Yahoo Lifestyle Dolly Parton Makes First Public Appearance Since Carl Dean's Death
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Dolly Parton has been mourning the loss of Carl Dean, her husband of nearly 60 years, who passed away on March 3. Two weeks later, she stepped out at a special event to commemorate the 40th season of Dollywood, her theme park and resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Dolly joined the opening day event at her Smoky Mountains park and paraded through the crowd in a car adorned with flowers. The park's official Instagram account shared a photo with the caption, "Celebrating our 40th anniversary season with our Dreamer-in-Chief, @dollyparton 🦋"
Fans in attendance shared videos of her appearance on Tik Tok. Dolly took a moment to address the crowd. She said, "I just want to take a minute to thank all of you for all of the flowers and cards and the well-wishes for the loss of Carl. You know how I loved him. And he would want me to be working today. I expect to be working. Anyway, I just want you to know that, of course, I will always love him, and I'll miss him. But I also want you to know that I will always love you."
Dolly went on to talk about the park's milestone. "Can you believe that it's been 40 years? This is truly an anniversary year, she said. "Dollywood is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and of course we're also celebrating 30 years of the Imagination Library, and 25 years of Splash Country, and 10 years at our beautiful DreamMore resort."
The country star's fans commented on Dollywood's Instagram post, saying, "She's so resilient. What a true gem." and "She looked so flawless and happy today. Made me CRY! I adore her!!"
In the days since Carl Dean's death, Dolly has showed her gratitude to her fans and released a new song in honor of her beloved husband. We love to see a smile on her face as she continues to heal.
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