Dollywood Harvest Festival

Festival Location: Pidgeon Forge, TN, USA

Festival State: Tennessee Festivals

Festival Type(s): Harvest Festivals, Bizarre Festivals

By: © Nelson Taylor 2009

When I started this collection, I told myself I wouldn't include theme park events, but Dollywood is so odd that I had to make mention of their largest event of the year, the Harvest Festival, held during the entire month of October. But first, what the hell is Dollywood? It's a theme park in the great Smoky Mountains, which opened in 1986. The theme? You guessed it, everything that is, was and ever will be Dolly Parton.

Think Six Flags with a hillbilly twist. There are lots of rides, like the Tennessee Tornado, which is the world's first spiral loop roller coaster. And then there's Thunder Road, the world's largest turbo-ride action adventure, which takes you on a high-speed Tennessee moonshine chase with federal agents. Head back in time as you learn the mountain way of making lye soap, the art of copperage (barrel making) and a demonstration on how to call wild animals from Ted Peters, who took first place in a recent U.S. Open National Turkey Call Championship. There's a grist mill on the premises, Uncle Dan's Broom Shop, a pork rind stand and the Ham n' Beans restaurant. During the Harvest Festival you can expect to see an antique RV collection, plus the Southern Gospel Jubilee, which is the country's largest celebration of Southern Gospel music. One day admission to the park is always $29.99 for adults, $24.99 for seniors, and $20.99 for the kids.