Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge May 18-22, 2016! New Time of Year, Same Great Celebration of All Things Smoky Mountains!

Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge will be held for the first time in Spring this year on May 18 – 22, 2016 at LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge. This year’s event promises to be the best yet with a first-ever Farmer’s Market and an Appalachian Homecoming festival at Patriot Park on May 21 at 6:00 p.m.

This free event is your opportunity to discover something new and exciting about the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From guided hikes and other outdoor excursions to hands-on workshops and panel discussions, there truly is something for everyone at Wilderness Wildlife Week!

This is by far one of HeySmokies’ favorite events of the year! There are just too many great activities and workshops to mention, so be sure to check out the link below for a comprehensive listing!

Throughout the event the Information Desk at LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge will be open daily from 7:00 a.m. until at least 6:00 p.m. The Vendor/Exhibit Hall will be open from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. (will close at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 22)

For a complete list of activities available, please visit Wilderness Wildlife Week Program Schedule. For a listing of guided hikes and other outdoor excursions, visit WWW Outdoor Excursions. A word to the wise, pre-registration is limited for hikes and excursions; the Pre-Registration Desk will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday.

For more information, contact City of Pigeon Forge Office of Special Events at 800-251-9100 or 865-453-8674.

Need a place to stay during Wilderness Wildlife Week, check out a variety of comfortable and affordable lodging options at HeySmokiesCabinRentals, HeySmokiesCondos, HeySmokiesCampgrounds or HeySmokiesHotels!

Have your Fantasy Spring or Summer Wedding in the Heart of the Smokies! Here are 10 of the Top Wedding Venues in the Smoky Mountains!

While wildflowers begin to explode with the joys of springtime over mountains and into valleys, the heart of the Smokies is bustling and alive with activity.  Over every hill and dale, nearly, a team of event planners is getting someone’s special day ready. Let yours be next!

Have your fantasy spring or summer wedding in the heart of the Smokies! A Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge or surrounding area wedding will bring together the elements of scenery, style and fun in an event you and your guests will remember for a lifetime. The astonishing array of venues and diverse and talented community of wedding professionals up in these hills means that you can spend as much or as little as you choose and still have a one-of-a-kind wedding in a very special place.

The Lodge at Brother’s Cove in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is one of the most popular spots year round. In the spring and summer, this venue offers stunning vistas of the lush, green springtime glory of the Smoky Mountains. Most weddings celebrated there take place outdoors, making full use of a gazebo site with sweeping mountain views, something the lodge, which is located on a mountain ridge, is legendary for. If you are imagining wedding photos with a heavenly backdrop, you are correct!  Most brides opt to move the party into the lodge after the ceremony, which can accommodate up to 300 guests (depending on set-up) after the ceremony. The lodge itself has panoramic views and provides a very nice rain option for the ceremony as well. The resort offers two options; a “Consulting Package,” which means that the bride simply rents the facilities and plans and carries out her own wedding, with an event team member on hand to offer professional suggestions, and a “Full Service Turn Key Package,” which delivers a dream wedding planned and delivered by the event team at the Lodge.

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Pirate’s Ball 2016 at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies on May 12!

Dust off your puffy shirt and pirate boots and swagger over to the annual Pirate’s Ball at Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies for some great fun and loot!

The Pirate’s Ball begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, 2016 to raise funds and awareness for the Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic in Sevierville.

The Best Dressed Pirate wins a special award and the Big Door Prize Giveaway is a 32-inch flat screen television!

Enjoy lots of delicious food and beverages, live music and a special Treasure Hunt! Free parking at the Gatlinburg City Parking Garage behind Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. 

Tickets are $50 adults each, $10 children each. Purchase tickets online!

For more information or to RSVP email Ashley Justice at ajustice@mountainhope.org or call 865-774-7684 ext. 219.

The Pirate’s Ball is proudly sponsored by Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies with 100% of the proceeds benefiting Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic.

Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic in Sevierville provides medical services for the uninsured who live or work in Sevier County. Since the population of Sevier County is largely based on tourism and many jobs are seasonal in nature, many citizens are without proper medical insurance. Mountain Hope provides a medical home for those who are not served by other resources in the
community. Medical students, nursing students and dental hygiene students from different universities in the state rotate through the Clinic meeting patients’ primary medical needs in a warm, loving environment. In addition to general medicine, Mountain Hope provides follow-up care and education for patients with chronic illnesses. For more information on the services provided or to make a donation, visit www.mountainhope.org.

Lost Hound Dog Strikes Gold on Mount LeConte

A lost bluetick hound dog has been found safe on Mount LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mount LeConte is the third highest peak in the Smokies with an elevation of 6,594′. There are several trails leading to the summit but the nearest road is over five miles away. The slopes of Mount LeConte are considered some of the most rugged terrain in the Eastern United States. The dog was found near the summit at the historic LeConte Lodge.

“The dog had been hanging around LeConte Lodge for almost a week,” said one lodge staffer, “We tried to catch him but he was always too quick. Bears hang around here, and bears and dogs aren’t a good mix.”

One evening, the lodge staff noticed the dog crawl under the dining hall building and realized this was a good opportunity to corner him with a leash. The hikers and guests looked on as some staff members crawled under the structure after the dog. The gathering crowd was alarmed when a staffer let out a scream and the dog began to yelp. “With all the commotion going on,” said one hiker, “we thought they may have found a bear napping under there!” Instead the staff found the  hound dog busy digging away. However, he wasn’t after a buried ham bone. This hound dog had found the largest gold nugget ever discovered in America!

“Gold is not uncommon in the Smoky Mountains; the Appalachians are the oldest on the planet and consistently yield the purest gold ever found,” said Park Ranger I.B. Lyon, “We need to remove this gold before every American comes seeking a modern-day gold rush!”  Ranger Lyon explained that the Park plans to move the historic lodge building until an excavation is complete. Local historic preservation societies are in an uproar over disturbing these cultural landmarks.

Despite the growing controversy, an expert team of dwarvish miners from the Blue Mountains are en route to the Smokies to oversee the excavation. Due to the immense size of the nugget, environmental impact concerns preclude removal by traditional methods. To resolve this problem three Vietnam-era Sikorsky Skycranes or “Jolly Green Giant” helicopters have been been commissioned to lift the nugget and transport it to nearby Fort Knox, Kentucky.

The owner of the hound dog has been identified as local D. Ude, “Old Blue was always a good dog but does get lost quite a bit.” D. Ude added, “We never knew he had a nose for the finer things in life.” When asked what he would do with the reward, the D. Ude replied, “Blue is getting older so I plan to get his teeth fixed and

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Color Me Mutt 5K Run/Walk and Pet Parade on May 14th in Sevierville! Bring Fido and Join the Fun!

The inaugural Color Me Mutt 5K Run/Walk and Pet Parade will be held on Saturday, May 14, 2016 in Sevierville at NASCAR SpeedPark! The Color Me Mutt 5K Run/Walk will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the Pet Parade beginning at 9:15 a.m. It’s a festival for Fido complete with awesome vendors catering to all your canine and feline friends!

All participants will receive a t-shirt and goodie bag with commemorative pet tag/charm, packet of color, and an unlimited ride wristband for NASCAR SpeedPark on event day!

The Color Me Mutt 5K Run/Walk and Pet Parade is a great day for dogs and their people to get out and spend some fun time together! Registration for the 5K Run/Walk is $30 and includes the Pet Parade.

For the Pet Parade only, the cost is $10. Be sure to get dressed up in your best parade outfits because there’ll be some fantastic prizes for the best and most creatives costumes!

Register Today for the Color Me Mutt 5K Run/Walk and Pet Parade! Visit www.colormemutt.com!

This event will raise money to help fund Pets Without Parents’ new building facility on Chapman Highway in Sevierville as well raise money for the PARC Foundation’s (the charitable arm of NASCAR SpeedPark) mission of strengthening the families and positively impacting the communities in which they operate.