| Pigeon
Forge, TN � October 2011 � Pigeon
Forge is creating a new special event, the Pigeon Forge Salute to Veterans
Parade. The parade will expand the festivities that launch each year�s
Pigeon
Forge Winterfest.
The first Pigeon Forge
Salute to Veterans Parade will be Nov. 8. It will start toward the south
end of the city and end at Patriot Park.
It will be followed by
speeches, entertainment and the ceremonial flipping of the switch that
illuminates the city�s 5 million Winterfest lights, marking the start of
an award-winning season that continues until Feb. 26, 2012.
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�Veterans Day is Nov.
11, and our Winterfest Kickoff celebration always is early in November.
We�re seizing the opportunity to combine both events every year,� said
Butch Helton, manager of the special events office in the Pigeon Forge
Department of Tourism.
Many-Bears Grinder, commissioner
of the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs, will be the grand marshal
of the first Pigeon Forge Salute to Veterans Parade. She also will deliver
the day�s keynote address at Patriot Park after the parade concludes.
Grinder, a Bronze Star
recipient, formerly was a colonel in the Tennessee Army National Guard,
where she served as director of logistics and director of personnel.
Helton anticipates approximately
30 organizations to march in the parade. Among them are the Pigeon Forge
High School Marching Band, the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee
Army National Guard, the Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion
posts from Gatlinburg and Sevierville.
The parade will start
at 4:30 p.m. at Jehu Street and proceed north to Patriot Park. It will
last approximately one hour.
Winterfest Kickoff festivities
at Patriot Park include a kids� play area, food vendors benefitting local
charities and musical entertainment from the Pigeon Forge Community Chorus.
Guests are invited to bring lawn chairs and stay through the illumination
of the Winterfest lights between 7:30 and 8 p.m.
Some of the military vehicles
in the parade will remain in Patriot Park that evening for inspection.
Pigeon Forge Winterfest
2001-2012 is a Southeast Tourism Society Top20 Event in the Southeast.
Information about all
aspects of visiting Pigeon Forge is available at MyPigeonForge.com
or by calling toll-free 800-251-9100.
Media Contact:
Tom Adkinson, APR
for Pigeon Forge Department
of Tourism
tadkinson@bohanideas.com
615-341-8796
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