Six Ways Alabama Is Celebrating Dolly Parton This Fall

Alabama Celebrates Dolly Parton This Fall

Alabama is paying its respects to Dolly Parton in a big way. Since news of the country icon’s passing, tributes have poured in from across the nation — and the Yellowhammer State is doing its part with a full slate of concerts, screenings and celebrations stretching from Birmingham to Fairhope and beyond.

Though Parton called Tennessee home, her roots in Alabama run deep. Gov. Kay Ivey directed flags across the state to fly at half-staff through Tuesday, Sept. 1, honoring the singer whose Imagination Library has put free books in the hands of thousands of Alabama children. State lawmakers are even exploring a specialty license plate bearing her name.

For fans who want to celebrate alongside fellow admirers, here are the events happening around the state in the weeks ahead.

Songwriters Night in Birmingham

East Lake United Methodist Church hosts an evening of song highlighting Parton’s catalog alongside numbers made famous by Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Taylor Swift and other legendary writers. The event runs Friday, Aug. 28 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the church, 7753 1st Ave S, Birmingham. East Lake has long been a focal point for music and community gatherings on Birmingham’s east side, and the church’s sanctuary is expected to draw a mix of longtime Parton fans and younger listeners discovering her songwriting legacy.

Dolly Tribute Cabaret in Birmingham

Later that night, the Pink Lantern at 2400 1st Ave N in downtown Birmingham hosts a Dolly Tribute Cabaret beginning at 9 p.m., with a dance party to follow. The Pink Lantern, a relative newcomer to Birmingham’s live entertainment scene, has quickly built a reputation for themed cabaret nights that spotlight music from a range of eras and genres. The Dolly-themed evening is expected to draw a late-night crowd of fans eager to celebrate Parton’s biggest hits.

Memorial Movie Screenings in Fairhope

The Fairhope Public Library will present a pair of memorial screenings in Giddens Auditorium: the classic workplace comedy “9 to 5” on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 1:30 p.m., and the documentary “Dolly Parton: Here I Am” on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 1:30 p.m. Both screenings are free and open to the public at 501 Fairhope Ave. The library’s auditorium, named for the late Giddens family whose philanthropy has supported Fairhope civic institutions, regularly hosts film series that draw strong community turnout.

Rhinestones and Big Hair in Huntsville

Straight to Ale Brewing at Campus 805 in Huntsville brings a high-energy, rhinestoned tribute show to North Alabama on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 11:30 a.m. Organizers encourage country glam attire, big hair and Dolly-inspired drag. The brewery is located at 2610 Clinton Ave W.

Campus 805, a former school campus repurposed into a mixed-use entertainment district, is home to breweries, restaurants, event spaces and entertainment venues that draw visitors from across the Huntsville-Decatur metro area. Straight to Ale’s Sunday morning tribute show is part of a broader series of brunch-style events that the brewery has built into its regular programming, pairing themed performances with food and craft beer.

One Million Books Celebration in Tuscaloosa

United Way of West Alabama will celebrate a milestone tied directly to Parton’s legacy: the Dolly Parton Imagination Library’s one-millionth book delivered to local children. The celebration takes place Saturday, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. at the Tuscaloosa Public Library, 1801 Jack Warner Pkwy.

United Way of West Alabama has been a leading local affiliate for the Imagination Library program in Tuscaloosa County, coordinating family enrollment and book distribution for years. Reaching one million books in a single community marks a meaningful milestone for the program and underscores the broad reach of Parton’s literacy mission. Library officials expect the celebration to draw families, early childhood educators and civic leaders who have helped make the milestone possible.

Women of Country Tribute in Wedowee

The tribute season wraps up in East Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 28, when the Barry Waldrep Band featuring Kelli Johnson performs a full concert honoring the Women of Country — from Parton to Patsy Cline and beyond — at 48 West Live, 216 West Broad Street, Wedowee, at 7 p.m.

Wedowee, the seat of Randolph County in East Alabama, has a small but active live music scene that has grown in recent years with venues such as 48 West Live helping bring national touring tribute acts to the region. The November concert closes out Alabama’s tribute season with a wide-ranging celebration of women whose voices have shaped country music, including Parton and other influential performers from the genre’s history.

Alabama’s Broader Tribute to Parton

From church halls to libraries to concert stages, Alabama’s farewell to Parton reflects the reach of her music and her reading program across the state. Fans are encouraged to arrive early; several events are expected to draw standing-room crowds.

Beyond the calendar of tributes, the state’s leaders have signaled that Parton’s legacy will continue to be honored in concrete ways. Governor Ivey’s order to lower flags to half-staff marked an early and visible acknowledgment of Parton’s impact, and legislators in both chambers have begun discussions about creating a specialty Dolly Parton license plate, similar to other commemorative plates the state has issued for cultural icons.

The flag order was in effect through Tuesday, Sept. 1, giving state buildings, public schools and national guard facilities an opportunity to mark Parton’s passing in unison with other states. Several Alabama municipalities, including cities in the Tennessee Valley and the Birmingham metro, added their own flag directives for the same period.

The Imagination Library in Alabama

Alabama launched its statewide Imagination Library partnership in 2023, expanding a program that had previously operated through county-by-county affiliates. The state-level rollout made the program available to children in all 67 counties, eliminating the patchwork of coverage that had previously left some Alabama children unable to enroll.

According to the program, roughly 105,000 Alabama children currently receive free books each month through the Imagination Library, and more than 5.4 million books have been delivered to children across the state since the program’s earliest affiliate efforts began in 2004. Local United Way agencies, school systems and libraries help families sign up children from birth to age five.

Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, in honor of her father, who never had the chance to attend school but valued literacy. The program has since delivered hundreds of millions of books to children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries.

Why Parton Resonates Across the South

Parton’s connection to rural Southern life has shaped much of her music, philanthropy and public persona. Songs about Appalachian coal country, hard-working families and small-town dreams have helped her build a multigenerational fan base that stretches far beyond country music’s traditional audience. Her business success, including the Dollywood theme park and related properties, has helped anchor the economy of the Smoky Mountains region.

For Alabama fans, Parton’s work carries a particular resonance because of the state’s deep ties to country music history. From the Muscle Shoals sound to the legacy of performers such as Tammy Wynette, Alabama has long claimed a place in country music, and Parton’s career has been intertwined with many of those traditions through collaborations, songwriting partnerships and shared stages.

Tips for Attending the Events

Several of the listed events are expected to draw standing-room crowds, so fans should plan to arrive early, especially at smaller venues such as East Lake United Methodist Church and 48 West Live in Wedowee. Birmingham’s Pink Lantern has limited capacity and is likely to fill quickly for the late-night cabaret, while the Huntsville brewery’s outdoor areas typically offer more space for walk-up attendees.

Most of the events are free or low-cost, with donations to local Imagination Library affiliates or other literacy causes encouraged at many sites. Organizers recommend checking social media pages of the venues in the days before each event for updates, weather considerations and any ticketing changes.

Parton and the Alabama Music Community

Alabama’s country and gospel music communities have long cited Parton as an influence, and her songs have been covered by choirs, bluegrass bands and contemporary worship artists across the state. Several of her biggest hits, including “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Will Always Love You,” have been performed at Alabama weddings, funerals and church services for decades, making her passing feel personal for many fans who grew up with her music in their homes.

Local performers scheduled for the tributes include songwriters from Nashville’s Music Row who make regular appearances in Alabama venues, as well as Birmingham and Tuscaloosa musicians who have built regional followings. The wide geographic spread of events — from the Birmingham metro to Huntsville, Tuscaloosa and Wedowee — reflects how broadly Parton’s music has been embraced across the state.

A Familiar Pattern of Community Tributes

The wave of concerts, screenings and vigils now spreading across Alabama follows a pattern familiar from other moments when a beloved musician has passed. Local venues, churches and libraries often organize tribute events within days of a public figure’s death, using existing performance spaces and community networks rather than waiting for large-scale organized memorials. That grassroots response tends to produce exactly the kind of mix seen in Alabama this fall — a church songwriters’ circle, a brewery brunch show, a library film series and a milestone celebration tied to charitable work — each shaped by the resources and character of its local community rather than a single coordinated statewide plan.

Such tributes also tend to have staying power beyond the initial wave of mourning, evolving into annual traditions in some communities. Venues that host a well-attended tribute show in the weeks after an artist’s passing frequently bring it back as a recurring event, particularly when, as with Parton, the artist’s catalog spans generations and genres widely enough to keep drawing new audiences.

Public Libraries as Gathering Places

The prominence of public libraries among the tribute sites — in Fairhope and Tuscaloosa — reflects the institutions’ broader role as community gathering spaces beyond their traditional function of lending books. Alabama’s public library system regularly hosts author talks, film series and civic events in addition to its core lending services, making libraries a natural venue for programming tied to a literacy advocate like Parton. The Tuscaloosa Public Library’s hosting of the one-millionth book milestone in particular ties the celebration directly to the Imagination Library’s mission, turning what could have been a simple tribute concert into a recognition of concrete, measurable impact on early childhood literacy in West Alabama.

How the Imagination Library Works Locally

In Clarke County, the United Way of Southwest Alabama serves as the local program partner for the Imagination Library.

Books are selected based on a child’s age and mailed directly to the home each month, from birth through age 5. The program is available regardless of a family’s income, reflecting Parton’s stated belief that every child should have access to books.

That income-blind design is a deliberate feature rather than an oversight. Removing eligibility screening removes the stigma and the paperwork that keep many families from enrolling in programs they qualify for, and it is a substantial part of why the model has scaled the way it has.

The Program’s Scale

The Imagination Library began in Parton’s home county in Tennessee with the goal of fostering a love of reading among preschool children and their families, later expanding internationally.

It now mails more than 2 million books each month to children around the world and has distributed more than 300 million books since its founding. The program is currently available in all 67 Alabama counties.

Pre-Committing to the Specialty Plate

The proposed Alabama specialty license plate supporting the Imagination Library must receive at least 1,000 pre-commitments by May 1, 2027, before it can be produced.

The $50 fee for the tag would help cover the cost of providing books to children in the county where the vehicle is registered — meaning a pre-commitment from a Clarke County or Baldwin County resident supports books in that county specifically.

Those interested in pre-committing can do so through the Alabama Department of Revenue’s Motor Vehicle Division. Under the plates menu, select “Reserve a Pre-Commitment Plate,” then choose the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library plate.

The 1,000-signature threshold is the operative hurdle. Alabama requires that minimum before a specialty tag can be manufactured, and proposed plates that fall short of it are simply never produced.