Dollywood is finally open for the season! Yay! This is one of our family’s favorite amusement parks located almost in our backyard! Dollywood opens the year, every year, with their Festival of Nations. Although Dollywood is known for its spirit of the Smokies, the Festival of Nations turns it into a spectacular trip around the globe! The Festival of Nations features entertainment, the Passport to Foods, crafts from around the world and special cooking demonstrations, including the opportunity to see Chef Pepin whip up his favorite dishes.
Amazing Entertainment
The entertainment at Festival of Nations is extraordinary and high energy! New this year is Drumstruck, an interactive drum-theater experience, from South Africa. As guests enter Showstreet Palace Theater, they will find drums placed in each sat throughout the venue. Members of the audience use these drums to become part of the performance. This high energy production weaves South African music and culture with West African Rhythms. This performance left our family laughing and with many great memories. It was so much fun!
The second new headlining show is Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba, a fusion dance and music company that mixes Hispanic and Caribbean cultures in to each performance. Considered to include some of the best performers from Cuba, the group has been together for more than 25 years and toured on 5 continents.
Food
When visiting the Festival of Nations at Dollywood, you cannot miss out on the food! The international menu has been expanded this year with savory and sweet delights from a number of countries! I highly recommend the shrimp paella from Spain. There are also several refreshing drinks and international pastries and desserts. Pick up a Passport to Food and have it stamped each time you try food from a new country!
Dollywood’s Festival of Nations runs now until April 14th! It is a thrilling beginning to what is to become the parks biggest year yet! Go ahead and buy your season passes when you come to visit Festival of Nations! You will want to visit all year long! The best way to try it out is buy tickets using my coupon code discount (DWINSIDERS15) and then upgrade to a pass while you are in the park!
*I am a Dollywood Insider because I love everything about Dollywood. I do earn prizes for tickets sold with my code but this is also a cheaper way to get a season pass!
