News and information about tourist communities bordering the Great Smokies such as Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Cherokee and Maggie Valley.
Cataloochee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is well-known for its elk and scenic beauty. The valley is also rich with history and now a new two-hour documentary – three years in the making – tells the story.
The smell of fresh-cooked chili accompanied the sights and sounds of the season Wednesday night in Gatlinburg as the city hosted its annual Gatlinburg Winter Magic event as a kickoff to Smoky Mountain Winterfest. The 24th Annual Chili Cookoff and Winter Magic Kickoff featured the ceremonial lighting of over three million lights and a little
Entertainment legend Dolly Parton announced plans for $300 million in capital investments in The Dollywood Company over the next 10 years. The investment includes new attractions, resorts and the creation of more than 2,500 jobs. Construction is under way on the new FireChaser Express rollercoaster, opening in March 2014 at Dollywood. To mark the company’s
On September 27 and 28, the quiet, mountain community of Townsend, Tenn. will come alive with Appalachian celebrations at various locations throughout the town. The flagstone event, the Townsend in the Smokies Heritage Festival and Old Timer’s Day, will once again showcase bluegrass music, clogging and square dancing, arts and crafts, demonstrations, and Southern cuisine
We expect to spot black bears in the Smokies or even in some backyards, but one bear on the run got a lot of attention over the weekend because of where it was spotted. Cell phone video, captured by Tricia Alexander, shows the black bear making its way from the National Park, attempting to get
Ole Smoky Moonshine celebrates Appalachian heritage with this event featuring authentic moonshine stills and bootlegger cars, stories by moonshiners and the law enforcement officers that chased them, a Moonshine Run through county back roads, corn hole tournaments, mountain music and moonshine crawl. When September 26, 2013 – September 28, 2013 Where Ole Smoky Moonshine 903
Moonshine tasting, live and silent auctions, hikes, talks, hunts, BBQ, dancing and star gazing are just a few of the activities planned for Great Smoky Mountains Association’s Membership Appreciation Weekend September 13-15 in Townsend, TN. “Our theme this year is ‘Celebrating 60 Years of Support’ of Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” said GSMA’s marketing and
In what was promoted as the biggest news in Dollywood history, Dolly Parton Wednesday announced a $300 million investment in the entertainment complex. About half of that will go toward a 300-room resort hotel, called Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort. It will open in summer 2015 on 100 acres near the water park Dollywood’s Splash Country. The
Repaving of the Gatlinburg Bypass in the Smoky Mountains will be done around tourism demands. The National Park Service announced Wednesday that a contractor will begin milling and repaving the road on Monday. The bypass will be closed to all traffic from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. each weekday, starting Sunday night and ending Friday
“They always say you can’t go home again,” says 64-year-old country music icon Dolly Parton, who skedaddled to the bright lights of Nashville from her sharecropper family’s two-room cabin on the Little Pigeon River the day after her high school graduation. “Well,” adds the self-proclaimed Backwoods Barbie, “I’ve certainly proved that wrong.” >> Read Complete
