Calling All Dolly Parton Fans: Hallmark Television Special Airs July 3

Entertainer and American sweetheart Dolly Parton will celebrate the 25th birthday of her theme park, Dollywood, with a July 3 television special featuring Kenny Rogers, Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus (and, of course, Dolly!) The show airs at 8 p.m. eastern time on the Hallmark channel. Dolly's "people" announced the details of the special in a press release. Dolly also mentioned it during an appearance last month on "Oprah."

Of course, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton go way back to the 80s, and their performance of "Islands In the Stream" reigns as one of the top country duets ever. But why Miley Cyrus? Oh...where are the Hannah Montana viewers? Right...Dolly Parton has made several appearances on Cyrus' show as "Aunt Dolly."

Think Dollywood is an odd thing to celebrate? Well, for Dolly, it's quite the reason to party. Many And why shouldn't Dolly Parton celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dollywood? Back in 1985, many raised eyebrows greeted Dolly Parton's announcement that she was buying a small park known as Silver Dollar City adjacent to her hometown of Sevierville, Tenn. In those 25 years, the park has grown in almost every way: the size, the number of rides, the number of special events each year and the number of visitors. The success of the park cements Dolly Parton's reputation as one of the smartest women in the entertainment field.

Since 1985, Dolly Parton has expanded and now actually has a second theme park, Dolly's Splash Country. She also owns a dinner theatre attraction, Dixie Stampede. This is best described as a musical on horses. Kids love it because, for the safety of the animals in the show, silverware isn't allowed. The food is still delicious and includes items like cornish hens and corn-on-the-cob.

All three are located in Sevier County. The county borders the Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the country.

So, how did the name Dollywood come about? The park was known as Silver Dollar City and, back in the 70s, as Gold Rush Junction. Dolly said that as a little girl she often thought about how easy it would be to change the famous "hollywood" sign overlooking tinseltown. Her plan, of course, would be to swap the H for a D. Hence, the theme park was changed to Dollywood.