Dollywood Harvest Festival celebrates the splendor of autumn in Pigeon Forge

Dollywood’s Harvest Festival runs from Sept. 24 through Oct. 30, bringing award-winning entertainment, tempting culinary delights, and thousands of glowing pumpkins to Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains.

Rolling hills and the colors of autumn make the annual Harvest Festival at Dollywood one of the most picturesque celebrations in the country, highlighted by the premier event, Great Pumpkin LumiNights, a glowing display of thousands of carved pumpkins.

This guest-favorite series of set pieces from past years leads visitors from one pumpkin photo-op to the next. Carved pumpkins, animals made of pumpkins, and pumpkin structures fill the park with autumnal atmosphere.

Dollywood’s Dreamer-in-Chief, Dolly Parton, spoke about the festival’s ideal setting: “Fall is a special time of year in the Smoky Mountains, because God’s handiwork is on full display for everyone to enjoy when they come to visit. It’s also the time when the heat of the summer fades and the crisp, cool evenings make it just right to enjoy the fresh mountain air. Some of my most treasured family memories took place during the fall, and I want our guests to make their own wonderful memories while they are here.”

In 2020, the festival was reinvigorated through “visually-impactful landscaping techniques,” giving this year’s event a fresh, new look. One of the “biggest” updates is the chance for guests to peruse more than a dozen gigantic pumpkins. Last year’s super-sized entries, grown at farms on the East Coast, ranged from 800 to 1,500 pounds each.

Award-winning entertainment is also part of the celebration, as artists representing Southern gospel, bluegrass, classic country, and Americana genres take to the park’s indoor and outdoor stages from Sept. 24 – Oct. 21. This year’s lineup includes:

• Taylor Red (Sept. 24)
• Janelle Arthur (Sept. 26)
• Pam Tillis (Sept. 29)
• Jimmy Fortune (Oct. 2)
• Karen Peck and New River (Oct. 3)
• Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (Oct. 4)
• CeCe Winans (Oct. 9)
• Rhonda Vincent and the Rage (Oct. 14-15)
• The Lee University Singers (Oct. 17)
• Shenandoah (Oct. 20-21)

“Dollywood is one of our all-time favorite places to play, and has been for years,” said Karen Peck, Gospel Hall of Fame member. “We love how nice everyone is at the theaters and the awesome family-friendly feeling we get when we perform at Dollywood. Sometimes, it’s like church breaks out at our concerts!”

Further live entertainment can be found roaming the park during the day, and at the new Night Time at the Back Porch during the evening.

Enticing culinary creations add a delicious aroma of smoked bratwursts and turkey legs, the creole flavors of Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo, and the sweet, earthy fragrance of luscious Sweet Potato Poutine and Spiced Pumpkin Bisque, along with other autumn-inspired sweet and savory dishes.

Indulge in pumpkin spice churros with pumpkin fluff, pumpkin spice salted caramel mocha iced coffee, maple pecan and bacon funnel cake, apple pie milkshakes, and the classic fall drink, hot apple cider. Or, just munch on a pumpkin cookie!

Visiting artisans ply their trade alongside Dollywood’s master craftspeople in Craftsman’s Valley, demonstrating their skills and creating one-of-a-kind treasures guests can purchase as a special memory of their day.