Celebrating the Seasons: Our Guide to Dollywood Festivals Throughout the Year

There’s one place in the Smoky Mountains that receives more national and worldwide awards than any other attraction: Dollywood! The Pigeon Forge theme park, partially owned by Sevierville native Dolly Parton, has been entertaining millions of Smoky Mountain visitors for decades! Voted the #1 theme park in the world by TripAdvisor in 2022, Dollywood attracts guests for a variety of fun reasons, including festivals throughout the year! These season-themed festivals feature incredible decor, tasty food, show stopping entertainment and more! Here’s our guide to Dollywood festivals throughout the year:

Flower & Food Festival

Larger-than-life blooming Mosaicultures meant to mirror the swaths of flowers and vegetation that come to life each spring in the Smoky Mountains can be found inside Dollywood during the Flower & Food Festival! Running from mid-April to mid-June each year, the Flower & Food Festival allows visitors to sample unique garden-fresh flavors and enjoy live music from talented musicians all under the rainbow-hued tapestry of Umbrella Sky. You’ll notice real vibrant flowers blooming all throughout the park, in fact, more than a million flowers to be exact! Watch a sea of street performers as they celebrate the arrival of spring!

Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration

Some of the greatest family moments happen in the summer! Celebrate summer in style at Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration! This summer festival is sure to make your summer nights bigger, brighter and sweeter! A Sweet Summer Nights drone and fireworks show lights up the night sky and wows guests with spectacular illuminated scenes and bright colors, telling a unique Dollywood story through 3D animations. The Gazillion Bubble Show Aurora features “gazillions” of bubbles that take over the theater in a show that kids have come to adore! This annual Dollywood festival runs from mid-June to August.

Harvest Festival

Jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins and other fun fall decor take over Dollywood during Harvest Festival! As green colors give way to incredible yellow, red and orange hues across the Smoky Mountains, Dollywood celebrates with a festival that feels, looks, smells and tastes like the beautiful fall in the Smokies! Apple and pumpkin treats delight taste buds while thousands of creatively carved pumpkins and larger-than-life pumpkin icons set the mood! When the sun goes down, you have to check out the award-winning Great Pumpkin LumiNights that fills the dark night with bright pumpkin displays! Harvest Festival occurs each year from mid-September through October.

Smoky Mountain Christmas

Celebrate the reason for the season each winter at Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas! Voted America’s Best Christmas Event for more than a decade, this festival never fails to fill visitors with the Christmas spirit each November through early-January! More than 6 million tiny winter lights transform Dollywood into a Winter Wonderland you see in the movies while award-winning shows spread holiday cheer and help to create family memories that you’ll never forget! Dollywood’s classic train takes folks for a ride where they can see these 6 million twinkling lights spread throughout the park. Plus, Santa makes sure to take the time to find out what every little boy and girl wants for Christmas!

These Dollywood festivals are a great way to celebrate the very best of the Smoky Mountains! Check out all the fun things to do in Dollywood and start planning your Smoky Mountain vacation today!