Springtime is almost here – and Dollywood is ready to celebrate everything there is to love about this season with their 2021 Flower and Food Festival. Now in its second year running, this remarkable event gives you a chance to see the park light up in bright colors and enjoy the delicious scents around every corner. As the flowers and food brighten your day, you’re sure to want to make attending this festival a yearly tradition. Here’s everything you need to know to have a great time.
The Smokies are in Full Bloom from April Through June
If you want to catch the 2021 Flower and Food Festival, plan to visit Dollywood between April 23rd and June 7th. In the coming days, they will start getting all the amazing décor ready to deploy.
Like last year, they will have 500,000 plants set up across the park, all sourced by the awesome local horticulturists. Beyond that, the flower sculpting team at Mosaicultures must prepare all the living sculptures that will don the park in the coming days.
As many other displays go up, the onsite restaurants are finetuning their menu offerings as well. While the park prepares, you should, too, so you can get hyped for all the fun and excitement to come.
Get Geared Up for All of the Fun and Excitement
While you wait for opening day, you can keep your mind occupied with dreams of flowers and food galore by downloading coloring sheets from Dollywood. These sheets feature all the breathtaking sights you’ll enjoy this year, getting you ready to explore the park from end to end.
For a more vivid depiction of the event, you can download their flower and food posters as well. As you gaze upon their beautiful artwork, you can “Let Your Imagination Blossom” as they say and let your daydreams go wild.
Don’t forget to view their eye-opening behind-the-scenes video as well to see how their larger-than-life sculptures are made. The sheer amount of work that goes into each one will undoubtedly leave you awe-inspired, so check it out before the event starts.
See How Plant Sculptures are Popping Up All Over
Once you can finally go to the Flower and Food Festival for 2021, you’ll want to keep an eye out for all the cool plant sculptures. Although most of their exact designs are kept mum so far, they will likely pay tribute to all the wondrous creatures across the Great Smoky Mountains, including black bears, of course.
As you gaze upon all the designs, look further to see their incredible construction and all the hard work that goes into each one. The sculptures feature a soil base layer enclosed by landscaping fabric to create the shape. Then, they put tons of tiny grasses, flowers, and other plants all over and let them grow. By the time they land at Dollywood, all the plants are in full bloom and ready to delight your senses.
Catch Sight of the Umbrella Sky on Showstreet
As a nod to April showers bringing May flowers, Showstreet will feature a metric ton of umbrellas overhead. The colorful canopy promises to lift your spirits while keeping the space well protected from a light drizzle. They also serve as the perfect place for a cute photo op with your group. Just get aligned with the vivid umbrellas behind you and snap away to capture this fun memory for the ages.
After that, you can just skip on over to the Showstreet Palace Theater for a fun show filled with music and lots of laughs. Then, take a long walk through the Friendship Gardens and Starwalk to take in all the spectacular blooms all around. Remember to take the time to stop and smell the roses, which boast a scent that can easily transport you to another world in an instant.
When you’re done taking in the view, swing by the festival shop to take home your favorites. They have many incredible plants and flowers for sale there, ready to join you at home.
Try Decadent Dishes That Complement the Blooms
All the restaurants across Dollywood are fixing up their menus to bring you all the most decadent springtime favorites, including:
- Spring blooms cupcakes
- Zucchini cake
- Italian sandwich
- Charcuterie in a cone
- Belgium waffles
- Strawberry hibiscus drink
- Blood orange lemonade
To make it even more convenient for you, they are setting up booths along Showstreet and in Rivertown Junction as well.
At these booths, you can find all the most flavorful appetizers, entrees, and desserts plus tons of tasty drinks. You just have to stroll down the way while browsing the menu boards to see what suits your fancy.
If you want to sample all the offerings, treat yourself to the dining pass. With this pass, you can try five fantastic entrees without paying out of pocket for each one. If you are a season pass holder, you get an even better price on your dining pass.
Now that you know what you can look forward to at the 2021 Flower and Food Festival, start planning your trip to Dollywood today. Go for a full weekend or longer if you can swing it, so you have time to take in all the mesmerizing sights and get a taste of the top treats available at this event.
