PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Monday, Nov. 3, 2025) — With Dollywood’s popular Smoky Mountain Christmas presented by Humana underway, USA Today 10Best has once again nominated the festival for Best Theme Park Holiday Event, and Dollywood fans are asked to vote early and often to help the guest-favorite tradition earn the top spot.
Smoky Mountain Christmas has been a perennial favorite for this award. The USA Today contest, which now is live, runs through Monday, Dec. 1 at noon. Winners will be announced on Dec. 10.
Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas (now-Jan. 4, 2026) ensures guests feel the holiday spirit throughout the park thanks to awe-inspiring displays located around every corner. It is this dedication to creating the industry’s best Christmas event that led the Golden Ticket Awards to name the event a “legend” after 15 consecutive “best of” wins. From award-winning stage productions to delicious culinary masterpieces and 6 million twinkling lights, there is something festive in store for every family member.
A page with a link to the voting page can be found at www.dollywood.com/vote. Anyone is eligible to vote and may do so once per day, per device. Nominees for all categories are chosen by a panel of relevant experts, which includes a combination of editors from USA Today, editors from 10Best.com, theme park contributors and more.
Dollywood’s beloved entertainment shines on both indoor and outdoor stages, and these holiday performances are nothing short of spectacular. The festival’s family-favorite headline show, “Christmas in the Smokies,” returns to Celebrity Theater and delights guests as it has every year since its debut in 1990. Also back is “Heidi Parton’s A Christmas To Remember” in the Dreamsong Theater, where Dolly’s niece, Heidi, shares songs and stories from her family’s Christmas traditions. Other Dollywood Christmas classics return including “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” “Christmas with the Kingdom Heirs,” “O’ Holy Night,” “Appalachian Christmas with the Smoky Mountain String Band” and more.
Glacier Ridge returns to fill Dollywood’s Timber Canyon, Wildwood Grove, Wilderness Pass and Upper Craftsman’s Valley with an expansive and vibrant arctic display sure to inspire, dazzle and delight guests. The Christmas Reflections light in Rivertown offer a glow as night descends, where the pond shines brightly as five brilliantly decorated trees shimmer to life with their lights reflecting onto the water below. Country Fair has transformed into a sweet treat as Peppermint Valley features sparkling red and white candy cane lights that will delight kids and kids at heart with their colorful display.
For more information about Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas, please visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.
