,” Dolly said, “but I do feel like fall is when He really puts on a show for all of us to admire and enjoy. As the leaves change, the mountains transform into a patchwork of bright, vibrant colors that make them look as if they’ve come alive. The hot summer days start to fade and crisp, cool winds bring that fresh mountain air down into the valleys and right into my Dollywood. To me, this has to be the most beautiful theme park in the whole world, because no park in the world is built right in the middle of the Smokies!”
At night, Great Pumpkin LumiNights, one of the nation’s premier family-friendly harvest time events, provides bushels of memories for guests, thanks to thousands of glowing and carved pumpkins throughout Dollywood. For those with small children—or anyone looking for a fun, not scary experience—this event is certainly the cream of the crop. Families can bask in the glow as they wander through displays in Dollywood’s Timber Canyon, Wilderness Pass, Wildwood Grove and Craftsman’s Valley areas. Beyond the impressive displays, guests can find a number of exciting activities to create long-lasting memories together.
No festival at Dollywood is complete without award-winning entertainment, and the Harvest Festival certainly delivers. Several genres are well-represented with a wide range of Southern Gospel and bluegrass artists, as well as Americana acts and classic country performers scheduled to appear. In all, more than 1,900 performances take place during the Harvest Festival.
Fresh off a finalist appearance on America’s Got Talent, Chapel Hart graces the stage of DP’s Celebrity Theater on Oct. 2. Country music legend John Anderson—known for hits like “Swingin’,” “Seminole Wind,” and “Straight Tequila Night”—visits the park on Oct. 10. Contemporary Christian group Sidewalk Prophets visits Sept. 28, while Southern Gospel favorites, including The Collingsworth Family (Sept. 26), Karen Peck and New River (Oct. 5), Triumphant Quartet (Oct. 19) and The Isaacs (Oct. 21), also entertain guests throughout the festival. Bluegrass is well represented with Rhonda Vincent and the Rage (Oct. 24), Dailey & Vincent (Oct. 24) and more set to perform. Knoxville’s Emily Ann Roberts—who placed second on season nine of NBC’s The Voice—performs Oct. 20.
A complete schedule can be found on Dollywood.com. Performances take place on indoor and outdoor stages throughout the park, allowing the beautiful sounds to echo through the surrounding hillsides and create highly-engaging entertainment offerings.
Dollywood’s culinary team has created a smorgasbord of creations to take advantage of the bountiful supply of crops provided by the Smoky Mountain harvest. The smells of smoked bratwursts, turkey legs or smoked andouille sausage mac and cheese pair nicely with the fresh tastes of sweet potato poutine, spiced pumpkin bisque and BUSH’S three bean pumpkin chili. For sweet treats, the ever-popular pumpkin spice is in full supply with items ranging from pumpkin spice churros with pumpkin fluff to pumpkin spice iced coffee. Items like the maple pecan bacon funnel cake, hot apple cider, wassail or an apple pie milkshake are perfect to carry and enjoy while admiring the beauty of Dollywood in the fall.
Several other guest favorites return to the Harvest Festival, including the colossal pumpkins—last year’s pumpkins ranged in weight from 800 to 1,500 lbs. each—which come from growers across the East Coast. Visiting artisans display their handmade wares at locations throughout Dollywood, with many demonstrating the skills and techniques they use as they create their one-of-a-kind treasures.
The Harvest Festival fun is also celebrated at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa with themed activities and harvest décor planned throughout the resort’s property.
Guests can enjoy live entertainment by featured Harvest Festival performers in the resort’s atrium every Tuesday, including performances by The Young Fables, The Woods, Billy and Cruz Contreras, the High Beams and Kate and Corey. Daily roaming performers can also be found throughout the resort.
The resort’s culinary team is cooking up special dining experiences, including an unforgettable wine pairing event on Saturday, Oct. 23. In The Lounge, guests can feast upon delicious harvest-themed food and beverage options. At The Spa at DreamMore Resort, guests can relax with special treatments infused with fall scents and ingredients. For Dollywood’s Harvest Festival, guests can choose from treatments that are reminiscent of harvest in the Smoky Mountains such as the Honey Chai Massage or Luminous Pumpkin Facial.
With so many opportunities for creating vibrant new family traditions, Dollywood’s Harvest Festival is a must-see experience this season.
Dollywood is open 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. each day of operation (Sept. 23 - Oct. 29) during the Harvest Festival. The park is closed on Tuesdays throughout the festival. For more information and a park operating calendar, visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.
Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin LumiNights presented by Covenant Health has become one of the park’s most popular events since its inception in 2017. Highlighting that popularity, Great Pumpkin LumiNights, part of the Harvest Festival presented by Humana, once again has been nominated for the USA Today 10Best Award for Best Theme Park Halloween event.
The USA Today contest, which now is live, runs through Monday, September 12, 2022 at 11:59 a.m. Anyone is eligible to vote and may do so once per day, per device. Nominees for all categories are chosen by a panel of relevant experts, which include a combination of editors from USA Today, editors from 10Best.com, relevant expert contributors and more. To cast your vote, visit www.dollywood.com/vote.
Dollywood’s Harvest Festival, happening September 23 - October 29, provides fabulous fall family fun, with Great Pumpkin LumiNights serving as a great glowing end to the evening. Dollywood stays open until 9 p.m. every night during the festival, allowing families more time to enjoy thousands of carved pumpkins throughout the park. New this season is Hoot Owl Hollow, providing even more fun for guests to enjoy “owl” night long!
Families will bask in the glow of thousands of intricately-carved pumpkins as they wander through displays throughout Dollywood’s Timber Canyon, Wilderness Pass and upper Craftsman’s Valley areas. Beyond the impressive displays, guests can find a number of exciting activities to create new memories together.
Artists from a number of genres provide hundreds of performances throughout the festival, while visiting craftspeople display their talents for guests to see. Special harvest-themed menu items from Dollywood’s award-winning culinary team also are a delight to enjoy. There is no doubt that each day is a picture-perfect opportunity for families to enjoy the experiences of a Smoky Mountain harvest.
For more information about Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin LumiNights and the Harvest Festival, please visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.
If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the splendor of a Smoky Mountain autumn, there’s plenty of fall fun, flavorful food and thrilling music right around the corner at Dollywood’s annual Harvest Festival presented by Humana (Sept. 24-Oct. 30). The annual guest-favorite event, which includes the family-friendly Great Pumpkin LumiNights presented by Covenant Health, has quickly become a cherished experience for park goers and a long-standing family tradition for many.
Dollywood’s Harvest Festival greets guests with the surrounding mountainsides draped in vibrant colors as fall descends upon the Great Smoky Mountains. Dollywood’s landscape and fresh décor accent the autumn atmosphere and bring the beauty right into the park, making a stunning backdrop for families to create their picture-perfect pumpkin photo ops to share with friends!
Great Pumpkin LumiNights, one of the nation’s premier family-friendly harvest time events, provides bushels of memories for guests, thanks to thousands of glowing carved pumpkins throughout Dollywood. This event is certainly the cream of the crop for those with small children or anyone looking for a fun experience. Families can bask in the glow as they wander through displays in Dollywood’s Timber Canyon, Wilderness Pass and upper Craftsman’s Valley areas. Beyond the impressive displays, guests can find a number of exciting activities to create thrilling memories together. Dolly shared,
“Fall is a special time of year in the Smoky Mountains, because God’s handiwork is on full display for everyone to enjoy when they come to visit. It’s also the time when the heat of the summer fades and the crisp, cool evenings make it just right to enjoy the fresh mountain air. Some of my most treasured family memories took place during the fall, and I want our guests to make their own wonderful memories while they are here. Our team works so hard to bring the mountains right into the middle of the park with all those great decorations and experiences. You really are surrounded by the colors of fall the whole time you are here. It’s no wonder we won this year’s Golden Ticket award for Most Beautiful Theme Park in the whole world; no other park in the world is built right in the middle of the Smokies!”
No festival at Dollywood is complete without award-winning entertainment, and the Harvest Festival certainly delivers. With artists representing genres from Southern Gospel and Bluegrass to Classic Country and Americana, there is something to satisfy every musical taste. Performances take place on indoor and outdoor stages throughout the park, allowing the engaging sounds to echo through the surrounding hillsides. Even more artists can be found roaming the park, literally taking the music to the streets!
Among the festival headliners are CeCe Winans (Oct. 9), Pam Tillis (Sept. 29), Jimmy Fortune (Oct. 2), Shenandoah (Oct. 20-21), Karen Peck and New River (Oct. 3), Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Oct. 4), Taylor Red (Sept. 24), Rhonda Vincent and the Rage (Oct. 14-15), Janelle Arthur (Sept. 26) and the Lee University Singers (Oct. 17). Additionally, the new Night Time at the Back Porch offers some of the best up-and-coming performers from the Southeast an opportunity to share their talents during the park’s evening hours.
“Dollywood is one of our all-time favorite places to play and has been for years,” Gospel Hall of Fame member Karen Peck said. “We love how nice everyone is at the theaters and the awesome family-friendly feeling we get when we perform at Dollywood. Sometimes, it’s like church breaks out at our concerts!”
Dollywood’s culinary team has created a smorgasbord of creations to take advantage of the bountiful supply of crops provided by the Smoky Mountain harvest. The smells of smoked bratwurst, turkey legs or chicken and andouille sausage gumbo pair nicely with the fresh tastes of sweet potato poutine, spiced pumpkin bisque and BUSH’S three bean pumpkin chili.
For sweet treats, the ever-popular pumpkin spice is in full supply, with items ranging from pumpkin spice churros with pumpkin fluff to pumpkin spice salted caramel mocha iced coffee. Items like the maple pecan and bacon funnel cake, hot apple cider and the apple pie milkshake are perfect to carry and enjoy while admiring the beauty of Dollywood in the fall.
With so many opportunities for creating vibrant new family traditions, Dollywood’s Harvest Festival is a must-see experience this season. Visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app to plan your visit this fall!
Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin LumiNights, the reigning winner for Best Theme Park Halloween Event in the USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice travel awards, has an opportunity to retain its title as the industry’s best. The region’s premier family-friendly harvesttime event has quickly become a favorite for guests since it was added to Dollywood’s Harvest Festival in 2017.
Dollywood’s Harvest Festival, presented by Humana, provides all-day fall fun for the entire family, with the Great Pumpkin LumiNights serving as a glowing end to the evening. Dollywood stays open until 9 p.m. every night during the festival, which runs September 24 through October 30, allowing families more time to enjoy various exhibits throughout the park.
Families will bask in the glow of thousands of intricately-carved pumpkins as they discover whimsical displays all throughout Dollywood’s Timber Canyon, Wilderness Pass and upper Craftsman’s Valley. Beyond the impressive displays, guests can find a number of exciting activities and create thrilling memories together.
Musical artists from multiple genres provide hundreds of performances throughout the festival, and visiting artisans showcase their array of talents for guests to enjoy. Special harvest-themed menu items from Dollywood’s award-winning culinary team are also a delight. There is no doubt that each day is a picture-perfect opportunity for families to experience the joys of the Smoky Mountain harvest.
The USA Today contest, which is now live, runs through Monday, August 30 at 11:59 a.m. A page with a link to the voting page can be found at dollywood.com/vote. Anyone is eligible to vote and may do so once per day, per device. Nominees for all categories are chosen by a panel of relevant experts, which include a combination of editors from USA Today, editors from 10Best.com, relevant expert contributors and more. Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa is also in the running for the USA Today 10Best Award for Best Family Resort.
For more information about Dollywood’s Great Pumpkin LumiNights and the Harvest Festival, please visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood App.
