Dolly Parton estate announces 2-day festival ‘Dollyfest’ following a private ceremony

Dolly Parton estate announces 2-day festival ‘Dollyfest’ to celebrate her legacy 1 of 3 | A portrait of the late Dolly Parton surrounded by flowers and cards in a memorial sits outside her home Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Brentwood, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) 2 of 3 | Kennedy Ojala sits in a Dolly Parton exhibit at the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Camden Hall) 3 of 3 | A visitor walks through a Dolly Parton exhibit at the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Camden Hall) By MARIA SHERMAN Updated 5:31 PM MESZ, August 31, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton is not done yet. The estate behind the icon, who died of cancer last week at age 80, has announced Dollyfest, a two-day festival to be held in Nashville and London across two consecutive weekends in 2027. According to a press release Monday morning, the festival was originally scheduled to take place in January 2026 — around her 80th birthday — and was going to feature Parton as a performer and host. Now, it will serve as a celebration of her legacy. “We had the venue booked and we had the announcement ready to go. And then, in August 2025, Dolly had to take a step back after her initial health challenges. A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, Dollyfest is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!),” organizer Danny Nozell, founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises, said in a statement. “We are not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in the ways they choose. However, as far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted,” he continued. “So, instead, it feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly.” There was a private service for Parton on Friday attended only by immediate family, The Associated Press has confirmed. There will not be a public ceremony, per Parton’s wishes. Push to rename Nashville airport for Dolly Parton gets a boost from Tennessee’s governor 5 MIN READ 25 Dolly Parton tributes include Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, Jane Fonda and Vince Gill 1 MIN READ 78 Dolly Parton, music star, actor and beloved figure who spanned generations, dies at 80 of cancer 1 MIN READ 78 Parton’s great-niece, Lainey Parton, posted a tribute on Instagram on Saturday, writing in the caption: “This is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words. From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough. She never made my dreams feel too big or made me feel like I couldn’t do something. She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself.” MARIA SHERMAN Maria Sherman is the music reporter at The Associated Press. She is based in New York City. mailto