Our Hometown In The Smokies! - Sevierville Chamber of Commerce

participating child entered kindergarten, he or she had a
60-volume library of books. The last book of the collection,
Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come, prepared them for
school.
Needless to say, the program has been a success. So
much so that many other communities clamored to provide
the Imagination Library to their children. Dolly thought long
and hard about it and decided to help develop a way for
other communities to participate. With Penguin Group USA
as the exclusive publisher for the Imagination Library, the
program is now replicated in 700 communities in 43 states
as well as Canada and England.
Dolly has also been a major supporter of the healthcare in
Sevier County. She is the honorary chairperson of The Dr.
Robert F. Thomas Foundation, named for the doctor who
delivered Dolly and helped establish adequate healthcare
facilities in Sevier County.
Appreciation for Dolly can be seen throughout Sevierville
and Sevier County. Dolly Parton Parkway is a major
thoroughfare in Sevierville and one of the most beloved
statues in Sevierville is the statue of Dolly Parton on the
courthouse lawn. The statue, sculpted by local artist
Jim Gray and unveiled by Dolly herself on May 2, 1987,
features a young Dolly barefoot, and strumming a guitar.
Dolly proclaimed the dedication of the statue as her
proudest moment in a recent CMT Special. In April of each
year, nearby Pigeon Forge holds the Annual Homecoming
Parade in Dolly’s honor. In May of each year at the Annual
Bloomin’ BBQ and Bluegrass Festival, contestants perform
one of the 3,000 songs Dolly has written to pay tribute to
our hometown legend.
SEVIERVILLE, TN 43