Labor Day Weekend and Rod Run in Pigeon Forge

Labor Day Weekend starts today! And we're thankful for the break. It's been QUITE a summer here in the Smokies with blazing hot temperatures, a lot of activity and a lot of work needing to be done. There's no better place in the South to enjoy a 3-4 day weekend than the Smokies and we hope you all come out to visit us!

One thing to note particularly is that Dollywood will be having a brand new special event going on tomorrow on park. "Rock The Smokies" will provide several rounds of Christian rock artists throughout the park that perform at 1:00PM, 4:00PM and 7:00PM. There will also be fireworks going off to celebrate Labor Day on September 3rd and 4th. See more on this at http://www.dollywood.com/themepark/Festivals/RockTheSmokies.

And then, you guessed it, it's Rod Run season in Pigeon Forge! Shades of the Past Rod Run XXXIII rolls into town from September 9th to the 10th and the Pigeon Forge Fall Rod Run begins the next weekend between September 15th and the 17th. The Shades of the Past Rod takes place up at Dolly's Splash Country while the Fall Rod Run takes place at the LeConte Conference Center in Downtown Pigeon Forge, but you can still expect the entire town to be in automotive party mode during the nights on those two weekends. See more information on that at www.mypigeonforge.com.

We'll be back later in September with some more news going on to start the Fall season in the Smokies. Stay tuned! www.allthesmokies.com.

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Celebrate Freedom 2016

Throughout the month of August, the city of Pigeon Forge initiates "Celebrate Freedom", where many businesses offer discounts to current and former military personnel as well as currently employed emergency personnel/first-responders.

The full list of what which businesses are offering discounts and what those discounts are would overfill this article, but you can see the official list here. Later on in the month, there will be a four-day tribute to military and first responders at Smoky Mountain Resorts from August 15th to the 18th and a "Welcome Home Veterans" parade on August 27th.

Additionally, Stringtime in the Smokies will be going on at the Old Mill Square on August 6th and features Grassroots Gringos, Richard Bennett, Wyatt Rice and Robinella as performing acts. There will also be a Smoky Mountain Cornhole Tournament. Festivities begin there at 11:00AM.

More information on these events can be found at www.mypigeonforge.com/events.

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2016 Fourth of July Festivities

There is a lot to love about Summer - backyard BBQ, city park picnics (also BBQ), municipal swimming pools, frisbee, baseball, fireflies and so much more - but the moment everyone looks forward to is a single 20 minute segment in early July, and you already know what it is.

But in the Smokies of East Tennessee, the magic of the 4th of July isn't just 20 minutes after sundown, it lasts the whole day starting 5 minutes after 11:55PM on July 3rd with the Midnight Parade in downtown Gatlinburg. This parade has been a tradition in Gatlinburg for years and years and for more than an hour, you and the whole family can watch an amazing patriotic parade - and that just BEGINS the 4th of July celebration!

Then after that, starting at 10:00AM is the River Raft Regatta at Christ in the Smokies in downtown Gatlinburg where you can race any unmanned, floatable objects toward the goal at Ripley's Aquarium. This event is sponsored by the City of Gatlinburg Special Events Office and the Gatlinburg Recreation Department.

In Pigeon Forge, Patriot Park is having Patriot Fest at 12:00PM. The whole park becomes a center of activity with a huge sound stage, lots of activity, food tents, cooling off station, music by half a dozen acts on the stage that is specifically built for the occasion (headlined this year by singer-songwriter Joe Diffie) and much more that go on until the fireworks start between 9:30PM and 9:45PM. The fireworks in Gatlinburg start at 10:00PM and if you're already downtown, you won't have to go far. The fireworks in Gatlinburg are designed to be seen from anywhere on the downtown sidewalk.

Come spend your 4th of July here with us in the Smokies! There's lots to do that's awesome for the whole family and we would be glad to have you. www.allthesmokies.com.

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Tax Free Weekend 2016 Info

We received this email some time ago and felt it was relevant to share here.

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Barbeque, Bluegrass and Wilderness

One last month for Spring 2016, so the latter end of this month will make it worth the trip with two favorite special events going on at the same time.

Starting this Friday is Dollywood's "Barbeque and Bluegrass" Festival and it goes on until May 22nd. For this awesome week-and-a-half, the price of admission at Dollywood includes round-the-clock performances from Backline, Flatt Lonesome, The Boxcars, The Steeldrivers, Loose Strings Band, Steve Gulley & New Pinnacle and almost two dozen additional artists playing throughout the park and the best in pulled pork, smoked sausage, chicken and much more served at Market Square. See more on this at www.dollywood.com.

And then, start on May 18th and going on until the 22th is the new Spring version of the Wilderness Wildlife Week that for over a generation was held in January. Other than the seasonal change, the W3 is every bit the same as we've always enjoyed. The hikes, lectures, workshops and special guest appearances continue to exceed our expectations. You can get more information on that at http://www.mypigeonforge.com/events/wilderness-wildlife-week/.

Have an awesome May! We'll be back in June with more special events and news. www.allthesmokies.com

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New Developments in Pigeon Forge April 2016

The Smokies are in a new era of change. If you haven't been to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg or Sevierville for even a year and a half, you might be surprised to learn of all the new things going on here in the Smokies!

Here are some new things you should be looking forward to in Pigeon Forge this season:

* New Publix
2016 seems to be the year of the grocery store! At least it feels that way with the new Publix grocery store coming to downtown Pigeon Forge right next to Wears Valley road. We've already seen increased competition from Krogers and Food City to gear up for it, and that means visitors and local consumers win all the way around!

* Goat Coaster
Goats On the Roof on Wears Valley Road has been one of those success stories where no one really saw it coming or expected it would be as big a hit as it is, but it has, and now the attraction is expanding to offer an alpine coaster on the premises as part of their "one-stop-fun" approach. http://thecoastertn.com/

* Cal Ripkin Experience
This project was long in the making on Teaster Lane and it's finally open! The Cal Ripkin Experience is a sports complex with six baseball fields (made with synthetic turf), a 14,137 square foot clubhouse, a concession stand and more. There will be plenty of tournaments, events and more featured there. https://www.ripkenbaseball.com/youth_baseball/pigeon_forge

* New Chipotle in Sevierville
Can you believe we've never had a Chipotle in Sevierville before? It's true, but these days we're getting all kinds of new restaurants and chains we'd never had before and Chipotle is a welcome addition to our local palatte.

* Dolly Parton's Lumberjack Adventure Dinner and Show
The Lumberjack Feud was/is such a good show that the same management company owning Dollywood and Dixie Stampede decided to add it to their high quality brand of entertainment. The new Lumberjack Adventure will celebrate the Appalachian history of Tennessee lumberjacks, offer new content, food and more. http://dollyparton.com/lumberjack-adventure

There will be more to talk about in Gatlinburg soon enough, so stay tuned with us here at Gatlinburg Lodging and Allthesmokies. www.allthesmokies.com

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March Events For 2016

March has brought us probably been some of the best of 2016 we've seen so far - and we're only 9 days in. Such can be expected when you're greeted with warm temperatures, green grass, flowers and trees already blooming and sunshine that makes you glad you went outside.

And we follow that up with two highly anticipated special events coming up very soon.

March 15th is the start of A Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN, at the LeConte Conference Center downtown. This is a surprisingly popular and enriching special event for fans of the Appalachian culture here in the Smokies with many amazing quilts on display, workshops for and taught by professional quilters, and prizes for top quality works of art as well. Quiltfest goes on from 3/15/16 to 3/19/16. You can find more on that at www.mypigeonforge.com/events/quiltfest/.

And then, also on March 19th, is an event a LOT of people look forward to - Dollywood's "Festival of Nations" and grand re-opening for the 2016 season. This year the entertainment will include:

* Mother Africa
* Los Pampas Gauchos
* Atahualpa
* Celtic Coast
* David Charrier
* Duo Del Sol

And more that you can find at www.dollywood.com.

As always, check back with us next month and get a good amount of Smoky Mountain information at www.allthesmokies.com.

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