Dollywood Lights Its First Christmas Without Dolly Parton

Somebody at Dollywood was hanging Christmas lights while the rest of East Tennessee was still sweating through summer. More than 6 million bulbs later, Smoky Mountain Christmas opened Nov. 6 in Pigeon Forge, the park’s first since Dolly Parton died in Nashville on Aug. 25, at 80.

Grief and tinsel make an odd pair. Park president Eugene Naughton insists the season still belongs to her, noting in a statement that her love of Christmas “began right here in these beautiful Smoky Mountains.” Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, delivered the news of her death in a family video in late August; her publicist later confirmed she died after a brief battle with cancer.

None of that has dimmed the park much. A USAToday reporter who walked the grounds opening weekend came away describing a place still running on Dolly’s particular brand of warmth, even with her gone.

The Lights, The Snow, The Whole Production