Dollywood is ready to pumpkin spice up Dolly Parton’s favorite season with this festival

Devarrick Turner, Knoxville News Sentinel

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There’s nothing like autumn in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains. It can be even more fun experiencing it at Dollywood, as vibrant fall colors, decorations, giant pumpkins and spiced foods transform the theme park for its 2024 Harvest Festival.

Fall is Dolly Parton’s favorite time of the year, so of course Dollywood has to go all out for the season. The popular Harvest Festival begins Monday and features over 12,000 pumpkins, including those insanely ginormous gourds, the enchanting Hoot Owl Hollow, a variety of musical performances, fall treats and the Great Pumpkin LumiNights displays.

And the two-day “spooktacular” Thrills in the Hills event will be Sept. 13-14. Here’s all you need to know about this year’s Harvest Festival.

How long is the fall festival at Dollywood?

The 2024 Harvest Festival runs Sept. 9 through Oct. 28.

Dollywood transforms for the fall season

Shimmering red, orange and yellow leaves take flight in the sky along Showstreet, pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors decorate the park (and light up at night) and fall scents waft through air during the Harvest Festival.

More than 12,000 pumpkins grown across the east coast call Dollywood home each fall. Some of the giant pumpkins weigh up to 1,500 lbs., according to Dollywood. The creatively carved pumpkins are used to create large displays representing Dollywood rides, including Big Bear Mountain and Wild Eagle, and light up the night for Great Pumpkin LumiNights.

Who’s performing during Dollywood's Harvest Festival?

Bluegrass, Southern gospel, jazz, country, rock ’n’ roll and everything in between will be heard during this year’s fall festival, featuring more than 1,100 individual performances.

Some of the musicians performing during the Harvest Festival include:

Country music

  • Mandy Barnett

  • Lee Roy Parnell

  • T.G. Sheppard

  • Suzy Bogguss

Gospel music

  • The Isaacs

  • Triumphant Quartet

  • Jeff and Sheri Easter

  • 11th Hour

  • A.R.M.D. Vasilios

Other artists coming to Dollywood this fall

  • The String Revolution

  • Redd and The Paper Flowers

  • Jessica Willis Fisher

  • Nashville’s Rockland Road

  • Run Katie Run

  • Tami Neilson

  • Ruby Leigh

  • Beauxmont

A complete entertainment schedule with locations can be found on Dollywood.com.

What’s on the Harvest Festival menu?

The food at Dollywood is just as enjoyable as its rides and attractions. Elevated menu items are added during each seasonal festival. You might consider getting the tasting pass to make sure you get the chance to sample all the options.

Some of the new foods, treats and beverages at the Harvest Festival include:

  • Spiced pumpkin bisque

  • Everything toasted garlic knots with pumpkin cheese sauce

  • Hickory smoked ribs with pumpkin spiced rub

  • Various stuffed sweet potatoes, including the maple-brown sugar pecan cinnamon apple stuffed sweet potato

  • Harvest apple lemonade

  • Apple cider cupcakes and other fresh-baked seasonal cookies and cakes

The tasting pass allows you to enjoy multiple food and beverage items at different festival locations for one price. The pass is $39.99 plus tax for guests and $36.99 plus tax for gold and diamond season passholders. The pass can be purchased in the park or online.

Local craftspeople and artisans will in the park selling, jams and jellies, fall-scented candles, hand-blown glassware and other items.

Why fall is Dolly Parton’s favorite season

“I love pumpkin spice!” Dolly Parton shared with Knox News, part of the USA TODAY Network, last year, revealing that autumn is her favorite time of the year.

“When it starts to even get a little cooler in the morning, I start getting out my spicy candles, and then, of course, I go get my latte or pumpkin spice. But I love that, I just love it.”

There’s no official word Parton will drop by the Harvest Festival to celebrate, but she is known to pop up at theme park throughout the year.

General admission tickets to Dollywood are $92 for adults and $82 for children and seniors. Deals and discounts are available, too.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Dollywood Harvest Festival: When to see pumpkins 2024 celebration

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