Winterfest Kickoffs!

After Halloween, even just hours after, the mood and focus in this great county immediately shifts to Winterfest, a special event that all three of the major cities - Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville - are celebrating at municipal areas in their respective cities.

Sevierville doesn't have as many city events as Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg does, but their Winterfest Celebration comes first. They hold their kick-off at the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce/Community center and provide free entertainment (inflatable bounce houses, slide and obstacle course, local performers, kid's carnival), free food and soda, mascot dance off (!), coffee and hot chocolate, Santa Claus and... fireworks? Wow! You won't want to miss Sevierville's Kick off between 3:00PM to 8:00PM on November 7th for 2011!

On November 9th, Pigeon Forge will be kicking off the Winterfest with a new Veteran's Parade on, you guessed it, Veteran's Boulevard, before taking the festivities to Patriot Park in the center of Pigeon Forge where the Trolley Tour of Lights will begin. The Parade begins at 4:30PM on November 9th for 2011 and all are invited to attend!

Then finally, the "big" show is Gatlinburg's Chili Cookoff and Winterfest Kick-off where Ripley's Aquarium becomes the city square for more than a dozen vendors, 30,000+ cups of chili and over 1,000 people are expected to show up for a night of fun, chili and the big "switch" which officially starts the Winterfest Season for Gatlinburg by turning on the million dollar lighting displays throughout the city. This event goes from 5:00PM to 8:00PM.

If you're staying with us this fabled week of Winterfest kick-off, you'll be able to get to all three of these if you wanted to with little-to-no fuss. Veteran's Boulevard in Pigeon Forge is only about 5-7 minutes away, Gatlinburg about 10-12 minutes (minus traffic) and Sevierville takes a bit longer at 15-17 minutes, but you only need to make three right turns to get to the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce! It's going to be one of the best weeks on the calendar and we want you to enjoy it with us at Green Valley Motel!

October Fun in Pigeon Forge

October has been, remains, and will likely continue on to be one of the best whole months in the calendar year for the Smokies in East Tennessee. There is absolutely no way you can lose with mild, balanced temperatures of 60s, 70s and even some 80s, crisp colors up close and personal and miles around, and the Harvest Festival providing lots of great special event material for you and your family to enjoy!

First and foremost is, of course, Dollywood and their Southern Gospel and Harvest Celebration. This is a month-long music and crafts festival from now to October 29th and it promises about 350 performances or MORE. This is, of course, in addition to the rides and attractions that Dollywood offers 3/4s of the year round. One full day will not give you access to everything Dollywood has to offer, you'd have to come two or three days to experience all the rides, music, and interactivity and at this time of the year, it's especially well worth the price.

The Old Mill is also an incredible source for Harvest Festival spirit in the town as it captures the dignity of the city and its Appalachian culture perfectly during October. Plenty of wonderful arts and crafts and foods (plus two restaurants) and access to Patriot Park which has a river walkway, the central Trolley hub, and a huge Rotary Club Craft Tent where a lot of local Artists will be gathered to show off wares and skills.

If you want something more organic, you should try some of the hiking trails near the Sugarlands Visitors Center toward Gatlinburg. That is a 15-20 minute drive from us, but absolutely saturated with photo opportunities and honest-to-goodness connection with nature and Autumn spirit, plus its free.

How can you lose in October? You'd have to try really really hard to do that. How can you win even further? Be taking advantage of our new specials listed below:


We hope we get to see you in October! Stay tuned for Winterfest coming up!