Winterfest Fun for 2010-2011

Winterfest is in full swing by now here in the Smokies. We're still waiting for Christmas but many of the Christmas time events seem to have died down for now. What is there to do?

Are you kidding? Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are FULL of things to do! Green Valley Motel sits in a comfortable spot inside Pigeon Forge and about 10 minutes to the entrance of downtown Gatlinburg. You walk to several restaurants and places like the Old Mill or Dixie Stampede, or take advantage of the trolley stop to get anywhere you need to go.

You could spend the day AND night at Dollywood, where the lights and music are on at night. Nowhere for miles will the Christmas spirit wrap around you like at Dollywood. The Trolleys are still working the winter magic too with Winterfest tours going on until January. The Belz, Pigeon Forge, Red Roof and Tanger malls are always open and always offering wonderful sales and opportunities for Christmas shopping. The attractions and shops are always open in Gatlinburg and its just a wonderous place to behold in the mountains during the holidays!

Make your reservations at Green Valley Motel so you can have that location, comfort and be able to save enough money for all the fun stuff to do in the county for the whole family - because children under 12 stay free all year long here at Green Valley Motel!

Gatlinburg Christmas Parade 2010

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Gatlinburg Fantasy of Lights Parade!

The fun starts at 7:30 PM, December 3rd on the main strip of downtown Gatlinburg, from the Alamo Steakhouse to Stoplight #10 at the gates to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. All your favorite characters throughout the Christmas ages and dozens of floats will be in attendance and its guaranteed to be the most fun that evening for miles and miles around.

Don't miss it!

Thanksgiving and a New Special

If you haven't seen those million-dollar lights here in Pigeon Forge, now is a great time to do so. Green Valley Motel is on the trolley route which will take you straight to Patriot Park and then on to the Winterfest Tour of Lights.

Pigeon Forge will be a great place for entertainment at Dollywood with their Smoky Mountain Christmas, which is something you just need to see for all the lights and shows and parades they do almost every night. The Tanger Mall and the many outlets in Pigeon Forge also make great places for shopping and saving money for your Smoky Mountain Vacation.

Check out our Jacuzzi Rooms to see how you can stay warm in luxury and within your budget! We have a fall special going on until 11/21/10 where you can buy 2 nights and get the third night free! That day is coming up soon so make your reservations today!

2 Night Special - $99.00 - $109.00

Green Valley Motel has a new 2-Night for $99.00 special! $99.00 covers Sunday-Thursday and $109.00 covers Friday and Saturday. $55.00 a room at a great hotel within walking distance and trolley access to most of Pigeon Forge during peak season is hard to find in a great location downtown like we have!

Camp out with us and watch the leaves change! Without a doubt the biggest and most fulfilling highlight of the autumn season is when the colors explode over all the mountains. We're within 5 minutes to the Spur towards Gatlinburg where a 5 mile canopy covers you in yellow, red, green, orange and more! Afterwards you can walk to several great restaurants including a new China 1 restaurant just down the sidewalk!

A good deal like this won't last long, so reserve at the top right corner of our www.greenvalleypigeonforge.com before they're all filled up!

September Rod Runs

The Rod Runs of September are upon us! Pigeon Forge is famous at this entrance point of the autumn season for hosting large scale Rod Runs throughout the city. Parading down the streets and hanging out in the parking lots, adding immense color to the city, will be hundreds of hot rods from the start of the Spur connecting to Gatlinburg all the way down to Walden's Landing (or beyond)

There are two major Rod Runs coming up for September (three total for the year, the other being the Grand Spring Rod Run in April) The Shades of the Past Grand Rod Run XXVIII and the Grand Fall Rod Run. Both are convention-style events, meaning you'll see booths and merchandise all along the sidewalks along with the insane cars you're going to see. It also means you're going to want to find a parking spot anywhere you can (legally) and call it good, because traffic will be at a virtual stand still during the Rod Runs.



And that's where Green Valley comes into play. You won't have to worry about parking anywhere because it will all be right outside your doorstep. Green Valley's location doesn't just bring you to the all the action, all the action comes to you. That location gives you easy walking access to restaurants, Dixie Stampede, and everything you want to see along the sidewalk for Rod Run weekends!

Shades of the Past is September 10th-11th and the Grand Fall Rod Run is September 16th-19th. Make your reservations today because every parking spot in Pigeon Forge, every single one, will fill up quickly. Call today!

Things To Do In August

August belongs to Pigeon Forge during the last month of summer. The city regularly uses this period for some unique events and other fun stuff that doesn't come by too often. Take a look at this event schedule for Pigeon Forge:

Aug. 1st-31st - Celebrate Freedom! From the mypigeonforge.com site, "Join us in honoring Americas heroes during the entire month of August. Participating businesses offer exclusive discounts to veterans, all branches of active duty, Reserves, National Guard, retired military, law enforcement, firefighters, and EMS personnel (ID required)." www.mypigeonforge.com/celebratefreedom.

Aug. 13th-14th - Stringtime in the Smokies - The Old Mill square hosts Southern music performances for two days. Come enjoy the free performances and take a good look around the Arts and Crafts district of Pigeon Forge with Patriot Park and the central Trolley hub across the street. Great weekend get out in you're in the area. www.oldmillsquare.com.

Aug. 23rd-25th - 14th Annual World Premier Gospel Concert - Grand Resort Hotel Convention Center, featuring Tim Lovelace, the New Calvary Echoes, The Old Paths, Heirline, Ricky Atkinson, Compassion, Three Bridges, Sould Out, Greg Day and Ann Downing. Please call 1-800-251-4444 for more information.

All of these events you can get to easily from Green Valley Motel. 5-7 minutes tops, or make use of our trolley stop to get there and back. Either way it should be smooth sailing, and then the bed and the air-conditioned room are all waiting for you when you get back! Stay at Green Valley for your late summer plans and enjoy the convenience!

The Fourth of July (and now The Third of July), 2010

Is there any summer activity that's greater than the Fourth of July? Good luck trying to find one. There are only two events a year in this country that are so important, we shoot off high-powered, multi-colored explosives in public and in our backyards as an active means to personify our jubilation - the birth of the year and the birth of the nation.

To celebrate the Fourth of July in Sevier County takes some energy and some planning, but wow can you get a lot done in roughly 40 hours.

For one, Pigeon Forge is pulling a fast one on us and having its usual Fourth of July celebration on July 3rd! This day belongs to Pigeon Forge, as Patriot Park, the huge, level, open park in the Old Mill district, turns into the outdoor Fourth of July central. Bring a cooler, some chairs, a beach towel and enjoy some outdoors the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Some food vendors will be there and a large sound stage will be built for entertainment starting in the afternoon and lasting until the fireworks start. Diamond Rio and many other guests, local and abroad, are expected to perform that day!

Then, travel to Gatlinburg, which on a busy July 3rd evening starts filling with people in the mood for a celebration. At the stroke of midnight that evening, right as it turns into the Fourth of July, an enormous parade starts and marches through the streets of downtown Gatlinburg. Lots of floats, lots of people, lots of patriotism - the way a Fourth of July parade should be done.

The next day, you can return to downtown Gatlinburg for the midday favorite ID4 event, The River Raft Regatta, at the Ripley's Aquarium. It's an unmanned river raft race down the Little Pigeon River and you can find out more about it at this page: http://www.eventsgatlinburg.com/event_detail.aspx?id=33.

Then, as night draws near again, you have a choice - stay in Gatlinburg and watch the fireworks or check out the amazing fireworks at Smokies Stadium in Sevierville. Smokies Stadium would be a drive to get to, but what says America better than watching American fireworks celebrate America at America's favorite pasttime stadium? Certainly not me trying to fit the ubiqitous word into a sentence as many times as I can. Either way, you'll be treated to another incredible and bright fireworks display.

Two in one year! Only in Sevier County!



Now, imagine you had perfect location to get to either city and celebration in 12 minutes or less. The Stadium would be quite a long drive even from downtown Sevierville, but Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg's events are well within easy reach. You could even walk to Patriot Park and back, while the entrance is Gatlinburg is almost within sight. There's even a trolley stop if that's your preferred method of travel!

Make your reservations with Green Valley Motel and take advantage of all those wonderous options for ease of location!

5 Reasons to stay at Green Valley Motel

At Green Valley Motel, we like to brag about being a "mom and pop" establishment, because at our heart, that's what we are. There are few of us left in the Smokies, and for some we know that nostalgic touch is exactly what our visitors are looking for when they return to Pigeon Forge each year.

Here are 5 reasons you should consider staying with us:

1) Cleanliness and attention to detail - Being locally owned and operated as a main source of revenue means attention to detail. We know this is what you've come for and we take it very seriously. Our jobs depend on it! Your comfort is very important to us.

2) Location - To and from Gatlinburg in 10-12 minutes. Downtown Pigeon Forge in <5 minutes. Dixie Stampede just down the sidewalk. Restaurants surrounding you. Trolley within sight. National Park within sight. How can you beat that for location?

3) Service - Mom and Pop means we treat our visitors like family. Good old fashioned Southern Hospitality is what comes to mind when you think of Mom and Pop businesses and we do not disappoint.

4) Price - We'd dare you to find better competitive rates and special deals, but we're not the kind of people to send a visitor on a wild goose chase. It's not good service. What IS good service is offering the best prices under one roof the first time you ask!

5) America Owned - And proud of it!

The Titanic Has Arrived!

The Titanic has arrived to port, nearly 100 years after its maiden voyage, and way off course here in Pigeon Forge!

The ship arrived to a grand opening with almost 1,000 visitors who were all soaking wet (an irony that was not lost on anyone) in the great rains that poured all day. Only their clothes were dampened, not their spirits. The presentation to christen and open the ship including many speakers, a letter from the governor of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen, a few minutes from Mr. Regis Philbin himself, and finally the lines started for the museum tours!

Nothing was spared in the expense to make this one of the most unique and incredible museum experiences around, and it shows. Everything that could be salvaged from the Titanic appeared in both material possessions and obscure information and photographs and models. The tour itself lasts an hour and features more about the ill-fated ship than you could imagine you would ever find with interactive exhibits and very helpful, quick-witted staff who never broke character once.

All and all a great weekend for the Titanic museum! We hope it's only the first of many incredible weekends to come! Green Valley Motel is located just miles from the this new terrific attraction!

25 Years of Dollywood

As soon as the gates open on March 27th, 2010, the flood begins. Thousands and thousands of eager guests who have been waiting for the perennial Festival of the Nations since as early as last year, quickly fill the park to see all the many new additions and familiar traditions Dollywood brings year after year.

This year, Festival of the Nations features "DRUM!" culminating Aboriginal, Black, Celtic and Acadian cultures into an exhilirating performance of music and dance and more. "Invaders" is an island-steel ensemble performing the sound of Trinidad. Atahualpa returns for another great year of South American music and Imagine returns too after a popular, grand performance from last year's Festival of the Nations.

Another thing to look forward to is the advent of Adventure Mountain for 2010. It's a new section of park designed as an outdoor obstacle course and even those who don't like to play outside will have a hard time staying away!


Finally, 2010 makes it the 25th year Dollywood has been entertaining families here in the Smokies. 25 years hasn't gone by unnoticed and we hope for Dollywood to stay open another 25 years at least! Stay tuned to see what Dollywood might be thinking for celebrating its 25th year in business!

Riders in the Sky!

A big treat for Western enthusiasts hoping to attend Saddle Up! throughout Pigeon Forge from February 25-28, 2010, this famous Western group will be performing at the Tennessee Shindig theatre on Friday, February 26th

Riders in the Sky is a world-renowned Western Music and Comedy group with origins dating back to 1977 and two Grammy Awards won under their name, as well as contributing to Pixar films "Toy Story 2" and "For The Birds". They've been entertaining crowds in over 5,000 performances, 700 Grand Ole Opry Appearances and 30 albums to their name. Pigeon Forge is honored to host their performance at the Tennessee Shindig.

To reserve seats for this event, call the Tennessee Shindig theater at 888-908-3327.

Re-opening!

Green Valley Motel is open for business again.

We look forward to seeing you.

Spring Break.

Wilderness Wildlife Week

Wilderness Wildlife Week...is going on RIGHT NOW.

Go to Music Road Hotel, just past the Levi's store and Sonic on the parkway in Pigeon Forge, drive down a bit and pray for parking, because this is an extremely popular event that just gets better every year.

From now until the 16th, you can expect to find books, gifts, artwork, outerwear, crafts and much more all for sale near the entrance. The children from the Pigeon Forge schools have donated some artwork, and volunteers and other workers from the city of Pigeon Forge are all pitching in to help make this event all it should be. Animals such as opossum, owls, and the American Bald Eagle itself all make an appearance, as well as guests lecturers and the return of the nature photo gallery.

The information pamphlet on the event is 50+ pages long, so don't wait another minute or you could miss out on wonderful guided hikes, inspiring presentations, storytelling, children's shows and about 33 pages of other things expected to be present at Wilderness Wildlife Week. Don't miss a minute of it!

Closed for the Season

As the season slows down for winter, Green Valley Motel will be closed to free up some resources and refocus our efforts. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and update you in the future.