We’re Celebrating the National Park Service’s 100th Birthday with a #HeySmokiesVacayGiveaway on August 25th!

Let’s celebrate 100 years of one of America’s best ideas: the National Park Service! HeySmokies is celebrating in a BIG way! You could win a #HeySmokiesVacayGiveaway on the big day – August 25, 2016! How do you enter to win this fabulous vacation getaway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? Just visit us on Facebook and Like and Comment to win! 

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site, is your park! Known as “the people’s park,” it’s an extra special place to explore, learn, be inspired, and to simply have fun! Of the 407 national parks, we think the Smoky Mountains is the greatest and that’s why we want to celebrate with you, our loyal fans!

The #HeySmokiesVacayGiveaway includes:

Two-Night Stay at SpringHill Suites by Marriott Pigeon Forge (King or Double Queen Suite)!
2 1/2-hour Hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park with A Walk in the Woods for 4 Guests!
Tickets for 4 to The Comedy Barn Theater!
Tickets for 4 to the Country Tonite Theater!
$40 Gift Certificate to Hard Rock Cafe Pigeon Forge!
Tickets for 4 to Impossibilities Magic Mindreading & Mayhem! in Gatlinburg!
Tickets for 4 to NASCAR SpeedPark in Sevierville!
Tickets for 4 to Ober Gatlinburg!
Tickets for 4 to Rainforest Adventures Discovery Zoo in Sevierville!
15-minute Adventure Flight with Sky High Air Tours in Sevierville!
Tickets for 4 to Sweet Fanny Adams Theater in Gatlinburg!
Whitewater Rafting for 4 on the beautiful Pigeon River with Smoky Mountain Outdoors!
Tickets for 4 to Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge!
Tickets for 4 to WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge!

A vacation package valued at over $1,500! 

Enter the #HeySmokiesVacayGiveaway contest by leaving a post on our Facebook page about what you like best about the Great Smoky Mountains and “Like” the post so we can collect your entry. Easy, right? A randomly drawn winner will be selected to win. Deadline to enter is 11:59 pm ET August 24, 2016. Winner will be selected on August 25, 2016 and announced on our Facebook page!

Check out our HeySmokies video for the #HeySmokiesVacayGiveaway!

Impossibilities Celebrates 100th Show in Gatlinburg!

Congratulations to Magical Comedian Chris Collins and Master Mentalist Eric Dobell on celebrating their 100th Show in Gatlinburg! The duo opened Impossibilities – Magic, Mindreading and Mayhem in March 2016 and have been performing to sell-out crowds at the 89-seat Iris Theater located at the base of the Gatlinburg Space Needle!

“We are so happy with how positive the response has been,” says Eric Dobell, “the enthusiasm and support we’ve received has been incredible!”

The two talented actors redesigned the intimate Iris Theater to create an environment with a cool, modern vibe that totally reflects their hip, fast-paced magic show. Bringing out the best in their audiences, Chris and Eric will have you and your family and friends cracking up with laughter and in awe of the magic and mindreading!

For more information and to purchase tickets online, visit Iris Theater. Be sure to check out Impossibilities on Facebook and become a fan too! If you need to speak to someone, please call 888-482-3330.

If you’re visiting the Smokies this fall, don’t miss Impossibilities’ spooky fun special “Shocktober – Wicked Things” with performances from October 1 – 31, 2016!

Don’t Miss The Comedy Barn’s Kickin’ Chicken 5K Run and Fun Walk on September 3, 2016

Lace up your shoes and get ready for the 4th Annual Kickin’ Chicken 5K Run and Fun Walk on Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. at The Comedy Barn in Pigeon Forge! Always a fantastic family event, the Kickin’ Chicken 5K Run and Fun Walk raises needed funds for the Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center. The Comedy Barn Theater invites everyone, locals and visitors, to join the fun for a great cause!

Winners in all age divisions will receive medals and there’s a $100 cash prize for the 100th Finisher! There’ll be great door prizes and a silent auction.

The race course is a single loop 5k beginning and ending at The Comedy Barn Theater. The route will take runner and walkers through The Island in Pigeon Forge and on the beautiful Pigeon Forge Riverwalk Greenway.

Pre-register online at www.runsignup.com. Registration cost for adults is $25 +$3 registration fee and $20 + $3 registration fee for kids age 17 and under. Onsite registration on race day will be from 6:30 – 7:45 a.m. and cost will be $30 for adults and $25 for kids 17 and under. Registration includes race t-shirt and snacks while supplies last. For more information, call The Comedy Barn at 865-428-5222.

Visit Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center to find out more about their important work for children in the communities of Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson, and Sevier Counties.

Barnstorming the Smokies with Sky High Air Tours!


Barnstorming the Smokies with Sky High Air Tours! Go ahead and add this to your bucket list now! Enjoy an incredible bird’s eye view of the Great Smoky Mountains from the front seat of a vintage 1927 Waco Biplane. Climb aboard this lovingly restored, authentic aircraft and take a nostalgic flight with modern-day barnstormer and pilot, Marc Hightower.

During the golden days of aviation, the Waco Model 10 was the pinnacle of aviation technology. It was the first general aviation aircraft to be equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers. Waco Airplanes were used for crop dusting and as mail planes.

As long as you are able to climb into the open-air cockpit, then the rest is a breeze, literally! You’ll love the feel of the wind in your hair and the sunshine on your face. Headsets are provided for comfort and communication during the flight. Leather helmets, goggles and silk scarves are available for fun and memorable photos!

Two can fly for the price of one! Bring a friend and double your pleasure on this romantically nostalgic adventure into the wild blue yonder.

Introductory Flight ($99 + tax)
This 6 to 8 minute flight takes your over Sevierville and makes a broad circle around the airport. Your flight is between 1,000 to 1,200 feet in elevation which offers amazing views of the area.

Adventure Flight ($150 + tax)
This 15 minute flight takes you a bit further to Pigeon Forge and surrounding foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The aerial view of Dollywood is quite amazing!

Barnstormer Flight ($275 + tax)
This 30 minute flight takes you over the beautiful French Broad River and Douglas Lake. From there you follow the route of the Adventure Flight down the Parkway in Pigeon Forge.

Special Occasion and Sunset Tours are also available.

Call 865-742-2FLY (2359) for reservations! Learn more about Sky High Air Tours at www.SkyHighAirTours.com.

Sky High Air Tours is located at the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Airport; which is actually located in Sevierville at 134 Air Museum Way, just off Dolly Parton Parkway.
Check out our video of HeySmokies’ flight with Pilot Marc Hightower and Sky High Air Tours!

Renew your Wedding Vows in the Great Smoky Mountains

Vow renewals are a popular way to celebrate your marriage and there’s not a more beautiful backdrop for the ceremony than the Great Smoky Mountains! It used to be that couples would celebrate such traditional milestones as a 25-year or 50-year anniversary. However, in today’s modern times couples choose to renew their vows at whatever stage of their marriage that best suits them, whether it’s 6 months, 6 years, 18 years, 36 years, or whenever. Renew your wedding vows in the romantic Great Smoky Mountains!

Really, the most important question asked in a vow renewal ceremony is, “Would you do it all over again?” It’s a rhetorical question of course, as the couple is already married. The vow renewal ceremony is a religious or secular ceremony, rather than a legal ceremony. However, it does offer the opportunity for reflection on one of the most important decisions a person ever makes – to marry that special person and spend your life with them.

Couples have many reasons for choosing to do a vow renewal ceremony:

  • The main one is to celebrate how happy they are in their marriage.
  • Sometimes, though, it is a chance to recommit after trouble in a marriage.
  • Sometimes it is a chance to reconnect after a long separation, especially when military spouses come home after a long deployment.
  • Another reason is that a couple may have just had a short civil ceremony when they first got married.  Now they can have that church ceremony the wife always wanted.
  • It is also a way to celebrate with family since the Smokies are a popular family reunion vacation destination, especially if many in the family couldn’t come to your wedding.
  • A vow renewal is also a way to revisit happy memories if a couple married or honeymooned in the Smoky Mountains.

Best of all, a vow renewal is a chance to create new, happy memories together with the person you love most in your life.  Now that you’ve experienced the joys and the challenges that life brings, you know how important the love and support of your spouse is.  So the answer is, “Yes, we would do it all over again!”

The chapels, wedding venues, and ministers in the Great Smoky Mountains would be delighted to help you plan your vow renewal ceremony. They have ceremonies prepared for you, or you can add your own vows to share how your love has grown over the years.  After all, a vow renewal ceremony is your celebration of your marriage!   (It is recommended that you bring a copy of your marriage license with you to show to your minister to confirm that yes, you are already married.)

Written by Olga Wierbicki with Stellar Wedding Services with input from Pastor Dale Workman with Wedding Bell Chapel. For more information, visit Smoky Mountain Wedding Association.