Free Republic

The best coleslaw I’ve ever had is Dolly Parton’s. Okay, Dolly has never personally made me coleslaw or been a guest at any potlucks I’ve attended. But her method for the popular cookout side—which appears in the book Dollywood Presents Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking—is truly spectacular. The book was published in 1989, and is authored by “the Dollywood Family,” employees at the Dollywood theme park. It’s filled with photos of young Dolly and classic Southern recipes, including chicken and dumplings, apple stack cake, and banana pudding, with credits to the employees the recipes came from. While there isn’t much text,...

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Charlotte Moore needed a phone charger. Then she remembered that her home was gone. The realization came as she made the familiar drive up to the top of Laurel Mountain in the Roaring Fork neighborhood of Gatlinburg on Friday, where what lay ahead was anything but familiar. On the first day officials let property owners return to assess the damage from the wildfire that devastated their homes, the eastern Tennessee tourist destination was headed toward an uncertain future. As people were allowed into the city, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters raised the death toll to 13 and...

If it hasn't yet occurred to you to pray for Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge I feel negligent that we haven’t dealt with this before now. Yes, it’s nonpolitical, but we normally pay plenty of attention to stories that affect (and especially that threaten) large numbers of people. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. I’ve been there several times, and even visited Dollywood, which may be in its final days - or even hours. It occurred to me yesterday that if there’s any silver lining to a situation like this, it’s that people would presumably...

A roaring 500-acre fire is threatening structures in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where officials have ordered mandatory evacuations. Roads near Great Smoky Mountains National Park are closed, as firefighters battle the flames and gusty winds. There have been no fatalities so far, but three burn victims are in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the Tennessean reported. Officials suspect arson in the fire, which started over the weekend. More than 100 structures have been destroyed by the massive fire, including the home of Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Dollywood officials have offered a refund to a lesbian couple after an employee asked one of the women to turn her T-shirt inside out to hide the slogan "marriage is so gay." Park officials called off a meeting with the couple when Jennifer Tipton and Olivier Odom wanted to bring a representative from Campaign for Southern Equality, a gay rights organization.

Rarely has a T-shirt been the cause of such a national discussion. Now Dolly Parton has weighed in on an episode at Dollywood's Splash Country in which a same-sex Knoxville couple were asked to leave because of the shirt one of them wore. snip "I am truly sorry for the hurt or embarrassment regarding the gay and lesbian T-shirt incident at Dollywood's Splash Country recently. Everyone knows of my personal support of the gay and lesbian community. Dollywood is a family park and all families are welcome," said Parton in the statement. While Parton did not apologize for a park...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A lesbian couple is asking for changes at Dollywood after an employee asked one of the women to turn her T-shirt reading "marriage is so gay" inside-out to avoid offending others on a recent visit to the Tennessee theme park complex. Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton said Tuesday they want the park to be more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families after Odom was asked to reverse her shirt when they visited Dollywood Splash Country next to the Pigeon Forge amusement park. The story was first reported by WBIR-TV in Knoxville. Dollywood spokesman Pete Owens...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A lesbian couple is asking for changes at Dollywood after an employee asked one of the women to turn her T-shirt reading "marriage is so gay" inside-out to avoid offending others on a recent visit to the Tennessee theme park complex. Olivier Odom and Jennifer Tipton said Tuesday they want the park to be more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families after Odom was asked to reverse her shirt when they visited Dollywood Splash Country next to the Pigeon Forge amusement park. The story was first reported by WBIR-TV in Knoxville. Dollywood spokesman Pete...

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. - Dolly Parton's Dollywood theme park will be adding a new $5 million raft ride equipped with water guns to soak targets, other riders and bystanders. Scheduled to open in 2008, the River Battle sends eight passengers on rafts down a 500-foot channel lined with more than 100 targets. The targets include large-scale talking animals such as beavers, skunks, otters and bears, some of which shoot water back at the riders. Riders can also aim at other passengers on their raft or park guests along the edge of the ride. The Great Smoky Mountains venue will also...

Tennessee family has filed a lawsuit against Dolly Parton's dinner theater Dixie Stampede and an ex-employee, claiming their 8-year-old daughter was sexually molested while performing in the annual Christmas show. Armando Martinez Gonzalez, 31, is accused of fondling the unidentified child actress before a show in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The complaint, filed on Oct. 10 in Sevier County Circuit Court, claims Dixie Stampede breached its contract to care for, supervise and protect the girl. The family is also charging the company with negligent supervision, hiring, recklessness and emotional distress, claiming supervisors should have been aware of what was happening behind...

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. - The third annual "OUT at the Park" at Dollywood is set for Saturday May 28, 2005, from 8 a.m-9 p.m. followed by the first annual "OUT at the Water Park" at Dollywood's Splash Country on Saturday May 29 from 10 a.m- 6 p.m. "OUT at the Park" is a gay weekend event organized by a nonprofit organiztion interested in creating events that are fun social opportunities for GLBTQ community members of all ages.

<p>The Dollywood theme park has asked a gay and lesbian group to immediately stop advertising ''Gay Day at Dollywood'' for an upcoming event that attracted about 1,000 gays and lesbians, mainly from Tennessee, last year.</p> <p>The Dollywood attorney's letter, paraphrased and forwarded by activists to fellow gays and lesbians via e-mail around the state and nationwide, has sparked anger.</p>

Gay Pride Celebrated at Dollywood 14 September 2003 Gay Day`s are beginning to become a normal occurrance at theme parks across the country. Disney has one, and so does Kings Island. Today, Dollywood joined the fold. But, it isn`t a park sanctioned event. East Tennessee Gay Pride organized a "Gay Day" at Dollywood for the gay, lesbian, bisexual & transgendered community. It`s the first time they decided to end their week long festivities at Dollywood. The "Gay Day" caught some off guard. Even Dollywood`s public relations manager didn`t know the final pride festivities would be taking place there. Some...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.WASHINGTON July 5 - Frolicking near a waterfall and shady trees, two injured bald eagles settled in to their new home at the National Zoo Wednesday. Sam and Tioga are the first residents of an exhibit designed especially for bald eagles hurt in the wild. Singer Dolly Parton turned out for the welcoming wearing a patriotic mini-dress covered in American flags. Sam and Tioga were previously cared for by a foundation based at Parton's Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. ``We're very involved with saving the bald eagle, because it's very...