PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Monday, April 15, 2024) – Dollywood’s Flower & Food Festival presented by Covenant Health (April 19 – June 9) provides guests more than one million vibrant blooms, the fresh tastes of spring in the Smokies and unique entertainment offerings throughout the park.
Already in its fifth season, this guest-favorite event transforms Dollywood into a breathtaking display of Mother Nature’s finest handiwork. Elaborate floral installations emerge around every corner, translating nature into living art, each coming together to create an unbelievable presentation of color and wonder.
Dollywood’s signature lineup of beloved Mosaiculture icons return, including the topsy-turvy butterfly umbrella, woodland animal friends and the touching depiction of Dolly’s mother crafting the Coat of Many Colors. Other guest-favorite icons also return like the mallard duck, a peacock and a beekeeper tending to a hive. These sculptures are designed in partnership with Mosaicultures International, a Montreal-based company that specializes in the art of elaborate floral decorations.
“Spring in the Smokies is one of my favorite times of year,” Dolly said. “It is truly amazing to see God’s creation blooming to life all around us. Our people work hard to make the park as beautiful as the natural beauty you can see throughout the hills around us. It really is one of the best times to come experience the Smoky Mountains.”
While admiring the bright blooms throughout the park, guests can explore a multitude of menu items crafted with inspiration from spring’s freshest flavors. Returning for this year is the tasting pass, which allows guests to partake in multiple food items at different festival locations.
The tasting pass, which can be purchased in the park or online, is $39.99 plus tax or $36.99 plus tax for gold and diamond passholders. With this pass, guests can sample five food offerings at Flower & Food Festival culinary locations. This year’s festival menu includes honey BBQ ribs, garlic shrimp mac & cheese, honey garlic chicken skillet, cinnamon sugar sweet potato fries, superfood quinoa salad bowl, and hand-decorated flower-themed cookies and cupcakes among many other tasty spring dishes.
Dollywood’s streets are filled with music during the Flower & Food Festival. The Hall Sisters return with their show “Fun Day! with the Hall Sisters.” Eclectic vocalist Robinella performs her uniquely jazz-tinged Appalachian music with old-time, self-styled pop covers, classic country and gospel music. One of Dollywood’s newest shows, “From the Heart—The Life & Music of Dolly Parton” continues through the Flower & Food Festival. All shows are included with park admission. A full schedule of live performances is available at Dollywood.com.
Back to provide shade along Showstreet is the mesmerizing Umbrella Sky, which brings together hundreds of colorful umbrellas in a brilliant, suspended arrangement that makes for an “Instagram-worthy” background. Guests looking to capture picture-perfect memories at Dollywood can stop by several locations in the park for an amazing photo. These include the Showstreet Butterfly Carpeting, Showstreet Palace Theater Festival Sign and the elaborate works of chalk art along Showstreet which are inspired by spring in the Smokies.
One highly anticipated park addition makes its debut during this season’s Flower & Food Festival. The Dolly Parton Experience, which opens May 24, features a number of interactive elements to make guests feel as if they were alongside Dolly as she journeyed from Locust Ridge to stages around the world. The entire Adventures in Imagination area transforms to create The Dolly Parton Experience. Housed in multiple buildings, the multi-faceted experience includes exhibits which span her unparalleled career, a look at the inspiration for and results of her biggest dreams, the importance of her family, and even a curated exhibit that highlights Dolly’s signature style through the years. The Dolly Parton Experience provides guests more Dolly than ever, as it is three times the size of the former Chasing Rainbows Museum.
In Songteller, guests will trace Dolly’s roots from Sevier County to the bus she boarded to Nashville the day after her high school graduation. Several exhibits showcase some of Dolly’s favorite mementos from music, movies and TV shows, while one room is dedicated solely to her record-selling albums. The showstopper for the experience is a massive room which features a 360-degree, projection-mapped story that tells, in her own words, how Dolly has become one of the most beloved figures in the world.
At Behind the Seams, guests will get a sneak peek at how this Smoky Mountain girl’s iconic look comes to life, while the Precious Memories exhibit, located in the front of the Dreamsong Theater, honors Dolly’s friends and family and shows how their support allowed her to spread her wings to unimaginable heights. A new show, “Heidi Parton’s Kin & Friends,” debuts in the Dreamsong Theater when the area opens on May 24. The show features Dolly’s niece, Heidi Parton, and a cast singing songs and telling stories; and since Heidi wrote it alongside her aunt Dolly, it includes songs and stories that only family would know!
Festival elements carry over to Dollywood’s resort properties— Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort and Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa—with a variety of festival-themed activities, crafts and entertainment that will inspire and delight the entire family. Guests can enjoy live entertainment by featured performers, fresh culinary creations, and rejuvenating spring-fresh spa treatments all alongside blooming festival décor and floral designs.
There is still plenty of fun for Dollywood guests this year. Following the Flower & Food Festival, the Sweet Summer Nights drone and fireworks show takes to the skies above the park as part of Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration presented by Food City (June 15-Aug. 11). A family tradition for many, Dollywood’s Harvest Festival presented by Humana (Sept. 9-Oct. 28) celebrates the beauty of fall with thousands of carved pumpkins, spirited performances from talented singers and the fun of Great Pumpkin LumiNights presented by Covenant Health. The industry’s Best Theme Park Christmas event—Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas presented by Humana (Nov. 1- Jan. 5, 2025)—concludes the park’s 2024 season with 6 million lights, festive holiday shows and the warm Christmas atmosphere guests have come to expect during this joyous time of year.
For more information, please visit dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.
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About Dollywood Parks & Resorts: A highly awarded and widely recognized leader in the amusement industry, The Dollywood Company consists of the 165-acre Dollywood theme park; the 35-acre Dollywood’s Splash Country; and Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa, and the newly opened Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort. As unique as its namesake and owner Dolly Parton, Dollywood is the 2010 Applause Award winner, the theme park industry’s highest accolade; winner of 58 Golden Ticket Awards; and recipient of 28 Brass Ring Awards for Live Entertainment. The park is located near Great Smoky Mountains National Park and earned the Golden Ticket Award for the Best Park in the world in 2023. In 2022, Dollywood was named by Tripadvisor as the #1 theme park in the country based on actual guest reviews. It also has been recognized as a top U.S. theme park by USA Today on multiple occasions. Dollywood is open mid-March through early January and offers rides and attractions, shows and crafters authentic to the East Tennessee region. Dollywood’s Splash Country, recognized by the Travel Channel and Tripadvisor as one of the country’s most beautiful water parks, operates from mid-May to Labor Day. Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa as well as Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort provide guests with spectacular mountain views and family-friendly amenities next door to Dollywood theme park and Dollywood’s Splash Country. For more information, visit dollywood.com. Operating days and hours vary.
Media Contacts:
Pete Owens: Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations, (865) 428-9486, (865) 755-7972 or [email protected]
Wes Ramey: Public Relations Director, (865) 428-9484, (865) 640-3805 or [email protected]
Ellen Liston: Public Relations Manager, (865) 428-9629, (865) 919-7001 or [email protected]
Jennifer Webb: Sr. Publicist, (865) 428-9602, (865) 323-7584 or [email protected]
Josh Sauer: Publicist, (865) 428-9891, (865) 323-2653 or [email protected]
For B-roll, photography and more information, visit the Dollywood Media Room at http://www.dollywood.com/Media/Media-Room