DOLLY PARTON LAUNCHES 2011 BETTER DAY WORLD TOUR WITH KNOXVILLE CONCERT TO BENEFIT HER DOLLYWOOD FOUNDATION

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn.—Entertainment legend Dolly Parton will launch her 2011 Better Day World Tour on July 17 in Knoxville, Tenn., with concert proceeds benefiting her not-for-profit Dollywood Foundation.

“ It’s been a long time since I played Knoxville, so I am thrilled to launch my Better Day tour right here on the banks of the Tennessee River,” Parton said.  “Since this tour is all about hope and looking forward to better days, I thought it would only be right to donate the proceeds of this concert to my Imagination Library.  It will be a special night and I am really looking forward to it.”

Tickets go on sale April 1 at knoxvilletickets.com or via phone at (865) 656-4444 or (877) 995-9961.  The concert will take place at the University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena at 8 p.m.  Ticket prices are $59.50, $49.50 and $39.50.

Parton’s Dollywood Foundation administers the entertainer’s Imagination Library program.  Proceeds from the concert will provide necessary funds to cover the program’s overhead expenses.  As a result, participating communities must only pay for postage and purchase the books they provide to children enrolled in their programs. 

The Imagination Library was launched in 1996 for preschool-age children in Parton’s native Sevier County, Tenn.  To promote the importance of reading to children in the first five years of life, each child residing in Sevier County received one book each month from birth until the age of five.  The 60-volume collection is selected by a committee comprised of individuals from education, child development, academia and early childhood literacy.

The Imagination Library has expanded and now serves 1,200 communities in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.  To date, the Imagination Library has distributed 33 million books.  Recently, through its work with the Scottish Government and Scottish Book Trust, the Dollywood Foundation recently announced that the Imagination Library will now deliver books to 3,341 foster care children in Scotland.

-dollywoodfoundation2011-

For more information, please contact David Dotson, President of the Dollywood Foundation at (865) 428-9604. 

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Free Benefit Concert is Grand Finale of 35th Annual Kingstree Pig Pickin’ Festival

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Free Benefit Concert is Grand Finale of 35th Annual Kingstree Pig Pickin’ Festival
Thousands making their way to Kingstree, South Carolina for highly anticipated concert event of the year!

Kingstree, South Carolina October 21, 2007 This Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 7pm the wait will be over for those who have marked their calendar and plan to attend the 1st Annual Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Benefit Concert starring an exclusive video appearance by Dolly Parton, performances by Dolly’s brother, Randy Parton, her niece Heidi Lou Parton, Kingstree’s local celebrity and long time friend of the Parton family, Jacob Timmons, Randy Parton’s band the Moonlight Bandits and an array of fantastic singers from all across the country.

Since S.D. Professionals, LLC and The Randy Parton Theatre announced that they will present the 1st Annual Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Benefit Concert in Timmons’ hometown of Kingstree, South Carolina, as an effort to raise awareness throughout South Carolina for the non-profit’s cause, providing children’s books to participating community children every month until the age of five, tens of thousands of people have contacted the concert headquarters to voice their excitement and support and over 1 million viewers to date have visited from all around the world to watch exclusive video of Dolly Parton encouraging concert goers to attend the event and help support the program both on MySpace and YouTube as well as the official concert site http://www.jacobtimmons.com/ and the official festival website http://www.kingstreepigpickin.com/.
The family, fun-filled event will extend this year’s Kingstree Pi Pickin’ Festival into Sunday, October 21st and will feature must-see performances from Jacob Timmons, Randy Parton, Heidi Lou Parton, Ryan Morris and The Moonlight Bandits incorporating a medley of pop, rock, jazz, country, bluegrass, gospel and patriotic music.

As the finale of the 35th Annual Kingstree Pig Pickin’ Festival, the benefit concert will be held Sunday, October 21, 2007 at 7 p.m. at the Kingstree Recreation Park in Kingstree, South Carolina, compliments of S.D. Professionals, LLC and The Randy Parton Theatre. Although admission is completely free, donations will be accepted at the park entrance to help raise funds for the Imagination Library’s early literacy program in Williamsburg County, South Carolina. Additionally, donations are accepted any time on the Imagination Library Web site, http://www.imaginationlibrary.com/, where the proceeds go directly back to the contributing community.

“Join me in making my Imagination Library a reality for all children of South Carolina”…Dolly Parton

The benefit was made possible by the will and power of the show’s creators and producers, Jacob Timmons and Randy Parton, brother of country music superstar Dolly Parton. Just for this one special night Parton brings together his entire cast, band and crew from The Randy Parton Theatre in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. For additional information about the event and the festival, visit http://www.kingstreepigpickin.com/ or call the town of Kingstree at 843-355-7484.

Currently, the Imagination Library works with local partners in 27 communities in South Carolina and a total of 600 communities in 43 states and Canada. The Imagination Library mails books to more than a quarter million children each month, and will provide approximately 4.5 million books in 2007.

About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Founded in 1996, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a non-profit organization that gives hundreds of thousands of books each month to registered children until the age of five in participating communities all over the United States and Canada. Promoting early childhood literacy, the foundation believes in helping children dream more, learn more, care more and be more through its educational campaign. To contribute your donation, become a sponsor in your community or register your child to receive a book every month, visit http://www.imaginationlibrary.com/.

About S. D. Professionals, LLC
S. D. Professionals, LLC, bringing life to imagination, as its slogan states, is a multi-media production and all-solution Web development firm that combines innovative ideas, creativity and technology to achieve the vision and goals of the client for a memorable experience. Founded in 1997, S. D. Professionals, LLC serves thousands of clients worldwide ranging from well-established corporations to celebrity clients, with a special focus on new and growing small businesses. For more information, please visit http://www.sdwebpros.com/.

About The Randy Parton Theatre
The Randy Parton Theatre is the cornerstone of a world-class music and entertainment destination, the Carolina Crossroads Music & Entertainment District, in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. The Randy Parton Theatre currently headlines Randy Parton, brother of country music megastar Dolly Parton, and his talented band, The Moonlight Bandits, in a live music variety show. For more information, visit http://www.rptheatre.com/.

- S.D. Professionals, LLC -
© 2007 S.D. Professionals, LLC All Rights Reserved.