Just driving two and a half hours northeast of Chattanooga, lying literally at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains are the towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg--favorite warm-weather tourist spots for shoppers, hikers and theme park visitors. What some may not know about, however, is the chameleon-like transformation these cities make into veritable winter wonderlands come the holidays.
From November 10 to December 30, Pigeon Forge’s Dollywood, the theme park brainchild of singer and entertainer Dolly Parton, hosts its annual Smoky Mountain Christmas Festival with shows, music, a parade and fireworks display.
Touted as Dollywood’s most elaborate stage show ever, “Babes in Toyland”, one of the main attractions of the festival, showcases a 20-performer cast and fully-orchestrated musical score that captivates audiences with its stunts, choreography and come to life toys. Another popular festival show, “Christmas in the Smokies,” includes favorite holiday carols sung and played by a 12-member cast and seven-member band. Re-enactments of the timeless “Christmas Story” and “Twas the Night Before Christmas” are also held in theatres inside the park. There are also performances of Christmas hymns and songs by acoustic musicians, as well as Dollywood’s award-winning gospel group, The Kingdom Heirs.
Visitors may happen upon a group of carolers, outfitted in costumes from the Victorian Era, singing music from that period. As they roam the park, they may encounter the curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge,r from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Children will delight at Santa’s Workshop, a giant store where life-sized “toys” greet them at the door, and interactive play with giant puzzle pieces and an enormous ViewMaster l engage them for hours. The highlight of this stop is, of course, a visit with Santa himself
The luminous Parade of Lights, named so because of the twinkling bulbs that decorate its floats, winds through the park each day and features holiday characters. The festival ends each night with “Carol of the Trees”, a spectacle of brilliant bursts of lights and fireworks synchronized with seasonal music.
“Families from as far away as Great Britain use Smoky Mountain Christmas at Dollywood to get them in the holiday mood,” says Pete Owens, Public Relations Manager for the Dollywood Companies. “The event is very weather-dependent, but next to KidsFest in the summer, it is our most attended festival.”
Excluding the ones involving water, Owens says, all the rides in the theme park are open during the festival. “Timber Tower will operate without the fountains,” he continues. “The coasters all operate down to forty degrees when we do not run them for safety reasons.”
Dollywood’s hours of operation during the Smoky Mountain Christmas Festival are 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Friday, November 23, Wednesday, December 26 through Sunday, December 30 and every Saturday. The park is closed every Monday and Tuesday except Monday, December 17 and Tuesday, December 18, as well as Thanksgiving Day (November 22). It is open all other days from 2:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Admission for children 12 and under is $31.20, adults is $47.95, and senior citizens 60 and over is $44.60. Tickets may be purchased by visiting Dollywood.com
Located just outside the entrance to Dollywood is The Dixie Stampede, a dinner and show spectacular featuring horse feats and stunt riders. Also created by Dolly Parton, The Dixie Stampede comes to life in a 35,000 square-foot arena around which 1,000 visitors are seated to enjoy a meal and the show. The four-course dinner includes a tender, whole rotisserie chicken, hickory-smoked barbecue pork loin, corn on the cob, creamy vegetable soup, a homemade biscuit, herb-basted potato, an apple pastry and unlimited soft drinks, tea and coffee.
“Each section has a letter and a number to designate where each person sits,” says Steve Cruz, Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing. “The sections are tiered five feet from each other so that everyone has an unobstructed view of the show and all the fun.” The show, which includes a performance by 32 horses and a large group of cast members, as well as live buffalo, ostrich races and magic, is livened by spirited audience participation when visitors on each side of the arena cheer for their side during the competition.
The Dixie Stampede’s Christmas show runs from October 31 to December 31, and features, in addition to regular season performers, a live nativity scene complete with angels, three kings riding atop camels and Christmas carols. Guests cheer for their favorite North or South Pole elves as the diminutive characters serve the meal. The show culminates with an appearance by Santa in his sleigh. The yuletide setting, complete with falling snow, lights, poinsettias and old-fashioned holiday costumes, is guaranteed to give guests a healthy dose of Christmas spirit.
“The Christmas show is extremely popular,” says Cruz. “Since we give our guests a feeling of the true meaning of the season, we find we have multiple shows daily, including five shows every Saturday. Due to the popularity of our Christmas shows, we encourage folks to make reservations as far in advance as possible so that they don’t miss the performance.”
Admission for the four-course feast and show is $22.32 for children four to 11 and $44.32 for adults and children 12 and up. Children under three years of age are free if they sit on their parents’ laps and eat from their plates. Those interested in seeing the schedule of performances or purchasing tickets should visit DixieStampede.com.
Pigeon Forge has a large variety of places to lodge, dine and shop. For more information, visit pigeonforgechamber.com.
Gatlinburg, a mountain resort town located a mere six miles South of Pigeon Forge will host its 18th Annual Smoky Mountain Winterfest from November through February. The festival, with its trademark Winter Magic, an aptly-named sea of brilliantly-colored lights and winter scene displays, along with the Festival of Lights Christmas parade, rank among the Southeast Tourism Society’s “Top 20 Events in the South”, a can’t-miss for anyone visiting the Smokies during the holidays.
This year for the first time, Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights will replace the older, incandescent bulbs that have served to illuminate the town for Winterfests past. “We are excited about the energy savings, as well as the beautiful color of LED,” says Jim Davis, Public Relations Coordinator of the Gatlinburg Department of Tourism. The city of Gatlinburg, which employs a staggering three million lights for the annual celebration, stands to benefit significantly from the switch to the energy-efficient LED’s. Although more expensive than the older lights, LED’s are lower maintenance, guaranteed for five years and many believe brighter and more colorful.
Exquisite lights will decorate Gatlinburg’s well-known Downtown Parkway, adjacent River Road and the juncture of the two thoroughfares. Displays making their Winterfest debut this year include some featuring animals that live in the Smokies, including deer, foxes, squirrels and rabbits. New streetlight poles, part of the recent cosmetic improvements to the downtown area, will be covered with the new lights, depicting a forest of snow-covered trees. Other additions include new sidewalks, benches and planters.
Winterfest begins on November 7 with a Chili Cookoff and live entertainment from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Winter Magic Tunes and Tales makes its inaugural appearance at this year’s Winterfest as characters and storytellers carol and meet and entertain visitors along the Downtown Parkway every Friday and Saturday evenings throughout the season.
The Fifth Annual Veteran’s Day Celebration will be held on November 11 on Ripley’s Aquarium Plaza, and showcases the Gatlinburg-Pittman High School Band and the Knoxville Pipe and Drum Band in a musical tribute to those who have served in the Armed Forces.
Distinctive Christmas trees, uniquely decorated by local businesses and organizations are available for viewing, and the Smoky Mountain Dance Theater Company performs its Nutcracker “Sweet” at 7:00 p.m., November 23 and 24 at Gatlinburg’s Nutcracker “Sweet” and Festival of Trees at the Gatlinburg Convention Center.
Festival-goers interested in combining the activities with Christmas shopping will certainly want to peruse creations of the members of the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community at its annual Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts Show November 21-25, also at the Convention Center.
The acclaimed Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade makes its way through Downtown Gatlinburg on Friday, December 7, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Visitors will marvel at the more than 100 parade entries, marching bands, helium balloons, and, of course, Santa and his elves.
A New Year’s Eve Ball Drop and Fireworks Show, reminiscent of that of New York City’s Times Square, will run from 11:00 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. New Year’s Day. A throng of 40,000 is expected to usher in 2008 at the street party, complete with party hats, tiaras, a fireworks show and live entertainment.
Visitors eager to drink in a panoramic view of the awe-inspiring Smoky Mountains will get front-row seats aboard the old-fashioned hayrides that depart from traffic light number six at Mountain Mall approximately every 45 minutes from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays.
Those who prefer a guided tour of the city’s light displays won’t want to miss the Winter Magic Trolley Ride of Lights. Advance reservations are necessary for the tours, which leave from the trolley center, located at traffic light number five, at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 nightly through December 30. The tour transports visitors through downtown and along Highway 321. The trolley does not run on December 7, which is the night of the Christmas parade, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and only on Saturdays during the month of January.
“Winterfest has grown into a very popular tradition for our visitors who can make the quick drive to spend a little quality time in the Smokies, then soak up the downtown area, arts and crafts community, and the holiday lights,” Davis adds. “With special events, including the Chili Cookoff and the biggest Christmas parade in the region, plus the introduction of Winter Magic Tunes and Tales, there’s always a reason to visit.” “Gatlinburg is a magical place that comes to life during winter, and that’s why folks load up their cars and SUV’s and head to the mountains,” says Director of Tourism, David Perella.
Just a tank a gas away, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg can add magic to your Holiday Season.
You can enjoy old-fashioned, family-friendly fun at the gateway to the Smoky Mountains.