For the 34th year, Pigeon Forge holds its annual spring parade, on Friday, May 3, 2019 starting at 6 pm. It’s the Music in the Mountains Parade, northbound on Parkway from Traffic Light #6 to Light # 3.
The parade welcomes back baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr again as Grand Marshal, and this year he is joined by Paula Deen, to lead the parade in a grand celebration of Smoky Mountains heritage and Music
Image courtesy of Pigeon Forge
This year is bigger than ever with marching bands from several neighboring states, bluegrass concerts in Pigeon Forge FREE and open to the public, and even some great new giant balloon characters – including a 10-foot baseball in honor of the Ripken Experience.
The Ole Smoky Moonshine stage at The Island will offer free concerts throughout the day on Friday and Saturday. The Lost Mill String Band will perform near the trolley station at Patriot Park from 11 am and 3 pm. Mike & Kathy Gwinn will make random appearances on the city’s trolleys during Saturday afternoon.
Parkway will obviously be jammed up that evening, but you can park free at the LeConte Center or Patriot Park – and walk to join the fun. Light #6 is roughly the center of town, with Patriot Park to the south, while light #3 to the north is close to The Island.
There are usually well over 100 floats in the parade, which can draw up to 50,000 spectators lining Parkway. Checking a map and planning your parking and walking is a good idea.
For more information, call 865-453-8574. For accommodation, see our Pigeon Forge cabins and our selection of pet friendly cabins in Pigeon Forge.
And to stay in touch with everything going on in the area, our feature pages for things to do in the Smoky Mountains, as well as our favorite outdoor Smoky Mountain activities, festivals and events throughout the area and the year in our Gatlinburg Events page, and finally, not forgetting all the family-friendly attractions in our Things to Do in Gatlinburg with Kids section.
