Dolly Parton ensured that her reminiscence would stay on by means of various endeavors throughout her lifetime, and certainly one of them was her beloved Dollywood.
That’s why the theme park confirmed that it might stay open following her dying on the age of 80 on Tuesday (Aug. 25), asserting in a press release on its web site that carrying on with operations is strictly what the legendary singer-songwriter had needed. “With heavy hearts, the Dollywood household mourns the passing of our beloved Dreamer-in-Chief, Dolly Parton,” the message started. “Everybody at Dollywood shares the sorrow of numerous folks world wide touched by Dolly’s heat, knowledge and beneficiant spirit.
“Dolly’s heartfelt want was that Dollywood at all times stay a spot of pleasure, hope and togetherness — an area the place households and buddies may honor her reminiscence, not with silence, however with laughter, music and shared goals,” it continued. “Dolly’s enduring legacy extends past her music and generosity to her outstanding work ethic — an inspiration to folks in all places.
“In her spirit, Dollywood shall be open Wednesday as Dolly needed, at all times reminding everybody along with her signature sparkle — ‘the present should go on,’” the assertion added. “Collectively, we honor her by carrying ahead her message of affection, perseverance, and hope.”
Parton handed away Tuesday after a short most cancers battle. As beforehand scheduled, Dollywood had been closed on Tuesday, which means Wednesday (Aug. 26) is the primary day the park greeted company for the reason that lack of Parton.
“The best privilege of my life has been serving to Dolly deliver her goals to life at Dollywood,” mentioned the park’s president, Eugene Naughton, in a press release. “Whereas we grieve her loss, we’re honored and dedicated to hold her gentle ahead. Her legacy will proceed to shine in each melody sung, each smile shared and each dream kindled inside these gates.”
The ten-time Grammy winner based Dollywood in 1986, when she grew to become co-owner of the property beforehand often known as Insurgent Railroad situated in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, the place Parton grew up. The park has blossomed right into a booming enterprise, permitting the star to contribute indelibly to the native economic system and gasoline philanthropic initiatives comparable to her Creativeness Library and Develop U Program, which provides 100% tuition protection for Dollywood workers.
“Because the Scripture says, ‘To whom a lot is given, a lot is required,’” Parton informed Billboard in her 2020 cowl story, which centered partially on her efforts to maintain Dollywood on its ft within the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. “So I take a look at my life with that every single day and assume that God expects it of me. I count on it of myself, and I believe folks count on it of me. If I will be an inspiration, then I need to be that. That makes me really feel good.”
Parton has made frequent visits to the park through the years, together with its fortieth anniversary celebration in March 2025, which passed off lower than two weeks after the dying of her husband of practically 60 years, Carl Dean. She was scheduled to seem at Dollywood a few weeks previous to her dying to help the opening of its new NightFlight Expedition experience, however canceled as a consequence of then-unspecified well being points.
Nonetheless, Parton was her common chipper self in a video that performed on website. “My Nashville physician has kinda clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t touring this week,’” she defined to park-goers on the experience’s Aug. 14 opening. “So I assume, in case your physician tells you, ‘you ain’t touring this week,’ you ain’t touring this week.”
