Dolly Parton Celebrates 40 Years Of Dollywood
Dolly Parton has always been proud of her rural upbringing in the Tennessee mountains of Sevierville. When she left her small town and became a country music superstar, she never forgot her humble beginnings.
In 1986, Parton opened Dollywood to show her appreciation for where she grew up. She wanted to create something that would give back to the community that shaped her.
Today, Dollywood is the largest employer in the region, providing jobs for nearly 4,000 people. It has also become one of the most popular amusement parks in the country, drawing around 3 million visitors to the area each year.
Now, Parton is celebrating four decades of bringing people from all over the world together at Dollywood.
On March 14, the amusement park’s 40th season was kicked off with a celebration and a surprise appearance by Parton herself. While there, she opened up about Dollywood’s success over the years and how it unexpectedly sparked the growth of other businesses in the once-vacant area.
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“When Dollywood did open and when we started opening our dinner theaters it just brought so many more tourists in, and other people started building other businesses and hotels and all that,” Parton said to Knox News. “There were some things here, but not near like it was after Dollywood opened.”
“I’m just proud to be part of this whole community. And Dollywood is a shining star, certainly to me, but evidently to a lot of other people, too,” she continued. “I’m just happy to be part of that growth.”
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Dolly Parton Shares What the Future Holds For Dollywood
Of course, Parton is the face and leader of Dollywood, and she receives help from the park’s president Eugene Naughton. Everything they, along with their team, have planned over the past 40 years has been very intentional, with careful thought behind every decision.
“We have a great, great team and we have a lot of dreamers, a lot of doers,” said Parton. “We just dream and think, what do we want? We don’t want things that’s just going to last a season or two…we want things to be lasting.”
As long as the community continues to support it, the park is aiming for another 40 years of business. Parton has even said that after she is no longer here, Dollywood will remain open and continue to improve.
“Even after I’m gone, we’ll still grow. We’ll still be going,” she stated. “As long as we grow with the public and keep our ears open and our eyes (open), we’re going to find out what they want and we will grow accordingly.”
The 40th season of Dollywood will feature the park’s famous festivals that everyone knows and loves, including the I Will Always Love You Music Festival, the Flower & Food Festival, the Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration, Dollywood’s Harvest Festival, and Smoky Mountain Christmas.
Along with that, the park will unveil new additions during its official anniversary in May. A new show called “Play On” will premiere, alongside a new restaurant and the conversion of the Heartsong Theater into the Imagination Playhouse.