Christmas Wonderland Lights Up Sevierville, Tennessee
Shadrack Watersports & RV have brought Christmas Wonderland to the Smokies Stadium in Sevierville, Tennessee located just minutes from Pigeon Forge. The lighting spectacular , which began November 6th, is one of America’s largest drive-through, fully computerized LED light shows.
Hundreds of thousands of lights are included in this perfectly synchronized show filled with holiday tunes. The entire drive-through spectacular is nearly one mile in length and lasts approximately 20 minutes.
Christmas Wonderland at Smokies Stadium presented by Shadrack will continue through January 2, 2010. Hours of operation are 6pm-10pm daily. Admission is $10 per car Monday-Thursday, $15 per car Friday-Sunday, $20 per Activity Van, $30 per Limo and $65 per bus. Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve are weekend rates.
AdventureCon comes to Pigeon Forge October 24 & 25, 2009. This event is best known for the dozens of celebrity and comic guests it hosts every year. It gives fans the ultimate opportunity to meet and greet their favorite stars. Celebrities in attendance participate in autograph sessions and discussion panels. AdventureCon 2009 will be held at the Grand Resort Hotel Convention Center. Doors open Saturday at 10am and remain open until 7pm. Sunday hours are 10am-5pm. Tickets are $20 per day, or $30 for both days.
There are a variety of celebrity guests scheduled to appear. John Schneider, who is best known for his role as Bo Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard, will be on hand, as will the General Lee, one of the most famous cars in television history. Micky Dolenz, a famous member of The Monkees, is also scheduled to appear, along with Kevin Nash, the wrestling superstar from WWE & WCW, as are TNA wrestling stars SoCal Val & Traci Brooks. Jason Mewes, who is best known as Jay from the Jay & Silent Bob duo from movies like Clerks, Dogma and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back will also be making an appearance.
Other celebrity guests include Brian Steele (Hellboy), Doug Jones (Silver Surfer from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer), Ola Ray (Thriller Music Video), Camden Toy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), David Barclay (Star Wars), Maria De Aragon (Star Wars), Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th), Derek Mears (Friday the 13th), William Forsythe (The Devils Rejects) and Daeg Faerch (Rob Zombies’ Halloween). Motormaster, one of the brutal does in the first generation of Transformers, will also be at AdventureCon.
Comic guests include Scott Blair, Tom Feister, Kevin Leen, Richard Green, Tom Nguyen, Brett Pinson, Steve Scott and Joe Staton.
A costume contest is also planned at 3pm, October 24th. Guests are encouraged to transform themselves into their favorite hero or villain. Registration must be complete by 1:30pm that day. DTK will perform a tribute to Kiss on the Grand Stage at 5pm on Saturday, and that night a VIP After Party is planned for 9:30pm. Guests will enjoy karaoke, mingling with their favorite stars, music, drinks and a Guitar Hero Showdown. Terry Evanswood, star of Magic Beyond Belief in Pigeon Forge, will perform at 12:30pm on Saturday.
The Duggar Family Illuminates Pigeon Forge's Winterfest
Official Press Release from Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism:
Twenty special guests will help Pigeon Forge kick off the 20th celebration of Pigeon Forge Winterfest. Collectively, they are the Duggar family from TLC’s “18 Kids and Counting” reality show.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their 18 natural-born children—plus one on the way—will flip the switch to illuminate millions of lights and start the four-month winter event that runs through Feb. 28, 2010.
The grand illumination will conclude an opening event at the city’s Patriot Park on Nov. 5 (Thursday) at 5:30 p.m.
Pigeon Forge Winterfest, which transformed winter from a quiet season to one of the city’s busiest, is a Top 100 Event in North America, according to the American Bus Association.
Expansive and elaborate Winterfest light displays are located throughout the city. More than five million lights are used, and several displays—including the celebration’s signature snowflakes along the Parkway—have been fitted with energy-saving LED bulbs.
Dollywood enhances the first two months of Pigeon Forge Winterfest with Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas, a two-time winner of the Golden Ticket Award for the nation’s best theme park Christmas event. Dates are Nov. 7-Jan. 2, 2010.
Dollywood adds to Winterfest’s light displays with more than four million lights of its own and the nightly Lighted Christmas Parade. Its musical entertainment lineup includes “Dollywood’s Babes in Toyland,” “Christmas in the Smokies” and “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” plus the Polar Express 4-D Experience, a multi-sensory cinematic experience based on the beloved Caldecott Medal-winning children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg.
Pigeon Forge has more than a dozen theaters, and most of them offer special Christmas show segments during November and December. While some do take a post-New Year’s break, several offer their signature shows in January and February.
After the excitement of Christmas and New Year’s, the city continues Pigeon Forge Winterfest with two festivals in January and February:
Wilderness Wildlife Week, Jan. 9-16, is the first. It began the same year as Winterfest as a Saturday afternoon activity and now offers eight days of programs and activities to spotlight Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Almost 150 experts on nature and outdoor life present programs on many topics, and there are daily hikes and excursions into the national park.
Saddle Up!, a celebration of the American West, returns for its tenth year, Feb. 25-28. It brings some of the best western musicians and cowboy poets to the Smokies for a rare visit east of the Mississippi River. Events include concerts, a chuckwagon cookoff and Cowboy Church.
Pigeon Forge’s popular Trolley Tour of Lights, offered throughout Winterfest, provides a narrated tour of this Smoky Mountains resort town and a chance to see the major displays. One of the more elaborate displays depicts the city’s most significant historic site, the Old Mill. The actual mill was built in 1830 and still is in operation. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Pigeon Forge Winterfest Kickoff at Patriot Park is scheduled for November 5 at 4pm. This event officially begins the Christmas season in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and also kicks off the Winterfest events in Pigeon Forge that run through February.
Touring the Pigeon Forge light displays is a favorite visitor activity, and with over 5 million lights to see, there is no better way to get around town than onboard the city’s Trolley Tour of Lights. The Trolley Tour of Lights runs Monday through Friday starting at 6:30pm. The tour begins at the Pigeon Forge Funtime Trolley Station at Patriot Park and costs $5 per person. The trolley, which is climate-controlled, will offer the tour through January 29.
Several Pigeon Forge Shows get into the Christmas spirit as well. When you visit the Pigeon Forge area in the month's of November and December, enjoy these great Christmas shows:
Official Press Release from Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism:
Scores of talented artists and craftsmen seem to take a cue from Mother Nature when the leaves start changing colors in the Great Smoky Mountains and appear in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., for two major autumn festivals.
The Pigeon Forge Rotary Club Crafts Festival (Oct. 1-30) is one of the region’s biggest crafts events, attracting almost 50 craftsmen, artists and exhibitors from more than a dozen states. It takes place under a giant red and white tent at Patriot Park. Rotarians volunteer their time to run the festival, and proceeds benefit numerous charities.
Dollywood’s National Gospel & Harvest Festival (Oct. 2-31) complements the theme park’s regular operation with an array of traditional and contemporary craftsmen and adds scores of free gospel music concerts to the entertainment lineup. Among the featured crafts are spinning, weaving, sorghum making, fiddle making, rug hooking and woodworking.
Both events take place against the backdrop of Pigeon Forge’s Harvestfest season, which continues through Oct. 31.
During Harvestfest, businesses throughout the city erect fanciful fall displays of hay bales, scarecrows, cornstalks, pumpkins, gourds, sunflowers, mums and other symbols of the season.
Progress being Made on New Titanic Attraction in Pigeon Forge
Progress on the new Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge is advancing smoothly. The 30,000 square foot replica of the Titanic is being built against a mountain backdrop in Tennessee next to the Black Bear Jamboree. The forward half of the ship is being re-created; it exactly half the size of the famous ocean liner that was sunk by an iceberg on its 1912 maiden voyage.
The design of the ship, when complete, will feature a bow that sits in water, giving the illusion that the ship is in fact in water, rather than dry land.
The Pigeon Forge Titanic Museum Attraction is following the design and concept lead of their sister site, which is located in Branson. Each visitor to the Pigeon Forge museum attraction will receive a boarding pass with the name of a real crew member or passenger. At the end of the self-guided tour, visitors will discover if they survived or perished as they view the memorial wall. There will also be interactive attractions like a 28 degree water testing, walk on a ship bridge, shovel coal, send a wireless SOS, touch a fake iceberg and get into a lifeboat that is an exact replica of those used that fateful night. A full size replica staircase is also planned, as is a wireless room, first-class suite and third-class cabin.
The artifacts, of which about 350 will be displayed, came from survivors’ families or auctions. The estimated opening date for the Pigeon Forge Titanic Attraction is April 2010.
Discover Fall in Pigeon Forge. The beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains is hard to describe with words, but the splendor of the reds, yellows and oranges that paint the mountains of the areas is breathtakingly beautiful, and experiencing them is a great way to welcome the Fall season.
The Autumn colors usually peak during the last three weeks of October. The altitude of the mountains affects the foliage schedule, of course. Above 4,000 feet the colors peak about a week earlier than the colors in the foothills. Great color can be found just about anywhere in the Great Smoky Mountains, but the area around the Sugarlands Visitor Center is known for its great reds and yellows on its sugar maples and the roads between Gatlinburg and Cades Cove provides plenty of miles of pleasing color.
Auto tours are a good way to experience the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains this fall as there are a half-million acres to explore. Some of the top rated auto tours include routes from Gatlinburg to the Roaring Fork Motor Trail (10 miles); the Blue Ridge Parkway of Cherokee, North Carolina to Balsam Mountain( 48 miles); and Townsend, Tennessee to Cades Cove (65 miles). To view the autumnal colors of the Smokies by foot, hikes at the Sutton Ridge Overlook, Oconaluftee River Trail, Look Rock Tower, Appalachian Trail and Inspiration Point on Alum Cave Trail are recommended.
One of the reasons the fall colors in the Great Smoky Mountains are so beautiful is because of the diversity of the trees found in the park. Some of the native trees providing color include the sweetgum tree. These trees are usually found in the lower elevations and offer brilliant reds, purples, and yellows. Dogwoods are another favorite offering deep reds. They can be found most places below 3,000 feet. The red maple not only gives us beautiful reds, but also yellows. The park has many large red maple trees and can be found in most areas of the park. The sugar maple produces yellows and oranges in fall colors and can be found at 4,000 feet and below. The scarlet oak offers up a fantastic scarlet color and can be found in the lower elevations of the park. Other trees providing color include American beech, yellow birch, mountain maple and pin cherry.
This spectacular time of year is best shared with friends and family. Plan a trip to Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg in order to experience the splendor of autumn in the Smokies.
Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest Rolls into Pigeon Forge
The Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest is scheduled for September 24-26 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. This event is sponsored by The Diner Rats Car Club, Smokies Stadium and The City of Sevierville. It will be located at the Smokies Stadium, home to the Tennessee Smokies baseball team.
The Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest is open to classics, originals, antiques, street rods and custom cars, as well as specialty vehicles. Gates will open daily at 8am and close at 7pm, with 24 hour police security. A Vendors Row is planned as is a Swap Meet area and a block party bash featuring live entertainment is scheduled in downtown Sevierville.
The awards ceremony for the Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest will be on Saturday, September 26.
6th Annual Old Mill Square Heritage Day in Pigeon Forge
The 6th Annual Old Mill Heritage Day returns to the Old Mill Square in Pigeon Forge September 19th, 2009. The event is designated as a Great Smoky Mountains 75th Anniversary event this year, and will feature music, food, fun, games, demonstrations, crafts and tradition. Craftsmen will be on hand to demonstrate lye soap making, apple butter making and wheel-thrown pottery.
The activities schedule for the 6th Annual Old Mill Event, which is open from 10am – 5pm, is as follows:
The Old Mill General Store: Free guided tours of the Historic Old Mill are available from 10am – 4pm. An old-fashioned farmers market, honey bee demonstration and crafts will also be available.
Pigeon River Pottery Parking Lot: Music and entertainment, a Great Smoky Mountains 75th Anniversary booth, food selections featuring fried green tomatoes, pulled pork BBQ, coleslaw, hot dogs, pinto beans and cornbread.
The Old Mill Square Parking Lot: An exhibit featuring antique cars, engines and tractors will be on display.
Pottery House Café & Grille Parking Lot: Appalachian children’s games, pumpkin painting, face painting, petting zoo, apple butter making and homemade fried apple pies will be available.
Butler Street and Dixie Darlin’s Parking Lot: Mountain craft demonstrations and artists will be highlighted.
Music and storytelling artists include: Phil Campbell Lonesome Mountain Jimbo Whaley & Greenbriar Van Eaton & Friends And More!
13th Annual World Premiere Gospel Concert Scheduled for Pigeon Forge
Pigeon Forge will be alive with the sound of music Auguest 24-26 as the 13th Annual World Premiere Gospel Concert will once again take the stage at the Grand Resort Hotel for an exciting show featuring the best of today’s gospel music. The line-up for this years show includes old favorites like Time Lovelace, the New Calvary Echoes, The Old Paths and Hissong, as well as some new groups like Crabb Revival, Weston Hinson & by Faith, and Mike & Kelly Bowling.
The full schedule is listed below:
MONDAY
Driven * Gann Brothers Christian Davis Freemans * HisSong Shadrix Trio Ricky Atkinson & Compassion * Roarks Perfect Heart Christian Brothers on Tour Naomi & The Segos
TUESDAY
Crabb Revival * Diplomats Jerry Bennett Nelons * Tim Lovelace Dalton Gang John's Call * Michael & Delilah Dave McVay New Calvary Echoes The Old Paths
WEDNESDAY
Weston Hinson & By Faith * Next Chapter The Shireys Mike & Kelly Bowling * The Maharreys Mitchel Jon The Webb Family * The Supernals Anchormen Heirline New Jerusalem
5th Annual StringTime in the Smokies Scheduled for August
The 5th annual StringTime in the Smokies, an event that celebrates bluegrass music, is scheduled for August 14-15 in Pigeon Forge. The event is being held at The Old Mill Square (at Patriot Park – Traffic Light #7 in Pigeon Forge.) StringTime will include performances by Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, The SteelDrivers and many others. Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper consists of four stand out musicians in the bluegrass and field and were chosen best instrumental band in 2007 and 2008 by the International Bluegrass Music Association.
The concerts begin at 5pm. Jam sessions will start after 7pm on Saturday and Sunday, so bring your instrument if you want to join in on the fun!
Admission to the event is free and beverages and food will be available during the StringTime sessions.
Dukes of Hazzard featured at Smoky Mountain Fan Fest
The first annual Smoky Mountain Fan Fest is scheduled for July 18 & 19, 2009 at the Smokies Stadium in Sevierville, Tennessee, just a couple of minutes north of Pigeon Forge. Fan Fest will feature cast members from Dukes of Hazzard, including: Catherine Bach (Daisy,) Ben Jones (Cooter,) James Best (Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane,) Sonny Shroyer (Enos,) Rick Hurst (Cletus,) Byron Cherry (Coy,) and Don Pedro Colley (Sheriff Little.) Butch Patrick, who played Eddie Munster on The Munsters will also appear, along with a vintage automobile used in the show.
The 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz is this year, and in honor of that anniversary Margaret Pellegrini, one of the munchkins from the film, will be at Fan Fest. Margaret played two roles in the movie: she was one of the sleepy heads in the birds nest and also one of the girls who wore a flower pot hat.
A concert featuring country music legend Merle Haggard is scheduled for Saturday night. He will be accompanied by Janie Fricke and Cooter’s Garage Band.
The Dukes Cast, Butch Patrick, and Margaret Pellegrini will be selling autographs and memorabilia Saturday and Sunday. There will also be entertainment and activities throughout both days, including a children's area.
One-day or two-day tickets are available. You may also choose between general admission or a reserved seat for the concert on Saturday night. Children 11 and under will receive FREE general admission. (Limit two children free, per paying adult. Reserved Seats for children at concert are available for $10.00 each and must be ordered by phone only.) Call (865) 286-2300 for tickets.
Pigeon Forge Celebrates 4th of July at Patriot Park
Pigeon Forge is celebrating the 4th of July Holiday with their Patriot Festival, located at Patriot Park.
The July 4th Entertainment Line-Up is as follows:
TWIRLING MEDALLION MAJORETTE AND DRUM CORP (1:00pm)
Visiting from Virginia, Tina Hughes’s Baby Doll, Tiny Tot, Junior, & Senior Majorette Groups, and Drum Corp will be performing in Patriot Park at Patriot Festival.
PIGEON FORGE COMMUNITY CHORUS (3:45pm) Pigeon Forge Community Chorus consists of over 40 members from Pigeon Forge and the surrounding areas. The chorus is under the direction of Dr. Deborah Hicks, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Professional Entertainment Program from Walter State Community College. The chorus will be performing a medley of patriotic and gospel music.
HOMER HART (4:30pm) Homer Hart is an aspiring country artist from Knoxville, TN. A trip to the 2005 CMT Awards show provided Hart with the opportunity to meet some of the biggest names in country music, a jam session with Jason Aldean’s band “The Three Kings”, and an offer to help record his first album at Big Records in Nashville.
GRAND MAJESTIC THEATER’S “SWING TIME” CAST (5:15pm) The “Swing Time” cast will be performing their Military Tribute to our Armed Forces and the National Anthem at this year’s Patriot Festival. “Swing Time” is the Musical Dance Production at The Grand Majestic Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN. Their heart warming and fun filled story takes you through the Swingin' Big Band sounds of the 40's with hits of Glenn Miller, Judy Garland and the Andrew Sisters all the way to the Rock and Rollin' years of the 50's with the classics by none other than Elvis and Buddy Holly.
THE TEMPTATIONS REVUE (5:30pm) The Temptations recorded over 50 albums...with 50 pop and 51 R&B singles in the top ten! They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in1989 and in 1990, four of the original lead singers joined with Nate Evans, fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee with "Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions", to form the Temptations Revue, traveling throughout the world receiving the same recognition as they did in the group's heyday. Today, Nate Evans is joined with Ritchie Stanley, Greg Lee, Curtis Taylor and Reggie Reed to bring the music of the ages straight to Pigeon Forge! Enjoy Nate, The Temptations' timeless tunes, some special guests and a few wonderful stories from the history of Motown at the all new Smoky Mountain Theater.
SARAH DARLING (6:15pm) Sara is an up and coming country music artist, originally from Iowa. She’s a farm girl in florals, a riverbank girl with a poet’s soul, a deeply introspective writer with a childlike curiosity, not to mention a sophistication and maturity in her songs far beyond her 25 years.In 2003, Sarah auditioned for an E Network reality show called “The Entertainer,” hosted by veteran Vegas showman Wayne Newton. She finished in the top three. Sarah also did modeling and appeared in a number of country music videos, with Kellie Pickler, Joe Nichols, David Ball, and Big & Rich. Sarah was discovered by Black River Records through her MySpace page with her song “Stop the Bleeding.”
JOHN BERRY (7:00pm) John Berry has one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in country music. He has a stunningly rich, majestic tenor that he uses to its full effect. With multiple gold and platinum albums and nominations from the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music, and the Grammy's, Berry has clearly forged an appreciation from the music industry and fans alike. Berry has charted nineteen songs on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including the Number One single "Your Love Amazes Me" from 1994 and six additional Top Ten hits: "What's In It for Me", "You and Only You", "Standing on the Edge of Goodbye", "I Think About It All the Time", "Change My Mind, and "She's Taken a Shine".
CLASSIC ROCK ALL STARS (8:15pm) The Classic Rock All-Stars is a supergroup composed of hitmaking artists in the 1960s and 1970s. Its lineup: Pete Rivera: Original drummer and lead singer for Rare Earth Dennis Noda: Bass guitarist for Cannibal and the Headhunters Jerry Corbetta: Keyboardist for Sugarloaf Mike Pinera: Lead singer of Blues Image and guitarist for Iron Butterfly and Alice Cooper Collectively, these musicians have been a part of hits such as "Green-Eyed Lady", "School's Out", "Poison" "The Garden" (w/ Guns N' Roses), "I Just Want to Celebrate", "Get Ready", and "Land of a Thousand Dances." The Classic Rock All Stars will have an outstanding lineup of high-energy classic rock hits everyone is sure to remember.
FIREWORKS! (9:45pm) The night sky will light up with a dazzling array of fireworks, creating a stunning end to the Patriot Festival.
The Great Smoky Mountains are celebrating their 75th year as one of America’s National Parks. After being established in 1934, the Smoky Mountains have become the most visited national park with over 9 million visitors annually. Located near the beautiful towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, the park easily provides vacationers with a mix outdoor fun and nearby entertainment, including Pigeon Forge’s Dixie Stampede and Dollywood.
The 800 square mile park - about 187,000 acres – has a lot to explore, which can be done in a variety of ways. Auto touring is a favorite for many, as travelers can see gorgeous views of the wilderness from Highway 441. There are also plenty of scenic stops and flowing creeks to stop at, which make auto touring a relaxing way to take in the beauty of the area. Hiking in the Smoky Mountains is also a favorite activity and with over 150 official hikes to choose from, there is enough to see and do in the Great Smoky Mountains that visitors come again and again to see more of the scenic area.
The 75th Anniversary Smoky Mountain Celebration is presenting several events and activities. Here’s what’s happening this spring:
Music of the Mountains: Scheduled for March 28th, this event celebrates the Appalachian heritage of this area and the music it has created. There are six performances scheduled throughout the day, with the event commencing at 6:30pm with a concert by Jimbo Whaley.
Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage: This week-long event takes place April 22 – April 26. It is an educational event geared towards informing participants on the flora, fauna, and culture of the park. Headquartered at Mills Conference Center in Gatlinburg, the event costs $20 for one day or $40 for two more days for adults. Students are $10 for one or more day and children 12 and under are free.
National Junior Ranger Day: This free event is scheduled for April 25 from 10am – 2pm. Children and their families can join in a variety of free hands-on activities that range from searching for salamanders to making dinner bells at a blacksmith shop. Historic toy making, weaving, wildflower searches, and other natural and cultural opportunities will be available.
Cosby in the Park: On May 16th, this free event will be open to the public from 10am – 4pm. This event spotlights the Cosby community, which is partially located in the Great Smoky Mountains. This event features old-time mountain music, storytelling, old-fashioned children's games, and traditional crafts.
Great Smoky Mountains Natioanl Park 75th Anniversary – Oconaluftee: Programs and exhibits will celebrate Smoky Mountain life from the Cherokee through park establishment on June 15. A ground breaking ceremony will symbolically initiate the construction of a new Oconaluftee Visitor Center and history cultural museum.
Battle of Burg Hill- Civil War Re-enactment: A Civil War Re-enactment and Living History Days of the historic Battle of Burg Hill, the only Civil War skirmish in Gatlinburg. Join hundreds of Civil War historian re-enactors camping and living as was done in 1865. Witness a battle between the Blue and Gray with infantry and canons. Learn the history and experience Civil War living first hand. Educational and entertaining for the entire family. This event is scheduled for June 19-21.
Dinner on the Grounds: Cliff Dwellers Gallery will host 'Dinner on the Grounds' as a fundraiser with all proceeds going to the Park. Dinners will be based on a typical 1930's Sunday noon meal similar to one served at the Wonderland Hotel at that time. Dinner will be served on Sunday, July 5, 2009 from 11 am to 3 pm. The charge will be the 1930's price of 35 cents plus a donation to the Park ($5.00 suggested minimum). This is the last of three 'Dinner on the Grounds.' Celebrate our country's 4th of July & the 75th Anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Art and Artists of the Great Smoky Mountains, Before and after the Creation of the Park: Art and Artists of the Great Smoky Mountains, before and after the Creation of the Park" is a feature exhibition of the East Tennessee Historical Society. Through historical works of art, the exhibition highlights the lives and artistic expression of artists both local and visiting who chose the Great Smoky Mountains as their subject. This exhibit begins July 20 and runs through October 4.
Stringtime in the Smokies: A musical celebration of Appalachian life with a variety of well-known performers appearing throughout the event. Featured music will include traditional, bluegrass, and Americana styles with an emphasis on bluegrass. Activities for youngsters are on-site, along with excellent festival foods. This event is scheduled for August 14 & 15.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th Anniversary - Park Rededication: On September 2 a rededication of the park, reminiscent of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s historic 1940 park dedication speech, will be enacted at the Rockefeller Memorial at Newfound Gap. Special invitations to attend the ceremony will be issued accompanied by live broadcasts at the parks gateway communities.
Mountain Life Festival: Join park staff and volunteers on September 19 as we celebrate the fall harvest. The Mountain Farm Museum will be alive with history as demonstrators provide visitors with a glimpse into the past as they make soap, apple cider, sorghum molasses, hominy, music and more.
97th Cherokee Indian Fair: Scheduled for October 6-10, the fair offers an opening parade, midway, fireworks, traditional Cherokee food and competitions that bring out the best of the Eastern Bands basket makers, carvers, quilters, gardeners and more.
Sawin' in the Smokies: Scheduled for October 17 & 18, this event will be a fall festival centered around a 10 event lumberjack and Chainsaw carving competition with auction. The lumberjack event will also be this years US national "Single Buck"(Cross-Cut saw) Championships. In addition, there will be storytellers, bluegrass music, and arts and crafts vendors. There will be pig catching contests for the children, along with pony rides, a mini petting zoo, and hayrides all weekend. Ample parking, restrooms, and concessions will be available. the event is being held in Wears Valley Tn,in a very nice old field, with the mountains, Cove Mountain in particular, towering above and all around.The chainsaw carvers will carve a "masterpiece" and have 2 seperate hour long "quick carves" with all work to be auctioned for charity.
Thanksgiving in the Mountains: Scheduled for November 23 - 29, Fontana Village will bring together all the food and activities that make Thanksgiving in the mountains what it is with cooking seminars by local chefs using locally grown and indigenous plants and meats, family fun and activities, arts & crafts, music and entertainment throughout the Village.
Festival of Christmas Past: 2009 will mark the 34th annual Festival of Christmas Past celebration, to be held Saturday, December 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Sugarlands Visitor Center. The event, sponsored in cooperation with Great Smoky Mountains Association, is free to the public. The popular event is a celebration of Christmas and winter in the Smokies. Around Christmas time, people gathered in churches, homes, and schools, and many of them celebrated the holiday through music, storytelling, and crafts. The Festival of Christmas Past lets us pause and remember some of these traditions. The festival will include old-time mountain music and Old Harp singing, as well as demonstrations of traditional domestic skills such as the basketmaking, quilting, spinning, and apple butter making.
Holiday Homecoming: On Saturday, December 19, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will host a holiday homecoming at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center and the Mountain Farm Museum from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The visitor center will be decorated for the holiday season and will include an exhibit on Christmas in the mountains in the past. Hot cider and cookies will also be served. The Davis/Queen farmhouse at the Mountain Farm Museum will be open for visitors to walk through and park staff and volunteers will provide demonstrations and music.
For a complete schedule of 75th Anniversary Events, click here.
Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival - Pigeon Forge 6/4 - 6/6: Activities from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily Nominal admission charge for adults, children free. Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival will feature traditional mountain stories, Jack tales, and other mountain heritage/history stories with an emphasis on youth storytelling, along with nationally known storytellers. The event will again be the leading event in the U.S. for youth storytellers as National Youth Storytelling Showcase is permanently headquartered in Pigeon Forge, bringing young storytellers from across the nation.
Smoky Mountain Pottery Festival - Townsend 06/05 - 06/06; 9:00am--5:00pm; Admission is Free The Smoky Mountain Pottery Festival, June 5 & 6 2009, brings together over 30 talented potters from the Smokies and beyond. This is a juried show that highlights fine pottery in many styles. Visitors have the opportunity to meet the artisans, see them work, and purchase unique wares--from functional bowls, place settings, mugs, and vases to distinctive sculptures. Special activities include demonstrations of wheel-throwing, hand-building, and Raku firing. In the Children's Tent, families can try to make a pot or create a clay animal. Guest potters will be on hand to show their techniques, and the heritage of pottery from Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be illustrated. Music and good food are also part of the event.
National Trails Day 2009 - Great Smoky Mountains National Park 6/6/2009 Staging @ 7:30 AM; Work period = 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM; Picnic @ 5:30 PM Registration= $15.00 per person National Trails Day is observed in the Smokies every year with a day of planned work projects that are performed by volunteers who pay a registration fee to participate. Participants receive coffee, juice & donuts in the morning, then a picnic at the end of the day, as well as a commemorative t-shirt, and a chance to win great door prizes. This annual event brings together folks who love the Smokies, and who want to do help take care of it by performing important trail maintenance work on the Appalachian Trail. This event is jointly coordinated by Friends of the Smokies and the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club.
"Dinner on the Grounds"- Gatlinburg 6/7/09 11am - 3pm; Admission is 35 cents PLUS a donation to the Park (minimum $5.00) Cliff Dwellers Gallery will host "Dinner on the Grounds" as a fundraiser with all proceeds going to the Park. Dinners will be based on a typical 1930's Sunday noon meal similar to one served at the Wonderland Hotel at that time. Dinner will be served on Sunday, June 7, 2009 from 11 am to 3 pm. The charge will be the 1930's price of 35 cents plus a donation to the Park ($5.00 suggested minimum). This is the second of three "Dinner on the Grounds."
Firefly Festival - GSMNP 6/12/2009 10:00 am -- 6:00 pm; Admission is free Come and enjoy music, food and drink, an insect zoo, meet a firefly expert, enjoy meeting a local nature author and more! All while learning about and celebrating the wondrous diviersity of the synchronous fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th Anniversary: Cades Cove 6/13/2009; Special exhibits and programs will highlight the cultural history of Cades Cove. The finale will be an outdoor performance by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. In order to manage traffic flow and seating, visitors must have a vehicle pass to attend. Passes can be purchased by calling the KSO box office at 865/291-3310. Only two passes will be issued per person.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th Anniversary: Park Headquarters 6/14/2009; All day free An open house at Park Headquarters near Gatlinburg, TN will highlight park development, park management activities, park architecture, and the role of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). An exhibit, "Snapshots of 1934, the Establishment Year of GSMNP." featuring some authentic and some reproduction archival materials including photos, maps, drawings, data sheets, journals entries, and a few small artifacts will be on display in the Sugarlands Training Room.
Battle of Burg Hill - Civil War Re-enactment: Gatlinburg 6/19/2009, 6/20/2009, 6/21/2009; Daytime free Civil War Re-enactment and Living History Days of the historic Battle of Burg Hill, the only Civil War skirmish in Gatlinburg. Join hundreds of Civil War historian re-enactors camping and living as was done in 1865. Witness a battle between the Blue and Gray with infantry and canons. Learn the history and experience Civil War living first hand. Educational and entertaining for the entire family.
Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival Starts Spinning Yarns June 4
The Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival promises three days of tall tales, scheduled for June 4-6 in Pigeon Forge. This event is in its 18th year and is promising some of the best storytelling yet. Some of the speakers include a genuine possumologist, a keeper of Cherokee creation stories, a storytelling school principal and an Oklahoman poet who does a unique retelling of “Ben Hur.”
In addition to the festival's professional storytellers will be the tale-telling talent of the National Youth Storytelling Showcase. None of the youths are more than 17 years of age, and are from all over the country.
Many of the stories told during this year’s festival will honor Appalachia and the Great Smoky Mountains. Accordingly, this year’s event is on the official event list of the 75th Anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains. The festival is also on the Southeast Tourism Society’s “Top 20 Events in the Southeast.”
Featured storytellers:
+ Lloyd Arneach—A Cherokee storyteller who learned his first legends from two storytelling uncles on the Cherokee Reservation in North Carolina.
+ Donald Davis—A native Appalachian storyteller who performs nationally and teaches workshop that focus on family-based storytelling.
+ Doug Elliott—A storyteller, herbalist and naturalist who sings about catfish, pontificates about possums and plays a mean harmonica.
+ Todd Elliott—Doug’s son and a two-time participant in the National Youth Storytelling Showcase who now is following in his father’s footsteps.
+ Andy Offutt Irwin—A Georgia public radio show host who says he used to have real jobs before becoming a professional storyteller.
+ Kent Rollins—A genuine cowboy from Oklahoma, who also is a poet, chuckwagon cook and humorist (he’s the one with the watermelon and bra).
+ Elizabeth Rose—Principal of Cherokee Middle School in Roane County, Tenn., who blends southern folklore with fairy tales, ghost stories and international legends.
Three late-night programs (9:30-11 p.m.) augment the regular sessions. A Haunts and Haints ghost story session is Thursday, a tribute to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is Friday and a memorial to legendary mountain storyteller Ray Hicks is Saturday.
All Smoky Mountain Storytelling Festival events are held at the Belz Outlet Mall in Pigeon Forge. Three Day admission is $25, while one day admission is $10. The event is FREE for youths 17 years and younger. The late-night sessions are $5.
Dolly Parton Parade Gets Bigger with Addition of Duggar Family
The Annual Dolly Parton Parade, scheduled for May 8 2009, just got a bit bigger. The Duggar Family, stars of TLC’s “18 Kids & Counting,” has been invited to Pigeon Forge for a week of family fun and participate in the Dolly Parton Homecoming Parade.
The Dolly Parton Parade, which has been going strong for the past 24 years, will be held on a 2-mile stretch of the Pigeon Forge Parkway where fans can see the superstar in all her glory as the Grand Marshal of the parade. This year’s parade has special meaning, as Parton is the official ambassador of the 75th Anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains Park, and the parade is supposed to reflect that theme. The float Dolly Parton will parade on is always a tightly kept secret, but it never disappoints!
The Dolly Parton Homecoming Parade starts at 6 p.m. on May 8 near Traffic Light #6 and travels north nearly two miles to Traffic Light #3 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Organizers encourage visitors to arrive in Pigeon Forge early in order to acclimate to the city and find Parkway space from which to view the parade.
For Pigeon Forge lodging during the Parade weekend, view our selection of guaranteed lowest rate lodging options.
Bloomin' Barbeque & Bluegrass Event Scheduled for May 15-16
The 5th Annual Bloomin’ Barbeque & Bluegrass Festival in Sevierville is scheduled for May 15-16, 2009. This event features delicious southern barbeque, family-friendly activities and free bluegrass concerts. Barbeque cook teams from all over the nation gather in Sevierville, Tennessee to compete for $15,000 in cash & prizes and the title of Tennessee State Champion.
On Friday, May 15, guests will want to take time to stroll through the “Que Zone,” where cooks will be preparing their barbeque specialties. The Eating Tent is the place to gather after you pile your plate high, as a variety of entertainment will be available throughout the event. Plus, Summertown Road, Cherryholmes and Marty Raybon will be performing Friday night, at 5pm, 6:30pm, & 8pm respectively.
On Saturday, May 16, a Kids’ Que event takes place for children 6 -16, sponsored by the Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union. The championship cook teams will be mastering their BBQ recipes throughout the day, and at 4pm, the winners are scheduled to be announced. Categories include Chicken, Ribs, Pork, Brisket, and specialty categories like “Anything Bush Beans” and Dessert. Performers on Saturday include Mountain Ruckus at 1pm, Barry Scott at 1:50pm & 3:30pm, Charlie Sizemore Band at 2:40pm & 4:15pm, Daily & Vincent at 5pm, Jimbo Whaley & Greenbrier at 6:30pm and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver at 8pm.
Along with Championship Barbeque, the Bloomin’ Barbeque & Bluegrass event is presenting their 5th Annual Mountain Soul Vocal Competition Finals on May 16. The competition honors Dolly Parton, and participants must sing a song written by Dolly Parton, of which there are more than 3,000, in any style of their choice. The Kids’ Zone also returns this year, and is bigger and better than ever. It will provide climbing walls, bounce houses, and old time toys to play with so fun can be had by those of all ages. The Bluegrass Music Tent will also give kids and adults who are still kids at heart the opportunity to play instruments like banjos & fiddles, all with an instructor on site. Both the Kids’ Zone & the Music Tent will be open until 9pm both Friday and Saturday.
The Dolly Parton Homecoming Parade is set for May 8 2009. This is the events 24th year. The parade honors Pigeon Forge native Dolly Parton, and is especially poignant this year because she is also serving as the official ambassador of the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The parade is usually held in March, but has been moved to May to take advantage of the warmer weather and longer days.
The parade will start at 6pm of Friday, May 8. The parade route stretches along the parkway, from Traffic lights 3 through 6. The parade will feature a variety of floats representing high school marching bands, Pigeon Forge theaters, car clubs, cheerleading teams, equestrian clubs and twirlers. The Sevier County High School Band will also perform.
4/2/2009-4/4/2009: Legacy Network – Men’s Conference GRHCC; For more information call 1-800-251-4444
4/4/2009:Belz Outlets Annual Easter Egg Hunt Belz Outlets; For More information call (865) 453-7316
4/4/2009: Chuckwagon Gang & Friends Smoky Mountain Convention Center; For more information call 1-888-319-1021
4/11/2009: Easter Egg Hunt & Breakfast with the Easter Bunny Pigeon Forge Community Center; breakfast at 8:00 A.M. Egg Hunt at 10:00 A.M. 865-429-7373
4/16/2009-4/19/2009: Belz Outlets Truckload Sale Belz Outlets; For more information call (865) 453-7316
4/16/2009-4/19/2009: Grand Spring Rod Run Grand Resort Hotel & Convention Center; For more information call 1-800-251-4444
4/17/2009: Fiesta-Val Band and Chorus Competition Music Road Hotel & Convention Center; Spectators Welcome; Free; For more information call (804) 264-8663
4/23/2009-4/24/2009: Conservative Christian Ministries 4th Annual Ladies Retreat in the Smokies Holiday Inn Resort Hotel; For more information contact Connie Harman (276) 964-5663 or visit www.conservativechristianministries.com
4/24/2009-4/26/2009: Gold Wings GRHCC; For more information call 1-800-251-4444
4/24/2009: Fiesta-Val Band and Chorus Competition Music Road Hotel & Convention Center; Spectators Welcome; Free; For more information call (804) 264-8663
4/30/2009-5/3/2009: Shrine FunFest Music Road Hotel & Convention Center; 1-800-429-7700; For more information call (865) 573-1901
A Mountain Quiltfest Event Underway in Pigeon Forge
A Mountain Quiltfest, with annual attendance of more than 20,000 visitors, celebrates its 15th year, March 11-15. Quilters and crafters from across the U.S. gather for a quilt show and more than 65 classes and seminars. An expanded vendor mall and a quilt show featuring more than 300 quilted items will be located at The Music Road Convention Center and The Smoky Mountain Convention Center. An impressive list of quilting experts will instruct organized classes at Music Road Convention Center in Pigeon Forge.
Instructors for the 2009 event include Becky Goldsmith, Klaudeen Hansen, Lynda Milligan, Sally Schneider, Pat Sloan, Nancy Smith, Betty Suiter and Terry White.The newly expanded vendor area will offer a variety of quilt- and craft-related items. Other Quiltfest activities include brunch and dinner lectures, show and tell opportunities, a Great Smoky Mountains National Park Sampler Contest, and a special exhibit entitled “Sacred Threads.”
Detailed information regarding classes and seminars is available at mountainquiltfest.com. A Mountain Quiltfest is produced by the city of Pigeon Forge and co-hosted by the Piecemakers and Sevier Valley Quilters Guilds. It is a Great Smoky Mountains National Park 75th Anniversary sanctioned event.
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
The Spring Grand Rod Run is the kick-off event to a new season of car shows. Thousands of classic car, truck and motorcycle enthusiasts make the pilgrimage to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains each year.
Pigeon Forge is a popular host to rod runs and car shows. The participants in these car shows are so eager to get the weekend started that the Parkway and hotel parking lots begin to fill with classic cars on Tuesday of that week. The events feature more than just rare and unique autos, though. Throughout the event weekend, visitors can enjoy interactive displays presented by vendors from all over the country. Those who enjoy the mechanical aspects of the auto world will savor the opportunity to participate in workshops and get answers to technical questions. Are you traveling a long way from home for the car shows? A variety of welcoming lodging options are available to delight any visitor, including cabins, hotels, motels and condominiums.
Visitors can spend the day looking over the amazing amounts of cars, trucks, new products and swap meet items. However, at night there are great restaurants, theaters, and attractions like go-cart tracks, putt-putt courses and exhibits to enjoy. Every rod run and car show that Pigeon Forge hosts is an overwhelming success and a great experience for all who attend.
When: April 16-19, 2009
Where: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee Participants:30 Days Before Event = $30
Within 30 Days of Event = $40 Vendors: Outside Space (9×16) = $135
Inside Space (10×10) = $155
Sales Corral = $75
For more information about any of the Grand Rod Runs, contact: MCS Promotions at 865-687-3976
2009 North American Country Music Awards in Pigeon Forge
The 2009 North American Country Music Awards in Pigeon Forge is the best place to be for country music lovers. Beginning March 9, NACMA will be featured at the Country Tonite Theater, and will offer a variety of activities geared towards country music lovers. The event runs through March 15.
The reason why the North American Country Music Awards is a weeklong event is because it’s much more than just an awards show. There are all sorts of activities for the family to enjoy, including ones where you can learn the various aspects of country music such as instrument playing, recording a record and television performances. For any country music fan who is interested in the “behind the scenes” elements of country music or for any one hoping to make it big one day, this event is for you!
Formed by Peggy Franck in 1997, NACMA aims to “promote the development of the Country/Gospel Music Industry in each state and country through an International Association to promote and inform members of the industry and the public about resources available in the various states and countries for Country/Gospel Music production.”
The Great Smoky Mountains might seem an odd place for a festival devoted to cowboy poetry, western music and chuckwagon cooking, but Saddle Up! in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is a certified hit.
The ninth annual Saddle Up!, Feb. 19-22, is on American Cowboy Magazine’s list of the “Top 101 Western Events.”
This celebration of the American West is one of the featured events during Pigeon Forge Winterfest, which enlivens this gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park from November through February.
Saddle Up! entertainers include musicians Wylie & the Wild West (the 2008 Cowboy/Western Swing Group of the Year), The Quebe Sisters Band, Juni Fisher, Andy Wilkinson and Andy Hedges, along with cowboy poets Paul Zarzyski, Kent Rollins and Jim Hawkins.
A highlight of the four-day weekend is the Cowboy Symphony featuring Wylie & the Wild West and the Smoky Mountain Symphonic Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Russell Ramsay. The Cowboy Symphony is Feb. 19 at the Country Tonite Theatre.
Other activities include concerts (both free and ticketed), the Pigeon Forge Chuckwagon Cookoff with more than a half-dozen authentic chuckwagons and competitive cooks, the non-denominational Cowboy Church and a western swing dance .
Concert venues are the Country Tonite Theatre (1,500 seats), the Grand Majestic Theater (1,000 seats) and the Tennessee Shindig Theater (1,150 seats). The dance will be at Music Road Convention Center, the Chuckwagon Cook-off will be at Clabough’s Campground and Cowboy Church will be at Stages West.
Feb. 19 (Thursday):
- Slice of Pure Country Celebrity Breakfast (free chuckwagon sausage, biscuits and gravy and a chance to meet Saddle Up! artists from 8-11 a.m. and a free Cowboy Caffeine Concert from 10 a.m.-noon). Location: Tennessee Shindig Theater.
- Afternoon concert from 1-5 p.m. Location: Grand Majestic Theater.
- Cowboy Symphony from 7-9:30 p.m. Location: Country Tonite Theatre.
Feb. 20. (Friday):
- Dutch oven cooking demonstration from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. A chuckwagon lunch will be available for $5. Location: Tennessee Shindig Theater.
- Afternoon concert from 1-5 p.m. Location: Grand Majestic Theater.
- Evening concert from 7-9 p.m. Location: Grand Majestic Theater.
Feb. 21 (Saturday):
- Pigeon Forge Chuckwagon Cookoff from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. No fee to observe. Ticket sales for a $5 lunch start at 11 a.m. Location: Clabough’s Campground on Wears Valley Road.
- Afternoon concert from 1-5 p.m. Location: Grand Majestic Theater.
- Evening concert from 7-9 p.m. Location: Grand Majestic Theater.
- Western swing dance starting at 9:30 p.m. and featuring Wylie & the Wild West. Location: Music Road Convention Center.
Feb. 22 (Sunday):
- Cowboy Church, a non-denominational service featuring many of the SaddleUp! entertainers. Location: Stages West.
- Chuckwagon lunch ($5). Location: Stages West.
Admission information: The Thursday afternoon concert is $15. A Friday/Saturday pass, excluding the Cowboy Symphony, is $50. Day passes for either Friday or Saturday are $30.Tickets for Cowboy Symphony are $20. All prices are plus tax. Ages 17 and younger are admitted free.
Advance ticket sales are through the Country Tonite Theater at 1-800-792-4308; in-person purchases begin Feb. 19 at the Grand Majestic Theater. Admission to the dance is $5 per person; ages 17 and younger are admitted free. Cowboy Church is free. Proceeds from the various chuckwagon lunches and the dance benefit Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
On Feb. 19-21, Tennessee Shindig Theater will host a Chuckwagon Jamboree. Information and tickets are available at 888-908-3327.
Southern Gospel Music Fan Fair Scheduled in Pigeon Forge, TN
Southern Gospel fans, mark your calendars for March 16-21. That's when the 5th Annual Southern Gospel Music Fan Fair takes place at the Smoky Mountain Convention Center in Pigeon Forge, TN.
The event brings together more than 100 artists for a six-day event that includes worship services, performances, artist meet-and-greet time with fans, and the SGM Fan Awards and Talent Search.
Artists scheduled to appear include Karen Peck & New River, Aaron & Amanda Crabb, Dixie Melody Boys, Jeff & Sheri Easter, among many others.
The SGM Fan Awards honor Southern Gospel legends, acknowledge accomplishments, and recognize fan favorites. Fans are encouraged to cast their votes on the SGM website. Deadline to cast your vote is February 28.
Independent southern gospel music soloists, duets, trios, quartets and ensembles are eligible to enter the Talent Search There is an entry fee of $100.00. First prize includes a recording package from Millennium Music Group, a professional photo shoot courtesy of Agape Creations Photography, a spot on the Saturday evening concert line up, and more. Deadline to enter is March 1, 2009.
Artists scheduled to appear at the 5th Annual Southern Gospel Fan Fair: (Subject to change without notice)
Monday Darlene Chapman, Gold City, Jeff Treece Band, Kingsmen, Lauren King, Mattingly Family, Michael & Dehlila Kidds, Mike Southerland, Rod Burton, Samaritans, Tim Parton, Triumphant Quartet, Yielded Ministries
Tuesday 3 4 Thee, Dennis Benton, Driven, Glorymen, Homelighters Quartet, Jamie Coulter, Karen Peck & New River, Margaret Ann Smith, Marla Conrad, Nelons, New Direction, Richard Madison, Rick Strickland, Sheila Reed, Steve Roberson, Terry Morgan, Violet Maynard, Watts Family
Wednesday Allegiance, Anchormen, Bev McCann, Bumbaugh Family, Cerces,Destiny's Call, Down East Boys, Gospelaires, Joe & Gina Ables, Keith Caldwell, Kevin Spencer & Friends, Lindsey Reed, Ron Brewer, Shane Tecza, Southern Harmony, Still Water, Tim Lovell, Truly Blessed
Thursday Aaron & Amanda Crabb, Cookes, David Livingston, Expectation, Jamie Coulter, Kirk Talley, Latter Glory, Libby Golden, Luke & Olivia White, Lynn McCarn, Marty Raybon, Nale Family, Naomi & the Segos, Out Of Ashes, Peggy Inks, Shephards, Singing Echoes, Sunday Drive
Friday 2 R More, Baker Family, Barkley Family, Dean Browder, Debbie Bennett, Dixie Echoes, Dixie Melody Boys, English Family Quartet, Eternal Vision, Four Fold, Freemans, Gary Winningham, Hearts Of Faith, Heather Chapple, Hendersons, HisSong, Jeff & Sheri Easter, Kenny & Donna Morss, Naomi & the Segos, Pathfinders, Premier Quartet, Rick Alan King, Steve Wilson, Suwanee River Boys, Tammy Norris, Tony Gore & Majesty
Saturday 4 The Lord, Back Home, Bethels, Brothers Redeemed, Calvary's Hill Quartet, Cavaliers Quartet, Crystal River, Dan Knoch, Eternity's Crossing, Gann Family, Gardners, Graceway, Heartmen Quartet, Heirline, Journey & Faith, Keith Barkley, Paul Family, Roarks, Roy Edwards, Shireys, Silver City, Singing Weavers, Sunday Drive
For a complete schedule of events as well as information about the Fan Awards and Talent Search, visit the Southern Gospel Music Fan Fair website.
The chuckwagon cookoff competitors are serious about their hobby. A fully equipped and authentic chuckwagon can cost in excess of $15,000, so the cooking teams are devoted to preparing top-notch chicken-fried steak, cornbread, biscuits, fruit cobblers and other dishes. They are judged on food, the wagons and the camp set-ups.
The teams are members of the American Chuck Wagon Associations Southeast Chapter, and they'll mosey into Pigeon Forge from Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and Florida. Their wagons carry names such as Broken Spoke, Grumpy's Grub, Cow Camp, Ramblin Rose, Fairplay Cattle Co., Yellow Rose and Little Hard Labored Creek.
The chuckwagon cookoff is Feb. 21 (Saturday) 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Clabough's Campground on Wears Valley Road. There's no fee to inspect the chuckwagon camps and to observe the cooking. After the judges get their tastings, lunch will be available for $5; ticket sales begin at 11 a.m., and proceeds benefit Cal Farley's Boys Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
Saddle Up! begins Feb. 19 (Thursday). Entertainers include musicians Wylie & the Wild West (the 2008 Cowboy/Western Swing Group of the Year), The Quebe Sisters Band, Juni Fisher, Andy Wilkinson and Andy Hedges, along with cowboy poets Paul Zarzyski, Kent Rollins and Jim Hawkins.
A highlight of the four-day weekend is the Cowboy Symphony, featuring Wylie & the Wild West and the Smoky Mountain Symphonic Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Russell Ramsay. The Cowboy Symphony is Feb. 19 at the Country Tonite Theatre.
Other activities include concerts (both free and ticketed), a non-denominational Cowboy Church service and a western swing dance.
Concert venues are the Country Tonite Theatre (1,500 seats), the Grand Majestic Theater (1,000 seats) and the Tennessee Shindig Theater (1,150 seats). The dance will be at Music Road Convention Center, and Cowboy Church will be at Stages West.
Other chuckwagon demonstrations and lunches are offered Feb. 19 (Thursday) and Feb. 20 (Friday) at the Tennessee Shindig Theater and Feb. 22 (Sunday) at Stages West.
Admission information: The Thursday afternoon concert is $15. A Friday/Saturday pass, excluding the Cowboy Symphony, is $50. Day passes for either Friday or Saturday are $30. Tickets for Cowboy Symphony are $20. All prices are plus tax. Ages 17 and younger are admitted free.
Advance ticket sales are through the Country Tonite Theater at 1-800-792-4308; in-person purchases begin Feb. 19 at the Grand Majestic Theater. Admission to the dance is $5 per person; ages 17 and younger are admitted free. Cowboy Church is free. Proceeds from the various chuckwagon lunches and the dance benefit Cal Farleys Boys Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
Free Songwriting Seminar Brings Hit Songwriters to Pigeon Forge
Composers of songs for Kenny Rogers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Jimmy Wayne and George Strait are among the panelists who will participate in the free Songwriting Seminar@Winterfest in Pigeon Forge.
Tim Johnson, Joe West and Dave Pahanish, the trio responsible for Jimmy Wayne’s number one hit “Do You Believe Me Now,” are panelists.
Johnson has had cuts by Kellie Pickler, Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Byrd, Chris LeDoux and Darryl Singletary. West and Pahanish also co-produced nine of the tunes on Wayne’s album “Do You Believe Me Now.”
Pam Belford, who co-wrote George Strait’s “If I Know Me” and “Holding My Own,” will join the roster of panelists, along with Wood Newton, who has had hits with a Kenny Rogers recording of “20 Years Ago” and the Oak Ridge Boys “Bobbie Sue.”
Newcomers Meg Allison and Joshua Stevens will round out the singer/songwriters on the panel. Allison was in the top 10 of season five of “Nashville Star” and was named the Newest Rising Star of 2008 in Campus Activities magazine’s Reader's Choice Awards.
Stevens is also an alumni of “Nashville Star,” landing in fourth place on the 2007 season. He is newly signed to Robbins Nashville, with his debut single “Rock ‘N’ Roll and Pensacola” released last year.
He has had songs cut by Danielle Peck and Canadian artist Michael Carey. Another of his tunes, “That Could Happen To Us,” was in the Fox movie “Kissing Jessica Stein” and on the soundtrack album for the film.
Industry VIPs on the panels this year include Robbins Nashville label head Phyllis Stark, Warner Brothers Records vice-president of A&R Carole Ann Mobley; and independent songplugger Gayle Richardson who is the owner of OnTrack Entertainment.
Moderators for the panels will be Deborah Evans Price, a freelance journalist based in Nashville who writes for “Billboard” magazine and the Gospel Music Channel, among other outlets; and Hunter Kelly, the Nashville correspondent for ABC New Radio and ABCNews.com.
The seminar is coordinated by Vernell Hackett, a Nashville-based journalist who has interviewed many songwriters and publishers. She had a short story included in the book “Literary Cash” which is loosely based on Cash’s song “Tennessee Flat Top Box.” Hackett also co-wrote a book on Las Vegas ghosts, gamblers and gangsters with Michelle Honick and Liz Cavanaugh, which should be out in 2010.
The seminar, held in conjunction with the City of Pigeon Forge’s Saddle Up! Celebration, will take place at Music Road Hotel & Convention Center. It begins at 9 a.m. on February 21.
Panelists will discuss various aspects of songwriting and publishing and will take questions from attendees in the morning during three different panels. There will be two Song Critique Sessions in the afternoon, as industry professionals listen to songs written by those people attending the seminar.
Attendees should bring a CD with no more than three songs on it, along with the lyric sheets to the songs, and be prepared to play at least one of the songs for the folks who will do the critique sessions. The CDs and lyric sheets will be returned at the end of the sessions.
This is a free seminar sponsored by the City of Pigeon Forge. Those who wish to pre-register may do so by emailing songseminaratpf@bellsouth.net and putting Pigeon Forge Seminar in the subject line. Please include name, city and state, and e-mail address in the body of the email.
Lunch will be available for a nominal cost at the seminar site.
Loretta Lynn is one of the few female veteran artists still performing on the circuit. She has announced dates for her shows almost throughout the entire year. The tour gets on the road with a performance in Hilton Head Island, SC on the 16th of January. After that she is going to visit a couple of cities for concerts nearly every month up to November.
Loretta is quite the country icon, and was top of the charts in the ‘60s and ‘70s, before she took a hiatus to take care of her ailing husband. She has had a second coming of sorts since her return in 2000.
Loretta Lynn Tickets
Loretta Lynn Tour Dates 2009 01/16/09 - Hilton Head Island, SC - Shoreline Ballroom 01/17/09 - Silver Springs, FL - Silver Springs Amphitheatre 02/06/09 - Marksville, LA - Mari Center 02/07/09 - Robinsonville, MS - Gold Strike Casino Resort 03/06/09 - Biloxi, MS - IP Casino, Resort & Spa 03/07/09 - Bossier City, LA - Horseshoe Casino & Hotel / Riverdome 03/08/09 - Tulsa, OK - Johnston Theatre 03/20/09 - Jim Thorpe, PA - Penn’s Peak 03/21/09 - Atlantic City, NJ - Harrah’s Casino Hotel 04/18/09 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School Of Folk Music 05/29/09 - Pigeon Forge, TN - Country Tonite Theatre 05/30/09 - Hurricane Mills, TN - Loretta Lynn Ranch 09/26/09 - Hurricane Mills, TN - Loretta Lynn Ranch 10/09/09 - Renfro Valley, KY - Renfro Valley Entertainment Center 10/10/09 - Renfro Valley, KY - Renfro Valley Entertainment Center 10/16/09 - Birmingham, AL - Alys Stephens Centre For Perf. Arts 11/07/09 - Nashville, IN - Little Nashville Opry
Smoky Mountain Winterfest Honored as Top Holiday Light Show
Smoky Mountains Winterfest—a winter tourism event with activities in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville, Tenn.—is fourth on a list of the nation´s top 10 holiday light shows.
The list appears on the America's Best & Top 10 Web site. The Web site features more than 50 "Top 10" lists that are based on travel and industry publications' "best of" lists and the input of a panel of experts. Dow Scoggins, author of "America's Best National Parks" and "America's Best Lighthouses," oversees the project. He started posting lists in 1996.
"This is a great endorsement of the significant work our area has done to make winter a popular tourism season. Our communities´ lights are one reason winter has gone from the slowest time of year to a very busy time," said Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. "The list has some very impressive light displays, so we´re in some great company."
Ahead of Smoky Mountains Winterfest on the Top 10 list are Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., the Oglebay Festival of Lights in Wheeling, W.Va., and Fantasy of Lights in Pine Mountain, Ga.
"The Oglebay Festival of Lights was one of our inspirations. We're in our 19th season for Winterfest, and it's exciting to be on a list that includes the place that helped us get started," Downey said.
Looking ahead to the winter of 2009-2010, the Pigeon Forge portion of Smoky Mountains Winterfest has been named one of Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association.
List-maker Scoggins said a lifelong "desire to know what's local, what's best and what's worth seeing" motivates his list-making work.
The rest of the holiday lights list is the Trail of Lights in Austin, Texas; Magic Lights of Night in Lake Lanier, Ga.; Holiday Festival of Lights in Charleston, S.C.; Enchanted Garden of Lights at Rock City Gardens near Chattanooga, Tenn.; Southern Lights in Lexington, Ky.; and the light display at Mission Inn, an historic hotel in Riverside, Calif.
Other Tennessee citations at the America´s Top 10 Web site include Fall Creek Falls Resort State Park on the state parks list, Bonnaroo on the music festivals list and Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the fall foliage list.
Pigeon Forge Winterfest continues through February with a variety of special events and displays showcasing five million lights.
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
Wilderness Wildlife Week (Jan. 10-17) and A Mountain Quiltfest (March 11-15) draw thousands of visitors to this gateway city to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Both are on the official calendar of the national park’s 75th anniversary, which will be celebrated throughout 2009.
The “Top 20 Events in the Southeast” program is a long-running project of the Southeast Tourism Society (STS), an association that promotes travel in a 12-state region stretching from West Virginia to Florida to Louisiana.
More than 150 experts volunteer their time to present lectures, teach classes and lead hikes for Wilderness Wildlife Week, which is in its 19th year, and some of the nation’s most respected quilting designers, artists and instructors lead sessions for A Mountain Quiltfest. This is the 15th year of the quilting event.
The City of Pigeon Forge organizes both festivals. The Piecemakers and Sevier Valley Quilters Guilds co-host A Mountain Quiltfest with the city.
“Wilderness Wildlife Week and A Mountain Quiltfest are tremendous projects that involve many people in the community and benefit the entire area because of the visitors they attract. It’s great to have outside evaluators acknowledge their quality,” said Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism.
Both festivals have been on the STS Top 20 Events list previously and have received numerous other awards. A Mountain Quiltfest received an STS Shining Example Awards as “Festival of the Year” in 2004, and Wilderness Wildlife Week has won three Pinnacle Awards from the International Festivals and Events Association for “Best Environmental Program” and “Best Educational Program.”
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
Wilderness Wildlife Week is Pigeon Forge's annual tribute to its neighbor, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the 2009 event has special meaning because it is the first major program marking the park´s 75th anniversary.
Wilderness Wildlife Week, Jan. 10-17, 2009, is among the first of many special events in and around the national park that are part of the 75th anniversary celebration. More than nine million people a year visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park, more than any other national park.
The Pigeon Forge event is eight days of seminars, workshops, photography classes, hikes and excursions that relate to the park and other outdoor topics.
Historic re-enactors portraying President Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir and others important to the creation of America´s national parks will be a special part of Wilderness Wildlife Week 2009. This is the 19th year for the event, and it has been named a January Top 20 Event in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society.
More than 150 experts—nature photographers, biologists, raptor rehabilitators, social historians and just plain folks who grew up in the Smokies—donate their time to present daily programs and a range of outdoor activities. There are more than 200 programs and activities on the agenda.
Program topics vary throughout the week, and admission is free to all activities. Topics include bears in the Smokies, the elk reintroduction project, the Smokies' logging history, fire towers in the Smokies, close-up photography, trout fishing and birding by ear. Several programs are designed especially for children.
Daily hikes and excursions into the national park complement the indoor seminars, lectures and photography shows. In 2008, almost 1,000 hikers from 19 states and four foreign countries logged a cumulative 3,920 miles on 49 hikes.
"The week is extremely flexible. You can attend one lecture or take one hike, or you can participate day after day," said organizer Deanna Sorge of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. "It's a great way to introduce people to the outdoors."
Wilderness Wildlife Week began 19 years ago as a half-day program on a January Saturday. January hasn't been the same since then in Pigeon Forge.
Wilderness Wildlife Week won the Pinnacle Award for "Best Environmental Program" or "Best Educational Program" in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005 from the International Festivals & Events Association and has been acknowledged 10 times, including 2009, by the Southeast Tourism Society as a Top 20 Event in the Southeast.
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
The four-month-long event began Nov. 6 and continues through Feb. 28, 2009.
When Pigeon Forge says the lights are on, it really means it, because more than five million lights brighten scores of elaborate displays throughout the mountain resort community. Several displays—including the celebration´s signature snowflakes along the Parkway—have been fitted with energy-saving LED bulbs.
Dollywood enhances the first two months of Pigeon Forge Winterfest with Dollywood´s Smoky Mountain Christmas. New this year is the Polar Express 4-D Experience, described as "a magical cinematic experience" full of multi-sensory thrills and surprises. It is based on the beloved Caldecott Medal-winning children´s book by Chris Van Allsburg.
Dollywood adds to Winterfest´s light displays with more than four millions lights of its own and the nightly Lighted Christmas Parade. Its musical entertainment lineup includes "Dollywood´s Babes in Toyland," "Christmas in the Smokies" and "´Twas the Night Before Christmas."
Pigeon Forge has more than a dozen theaters, and most of them offer special Christmas shows during November and December before resuming non-holiday shows after New Year´s Day.
After the excitement of Christmas and New Year´s, Pigeon Forge Winterfest continues with two festivals and a special night of mountain music in January and February:
Wilderness Wildlife Week, Jan. 10-17, is the first. It began the same year as Winterfest as a Saturday afternoon activity and now offers eight days of programs and activities to spotlight Great Smoky Mountains National Park. More than 100 experts on nature and outdoor life present programs on many topics, and there are daily hikes and excursions into the national park.
Wilderness Wildlife Week is the first major participatory event on the official calendar of the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
AppalachiaFest on Jan. 13, is a one-night heritage musical event that complements Wilderness Wildlife Week. The Country Tonite Theatre is the venue, and the lineup features Tim O´Brien, Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell and Boogertown Gap. It, too, is a sanctioned 75th anniversary event.
Saddle Up!, a celebration of the American West, returns for the ninth year, Feb. 19-22 It brings some of the best western musicians and cowboy poets to the Smokies for a rare visit east of the Mississippi River. The lineup includes Wylie & the Wild West, the Quebe Sisters Band, Juni Fisher, Kent Rollins and Andy Wilkinson. Events include the Cowboy Symphony, concerts, a chuckwagon cookoff and Cowboy Church.
Pigeon Forge´s popular Trolley Tour of Lights, offered throughout Winterfest, allows guests to get a narrated tour of this Smoky Mountains resort town and a chance to see the major displays. One of the more elaborate displays depicts the city´s most significant historic site, the Old Mill. The actual mill was built in 1830 and still is in operation. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The town of Pigeon Forge shines during its Winterfest season. Amidst millions of twinkling lights, the spirit of the season shines strong. Here a few ways to enjoy the beauty of the Christmas season:
Trolley Tour of Lights
Touring the light displays is a favorite activity for Winterfest visitors aboard the area's guided trolley holiday light tours. A trolley tour makes enjoying Winterfest displays easy, since trolley operators know where every last display can be found. Take your pick of a tour of Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, or enjoy both!
City of Pigeon Forge Trolley Tours
Enjoy the comfort of the temperature controlled trolley while your host points out the highlights of the city. The Funtime Trolley Tour of Lights will run Monday through Friday starting at 6:30 p.m. except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. The final trolley tour of lights will run on the last Friday in January.
Where: Pigeon Forge Funtime Trolley Station at Patriot Park.How much: The guided tour costs $5 per person.For more info: Call the Pigeon Forge Fun-Time Trolley at 865-453-6444 for more details. City of Gatlinburg Trolley Tours
To view light displays in Gatlinburg, hop on Gatlinburg's Winterfest Trolley Ride of Lights for a delightful 45-minute guided narrative tour of the city. Rides depart from the Gatlinburg Welcome Center at traffic light Number 5 (at the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies), beginning November 3rd. Rides are $4, scheduled to leave at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. nightly throughout November and December. The trolley is closed on Christmas day; rides resume in January on Saturday nights only. Look forward to seeing winking and dancing bears, toy soldiers, hot air balloons and much more... The rest you have to see for yourself!
Where: Gatlinburg Welcome Center at Ripley's Aquarium, stoplight # 5 on the Parkway.How much: The guided tour costs $4 per person.For more info: Call the Gatlinburg Welcome Center at 865-436-0535 for reservations and more details.
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is gearing up for the 19th annual celebration of Pigeon Forge Winterfest™, an event made special by the opening of new attractions and the start of the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The four-month-long event starts Nov. 6 and concludes Feb. 28, 2009. Expansive and elaborate Winterfest light displays are located throughout the city. More than five million lights are used, and several displays – including the celebration’s signature snowflakes along the Parkway – have been fitted with energy-saving LED bulbs.
Dollywood enhances the first two months of Pigeon Forge Winterfest with its celebration of Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas. New this year is the Polar Express 4-D Experience, described as “a magical cinematic experience” full of multi-sensory thrills and surprises. It is based on the beloved Caldecott Medal-winning children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg. Dollywood adds to Winterfest’s light displays with more than four millions lights of its own and the nightly Lighted Christmas Parade. Its musical entertainment lineup includes “Dollywood’s Babes in Toyland,” “Christmas in the Smokies” and “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Pigeon Forge has more than a dozen theaters, and most of them offer special Christmas shows during November and December before resuming non-holiday shows after New Year’s Day.
After the excitement of Christmas and New Year’s, the city continues Pigeon Forge Winterfest with two festivals and a special night of mountain music in January and February:
Wilderness Wildlife Week, Jan. 10-17, is the first. It began the same year as Winterfest as a Saturday afternoon activity and now offers eight days of programs and activities to spotlight Great Smoky Mountains National Park. More than 100 experts on nature and outdoor life present programs on many topics, and there are daily hikes and excursions into the national park. Wilderness Wildlife Week is the first major participatory event on the official calendar of the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
AppalachiaFest on Jan. 13, is a one-night heritage musical event that complements Wilderness Wildlife Week. The Country Tonite Theatre is the venue, and the lineup features Tim O’Brien, Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell and Boogertown Gap. It, too, is a sanctioned 75th anniversary event.
Saddle Up!, a celebration of the American West, returns for the ninth year, Feb. 19-22 It brings some of the best western musicians and cowboy poets to the Smokies for a rare visit east of the Mississippi River. The lineup includes Wylie & the Wild West, the Quebe Sisters Band, Juni Fisher, Kent Rollins and Andy Wilkinson. Events include the Cowboy Symphony, concerts, a chuckwagon cookoff and Cowboy Church.
Pigeon Forge’s popular Trolley Tour of Lights, offered throughout Winterfest, allows guests to get a narrated tour of this Smoky Mountains resort town and a chance to see the major displays. One of the more elaborate displays depicts the city’s most significant historic site, the Old Mill. The actual mill was built in 1830 and still is in operation. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
For the third time this decade, Pigeon Forge Winterfest is on a list of the top 100 travel events in North America. The 20th anniversary Pigeon Forge Winterfest for the winter of 2009-2010 is one of the American Bus Association’s Top 100 Events in North America. Dates are Nov. 5, 2009-Feb. 28, 2010. (This year’s event, the 19th one, begins Nov. 6.)
The ABA announces its list each fall for the upcoming year so tour operators and individual travelers can use it for travel planning.
Pigeon Forge Winterfest’s prior selections were in 2006 and in 2003, when it earned the special designation as that year’s Top Event in the U.S.
The Top 100 Events offer excellent entertainment value to tour groups and individual travelers, according to Peter Pantuso, ABA’s president and CEO. He called Pigeon Forge Winterfest a “don’t-miss entertainment value.”
Pigeon Forge Winterfest offers visitors an acclaimed array of decorative light displays throughout the city (more than five million lights), guided trolley tours, holiday festivities and a series of special activities that focus on Great Smoky Mountains National Park, outdoor activities, cowboy poetry and western music.
“Pigeon Forge Winterfest was created to generate business during our slowest season, and it has succeeded on a grand scale. The Winterfest months now are Pigeon Forge’s second-busiest time of the year,” said Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. The ABA’s Pantuso echoed that message, noting that a motorcoach group can leave from $6,000 to more than $13,000 in a destination’s economy with just one overnight stay. Lodging, meals, attractions, shopping, services and taxes account for those expenditures.
“Pigeon Forge Winterfest is a potential magnet for tourism dollars at a time when re-energizing domestic tourism is so important to our spirit and our economy. The honor gives Pigeon Forge Winterfest an important boost in visibility among professional tour planners,” Pantuso said. Hundreds of events across the U.S. and Canada are nominated by state and provincial tourism offices and by convention and visitors bureaus. Judges consider each event’s broad appeal, its accessibility to motorcoaches, its skill in handling large groups and other criteria.
Other Top 100 Events include the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho; the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nev.; the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Mich.; the Banff Summer Arts Festival in Banff, Alberta; the Taste of Charleston food festival in Charleston, S.C.; and Lobsterpaloosa in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
“There is a huge number of impressive, high-powered events every year in the U.S. and Canada for the judges to evaluate. When you read the Top 100 list, Pigeon Forge is in some great company. Our community has accomplished a lot by building Pigeon Forge Winterfest into what it is today,” Downey said.
The sanctioned events include a quilt festival, a storytelling festival and two events dedicated to traditional music. Each event puts a special focus on the national park that is Pigeon Forge’s next-door neighbor.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created in 1934 as the largest piece of wilderness in the eastern U.S. (800,000 acres after all land acquisitions). Today, it attracts more than nine million people a year and is the most visited of all of America’s national parks.
The 75th anniversary calendar includes festivals, events, programs and commemorations both inside the park and in gateway communities such as Pigeon Forge.
The first sanctioned Pigeon Forge event is the Jan. 10-17, 2009, Wilderness Wildlife, an annual salute to the national park that began in 1991. More than 100 volunteer experts offer nature photography shows and classes, lectures and demonstrations relating to the park’s flora, fauna and social history. Hikes in the national park are another major component, and participants in the last Wilderness Wildlife Week tallied almost 5,000 trail miles.
The other sanctioned Pigeon Forge events:
Jan. 13, 2009—3rd Annual AppalachiaFest, a tribute to traditional music featuring Riley Baugus, Tim O’Brien, Dirk Powell and Boogertown Gap.
March 11-15, 2009—15thA Mountain Quiltfest™, featuring quilt shows, quilting classes and related events. Pigeon Forge is sponsoring a $2,500 prize for best presentation of a special Great Smoky Mountains quilt pattern it commissioned. The winning quilt will be donated to the national park.
May 8, 2009—Dolly’s 2009 Homecoming Parade, featuring hometown favorite Dolly Parton as grand marshal along with marching bands, floats, twirlers and other parade units from several states. Dolly, born just outside the national park boundary, is a devoted promoter of the region’s mountain culture and history.
June 4-6, 2009—18th Annual Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival™, featuring performances by professional storytellers, seminars and the National Youth Storytelling Showcase. This year’s lineup will feature tellers of Appalachian tales.
August 14-15, 2009—5th Annual StringTime in the Smokies™, a celebration of bluegrass and traditional music featuring the SteelDrivers and Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper.
“Pigeon Forge’s special events provide great reasons to visit. Each of the six selected offers special connections to the national park we treasure so much,” said Leon Downey, the city’s executive director of tourism.
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
October 1-31: 12th Annual Pigeon Forge Harvest Festival During our 12th Annual Pigeon Forge Harvest Festival, you will find delightful displays constructed from pumpkins, cornstalks, mums and other fall flowers. And as always, there is sure to be plenty of music.
October 4-5: Robert Tino's Smoky Mountain Homecoming - Unveiling of Tino's latest mountain print and storytellers, music, and games for kids. Call 865-453-6315 for more info.
Replica of Vietnam Memorial coming to Pigeon Forge
The Tennessee Museum of Aviation will play host over Labor Day Weekend to a traveling replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
For Rhonda Melton, operations coordinator at the museum, it's a tribute to her late father, Earl Mysinger. He was a Vietnam vet himself, and he had hoped to bring the wall back to Sevier County.
"He told me he would help me put up the wall if we could bring it here," she said. "He had been to Washington, D.C. and saw the wall and he went to Jackson, Tenn., to visit his brother and saw the traveling version. That's where it all started out, was with him."
Her father died last year on the Fourth of July, but she still planned to honor his wishes by bringing the wall to Sevier County for another visit.
In 2002, the wall was in Pigeon Forge for the Celebrate Freedom festival at Patriot Park. This will be its first visit since.
"We're very excited about getting it here," Melton said.
The wall is about half the size of the actual Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
There are actually two Moving Walls that are transported around the country by Vietnam Combat Veterans, Ltd. They each travel to about 50 different towns throughout the year, Melton said. The group is not affiliated with the National Park Service.
The travelling walls serve to educate people about the Vietnam War, and to let people who might not be able to visit the memorial in Washington, D.C. experience the memorials.
The schedule calls for the wall to be set up by noon Aug. 28, with an opening ceremony at 6:30 that evening.
There is no fee for visiting the memorial, which will be open 24 hours a day until it 8 a.m. Sept. 2, when crews will start taking it down for transport to its next display.
Parking may be limited, but Melton said that officials with Evergreen Presbyterian Church, located in front of the museum on Dolly Parton Parkway, have agreed to let visitors use their parking as well. The museum will provide a shuttle to the memorial.
Local veteran groups have already been volunteering to help as guides or in other capacities, Melton said.
"We've had a lot of local veterans wanting to help," she said.
Shades of the Past Car Show Cruises into Pigeon Forge
Pigeon Forge is famous for its plethora of car shows, and during the month of September, they are hosting not one, but two car shows. The first car show to occur, Shades of the Past, is scheduled for September 5-6, with headquarters for the event located at Smoky River Ranch in Pigeon Forge. During this weekend of cars, the Parkway in Pigeon Forge will be lined with classic cars, supped up rods and custom automobiles. It is a car lovers heaven, and thousands flock to the area to witness the spectacular event. Cars start rolling into the area around September 1st, and the parade of classics continues until the event ends on September 7.
For those of you attending Shades of the Past Car Show this year, you can get the official map & entry forms below:
If you are in need of directions to Shades of the Past, follow this map:
The other car show occurring during the month of September is the Fall Grand Rod Run. It is scheduled for September 10-14, and will feature hot rods of all sorts with the penultimate event happening on September 13, with the parade of hot rods on the Parkway. For official Grand Rod Run entry forms for participants and vendors, click here.
Both events are very popular and are sure to be packed with crowds. In order to ensure your travel plans, be sure to make Pigeon Forge Hotel reservations now.
Roy Clark to Perform at Sevier County Fair in Pigeon Forge
Country music icon Roy Clark is scheduled to headline the 2008 Sevier County Fair. The star of television's "Hee Haw" will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 5. "We couldn't be more thrilled to have one of country music's all-time greats headlining this year's Sevier County Fair," said Allen Newton, executive director of the Sevier County Economic Development Council which puts on the fair. "Roy Clark's across-the-board appeal ensures that a good time will be had by all in a family friendly environment."
Clark began his music career in 1947 in his hometown of Washington and went on to win the national banjo competition in 1950. Sixty-one years later he is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the Gibson (Guitar) Hall of Fame and boasts his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Clark, who now lives in Tulsa, was a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." Bob Hope once summed Clark up by stating, "Your face is like a fireplace."
Having toured with such country legends as Hank Williams Sr. and Grandpa Jones, Clark is probably best remembered from his role on "Hee Haw" alongside Buck Owens. In all, Clark spent 24 seasons on the show, making it the longest-running syndicated show in television history. Throughout his career, he has landed over twenty Top 40 hits on the Billboard country music charts.
Sevier County Utilities District will sponsor Friday night's performance. The concert is free with paid admission to the fair.
The rain poured during the 2008 Dolly Parade, but that didn't stop thousands of tourists and locals from coming out to see the event's leading lady, Dolly Parton.
However, next year's parade has been rescheduled in an effort to allow visitors more daylight and maybe avoid the rain.
"The shift of Dolly's 2009 Homecoming Parade from April to May gives the event a better chance at warmer weather and extra daylight," Tom Adkinson, spokesman for the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, said.
Adkinson said in past events the parade has usually done well, but rain has always been a challenge.
The Homecoming Parade, in which legendary country music star Dolly Parton is grand marshal, has always drawn huge crowds.
However, Adkinson had no projections on what he thought attendance numbers would be like for next year's event.
"A few weeks difference is not that dramatic a change at all, hopefully this time we can avoid the rain and get a few extra hours of daylight," Adkinson said.
Instead of being held in April, the parade will now be held May 8. The parade will not only feature Dolly Parton, but 100 marching bands and participants from both local and out of state locations.
One other important change in the Pigeon Forge Events Calendar was the Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival. The festival has been moved from February to early June.
"This will allow for more family attendance and enhance to the National Youth Storytelling Showcase," Adkinson said.
Other events to be held in Pigeon Forge include:
Jan. 10-17 - 19th Annual Wilderness Wildlife Week, the first major event marking the year-long 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Feb. 7 - 9th Annual Saddle Up!, a celebration of cowboy poetry and Western music that includes concerts, the Cowboy Symphony and a chuckwagon cookoff
March 11-15 - 15th Annual A Mountain Quiltfest, featuring quilt shows, and quilting classes
June 4-8 - 18th Annual Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival, featuring performances by professional storytellers and seminars
July 4 - 19th Annual Patriot Festival, featuring music, food, children's games and fireworks
Nov. 5 - 20th Annual Pigeon Forge Winterfest, a four-month celebration of wintertime fun that includes lighting displays, narrated trolley tours, and holiday musical productions.
This list includes only a portion of what's being held in Pigeon Forge within the coming year.
This year's theme, "A Family Affair-Then and Now," features music for the kids and their parents. Friday night's concert event will feature big name contemporary, rock and alternative bands like Good Charlotte, Metro Station, Menudo and Boys Like Girls. American Idol lovers can expect an appearance from finalist Ace Young as well.
The concert has been booked in Patriot Park and is free of charge to anyone who plans to attend. Last year the city joined with Star 102.1, a Knoxville radio station, as part of their StarJams concert series, according to Deanna Sorge, special events supervisor with Pigeon Forge. "This totally changed our demographic of what we normally do; traditionally we go with country acts. Now we can capture the younger families to patronize more of the Pigeon Forge attractions," Sorge said.
The bands will start their show around 5 p.m., Sorge said until about 9:45 p.m., when fireworks will fill the sky.
"This is an awesome event for the residents and tourists. It totally showcases our town to various groups who might not have otherwise come here," Sorge said.
With this year's event, Sorge projected around 60,000 to 70,000 people in attendance, based on crowd numbers from last year.
"We are offering the fireworks and concerts free of charge as a thank you to the citizens and tourists from Pigeon Forge," Sorge said.
During the day parents can take the children a little early for good seats and parking spaces around 1 p.m. when the Kids Karnival begins. The carnival will include a rock-climbing wall, a mechanical bull, a moonwalk, and bungee run, and other games and activities.
"We've received many calls from different states on this concert. A listener's concert from the radio station is win-win situation for both parties," Sorge said.
Festivities for the adults begin Saturday, July 5 at the Old Mill and Old Mill Square from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. There will be tours of the Old Mill, built in 1830 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, also pottery demonstrations at Pigeon Forge Pottery will provide a glimpse of the traditions, crafts and heritage of East Tennessee.
The Carolina Bluegrass Boys will perform at 6 p.m. and there will be "old-time" activities for children including ring toss, seesaws and much more.
"Family Community Christian Day" begins July 6 with a free concert event starting at 4 p.m. at the Smoky Mountain Jubilee Theater scheduled to feature the Pigeon Forge Community Chorus and the Everette Hills Baptist Church choir from Maryville.
A concert will be held around 7:30 p.m. at the Miracle Theater feature Voices of Lee from Lee University in Cleveland. Tickets can be purchased through the theater by calling 1-800-768-1170.
Those attending the festivities are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs for sitting. There will be food and refreshments available at the park.
Celebrate 4th of July at Pigeon Forge's Patriot Festival
The 18th Annual Patriot Festival in Pigeon Forge is July 4th-6th, and promises to be a great celebration for friends and families to attend. Located at Patriot Park on Old Mill road, the Patriot Festival is providing free concerts and free activities with food vendors on site and an end of the night fireworks on July 4th.
The first day of the Pigeon Forge festival, July 4th, begins at 1pm with free concerts. The featured performers include Ace Young, of American Idol fame, Metro Station, Good Charlotte’s Joel and Benji Madden, Menudo, and Boys Like Girls.
July 5th offers free activities for the family at Old Mill Square, with Tennessee Traditions demonstrations. At 6pm, there will be a concert by the Carolina Bluegrass Boys.
July 6th, the final day of the festival, features free admission to two great shows. At 4pm, you can attend the Family Community Christian Day Choral Concerts at the Smoky Mountain Jubilee Theater. Then, at 7:30pm, The Miracle Theater is hosting Lee University’s “Voices of Lee.”
Be sure to bring your friends and family to Pigeon Forge’s 4th of July Celebration!
Bloomin' Barbeque & Bluegrass Event Serves Up Family Fun
Sevierville’s fourth annual Bloomin’ Barbeque & Bluegrass will take place May 16-17, 2008. This family-friendly event will once again bring barbeque cook teams from all over the United States to Sevierville as they compete for $20,000 in cash and prizes and the title of Tennessee State Champion.
Rounding out the event is toe-tapping bluegrass music, incredible arts and crafts, kids’ games and the Mountain Soul Vocal Competition honoring Sevierville’s favorite hometown girl, Dolly Parton. With so many exciting things to see and do, this event is one you’ll want to attend!
Friday night (May 16), take a little time to visit with the barbeque cook teams you’ve seen on cable channels like the Food Network as you stroll through the “Que Zone.” Championship barbeque tastes best when eaten in a comfortable place with great music, so have a seat in the Eating Tent, which will feature a variety of shows throughout the event. Then make sure you bring a lawn chair or blanket for the free bluegrass concerts with rising stars like Cadillac Sky and Bradley Walker and well known legends Larry Cordle & Lonesome Standard Time and Marty Stuart.
Saturday morning (May 17), start the day early with the Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union Kids' Que where children ages 6-16 cook chicken to win cash and trophies. Then stay to watch as championship cook teams turn in their competition meats and then stay for the announcement of winners at 4pm. During the competition the teams will cook an estimated 2,832 pounds of meat including 20 pounds of pulled pork, 24 pounds of brisket, 5 pounds of chicken and 10 pounds of ribs each. Winning teams will receive recognition in Chicken, Ribs, Pork and Brisket as well as specialty categories like “Anything Bush Beans”, “Anything Wampler’s Farm Sausage”, Sauce and Dessert.
An expanded Kids’ Zone and the Bluegrass Music Tent, sponsored in part by The Music Outlet, add fun and enrichment for the kids and families who attend Bloomin’ Barbeque & Bluegrass. The Kids’ Zone includes attractions like climbing walls, bounce houses and old-time toys while the Bluegrass Music Tent gives kids (and kids at heart) the chance to touch and play bluegrass instruments such as banjos, fiddles and more (don’t worry, instructors will be on site to help). Both of these attractions will be open until 9pm each day of the event.
A highlight of Bloomin’ Barbeque & Bluegrass is the 4th Annual Mountain Soul Vocal Competition Finals held on May 17. Finalists from around the nation will sing their hearts out for a chance to win prize money, a recording session in Nashville, Tennessee and a guitar autographed by Dolly Parton. This competition, the only one of its kind that festival organizers know of, honors the songwriting of Dolly Parton. Competitors, male and female, must sing a song written by Dolly Parton (there are over 3,000) and do so in their own style (rock, rap, country, bluegrass, swing, soul, etc.).
Admission and concerts are free.
After feasting on delicious barbeque and enjoying great entertainment, swing by Pigeon Forge for even more fun. Pigeon Forge Hotels also offer the best in lodging, and are a easy option for visitors to the Bloomin' Barbeque and Bluegrass.
Winter Carnival of Magic is held the first weekend in March at the Country Tonight Theatre in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Each year the three day convention features several lectures, a dealer's room, a close up competition, a stage competition and two public evening shows.
March 12-16 Music Road Convention Center & Smoky Mountain Convention Center
Drawing more than 20,000 quilting enthusiasts each year to the Great Smoky Mountains, A Mountain Quiltfest welcomes the best quilters and crafters to Eastern Tennessee to compete in the multi-category quilt show. Learn from the world's top quilters teaching more than 60 instructional sessions and master classes for quilters of all levels.
6th Annual Pigeon Forge Springfest March 12-June 8 Springfest marks the beginning of springtime in the beautiful city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It is a celebration packed full of nearly three months of home-spun fun. Some of the events included are: A Mountain Quiltfest, the annual StringTime in the Smokies, The Dolly Parade, The Spring Grand Rod Run, and Dollywood's Festival of Nations.
Dollywood’s Festival of Nations March 21-May 5 (Closed Tuesdays) An international rhythm comes to life as Dollywood presents the world’s most popular dances, from Latin America’s spicy salsa and fantastic flamenco to Russia’s captivating Cossack. And see Ireland’s sensational stepdancing in the highly anticipated return of Rhythm of the Dance, the show-stopping centerpiece of Celebrate Ireland featuring Irish dining, crafters, entertainment and more. Daring dance steps are just the beginning of Dollywood’s seven-week celebration of music, artistry, foods and crafts from around the globe during Festival of Nations.
Pigeon Forge Celebrates the Cowboy Way during Saddle Up! Festival
Saddle Up!, a Pigeon Forgecelebration of the American West, returns for the eighth year, February 21-24, 2008. The event brings some of America’s finest western musicians and cowboy poets on a rare visit east of the Mississippi River.
Wylie & the Wild West have performed on stages around the world, fronted by yodeler, rancher and world-famous “Yahoo-er” Wylie Gustafson. Sons of the San Joaquin are a trio of singers who share their love of western history and sweet harmony.
Yvonne Hollenbeck is one of the most published cowgirl poets in the West, while Jean Prescott has been honored by the State of Texas for contributing to the preservation of Texas music and history.
In addition to singing cowboy music, Jeff Gore is a rancher and the founder of Jeff Gore Ministries. Sourdough Slim combines singing, yodeling and comedy with accompaniment on accordion, ukulele and more!
Chris Isaacs and Kent Rollins will lend their storytelling talents and be the head wranglers of a Dutch Oven Cooking Competition.
A Cowboy Symphony returns for a second year on Thursday, Feb. 21, and will feature the Sons of the San Joaquin at Country Tonite Theatre.
Additional Saddle Up! activities include a Saturday night Western Swing Dance to the music of Wylie & the Wild West; and Sunday morning Cowboy Church followed by an authentic chuckwagon lunch.
Weekend passes, excluding the Cowboy Symphony, are $50 plus tax. Day passes are $30 plus tax. Tickets for Cowboy Symphony are $20 plus tax. Ages 17 and younger are admitted free. Weekend passes and Cowboy Symphony tickets will be available in advance at Country Tonite Theatre, 1-800-792-4308, or onsite on Thursday, Feb. 21. Day passes for Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be available onsite at American Jukebox Theater.
Admission to the dance is $5 per person age 18 and older (17 and younger are admitted free) with proceeds benefiting the Pigeon Forge Middle School. Cowboy Church is free and will be followed by the chuckwagon lunch where a $5 minimum donation will benefit Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
18th Annual Wilderness Wildlife Week™ January 12-19, 2008 Explore the scenery and natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountainsthrough workshops, lectures, and guided hikes during this eight-day event in January. Hikes range from casual walks to more strenuous treks into the Smokies. Wilderness Wildlife Week™ is fun, educational, free and perfect for all ages.
17th Annual Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival™ February 7-9, 2008 This event brings to Pigeon Forgesome of America’s finest storytellers to spin tales of fact and fiction. Whether it’s folklore told in a theater setting or spine-tingling ghost stories exchanged on a late night trolley ride, storytellers hold audiences in the palms of their hands!
8th Annual Saddle Up! Celebration February 21-24, 2008 West meets Southeast during one of the fastest-growing events in Pigeon Forge. Saddle Up! shows how the West was fun with three days of cowboy poetry, Western music, dances and songwriter workshops.
14th Annual A Mountain Quiltfest™ March 12-16, 2008 This event has made Pigeon Forge a popular gathering spot for quilters from across the nation. Participants can learn the latest techniques and quilting secrets during classes and lectures conducted by some of the nation’s top quilting experts. Quilts of all shapes, sizes and colors are on display, and quilt show participants compete for cash prizes.
23rd Annual Dolly Parade April 11, 2008 Marching bands, festive floats, entertainers, celebrities, and area businesses come together to welcome springtime to Pigeon Forge. Grand marshal Dolly Parton leads the parade, which officially opens a new season of entertainment in Pigeon Forge. Dollywood hosts an invitation-only event for the media and special guests prior to the parade. The park celebrates its season opener the following day.
6th Annual Pigeon Forge Springfest March 12—June 8, 2008 Springfest welcomes three whole months of festivities including A Mountain Quiltfest and the Dolly Parade.
18th Annual Patriot Festival July 4, 2008 Celebrate Independence Day the Pigeon Forge way with an afternoon of food, fun and entertainment in Patriot Park. Activities include games for the kids and great concerts, all topped off by a spectacular fireworks display.
Celebrate Freedom! August 1 -31 Celebrate Freedom!, is a discount program for active military, the reserves, the National Guard, retired military personnel as well as military veterans, law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical services during the entire month of August. To receive this discount you must bring your ID to Pigeon Forge Welcome Center.
5th Annual StringTime in the Smokies August 8-10, 2008 Some of the country’s finest bluegrass musicians pay tribute to the music to the Smoky Mountains with free concerts in Patriot Park.
12th Annual Pigeon Forge Harvest Festival Sept. 12-Oct. 31, 2008 During our 12th Annual Pigeon Forge Harvest Festival, you'll find delightful displays constructed from pumpkins, cornstalks, mums and other fall flowers. The Rotary Club Crafts Festival features dozens of talented artists who demonstrate their talents and sell their creations. And as always, there is sure to be plenty of music!
Information courtesy of Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism
AppalachiaFest, the musical component of Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, celebrates its second year with a performance by a musical legend. Set for Jan. 15, 2008, AppalachiaFest will be highlighted with an appearance by Dr. Ralph Stanley.
Stanley has been performing professionally since the 1940s and is revered for his folk, bluegrass, country and mountain music. He enjoyed renewed popularity with his contribution to the “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” movie soundtrack. He is a multiple Grammy award winner and in 1976 received an honorary doctorate in music from Lincoln Memorial University. In 2006 President George W. Bush presented Stanley the National Medal of Arts, which is awarded through the National Endowment for the Arts and is the nation’s highest honor for artistic excellence.
Four-time Grammy award-winner David Holt will return to host AppalachiaFest and perform with his band, the Lightning Bolts. The Steep Canyon Rangers, voted Emerging Artist of the Year in 2006 by the International Bluegrass Music Association, will travel from North Carolina to round out the evening’s entertainment lineup. Country Tonite Theatrewill be venue for AppalachiaFest. Tickets are $15 for adults; $5 for ages 17 and younger and available at 1-800-792-4308 or onsite at the theater during Wildlife Week, Jan. 12-19.
AppalachiaFest is co-sponsored by WDVX radio, Knoxville, Tenn.
Pigeon Forge's Smoky Mountain Storytelling Festival Set for February
Forget everything your mother ever told you about not stretching the truth - at least for a few days in February.
Not only do some folks in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., allow exaggeration at this special time, they even teach you the best way to do it.
The Smoky Mountain Storytelling Festival, set this year for Feb. 7-9, brings several thousand weavers of tall tales to the city to hone their craft and to hear experts expound on how the best stories are told. The storytellers who come range from the very young to the very old, from professionals to just-beginning amateurs.
Storytelling is a time-honored tradition, especially in this part of the country. Because part of the reason for the festival is to give youngsters the chance to learn about continuing this Southern tradition, special events are planned just for them.
The featured event for young people is the National Youth Storytelling Showcase. Performers, age 17 and younger, come from all over the country to weave tall tales and compete for the title of Grand Torchbearer.
This year's professional storytellers come to Pigeon Forge from all over the United States and even beyond its borders. Tellers scheduled to perform include Waddie Mitchell, a cowboy poet and storyteller from Nevada; Bil Lepp, five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars Contest; Carmen Agra Deedy, an author and storyteller born in Havana, Cuba; Mitch Weiss and Martha Hamilton, a husband-and-wife team; and Willy Claflin, who has been featured at storytelling festivals around the world.
RETURNING FAVORITE Old Mill Haunts `n' Haints Tales, a festival favorite, is back with evening offerings of ghost stories that the entire family can enjoy. The spooky stories come out from 9:30 to 11 p.m. Friday.
NEW THIS YEAR Enchanted Tales in the Enchanted Ballroom at The Inn at Christmas Place. Storytellers Chloe Clunis, Waddie Mitchell, Willy Claflin and Carmen Agra Deedy will perform at this family event. It will be from 9:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday.
THE DETAILS Storytelling concerts and workshops will take place at American Jukebox Theater. Day passes for Storytelling activities (excluding Haunts `n' Haints) are $10 for ages 18 and older, free to ages 17 and younger. Weekend passes are $25. Haunts `n' Haints tickets are $5 per person. They will be sold at the American Jukebox Theater. A complete schedule of Smoky Mountain Storytelling Festival events is also available, for easy reference for the whole family. A word to the wise: If you are planning to go, call ahead to be sure tickets aren't sold out.
HOW TO GET THERE To get to Pigeon Forge, take I-59 North to I-24 East (just south of Chattanooga). Take I-24 East to I-75 North. Take I-75 North to U.S. 321 (Exit 81). Take U.S 321 South through Maryville to Pigeon Forge. It is about 290 miles from Birmingham.
The Great Smoky Mountainsof Pigeon Forgeand Gatlinburgprovide the perfect path to explore the great outdoors. Perhaps that’s why many people flock each year to these beautiful mountains during January’s Wilderness Wildlife Week, where experts are on hand to guide you through the various ways people can play in the Smokies. It’s a great way for both children and adults to reconnect with nature and there are guided hikes, photography contestsand nature classes to take advantage of. And, best of all, it’s all free!
Wilderness Week in Pigeon Forge begins its 18th annual festival on January 12-19, 2008, with a series of outdoor themed activities designed to connect visitors with the outdoor world of the Great Smoky Mountains.
During Pigeon Forge Wilderness Week, nearly 100 experts on nature and the great outdoors will host walks, hikes, seminars and lectures on a wide variety of topics, including Smoky Mountain history and plant and animal life. A number of Wilderness Wildlife Week programs are designed for children.
Guided Wilderness Week hikesthrough the Smokies range from easy, relaxed walks to more strenuous, multi-mile treks. Topics vary with individual hikes. To properly prepare for daylong outings, hikers are encouraged to bring gloves, head cover, rain gear, lunch or trail snacks, a flashlight and an extra pair of socks.
Wilderness Wildlife Week offers activities for all ages and attracts thousands of nature lovers to Pigeon Forge. The International Festivals & Events Association has recognized Pigeon Forge Wilderness Week for its environmental and educational efforts.
Wilderness Week activities are offered free of charge. Music Road Hotel & Convention Center is the headquarters for the event.
Pigeon Forge is home to many car shows, including Shades of the Past and the Grand Rod Run. People flock to these events for the classic cars, revving engines and exciting environment. Pigeon Forge Hotels fill up fast during the car shows, so be sure to reserve your rooms in advance. The Pigeon Forge car show schedule for 2008 complete with contact information and official websites for each event.
Where in a single weekend can you enjoy millions of holiday lights, take in great shows, play mad scientist, and careen downhill inside a Zorb?
Tennessee's Pigeon Forge, on the doorstep of the Great Smoky Mountains, offers all the above and more. (But what's a Zorb you say? Stay tuned.)
With Winterfest's holiday productions in high gear, now's a great time to go. More than 5 million lights blaze throughout town with another 3.5 million at nearby Dollywood. This family-oriented place promises a variety of activities for all.
"Getting there is half the fun - with the beautiful drive, especially if you go through Maryville," said Barbara Eubanks from Boaz. "We usually go with friends and always find something in Pigeon Forge that appeals to everyone."
Soon after arrival, make reservations for the evening's Trolley Tour of Lights ($5) to see themed displays at Patriot Park then the "Twelve Days of Christmas," spaced along the Parkway's median at verse-singing intervals. The driver and guide will lead you in a spirited rendition of this old favorite as the trolley advances from one lighted exhibit to the next. Other displays depict nursery rhymes and a blacksmith forging snowflakes. Also, the one-hour ride offers a chance to scope out the main attraction venues and learn about local history.
For a mind-boggling upside-down adventure, visit WonderWorks. At this white-columned mansion, handsome in an eerie way, you can let your imagination run wild. To prepare yourself, try to get in the mind-sets of mad scientists from a mythical research lab in the Bermuda Triangle. Then proceed through the challenges of a gravity-defying chamber, an earthquake, and over-the-top bike ride. For relaxation, how about stretching out on a bed of 3,500 nails? "This place brings out the kid in you," said Rich Benjamin, whose job it is to play here each day. Evening visitors can take in the site's Hoot 'n' Holler dinner show, which combines a tasty Italian menu with a vaudeville-style show of music, choreography, magic tricks and homespun humor.
With so many shows in town, whittling down the choices requires strategy. First, decide on a category such as a musical, variety or dinner show. Then break that down further and follow your bliss. Now in its 11th year, "Country Tonite" presents both country hits and favorite Christmas songs. Other options include "Black Bear Jamboree," "Comedy Barn," "Smith Family Theater," "Memories" (which salutes Elvis and other musical legends), and the list goes on.
Dolly Parton's "Dixie Stampede" promises a finger-licking good time with its popular dinner and action-packed show. The award-winning "Smoky Mountain Christmas" puts the spotlight on heart and soul, and Dollywood's "Babes in Toyland" features a surprising finale. The talented cast's team of acrobats lend a "Cirque du Soleil" flavor to the production. Wandering through Dollywood's pedestrian village on a recent goose-down-jacket kind of evening, we experienced the season's first teasing snowflakes. But frosty air just made hot chocolate at Santa's Workshop more tempting.
"This place is not so much about Dolly Parton - it's about her mountain heritage, her values," said Trish McGee, introducing us to a sampler of the 130-acre park's myriad offerings. Watching blacksmiths, glass blowers, wagon makers and wood carvers at work instills an appreciation for craftsmanship rare in today's high-tech climate. The park's magical light exhibits enhance a stroll past museums, eateries, and attractions.
Dollywood also offers exciting entertainment options. Not for the faint-hearted, the Mystery Mine Coaster, named best new attraction of 2007, features a ride through inky blackness with steep plunges, and The Thunderhead - voted the world's No. 1 wooden roller coaster in 2005 and 2006 - continues to offer its own brand of thrills.
"We enjoy the malls and Christmas shops, the off-the-beaten-path crafts stores, and the shows," Eubanks said, "but my absolutely must-go-to place is Pigeon River Potterynear the Old Mill. There, you can buy one-of-a-kind pieces and even watch pottery being made." Sooner or later, you'll gravitate to the picturesque Old Mill with its large water wheel, a site that demands a photo. Tour the mill, which dates to 1830, and buy a bag of corn meal, flour, grits or pancake mix to take home. Browse around Old Mill Square, and stop by Pottery House Cafe. Here, you can dip into hearty homemade soups and yummy sandwiches with breads made from the mill's stone-ground products. Your meal arrives on serving dishes crafted at the pottery next door. For a family-style breakfast, lunch or dinner, head to the nearby Old Mill Restaurant. Specialties include sugar-cured ham, chicken and dumplings, fresh vegetables, biscuits, fritters and pecan pies.
If shopping's your favorite sport, Pigeon Forge offers several malls with some 300 outlet stores. At Walden's Landing, patrons can check out the nearby shops or work on their short game at Firehouse Golf.
Need a new Santa, caroler, or other item for the family holiday collection? Maybe an ornament designed for a special occasion? Then head for The Incredible Christmas Place at 2740 Parkway. "We work on building lifetime business relationships," said Carolyn Fairbank-Biggs, chief operating officer of the nation's second-largest Christmas retailer. "People come here to shop, hear the Singing Santa, and then return - year after year."
Also an incredible business success, the Yuletide shop has evolved from a small store, opened in 1986 by Marian and Hurshel Biggs, to occupy its own mall at Bell Tower Square. Just across the Parkway from the store, the owners opened The Inn at Christmas Placein June, a handsome base for guests. And it's not just beginning to look a lot like Christmas here, it always looks that way. Rooms and suites boast amenities galore plus holiday touches. The lobby's 25-foot cuckoo clock entertains visitors hourly with different holiday songs, and a lifesize Nativity scene overlooks the lobby. The hotel showcases original paintings by prominent area artists. "We're striving to become a four-star property," said Keith Biggs, president of Christmas Place Properties.
If you're a repeat visitor (like 70 percent of folks in town), you'll want to know what else is new. Enter the Zorb! The Zorbsounds like something from outer space and actually looks like that, too - a giant pearlescent orb. The concept originated in New Zealand, and Pigeon Forge boasts the only Zorb experience in North America.
Just what does a Zorb do? Nothing - except roll down a steep hill with you inside. Gravity provides the suspense, and you supply the screams. If you're a candidate for this unique adventure, visit the Zorb Smoky Mountains site, declare your intention, and choose between a dry run (Zorbit), where you're harnessed in place like an astronaut, or a free-floating wet ride (Zydro) comparable to something you might experience via roller coaster merged with water slide. Should you choose the wet run, you change into a sporty blue Zorb suit of shirt and shorts (which you keep), ascend the hill, and dive (or slither) through a small opening into a ball 11 feet tall. Then relinquish all control.
"Oh, man, this is cool," said Doug Jones from Birmingham, emerging from the Zorb after his wet and wild downhill ride. "My son would love this."
Entertainer Eddie Milespresents an intimate solo performance of the music of America's most beloved entertainer, Elvis Presley. This uncanny tribute also includes an opening show saluting the legends of country music, featuring the songs of Marty Robbins, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty and others.
Screams, cheers and standing ovations are common at this nationally known artist's concerts. Eddie Miles headlined in Collingwood, Canada in 2001 at the World's Largest Elvis Festival. He also headlined at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis in a tribute show commemorating the 25th anniversary of Elvis's death. A veteran entertainer with bookings across the country, Eddie Miles has headlined in his own theater in two major resort destinations: Pigeon Forge and Myrtle Beach. Miles was invited to headline in Memphis, TN for the 25th Anniversary of Elvis International Week and recently headlined on August 16, 2007 at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of Elvis's death.
Come along with Alan and Jane for an incredible journey through Dollywood’s Babes in Toyland. Marvel as 21 toy soldiers march acorss the stage, led by the 14-foot-tall General! Back by popular demand, it's a Christmastime must-see, and it's only at Dollywood. Something's new amid the hustle and bustle of Santa's Workshop! Step inside the giant toy workshop, where Santa and larger-than-life-sized toys greet you. Sensational stage shows, festival foods, thrilling rides and over 3 million lights complete Dollywood's winter wonderland!
Special Features (Select an item for more information)
Breakfast with Santa Make a holiday memory for your little ones as they enjoy Breakfast with Santa. See the sparkle in their eyes as boys and girls share their Christmas wishes while the family dines on a delicious holiday breakfast at Aunt Granny's. Nov. 10, 17, 23 & 24; Dec. 1, 8, 15 & 22; 9:30 a.m.-noon. First-come, first-served seating; Additional Fee; Dollywood admission required.
Christmas in the Smokies Dollywood’s musical Christmas tradition features a 12-member cast and seven-piece band performing hometown holiday favorites that celebrate the joy of the season. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Dollywood's Babes in Toyland It’s Dollywood’s most elaborate stage show ever—Dollywood’s Babes in Toyland! Featuring a cast of 20 performers and a fully-orchestrated musical score, this family classic follows “Alan” and “Jane” on their incredible adventure through Toyland. Along the way, the pair encounters a variety of characters who come to life through imaginative puppetry, amazing acrobatics, and spectacular scenery—all highlighted by the magnificent, show-stopping march of the giant toy soldiers! Celebrate an old-fashioned family Christmas sure to mesmerize audiences of all ages at Dollywood’s Babes in Toyland. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Santa's Workshop Something’s new amid the hustle and bustle of Santa’s Workshop! Step inside the giant toy store, where larger-than-life-sized toys greet you this holiday season. Explore the fun, interactive activities—help assemble the gigantic puzzle pieces or gaze through the oversized ViewMaster™. And of course, visit with Santa! 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 23, 2007.
Appalachian Christmas Celebrate an acoustic Christmas at the Back Porch Theatre with Appalachian Christmas. Let the beautiful sound of the music take you back to a simpler time. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Carol of the Trees Each night thousands of lights and pyrotechnics synchronize with holiday music to transform our Rivertown Lake into a "seasonal symphony for the senses." 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Christmas with the Kingdom Heirs Celebrate a Southern Gospel Christmas as the Kingdom Heirs keep your spirits high with your favorite Christmas hymns and songs. 2007 Christmas Season Dates: November 14 - December 30, 2007.
Dolly's Christmas Chapel The Robert F. Thomas Chapel hosts worship services at 5:30 p.m. each Sunday throughout Smoky Mountain Christmas festival. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
O' Holy Night A little girl looks for an angel; three shepherds follow a star. They all find their way to the heart of “The Christmas Story.” 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Parade of Lights Everyone loves a parade, especially Dollywood’s daily Parade of Lights featuring Christmas floats adorned with brightly colored lights. Holiday characters add to the excitement as the parade makes its way, bringing holiday fun to everyone. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Scrooge (Roving Character) Ebenezer Scrooge—During Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas, you’re sure to encounter one of Charles Dickens’ most enduring characters, Ebenezer Scrooge, as he spreads his own brand of Christmas cheer throughout the park. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Tinker The Talking Christmas Tree Tinker The Talking Christmas Tree and his friends Rupert and Candy, two of Santa’s Elves, rediscover the real reason we give Christmas gifts. Join them in this fun-filled musical treat full of original songs and timeless Christmas classics. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
'Twas the Night Before Christmas A family finds its own Christmas miracle with the help of a mysterious, white-bearded stranger in this delightful musical featuring a 12-member cast and a five-piece band. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Victorian Melodies Outfitted in period costumes, this melodious group strolls throughout Dollywood performing holiday music true to the Victorian era. 2007 Season Dates: November 10 - December 30, 2007.
Winterfest in Pigeon Forge celebrates Christmas, Smoky Mountain Heritage
Winter, formerly the quietest time of year in the Smoky Mountainsresort town of Pigeon Forge, Tenn., now is one of the most vibrant because of Pigeon Forge Winterfest. The 18th edition of the four-month celebration runs from Nov. 8-Feb. 29, 2008.
More than five million Winterfest lights that are spread throughout the city are most conspicuous element of Pigeon Forge Winterfest. Elaborate displays depicting everything from Mother Goose rhymes to patriotic themes attract visitors who view them from their own vehicles or get guided tours on the city's Fun Time Trolleys.
One of the more elaborate displays depicts the city's most significant historic site, the Old Mill. The actual mill was built in 1830 and still is in operation. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.During the first two months of Pigeon Forge Winterfest, another 3.5 million lights add a special glow to the Dollywood theme park and its special holiday season.Also during November and December, Pigeon Forge's theaters—there are more than a dozen—add special holiday segments to their productions. All theaters operate through the end of the year, and many offer shows year-round.
After the excitement of Christmas and New Year's, the city continues Pigeon Forge Winterfest with three festivals in January and February:
- Wilderness Wildlife Week, Jan. 12-19, is the first. It began the same year as Winterfest as a Saturday afternoon activity and now offers eight days of programs and activities to spotlight Great Smoky Mountains National Park. More than 100 experts on nature and outdoor life present programs on many topics, and there are daily hikes and excursions into the national park. AppalachiaFest, a musical component of Wilderness Wildlife Week on Jan. 15, is hosted by Grammy-Award winner David Holt and features bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley.
- The 17th Annual Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festivalis on tap Feb. 7-9 with some of America's top storytellers, who offer both performances and workshops. The 2008 schedule includes cowboy poet and storyteller Waddie Mitchelland Bil Lepp, five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars Contest.
Tennessee in the fall is a brilliant patchwork of red, yellow, rust and orange. More than 400 species of deciduous trees paint the fall scenes of Tennessee’s landscape from the Mississippi River to the Great Smoky Mountains.
Cooler night temperatures, flocks of migrating birds, and natural bouquets of lavender and yellow wildflowers along the roadsides are sure signs that fall in Tennessee is right on schedule. Tennessee’s peak colors typically appear the last two weeks of October. The leaves change first in the mountains of Northeast Tennessee. The fall colors then sweep westward across the state peaking around Memphis by late November.
Autumn is becoming visible in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with some areas above 5,000 feet in full color, such as Clingmans Dome Road, which leads to the highest elevation in the Park.
The majority of the deciduous forest, at 4,000 feet elevation and below, is still predominantly green. Trees in the high country that are now showing bright color are the yellows of American beech and yellow birch, and different shades of reds on mountain ash, pin cherry and mountain maple. In the lower elevations, a few early color changing species, such as sourwood and sumac, are showing bright reds. Some dogwoods and maples are beginning to turn different colors in some areas as well. Fall wildflowers, such as goldenrod and asters, are colorful throughout the park, and some blueberry and blackberry shrubs are changing color, as well as the Virginia creeper plant.
Because the Great Smoky Mountains provide a range of elevations between 875 and 6,643 feet in the Park with differing moisture conditions and habitats, many trees will still produce significant color as the Park moves into its peak autumn season.
In lower East Tennessee (Cleveland and Ocoee Region), the weather has been very pleasant, but the leaf color remains unchanged. The beginning of the 2007 fall color season is predicted to be about a week away. The weather prediction this week is for lows in the40s and highs in the 60s starting on Wednesday. The lower temperatures this week should bring some color change very soon.
Farther south, many of our trees in the Chattanooga Valley are starting to turn slightly at their tops. The Poplars are showing a touch of yellow, with a bit of bronze on our Elms. It is too early for red or orange on the great Oaks or Sweet Gums.
Scenic Highway 27, Lookout Mountain and Interstate I-24 west toward Nashville are still green. This area is still a few weeks from any major color change. However, the weather is beautiful and a great time to take in the area’s outdoor festivals. The wildflowers are beautiful and still abundant along roadsides. Now is a great time to hike the beautiful mountain trails or paddle the Blue Trail along the Tennessee River.
Recommendations: High elevation trails such as Sugarland Mountain Trail and Appalachian Trail, accessed at Clingmans Dome or Newfound Gap, would be the perfect hiking area for this time of year. Roads leading into the high country, including Newfound Gap Road, Heintooga Ridge Road, Foothills Parkway West and East, and Rich Mountain Road out of Cades Cove, are the best options for leaf seekers. The weather is beautiful in middle and west Tennessee, with fall still a few weeks away
Information courtesy of Tennessee Department of Tourist Development
12 Free Things to do in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (A Still have a Blast!)
In the breathtaking state of Tennessee you’ll find the picturesque Smoky Mountains. Both Pigeon Forgeand Gatlinburgare great places to visit for fantastic indoor and outdoor fun! A vacation to the Smoky Mountains is perfect too, because there are so many things to do in the Smoky Mountains. Even better, there are plenty of FREE things to do in the Smoky Mountains! The natural outdoor allure of the Smoky Mountain destinations of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is easy to understand. With the Great Smoky Mountains National Parkas their backyard, these two vacation destinations allow guests to discover what they’ve been missing…refreshing, all natural fun!
1) Cades Cove: This is a great area for a scenic drive! There is an 11 mile one way loop that winds around the valley, complete with wildlife, campgrounds, bike rentals, spectacular foliage in autumn, and facilities for horseback riding.
2) Sugarlands Visitor Center: A free 20-minute orientation motion picture provides an in-depth look at the Smokies and the enormous diversity of plant and animal life in the Park. Natural history exhibits include mounted specimens of park animals in recreations of their habitats and reproductions of journals kept by the first park naturalists are also on display. Ranger talks and slide shows are presented daily from spring through fall. You’ll also want to visit Laurel Falls, a beautiful waterfall located off Little Rover Road near the Sugarlands Center.
3) Mills Park: Located in Gatlinburg, this park’s facilities include a softball field, horseshoe pits, playground, tennis courts, football field and basketball court. It’s a great place for families to enjoy the outdoors!
4) Mynatt Park: A beautiful park complete with picnic area by the river, bbq grills, and recreation opportunities such as baseball and basketball.
5) Tennessee Heritage Trails: Our Heritage Trails link attractions in three categories - History, Arts & Crafts and Music - to showcase the distinctive character and talents of Tennessee trails and to connect both well-known and obscure attractions under a common theme.
6) Great Smoky Mountains Arts and Craft Community: The largest group of independent artisans in North America. This historic 8-mile loop has been designated a Tennessee Heritage Arts & Crafts Trail. Established in 1937, these artisans create unique and treasured pieces.
7) Newfound Gap Road: The 33-mile drive from Gatlinburg to Cherokee North Carolina along Newfound Gap Road is the only route that completely traverses the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The drive offers a unique opportunity to enjoy an abbreviated experience of everything the Park has to offer, without necessarily trekking far from your automobile.
8) Hiking: Enjoy a hike on any of the more than 800 miles of trails through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. With over fifty trails available to hike, you’ll discover a new treasure each time you explore.
9) Douglas Lake: Beautiful Douglas Lake extends its 33,000 lake acres and 513 miles of shoreline to the rolling hills of the Great Smoky Mountains, attracting nearly 2 million visitors each year. Favorite activities at Douglas Lake include fishing, boating, rafting, swimming, camping, and bird watching.
10) Shopping in the Smokies: Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are a shopper’s dream and it doesn’t cost a thing to look! There are several Outlet malls, such as Belz Factory Outlet Mall, as well as hundreds of unique shops to explore.
11) Festivals: Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are a haven for festivals. Many of these, such as the Bloomin’ Barbeque & Bluegrass Festival, have free admission and concerts!
12) Plus, at Dollywood, you can get your next day FREE if you arrive at the park after 3 pm! With so many things to see and do in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, you and your family are sure to experience the vacation of a lifetime!
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Wilderness Wildlife Week (Jan. 10-17) and A Mountain Quiltfest (March 11-15) draw thousands of visitors to this gateway city to 
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