Colorado is throwing a statewide party for Dolly Parton this weekend, and organizers are asking everyone to dig out their rhinestones. The centerpiece event, Colorado Loves Dolly!, kicks off Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. at Governor's Park in Denver, with free admission and an open invitation to the public. It's the flagship gathering of a three-day celebration stretching across the state through Sunday.
Dolly Day Colorado runs Sept. 25 through Sept. 27, a three-day statewide celebration according to the Denver Gazette. The free Governor's Park gathering, located at 701 Pennsylvania St., is the biggest single event tied to the weekend, and it's designed to reflect Dolly Parton as a fun, sparkly, generous cultural icon full of laughter and good stories, according to Denver7. The event is enabled by a partnership between Parton's Imagination Library, the Governor's Office and the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, per Denver7's reporting.
What's Actually Happening at Governor's Park
Families showing up Friday can expect storytime, Dolly-inspired art activities and family literacy information, plus a playground, games, family-friendly live entertainment and bubbles, according to Denver7. Kids will also get chances to express their love for Dolly through songs, letters, pictures and a walk through a butterfly fairyland. The Denver Gazette adds that the lineup includes live family entertainment and a costume contest, framing the whole thing simply: story time, art activities, entertainment, a butterfly fairyland and costumes.
Organizers are leaning hard into the dress-up factor. Attendees are encouraged to wear costumes and festive attire, and the guidance from organizers, per Denver7, is blunt: think rhinestones, western wear and big hair. There will be prizes for some of the best looks, and one specific bragging right is up for grabs — the 925th Dolly look-alike to arrive at the event wins a special prize, a nod organizers tied to the date itself. Imagination Library of Denver captured the vibe on LinkedIn, summing up the aesthetic as rhinestones, big hair, cowboy boots and butterflies.
A Statewide Map of Local Events
Denver's Governor's Park gathering is just one stop. Local Imagination Library affiliates are partnering with restaurants, bookstores, libraries and schools throughout Colorado for their own activities, the Denver Gazette reports, and a statewide interactive map of events is live at celebrate.colorado.gov/dolly-days. Denver7 describes the broader slate of Dolly Day events across Colorado as including storytimes, fundraisers, Dolly-themed mocktails, live music, children's activities, look-alike contests and community celebrations. Colorado Parent frames it similarly, noting that affiliate-led events across the state will include storytimes, fundraisers, Dolly-themed mocktails, live music, children's activities and Dolly look-alike contests, according to Colorado Parent.
The celebration is rooted in a program with real reach in Colorado households. More than 93,000 Colorado kids currently receive a free book every month through the Imagination Library of Colorado, per the Denver Gazette's reporting. The program, which mails children from birth to age five a free, high-quality book directly to their home each month, was founded by Dolly Parton in 1995 in honor of her father, who could not read or write, according to Dolly Parton's official site. Worldwide, the Imagination Library has mailed more than 300 million books to children, Colorado Parent notes.
Why September 25
The Sept. 25 date isn't random. It's a nod to Parton's hit song 9 to 5, according to Nashville honky-tonk Friends in Low Places' announcement on garthbrooks.com. The Dollywood Foundation has designated the date as Give Like Dolly Day, a global day dedicated to supporting local Imagination Library programs, per the same Dolly Parton news release.
Colorado isn't the only place marking the occasion. Nashville is holding its own citywide Dolly Day on Sept. 25, with Mayor Freddie O'Connell officially proclaiming the date Dolly Day in Nashville, according to MusicRow. Participating music venues there will perform 9 to 5 at 5 p.m., with downtown fireworks set for 9:25 p.m., and Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have pledged to donate all proceeds from their bar and honky-tonk that day to the Nashville Public Library and the Imagination Library, MusicRow reports. Lexington, Kentucky, has also listed a free Dolly Day celebration with a concert, family activities and food and drink vendors, according to a city calendar listing from Lexington, Kentucky's government website.
