Ten days after the news of her death broke, Dolly Parton has been laid to rest in a private service in Nashville, and instead of a traditional memorial, her estate is turning her goodbye into a two-day festival called Dollyfest.
A private goodbye in Nashville
Parton was buried on Friday, Aug. 28, in a service attended only by her immediate family, her great-niece Lainey Parton shared on Instagram. She was laid to rest beside Carl Dean at Woodlawn Memorial Park, the man she married in 1966 and stayed with until his death in 2025.
The country icon died on Aug. 25 at age 80, four days after being admitted to Nashville’s Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. She had requested a private service and asked that fans pay respects by tagging her on social media or donating to her Imagination Library, her book-gifting charity for children.
Dollyfest: a festival instead of a memorial
Days after the service, Parton’s estate announced Dollyfest, a two-day celebration set for Nashville and London across two consecutive weekends in 2027. The festival was originally planned for January 2026, around her 80th birthday, with Parton set to perform and host.
“As far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted,” organizer Danny Nozell, founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises, said in a statement, describing Dollyfest as “a festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly.” Ticket details are forthcoming.
A rhinestone life, remembered
The funeral home’s obituary remembered “a rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see,” celebrating a seven-decade career and an “unwavering commitment to making the world a better place.”
Lainey Parton’s tribute captured the personal side of that legacy: “She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself,” she wrote on Instagram, adding that she would miss “her voice, her laugh, her hugs.”
Quick facts at a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Born | Jan. 19, 1946, Sevierville, Tennessee |
| Died | Aug. 25, 2026, age 80, Nashville |
| Burial | Aug. 28, 2026, private service, Woodlawn Memorial Park, Nashville |
| Husband | Carl Dean, married 1966, died 2025 |
| Memorial | Dollyfest, two-day festival, Nashville and London, 2027 |
Parton’s passing came in a week that also saw the industry say goodbye to Tim Curry, and we marked her death and the life that preceded it last week. Dollyfest tickets and dates have yet to be announced.
