Great Pumpkin LumiNights Will Make for an Awesome Dollywood Halloween

One of my favorite holiday memories is the annual Christmas light tour. Dad knew all the best places to go, and that was LONG before the Internet and social media more conveniently provided a guide.

But I can see a new tradition forming, so long as enough people get on board.

We all still love to hop in the car and drive around to look at Christmas lights. But over the last few years, more and more homeowners are decking out their properties for Halloween. And I think that would make for an awesome drive around town.

But, again, enough people have to do it.

When I first saw that video I used in a recent story about Louisville's upcoming Jack-o'-Lantern Festival, that's when I started thinking about doing Halloween light tours just like we do Christmas light tours.

And my desire for such was cemented after remembering that DOLLYWOOD also trots out an impressive array of jack-o'-lanterns to celebrate the scariest holiday of the year.

It's called Great Pumpkin LumiNights, and it does exactly what you would expect an event with that name to do. It illuminates your nighttime stroll through Dollywood. Fast forward to the 1:43 mark to begin your virtual tour:

Guests enjoy thousands of jack-o'-lanterns while feasting on fall treats. How "Dolly" is all this, right?

It begins on September 24th and will run through October 30th. It's a part of Dollywood's annual Harvest Festival which occurs during the same time frame.

Frankly, I can't think of a better place to spend time during autumn than the Smoky Mountains. And there's no better ambassador for the Smokies than Dolly Parton.

And of course, with fall comes amazing fall food. One of those restaurants serves up something called roasted sweet potato and pumpkin corn chowder and if I could SWIM in a big pool of that, I would be an immensely happy man.

But who am I kidding? I'm an immensely happy man because fall is upon us.

And it looks like, once again, Dolly's doing fall just right.