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Parade dedicated to Dolly Parton brings cheer to downtown Knoxville

WUOT | By Jacqui Sieber

Published September 8, 2026 at 12:52 PM EDT

'A Parade for Our Queen' honored the life and legacy of Dolly Parton in downtown Knoxville on September 4, 2026.

The parade was organized to honor the life and legacy of the country music icon.

Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Knoxville on Friday to watch ‘A Parade for Our Queen’, dedicated to the late Dolly Parton, coordinated by the Cattywampus Puppet Council. Executive director Rachel Milford said the parade was organized to allow community members to remember Parton’s life and legacy.

“We want to know what Dolly means to them, what Dolly taught them,” said Rachel Milford, the executive director of the organization. “This is going to be a space to feel our grief together, but also to celebrate Jolly's life and her legacy and all of the incredible things she's taught.”

The parade kicked off with community-led marching band Knox Honkers and Bangers playing a solemn tune commonly heard in traditional jazz funeral processions.

A 15-foot-tall puppet of Parton followed the band, joined by at least a hundred participants dressed in bright colors and carrying signs to honor the country icon. Some like Amanda Lane dressed as Parton and wore a platinum blonde wig.

“Her legacy will outlive her,” she said. “She's truly amazing.”

From the City County building, the parade weaved a half mile through downtown to reach Market Square. Spectators cheered as the band played Parton’s “9 to 5”. The parade stopped at Market Square Plaza, where Milford and Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon shared a few words about Parton.

“Dolly would be so proud to see all the people that are coming out here to celebrate her life, and that she represents the best of all of us,” Kincannon said.

A Dolly Parton mural is located in an alleyway near Market Square. There, people placed flowers at a Dolly Parton mural. Reagan Burns took a picture of the mural with her friends.

“I think we all just thought that she was like a really giving person,” she said. “The more people in the world were like her, then it'd be a lot better place.”