Nothing is more important for Dolly Parton than family. And you’re all family when you visit Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge. You’ll be welcomed with a warm smile, treated to a delicious four-course meal, and entertained with a rousing mix of down-home humor, lively music, thirty-two galloping horses, and a little friendly competition.
This year the Dixie Stampede Dinner Attraction celebrates its 23nd year of first-class family entertainment. The most popular show in town, it seats 1,000 guests per show. During peak season, the Dixie Stampede will perform its unique shows featuring comedy and patriotism up to five times a day. Everyone loves to come see the Dixie Stampede: young and old, families with children of all ages, honeymoon couples, even grandparents.
It’s also very likely that many in the crowd have been to the Dixie Stampede before. They will tell you that visiting the Dixie Stampede is a family tradition. One of the Dixie Stampede’s greatest fans is its new marketing manager, Jim Whaley. He’s been bringing his family for years and every year he has a family portrait done at Dixie.
Just like all the returning guests, Whaley loves those exciting show elements that thrill the audience: Biscuit & the Gang tearing up the banjo during the preshow, the daring trick-riding horses that jump through fire, the riveting rodeo competition, Skeeter’s down-home jokes, the gallantry of the old South, and especially the friendly rivalry between the North and the South.
But Whaley will also tell you that there’s always something new to see and enjoy at the Dixie Stampede Attraction. This year the big covered wagons will circle round the campfire, as the chef prepares the evening chow. Cowboys and cowgirls sing and dance as they enjoy a “Dixie Hoedown.”
Dolly sings a new song in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Part of her new musical being performed this year at Dollywood, the song “Sha-Kon-O-Hey” pays tribute to the area’s first inhabitants, the Cherokee, as well as the brave men and women who settled the Great Smoky Mountains.
Whaley doesn’t want to give away all of what’s new. You’ll have to come see what Skeeter’s Big Event is and what exciting new race has been added. Just like any family celebration, it’s the mix of the old and the new that makes each visit special.
The Dixie Stampede is high-powered entertainment at its best, from the first charge of those magnificent horses and their talented riders through the grand finale as Dolly sings her proud tribute “Color Me America.” If you haven’t visited the Dixie Stampede before, it’s time you did and started your own Dixie Stampede family tradition. |
