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Dolly Parton couldn’t be more thankful for her Dollywood family.
The country superstar spoke to Robin Roberts on “Good Morning America” about the Tennessee tourist attraction opening back up, as well as its annual Flower & Food Festival, happening this year from April 23 to June 7.
She said this would be her first time back in Dollywood for quite some time since before the pandemic: “It was so exciting to see people out and be fairly normal again and just being able to be back with the fans and people and my group here that works at Dollywood has done such a good job during the pandemic. Just getting to come home feels good.”
LIVE RIGHT NOW: We’re catching up with @DollyParton in #Dollywood! @RobinRobertshttps://t.co/wit76rD9Zl pic.twitter.com/DWOaJV6aVF
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 12, 2021
The Volunteer State has begun to reemerge from shutdowns, and hopes to lure visitors with its food, mountains, Music City, whiskey and #Dollywood.@DollyParton@RobinRobertshttps://t.co/wit76rD9Zl pic.twitter.com/VO4IuXh9J6
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 12, 2021
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“I think it’s amazing how our crew has done all the things that they’ve done,” she gushed of the Dollywood team. “The people here are like family, so any time you have a crisis of any kind you just kind of pull together and get it done.
“We’re not out of it yet, but I can feel a new energy,” the 10-time Grammy winner said. “We’ve got a lot of things to be thankful for.”
The centrepiece of the flower sculptures for the festival is the Coat of Many Colors, featuring a representation of Parton’s late mother Avie Lee sewing together the article of clothing made famous in the singer’s 1971 song “Coat of Many Colors”.
? Although we had no money I was rich as I could be ?@DollyParton#Dollywoodhttps://t.co/wit76rD9Zl pic.twitter.com/fCnT3ovjf6
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 12, 2021
RELATED: Dolly Parton Fully Vaccinated After Receiving Second COVID-19 Shot
“I was real emotional and took a lot of pictures,” Parton, who performed the track on “GMA”, shared of the first time she saw the main attraction.
“I had seen the brochures of it and knew what it was supposed to be, but just seeing that whole thing… and just having that big thing there that represents who I am as a person, who my parents were, and the kind of mother I was lucky enough to have.”
THIS MORNING: @RobinRoberts is in #Dollywood with the one and only @DollyParton! https://t.co/Ri3iILSj2X pic.twitter.com/OK39lWK5ho
— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 12, 2021
“That little coat has carried me so far, it’s kind of like a little signature thing,” she continued. “My life has been a life of many colours, not just the coat. It’s very significant to me, but just seeing that whole thing with mom sewing that just made me grateful.”
Parton’s father Robert Lee passed away on Nov. 19, 2000, before her mother Avie Lee died on Dec. 5, 2003.