Dollywood Offering $5 Tickets For Locals, Donating Proceeds To Food Bank

Dollywood has shared the details of its annual thank-you gift to the people of Sevier County. 

As part of "Sevier County Days," Dolly Parton is inviting everyone who lives or works in Sevier County, Tennessee, to visit her Dollywood and Splash Country theme parks for a $5 donation. All net proceeds will go to benefit Sevier County Food Ministries.

Sevier County Days will take place at Splash Country from June 5-11 and at Dollywood from June 12-18.

To unlock this philanthropic deal, Sevier County residents will need to present a state or federally-issued photo ID with a valid Sevier County zip code. Sevier County workers must present proof of employment along with a photo ID matching their paycheck stub. Full details and eligible zip codes can be found here. You can only use this offer once, so choose wisely!

Just don't expect to see Dolly on any of the rides when you're there. "I don't want my hair to fly off right on national television or something!" she once said of her aversion to theme park rides.

Dollywood has been supporting Sevier County Food Ministries since 1998, and has made a total of $1.4 million in contributions since. 

Parton, who grew up in Sevierville, has spent her career giving back to the community that raised her. The songstress has spearheaded an assortment of philanthropic endeavors including the Dollywood Foundation and her world-famous Imagination Library. Parton’s My People Fund raised more than $12 million for the families who lost their homes in the 2016 fires that devastated the area.

Last year, Parton was one of six awarded for making the world a better place with the prestigious 2022 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

In an interview with Vogue at the time, Parton explained where her famous focus on philanthropy work stems from and how she's not one to "hide under the covers" when things get hard or scary.

"I grew up in a very open-hearted, faith-based family. You're taught to love and be accepting, and to give more than you receive. Both sides of my family are funny, tender-hearted, good people," the country legend said. "Whether you believe in God or not, you need to be grounded; you need to believe in something greater than yourself. We grew up thinking that other people are just as important as we are. I wrote a song that's going to be in my Christmas movie special in December. And it goes, 'Whoever you are, be that. Whatever you do, do that. Anything else is just an act.'"