After 32 Years, Cal Ripken Jr. to Replace Dolly Parton as Grand Marshal in Pigeon Forge Parade

TA

After 32 Years, Cal Ripken Jr. to Replace Dolly Parton as Grand Marshal in Pigeon Forge Parade

After 32 years as grand marshal of Pigeon Forge’s annual Homecoming Parade, Country Music Hall of Fame member Dolly Parton is stepping aside for another Hall of Fame member, baseball’s Cal Ripken Jr.

This year’s parade, which will be re-branded as the Music in the Mountains Spring Parade, will take place on May 4. Cal will serve as the grand marshal.

“For 32 years, it’s been my honor and privilege to serve as the grand marshal,” said Dolly in a release. “In that time, Pigeon Forge has grown so much and so many new businesses and attractions have come to town, everyone agrees that this is the perfect time for me to step aside and share the spotlight with some other folks. Dollywood has hogged the spotlight long enough.”

Cal opened the Ripken Experience Pigeon Forge in 2016,  a $22.5 million youth baseball facility.

“We want to thank Dolly for all that she has done, and we are so very grateful for the kindness and generosity she has shown to both our visitors and our residents,” said Pigeon Forge city manager Earlene Teaster in the release. “Given Pigeon Forge’s progress and unprecedented growth during the last three decades, both Dollywood and Pigeon Forge city officials recognized that we have so much to celebrate with our parade.”

Cal may be the “Iron Man” of baseball, but we doubt he can go 32 years.

Take a look at our photo gallery of Dolly as grand marshal over the years, courtesy of Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com.

Blogs

Best Party Foods

Alright, you are already stressed about having to host this years big party, let alone the idea of needing to have the best food for everyone. It can be a challenge trying to have the best food when you need to accommodate everyone from your brother in laws peanut allergy to your nieces vegan diet.…

Are The Olympics Losing Viewers?

Is it just me or does it feel like the popularity of the Olympic Games are on the downfall? Don’t just take my word for it though, Forbes.com shows that the prime time broadcast viewing from the 2016 Rio de Janeiro dropped from 25.8 million viewers to 15.1 million viewers in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic…

Resolution Flop

One month into the new year, how’s that resolution coming? A lot of us often make new year resolutions that are not actually attainable, and that can be for a variety of reasons. Maybe it’s because you didn’t set a plan to follow, maybe you gave yourself too many cheat days and lost motivation, or…

The Christmas Talk

Some conversations with children can be tough and there are also talks than can sometimes even be awkward. During the Christmas season, eventually there are some questions that may arise that you may not be quite sure how to handle as a parent. While I have not yet reached that stage in my life, I’m…