Dollywood Festival of Nations 2017 Photos

These photos were provided to us by Ge'ne Kea-Lawhead on a recent visit to Dollywood during Festival of Nations 2017. This can give you a look at Dollywood from a very real perspective and some of the nice little details you don't often see.

Photos copyright to Ge'ne Kea-Lawhead.

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Spring 2017 Is Here In The Smokies!

All over, we're seeing trees blooming with the pastel and super-bright colors you've come to expect with Springfest. Our Dogwood trees are in full bloom and look like great balls of popcorn atop the aged wooden trunks. Hydrangeas, roses, tulips, rhododendron, frasier magnolia and many more stand out from even a fair distance. You won't see the colors from the mountains like you do in Autumn, but that gives you all the more incentive to go out and explore the Smokies through the hiking trails, motor trails and city parks.

Surely by now you know the Smokies are open for tourism as the Spring Break season takes upon us. If that wasn't enough, Dollywood is back open with the Festival of Nations back and better than ever to begin our new Springfest with a worldly blast!

Take a look at some of the events going on and coming up here in Pigeon Forge:

Dollywood's Festival of Nations
3/18/17 to 4/9/17
www.dollywood.com


Spring Smoky Mountain Trout Tournament
4/1/17 to 4/2/17
www.rockytopoutfitter.com

Pigeon Forge Spring Rod Run
4/6/17 to 4/8/17
www.rodrun-pigeonforge.com

And what sort of lodging specials can we recommend? Have a look:

Cove Mountain
March 2017 Special

Stay 2 Nights 3rd Night Free!
Excluding Holidays
(No Other Discounts Apply)

April 2017 Special

Stay 3 Nights 4th Night Free!
(No Other Discounts Apply)

Reserve these at www.covemountain.com.


Summit Cabin Rentals

Buy 2 Get 1 Free Night Now until June 1st! Excludes Premium Season and Luxury Cabin, Paradise Point.

Reserve this at www.summitcabinrentals.com.


Stayed tuned with us in April as we have more to talk about and special events coming up then and in May. www.allthesmokies.com.

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Lodging Special For This Spring-Preview Week

With this week being one of the warmest we've had since the start of the year, and a darn great preview of Spring to boot (we're even seeing some early blooming of trees, plants and vegetation around the mountains), this is a great time to consider taking advantage of February "down time" specials that are going on.

It's like getting Spring Break in the Smokies well before the usual Spring Break traffic arrives!

In Pigeon Forge, we recommend this special going out from Summit Cabin Rentals:

"Buy 2 Get 1 Free Night Now until June 1st! Excludes Premium Season and Luxury Cabin, Paradise Point."

"Get 2 Free nights when you come to the Smokies and arrive on Sunday and stay 5 nights Until June 1st! Excludes Luxury Cabin, Paradise Point."

Reserve these specials at www.summitcabinrentals.com.

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Valentine's Weekend Next Weekend

This next weekend is an interesting vacation weekend opportunity as usually if Valentine's Day is on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, then it becomes "Valentine's Weekend", but this year Valentine's Day comes on a Tuesday - close to the weekend but not quite.

All the same, this weekend will be functionally "Valentine's Weekend" and we'd like to recommend some businesses that currently have romantic accommodations in or near Pigeon Forge avalaible:

* Summit Cabin Rentals
* Secret Hideaways
* Bear Camp Cabins
* Moose Creek Crossing
* Your Smoky Mountain Cabin
* Kero Mountain Resort

And worthwhile things to take your sweetheart to in and around Valentine's Day for romantic atmosphere:

* Titanic Pigeon Forge Valentine's Dinner
(February 11th)

* Winterfest Driving Tour of Lights

* Alamo Steakhouse

* The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel

* Friendly Falls

* The Old Mill

* Wonders of Flight Balloon Ride

We'll be back in a month or so with items of interest for March. Stay tuned and always check on area information with us at www.allthesmokies.com.

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Featured Special: Cove Mountain Resorts

Wears Valley, just 15 minutes from Pigeon Forge, is kind of like the arts and crafts community on the other side of the Tennessee Smokies, but instead of the glades and being surrounded by thick forestry, you get a big, flat land with crystal clear views of the HUGE mountains surrounding the community.

For those who want to enjoy vacation accommodations that make great use of these views, we recommend Cove Mountain Resorts in Wears Valley. They have many cabins to choose from and the following special:

"January-March 2017 Special: Stay 2 Nights 3rd Night Free!
Excludes holidays, no other discounts apply."

You can reserve this special at www.covemountain.com.

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Celebrate The New Year in the Smokies!

After a wild year in the Smokies where we saw a lot of ups and downs, we're happy to report Christmas has been a great success here for all who were able to enjoy it! The weather has given us a break from the cold while not diminishing the holiday atmosphere and it's been a nice balance of ambiance to enjoy as we spend time with our loved ones and exchange gifts.

Now we look forward to New Years coming in less than a week. 2017 has much to offer and in the Smoky Mountains we close out the previous year and begin the new one with a bang! In Pigeon Forge, our New Years celebrations take place at The Island just off the parkway downtown. The party begins at 8:00PM and includes live entertainment, lights from the fountain and ferris wheel and more fun coming from the various restaurants and stores located on the premises - and then as it closes in to midnight, the ball begins to drop to mark the moment it transitions from year to year and then, literally, BOOM! The fireworks go off and a brand new year with brand new opportunities is born!

At the same time in Gatlinburg, the New Years party for that city runs traditional as it has for decades begins. Throughout the day, the knowledge of the impending countdown sits overhead and excitement builds. At 10:00PM, there will be entertainment near Stoplight #8 (Bubba Gump Shrimp) which will build more excitement for the evening and then, yes, as it nears midnight, a ball will begin to drop from the Space Needle at the center of downtown Gatlinburg and once it transitions from 2016 to 2017, fireworks again explode into the night sky for almost 20 minutes straight.

There is no better way to celebrate the New Year in the Smokies!

See more on these events at www.islandinpigeonforge.com and www.gatlinburg.com.

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Status of Smokies: Wildfire Updates

As most of you reading this probably know by now, the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee became under conflagration with wildfires that spread out from several areas of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley on Monday, November 28th. As of writing, 13 people were pronounced dead, 80 were injured, more than 1,000 structures (including well-known businesses and iconic buildings) were destroyed and more than 15,000 acres of mountains.

To say the event was a historic emergency in East Tennessee underscores the reality of what happened. However, in the midst of this nearly unprecedented darkness in the Smokies, we have seen a flood of light come in to help repair the damage and support those in need. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have come in from all over the country to support those who lost their homes, jobs and/or loved ones in the wildfires and we still get people asking us what they can do to help.

Truth is, the best thing you can do to help us is to come back to the Smokies and vacation with us. For better or worse, tourism is the literal lifeblood of Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Wears Valley and Sevierville. We need visitors to come back, stay with us, eat with us, shop with us and continue to smile, laugh and enjoy themselves the same as they always did. All of our Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Wears Valley attractions are currently open and Gatlinburg is expected to fully open back up this coming Wednesday.

Visit www.wbir.com for the latest news regarding the wildfires and any openings or closing related to them. Thank you and we hope to see you again here in the coming holidays!

www.allthesmokies.com

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