NASHVILLE, United States – Communities across the United States are marking Dolly Parton Day on Friday with pink-lit landmarks, parades, live music and book drives, turning what is intended to become an annual observance into a public celebration of the singer’s music and philanthropy.
September 25 was chosen as a nod to Parton’s best-known song, “9 to 5.” The Dollywood Foundation announced the new international Give Like Dolly Day this month as a way to continue Parton’s emphasis on generosity, particularly her support for children and literacy.
The observance comes about a month after Parton’s death at 80. Over a career spanning more than five decades, she became a country music star, songwriter, actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist whose work extended well beyond the recording industry.
Nashville turns the date into a citywide tribute
Nashville, where Parton moved at 18 and built much of her career, is at the center of Friday’s celebrations.
The city is lighting several landmarks in pink, while participating businesses and music venues are staging events connected to Parton’s music and charitable work. At 5 p.m., participating venues are scheduled to perform “9 to 5,” another reference to the date itself.
Nashville’s celebration is also designed around giving.
Participating businesses are being encouraged to direct proceeds toward charity, while the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is donating $9.25 from each admission to Parton’s Imagination Library. The city’s downtown celebration is scheduled to conclude with fireworks at 9:25 p.m.
The Nashville Public Library has separately highlighted Parton’s connection to literacy, describing her as a major advocate for books, children and libraries. The library says the Imagination Library has sent more than 300 million books to children around the world over the past three decades.
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The Imagination Library is perhaps the clearest expression of the philanthropic work being emphasized on Dolly Parton Day.
Parton founded the program in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, inspired in part by her father, who could not read or write. The program initially served children in her home county before expanding through partnerships with communities in other parts of the United States and internationally.
The program now provides free books to children from birth through age 5 in participating communities. Its current international footprint includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.
The scale has grown dramatically.
The Imagination Library’s 2025 year-in-review report says the program had gifted more than 304.5 million books since its creation, including more than 40.3 million books during 2025 alone.
For Dolly Parton Day, the organization is encouraging people to support local Imagination Library partners or help establish programs in communities where the service is not yet available.
Pink becomes part of the tribute
Parton’s visual identity is also shaping the day’s celebrations.
Nashville organizers have encouraged people to wear pink, while participating buildings are being illuminated in the color associated with Parton’s public image. The city’s Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, Historic Metro Courthouse and City Hall are among the locations included in the official celebration plans.
At Nashville’s Centennial Park, the Parthenon is being illuminated in pink, while the park is hosting live music and a book drive benefiting the Nashville Public Library. Parton’s Imagination Library is also receiving a portion of proceeds from selected activities there.
The use of pink connects the public celebration with an image Parton cultivated throughout her career, but the organizers are putting equal emphasis on reading, generosity and community service.
Celebrations extend beyond Nashville
The observance is not limited to Tennessee.
In New Orleans, the Krewe of Dolly is leading a parade through the French Quarter. In San Francisco, organizers are holding a public “Dolly Day” event built around music, costumes and acts of kindness.
Other communities and local governments have also moved toward recognizing September 25 as an annual Dolly Parton observance, reflecting the singer’s reach beyond her home state.
The celebrations vary in form, but the themes are similar: music, generosity, literacy and the distinctive visual culture associated with Parton.
A legacy larger than the stage
Parton’s influence extended across several industries.
Her career included country recordings, songwriting for other performers, film and television work, business ventures and the development of Dollywood in Tennessee.
But the institutions continuing her work after her death give a more tangible measure of the reach of her philanthropy.
The Dollywood Foundation, established in 1988, began as an effort to support educational achievement among children in Parton’s home county. The foundation now describes the Imagination Library as its flagship program.
The program’s model also differs from a conventional charitable book donation.
Children in participating areas receive books directly, with no charge to their families. Funding is shared between Parton and local community partners, allowing communities to operate programs while maintaining the central book-gifting structure.
That combination of a recognizable individual legacy and locally supported programs has allowed the initiative to continue expanding independently of Parton’s live career.
September 25 becomes part of the Parton calendar
The first international Give Like Dolly Day establishes a new annual date around which those efforts can be organized.
Its timing also gives communities a way to remember Parton without limiting the observance to her music.
A concert can celebrate her recordings. A parade can celebrate her public persona. Pink lights can evoke her distinctive style.
A book donation, however, connects directly to an institution she created and that continues to send millions of books to children.
That combination is shaping the first September 25 observance after her death.
In Nashville, the day’s schedule brings together the elements most closely associated with Parton’s public legacy: music at 5 p.m., pink landmarks, community events, charitable giving and books for children.
The result is a memorial day built less around a single ceremony than around activities intended to continue the work Parton spent decades promoting.
Reporting Credit: The Dollywood Foundation — creation of Give Like Dolly Day and Parton’s philanthropic legacy; Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library — program history, current international reach and September 25 participation; Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. and Nashville city partners — official Nashville Dolly Day program; Nashville Public Library — Parton’s literacy legacy and local book initiatives; Centennial Park Conservancy — Nashville park celebration and book drive.
