The Best Way To Fuel Up On Tasty Treats At The Dollywood Flower And Food Festival

There's never been a better time to visit Dollywood, the award-winning amusement park owned by country music icon and rightful queen of America, Dolly Parton. The park, located 35 miles southeast of Knoxville in the wee Tennessee town of Pigeon Forge, opened under its current name in 1986; however, it has steadily expanded over the ensuing decades, adding new rides, accommodations, and special events. Perhaps the best addition in recent years has been the Dollywood Flower and Food Festival, which returns for a fourth time from April 21-June 11, 2023. Now, we all know that amusement park food can be a hit-or-miss affair, an issue rendered all the more serious by gut-churning roller coasters, but Dollywood's fare is a cut above the rest. It has been declared the best theme park food by industry publications, serving up specialties like glazed cinnamon bread and a giant apple pie that weighs more than 30 pounds. When these folks announce a food festival, you know they'll be bringing the best of the best to the table, and you don't want to miss it. The best way to enjoy the flowers and the fab food? Get the Tasting Pass.

The Dollywood Flower and Food Festival celebrates the essence of springtime — getting outside, admiring nature's bounty, and feasting, feasting, feasting. The event features over a million flower blossoms, arranged in spectacular fashion. Floral sculptures that reach as high as 15 feet portray a broad array of subjects, particularly animals such as bears and peacocks. The grandest flower display of them all depicts Dolly Parton's mother, Avie Lee, stitching a patchwork jacket, an image based on a real childhood experience that also inspired Parton's iconic 1971 song, Coat of Many Colors. Each colored patch is composed of a different flower species. Of course, no event could do Dolly justice without music, and the Dollywood Flower and Food Festival features live acts playing multiple musical genres, as well as a highly popular acrobatic show. But this is The Daily Meal, so you know we're here for the food, and if you feel the same, there's one thing you simply have to do.

There are a lot of treats to sample at Dollywood, never more so than during the months of the Flower and Food Festival when the menu expands to meet an even wider range of cravings. You've still got your southern comforts covered, like BBQ pork sandwiches and macaroni and cheese, but the fare ventures into new territory with Cuban sandwiches, street tacos, and bulgogi nachos, just to name a few. There's also a broad selection of beverages and desserts. There are so many options to choose from that your decision-making skills will be put to the ultimate test — but luckily Dollywood offers guests a Tasting Pass. It gets you five different foods for one flat rate, and it's the best way to maximize the bang for your buck. Tasting Passes cost $36.99 for the general public or $33.99 for season pass holders.