Dollywood’s Kids Fest

The largest kids’ festival in the South, Dollywood’s KidsFest welcomes the Gazillion Bubble Show in 2011, filling the stage with astounding bubble artistry. Kid’s fest runs from June 17 – August 7, 2011.

At the Imagination Playhouse, the Penguin Players bring to life three classic children’s storybooks, including the inspiring Little Engine That Could. All three shows feature original sing-along songs written by Dolly. The forecast is calling for fun at the Imagination Cinema where the Cloudy with a Chance of Meat Balls™ 4D Experience fills the big screen.
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Pigeon Forge Votes Down Liquor Referendum

Pigeon Forge, TN – May 11, 2011 – Voters in the Great Smoky Mountains city of Pigeon Forge have again voted down liquor by the drink, leaving Gatlinburg and Sevierville the only nearby resort towns serving alcohol in a region known for its moonshine heritage.

The unofficial result Tuesday was 590-482. The issue also lost in 2009 in Pigeon Forge.

Pastor Ronnie Reagan, who had become one of the most outspoken public faces of the opposition, was at the polls throughout the day and stayed to celebrate the results.

“I just thank the Lord everyone spoke out like they did,” he told The Mountain Press.

The paper said church groups appealed to old-line values, campaigning about the dangers of strong drink.

“I’ve just felt a good fellowship with these people throughout the day,” Reagan said.

Businesswoman Pam Ogle said she and the business community were shocked.
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Smoky Mountain Campgrounds opening for spring

GATLINBURG (AP) – Spring is almost here, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is opening up its grounds for campers, horseback riders and mountain bikers.

Beginning Friday, the park service will begin opening up a majority of its campgrounds and secondary roads for spring visitors. Half of the 10 campgrounds in Tennessee and North Carolina can be reserved online.

The Smoky Mountain Riding Stable opened up on March 4. A number of other riding horseback stables and camps will open in the weeks ahead.

Visitors can go to www.recreation.gov to reserve campgrounds, all group campsites, horse camps and picnic shelters.

Concession stores offering firewood, camping supplies, food and bike rentals will also open up on a staggered basis.

Copyright 2011 AP

First legal Tennessee Moonshine distillery opening in Gatlinburg

Tennessee’s first legal moonshine will soon be available to the public July 2nd.

What was once a very hard thing to get will soon be easily available to anyone over 21.

The distillery will have a grand opening celebration on Friday, July 2 and will offer free tours, free samples of moonshine to adults over 21, and moonshine for sale.

Ole Smoky Distillery is located at 903 Parkway, and will offer original unaged corn whiskey moonshine, apple pie moonshine, sweet tea moonshine, and peach moonshine. The facility will include a working still. Moonshine cherries will be available for purchase during the holiday season.  The Ole Smoky recipes are the product of the hard work and experience of local families who have made moonshine in the mountains for over a century. Dave Pickerell, who served as the Master Distiller for Maker’s Mark for over 15 years, assisted with the refinement of the recipes in order to ensure a superior mountain – made moonshine.

This was just pure genius to bring this to Tennessee.  Another cool thing is the moonshine will be distributed in Mason Jars.

Update: I went to the Distiller the other day. Right now when you go there they are allowing you 3 shots of Moonshine. They aren’t full shots but you get enough. They start you out with 2 clear shots of shine, and then give you a apple shine shot. You can’t buy the apple moonshine until sometime in October or November. It’s about 25.00 a jar. There is a 10% Local discount if you happen to live around Gatlinburg. The moonshine is 100 Proof, not quite as high as the illegal shine. Definately worth buying a few jars to have around the house when you entertain.

What are the most popular Gatlinburg attractions?

Want to know some of the popular Gatlinburg attractions to enjoy during your vacation in the Smoky Mountains?

There are a lot of Attractions in the Smoky Mountains!  I’ll just go over a few of the popular ones.  In the future I’ll discuss them in a more detailed review. Read more

Smoky Mountain Hiking Tips

Here is an article to help you when you hike in the Smoky Mountains.

Backpacking is a fun and refreshing activity that can be fun for the whole family.You may be near the Mountains or in your back yard! No matter where you are it can be a great experience. You may be a photographer, a nature love, or just trying to get away from busy hectic city life for a while. Backpacking is a hobby (sport) that can be awesome for anyone.

There is no greater place to get connected to earth more than taking an inspiring hike in the hills. My favorite place to hike is the Smoky Mountains.There are places to hike in every state and it is pretty easy to find info on-line these days.

Not only is hiking fun and refreshing it is also very good for you. I admit hiking can be very tough on your legs and back and I have almost not made a few of my hikes. So always be prepared and try to get into shape before you take on to big of a trail! Be sure to stretch before you go and take break often.

There are two types of backpacks, external and internal framed. Each pack has its own advantages and disadvantages. The internal frame is great for hiking through heavy vegetation because it is protected from being snagged.
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park Road Trip

Situated on both sides of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park still remains the most popular national park for every road trip planner. Attracting over nine million adventurers and sightseers every year, it is the most visited national park in the United States. This summer, grab your gear and head off to the massive Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Planning your summer road trip will make you realize that there are so many things to do in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You would most certainly want to experience all of them. The size of the park might pose as overwhelming, but the Smoky Mountain Heritage Driving Tour will surely help you discover the park at your own pace on a self-guided automobile tour. Take your time driving yourself around to seek out landmarks, mountain culture and heritage, the captivating aura of the neighborhoods and, of course, the history of the Smoky Mountains.

If you are looking for a unique way to wander around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, then the English Mountain Llama Trek is perfect for you. The llama treks also allow you to move at your own timetable as you are welcome to arrange them for varying lengths of time. You have the option to choose a trekking trip with a picnic or even an overnight stay at one of the cabins and/or campgrounds affiliated with English Mountain Llama Trek. Children six years of age and older can join the treks as long as they are accompanied by a responsible adult.
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I-40 Reopens 4/24/2010

Interstate 40, closed since October due to a massive rockslide, reopened with little fanfare on Sunday evening 4/24/10. For the people who depend on the road for their living, seeing the traffic flow again brought a sense of relief.

“We are thrilled to death,” said Mike Sorrells, owner of Sorrell’s Marathon and Auto Repair in Jonathan Creek. “You do not know how much that road means to your well-being until it’s not there.”

The work on I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge will continue through the summer as crews complete stabilization efforts, but with both eastbound lanes and one westbound lane open, Western North Carolina’s main transportation artery is back in business. Read more

Ski Ober Gatlinburg

If you’ve flipped on the TV to the news channels in the last 3 days I know you’ve seen story after story about the massive snow storms plowing through the east coast of the United States. Cities are reporting double digit snowfall in just hours, in fact Washington D.C. has been shut down completely for the last two days. It’s just been insane.

But it’s not just the major cities on the east coast getting slammed… mountain destinations are being hit too. It sucks for people who live there but is awesome for vacationers looking to hit the slopes! Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials say Mt. LeConte got 14 inches new snow for a total depth of 27 inches. Ober Gatlinburg ski area is located pretty close to Mt. LeConte so you know they’re getting tons of snowfall too.

Ober Gatlinburg has eight skiing trails and three chairlifts. They also have a multi-tracked snow tubing slide that is great for kids and families.

Here are some pictures taken from Ober just a few days ago. If they don’t convince you to strap on those snowboard boots then I don’t know what will.

Friends of the Smokies

Friends of the Smokies, a Great Smoky Mountains National Park preservation and protection group, has pledged to give $1 million to park programs in 2010. That is amazing news for GRSM fans! This charity is not run by the National Parks Service, but each year the NPS publishes a list of needs for the Great Smoky Mountains Park and the Friends of the Smokies charity works to provide funding for those needs.

The group said in a news release that the projects it helps support include Parks as Classrooms, which provides hands-on learning opportunities for more than 18,000 area children.

You might not know Friends of the Smokies directly, but if you’ve visited the park I guarantee that you’ve seen benefits of their work. They have thousands of friends/donators – you’ll recognize some of them by the special license plates they have on their cars.

You cna find out more at FriendsOfTheSmokies.org

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