NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — September 25 was Dolly Day. I wanted to know how downtown Nashville would celebrate it.
Looking around, it was a lot of pink shirts, blonde wigs, and live renditions of Jolene pouring from the windows of the honky-tonks.
Then there was artist Herb Williams, working on Second Ave. N. on a brand new mural of Parton. He stood at 166 Second Ave N, switching between spray paint cans as he finished the piece.
"Holo Dolly!" Williams said, naming the mural. "I made this so it defied any dimension, y'know?"
"She appealed to everybody, like my daughter who's 35!" a woman called as she watched Williams work.
"Her voice was not of this world," Williams agreed. "She was just so genuine and sweet and kind and funny. I raised both my kids on her Imagination Library."
That's Parton's free book gifting program for children.
Around the corner, I caught James Garrido of Friends in Low Places Bar and Honky-Tonk.
"We are celebrating the queen, Dolly Parton, and her legacy of supporting childhood literacy," Garrido said, the bar surrounded in balloons and a pink carpet.
Everything they made on Dolly Day was set to go toward Nashville Public Libraries and the Imagination Library.
"She showed up for others, and we're excited to show up for her in a small way for her cause," Garrido continued.
Garrido said Dolly Day's going to be yearly for them, every September 25. Certainly this first year, most of downtown was celebrating a legacy of doing good for the world.
"I wish she'd influence more billionaires to be like Dolly, right?" Williams laughed.
There's something else special about this project for Williams. He's there on Second Ave. North, the area damaged in the Christmas 2020 bombing.
"Man. Gosh," he said, looking around at crews at work. "It's just been devastating to see the extent of the damage."
Working through The District Nashville and their Second Ave. Strong Fund, Williams thought it'd be great for this place to see a face so many people love.
He stepped back from the mural, a multi-color depiction of Parton.
"She was kinda the best of all of us, y'know?" Williams said. "I can't talk about her too much or I'll get emotional."
"It's really easy to talk, and it's really easy to profess your values, but showing up for kids and putting a book in their hands is the difference," Garrido said. "We're so lucky to have had her light in this world."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
