Category archive: Pigeon Forge

What To Do in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge in August 2024

August is a great month for mountain festivals.  First off, our annual hot air balloon festival is a local favorite.  Car lovers and choose between the Bronco Stampeded or the Jeep Invasion, both held at the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge.  Music lovers can attend the Gatlinburg Songwriters Festival or – for a more lively scene featuring hard rock and heavy metal – The Mountain Music Festival.  It’s a diverse set of events with something to please everyone.

Gatlinburg Songwriters Festival

Dates: August 15-19, 2024
Location: Various venues in Gatlinburg

The Smoky Mountain Songwriters Festival brings together some of the best songwriters in the country for a celebration of music and storytelling. This five-day festival features live performances, workshops, and meet-and-greet sessions with award-winning songwriters. Attendees can enjoy intimate acoustic sets in cozy venues throughout Gatlinburg, offering a unique opportunity to hear the stories behind the songs. The festival highlights the art of songwriting and provides a platform for emerging talents to showcase their work.

Website: https://www.gatlinburgsongwriters.com/

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What To Do in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge in July 2024

The 4th of July holiday is the big attraction this month, with lots of celebrations in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and nearby towns.  There’s so much to do, many holiday events even start on July 3rd!  

There’s also plenty to do all month long. From patriotic celebrations to unique festivals, here’s a roundup of special events that will captivate tourists. 

Gatlinburg's midnight 4th of July parade

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Shades of the Past 2022: The Last Roundup

In 2022, the annual Hot Rod Roundup in Dollywood’s Splash country makes its final appearance. The Shades of the Past contract with Dollywood ends in this year and unfortunately, can’t be renewed.

The organizers say there’s no equivalent location in the area that can hold this large-scale event, and think they couldn’t better it elsewhere, so they have decided that this is the Last Roundup for this long-standing Pigeon Forge event. It will be long remembered after this final year.

Shades of the Past 2022: The Last Roundup

Image courtesy of Shades of the Past

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Dollywood Summer Celebration 2022 – Bubbles Are Back!

Dollywood celebrates summer in 2022 with its annual summer festival of fun, called the Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration – beginning July 18 and lasting through August 7th. Included in the regular ticket price, the Celebration offers nighttime lights, daytime splashes…and Bubbles are back!

Images courtesy of Dollywood and Gazillion Bubbles

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A Mountain Quiltfest 2022 in Pigeon Forge – 28th Annual

One of the country’s best quilt shows, A Mountain Quiltfest returns to Pigeon Forge for 2022, as the 4-day FREE event opens June 6 through June 9, at the LeConte Center. Filled with world-class wonders, the show draws thousands of visitors enjoying an ancient craft that also became a signature folk art of America, and roars on strongly today.

Now in its 28th year, the event opens on Monday with numerous classes that will run all four days, and the Free Quilt Show and Vendor hall will be open to the public Tuesday through Thursday, June 7-9. The exhibition times are 9am-5pm Tuesday and Wednesday, and closing at 4 pm on Thursday.

A Mountain Quiltfest 2022

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Flower & Food Festival 2022 at Dollywood

The festival is April 22 through June 5, 2022, multicolored wonders in a lovely theme park with creative plant sculptures, a million flower blooms, immersive and unique treats, lots of music and amazing food.

Dollywood is blooming here in springtime, 2022, and the Third Annual Flower & Food Festival gets underway on April 22, lasting through June 5. This gorgeous festival in an already lovely theme park features astonishingly creative plant sculptures, more than a million flower blooms throughout the park, the multicolored Umbrella Sky, live music everywhere – and mouth-watering food, of course.

Flower & Food Festival 2022 at Dollywood

Images courtesy of Dollywood

This year the Dollywood chefs have some new creations that are exclusive to this festival, with unique new flavors – the menu in an offering that practically demands getting a Tasting Pass to sample.
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Dollywood Summer 2021 – Just Add Drones!

Dollywood continues its vibrant summer season for 2021 with the Summer Celebration festival, running from June 25 through July 31. The ever innovative theme park brings us several festival themes during the course of the year, and this one is more spectacular than ever.

If you thought the multitude of umbrellas overhead were something special, wait until you see the hundreds of drones in the night sky, choreographing musical extravaganzas, along with fireworks. It’s a light show in three dimensions filling the sky, each evening through the festival. To warm the crowd up there’s a 30-minute dance party  beforehand to get you on your feet.

image courtesy of Dollywood

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The Riverwalk Greenway

Quietly running through the heart of the action in Pigeon Forge is a great paved trail known as Riverwalk Greenway, a hidden gem of a nature walk traversing the town from Patriot Park up to The Island and beyond. With benches, bathrooms and water fountains strategically placed along the way, the Greenway welcomes walkers and runners, baby strollers and bikes, and pets on a leash to use this free trail, open 24 hours each day, and lighted at night.

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