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.”
Dolly was honored with the Songwriters Hall of Fame Award from the National Academy of Popular Music on June 14, 2001. The award was established in 1969 to help "shine the spotlight on the accomplishments of songwriters who have provided us with the words and music that form the soundtrack of our lives." Emmylou Harris performed for Dolly’s induction ceremony.
Dolly sees herself as a songwriter and considered the award one of the greatest of her life,
“Honestly, being put into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, with all the great people in there, would have to be one of the greater compliments that anyone could ever be paid. I don't know that I'm deserving, but it makes me want to go out and write songs."
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.
Dolly won the 2001 GRAMMY Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her cover of the Collective Soul song "Shine" from her album "Little Sparrow," marking her third win in that category and seventh overall.
Collective Soul lead singer Ed Roland was blown away when he found out Dolly covered the group’s song,
"In all honesty, the first CD, which has 'Shine' on it, basically was a songwriter's demo, trying to get a publishing deal and try to showcase songs. It's the first time ever we've had one of those songs covered, and it's an honor, and really cool... especially coming from someone who's a great songwriter. It's not necessary for her to use anyone's songs except her own."
Dolly explains that the cover comes from a real affinity for the original version of the song.
"When that record came out years ago, my husband and I were riding in the car and heard it...We listened to see who it was and went and got it and played it off and on in the house for years. I've been trying to think of how I can sing it without all the rock stuff; it sounds spiritual and all that, and the melody lent itself well to some bluegrass harmonies. I figured we'd kick it around and if it didn't work, we wouldn't put it on. But it worked out great."
