Gatlinburg TN Area Information

Valentine’s Day has always been a popular day for couples everywhere to take a plunge and say “I do,” and Gatlinburg has always been a top spot to have a Valentine’s Day wedding. This year was a different story. In reality, the economy should have added weddings not taken them away.

With the economy not showing any signs of getting better, the size and number of weddings has gradually decreased in the Eastern Tennessee town of Gatlinburg TN. Weddings in a time of recession has less guests, less flowers and less photos. After Valentine’s Day this year Dr. Steve Taylor, the manager of Sugarland Weddings in Gatlinburg, said that he believed the hard economic times are just causing more couples to cut back what they had envisioned for their very special and important day. Even though Sugarland has two chapels the smaller chapel is booking way more, just because it is less expensive.

Everyone understands that the wedding day is the most important day for a woman’s life…beside the birth of her children. What most need to realize is how much cheaper a wedding in Gatlinburg TN can be. Regardless of the cost, Gatlinburg TN does a fantastic job with people wanting to get married and honeymooners.

Hard economic times do call for drastic measures. These times call for more frugal spending not for people to stop spending. Keeping this philosophy in mind will help when planning you next wedding.

Most people celebrate Christmas and St. Patricks Day, but who thought it would be a good idea to celebrate these holidays together. Apparently, a very intelligent person. Make your way to Gatlinburg Tennessee and celebrate St. Patricks Day in a unique way. Probably the only time you will ever say Santa and St. Patrick in the same sentence.

On March 17, 2009, right in the middle of Celebrate Santa, Gatlinburg TN will host the first annual Holly and Shamrock Parade. On this day St. Patrick and his leprechauns will meet St. Nick and his elves in an event that is expected to draw up to 80,000 spectators. With all the experience Gatlinburg has in putting on parades, Holly and Shamrock is sure to be a blast for everyone of all ages.

What a unique idea of green and red parading down the center of Gatlinburg TN with high school bands, a pipe and drum corps, llamas, reindeer, carolers and even an all-Santa Band. For more information regarding the Holly and Shamrock Parade, please visit their website here https://www.hollyandshamrock.com.

For your accommodations please inquire about our Gatlinburg Cabins. We can be reached at 1-800-684-7865.

If you’re a film buff then coming to Gatlinburg TN during the Gatlinburg Screenfest would be the perfect time for you! It is going to be held from March 13-15. This will be Gatlinburg’s first annual film festival featuring films and filmmakers from all over! It will be a fun atmosphere for families and those interested in different types of movies. Besides the movies that you will get to view there will also be many activities for you to do as well. It will be a family fun event so anyone will enjoy it.

The events are all Hollywood themed. Who doesn’t love getting dressed up for a night out? There will be a costume party, awards ceremony, red carpet and black-tie dinner. There will be 5 theatres all set up in Hollywood themes along with ticket booths and theater-style lobby. This independent film festival will bring attention to all the artists and filmmakers and give them an audience of local residents and tourists to the area. . The top ten movies will all be judged by the same standards and will be evaluated by a panel. Those top ten movies will be the ones highlighted in Screenfest. All the films will be documentary and short films

Screenfest will be fun for all ages. There are going to be booths, exhibits, and events that people of all ages will enjoy! The atmosphere will feel like a street fair. Old time photo booths will be set up, games, parties, workshops and even celebrity question and answer sessions. If this sounds like something that will be of interest to you don’t hesitate. Tickets are available now.

Don’t forget our Gatlinburg cabin rentals while planning your visit to the Gatlinburg Screenfest. We have many cabins to choose from. Call one of our reservationists now to reserve your cabin.

Santa doesn’t come out only once a year! He, and plenty more like him, will be in Gatlinburg TN from March 16-18, 2009. Even he knows that Gatlinburg TN is a great place to visit. Hundreds of Santa Clauses and Mrs. Clauses will be heading to the Gatlinburg Convention Center for the 2009 Santa Central convention. They will be bringing some of their elves and even reindeer so this would be a fun time to visit with younger children or the young at heart.

The genuine Mr. and Mrs. Clause will be there too! Bet you can’t guess which one it is? They will be having workshops perfecting their Santa skills on everything from Santa visits to the wardrobe techniques. It’s not an easy job being Santa! This convention is open to anyone who thinks they would want to be a Santa. This convention helps all to be a better Santa.

Reindeer will be there as well! Breeders will be bringing them in for all to see and learn about. A Holly and Shamrock gala will also occur. You can buy Santa suits if you wanted to. Mrs. Clause’s will also have clothing for sale if you saw something that caught you eye. On Tuesday a silent auction will occur and it benefit’s the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and Santa-America.org. There will be art, food and crafts at the Santa’s Showcase along with jewelry, clothing, belts, boots and even the beards Santa is famous for! There will also be plenty of gifts you can buy for Christmas presents as well!

Santa will also have a parade! There will be many sleighs riding through downtown as well as a band full of Santa’s! Local marching bands will also be in the parade. Be sure you get a good seat to see the Cyber Sleigh as it rides by! The grabs your attention with all it’s lights, hydraulic system and “sheer crowd-stopping mega-wattage”. Many local stores are also entering in their floats to make the parade even more pleasing to your sight!

If you’ll be staying in one of our many Gatlinburg cabins at this time then you will not want to miss this celebration and parade! Santa knows Gatlinburg is the best place to visit and you should too! If you haven’t booked a cabin yet call one of our reservationists today!

On your next vacation to Gatlinburg Tennessee be sure you make time to visit the Smoky Mountain National Park. Since the park was established it has seen millions of visitors over the years and doesn’t show any sign of losing popularity. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the park since it was officially chartered. On June 15, 1934 Congress past legislation making 400,000 acres around Gatlinburg TN an official national park, making the sleepy little town come alive. In 1941 the one millionth visitor passed through the Smokies. That’s a lot of people in less than ten years!

The Smoky Mountain National Park has brought a lot of tourists over the year’s making Gatlinburg TN a popular destination spot since it’s so close to the park. In the 40’s the park added more land to the dedicated area and a road going through the park was decided on. At this time the war was on everyone’s mind and the Smoky Mountain National Park saw soldiers, planes, famous speakers, etc. come through it. When news the war had ended people in Gatlinburg and the areas near the National Park rejoiced. The story “Time Stood Still in the Smokies” was published around this same time.

Gaining even more fame in the 1950’s the National Park began doing shows, exhibitions, etc. This in turn attracted more people to the area. In 1952 the Smoky Mountain National Park reached 2 million visitors and was showing promise for more. Disney Productions even used the National Park to film it’s “Davy Crockett” movie! Bigger and better attractions were starting to be built around Gatlinburg TN at this time in hopes of attracting more tourists to the area and this will turn out to be a very successful move.

In less than 30 years of being a charted park, the Smoky Mountain National Park made a huge step by attracting National Geographic to the area in 1962. Cade’s Cove, which is right outside of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, was featured in the magazine’s “People of Cade’s Cove” edition. A huge milestone was reached in 1962 when the one billionth visitor to the Smoky Mountain National Park is greeted to the area. Tourism really started livening the area up making a demand for lodging in the surrounding area of Gatlinburg.

The 70’s were a time of environmental awareness for the nation. Streams were marked off and established as habitats for fish native and nonnative to the area. Endangered species were starting to be looked after at the National Park as well. In fact, the first Earth Day is declared in the 70’s. The Smoky Mountain National Park was even declared as a mandatory area for a high amount of air quality protection since it was now spread out over half a million acres.

As the 1980’s rolled around the National Park got ready to celebrate it’s 50th anniversary. Movies were still being shot in the Park and tourism was reaching a peak in the surrounding Gatlinburg area. The World Fair made it’s appearance to the area in the 80’s attracting even more tourists to the area.

When the 1990’s began a need for protection of the animals became more of a necessity. Bears were visiting Gatlinburg cabins and trash cans were their prey. Since it’s dangerous for bears and humans to interact a need for bear proof garbage cans became a top priority. In 1993 a huge blizzard hit dumping more than nine feet of snow in the Smoky Mountain National Park and Gatlinburg. In 1996 the Olympic torch ran through the National Park and over the mountains to Gatlinburg. The 1990’s presented an interesting time to those who visited the area as well as those who resided there.

Now in the 2000’s the Smoky Mountain National Park and Gatlinburg became a popular area for vacationing. The Park is still a sanctuary for many animals and a great place for family fun exploring mother nature. The Smoky Mountain National Park has come a long way over the past 75 years and shows no signs of slowing down to be one of the most popular National Parks.

Skiing while on vacation has become a popular attraction over the past few years. With the current economy slowing some travelers down, vacationers are looking for a cheaper alternative. What some people have forgotten is that Gatlinburg Tennessee has a ski resort. called Ober Gatlinburg. A huge benefit to this is that Gatlinburg TN is a days driving distance from 2/3's of the USA.

Yeah, I get it. Gatlinburg is not Jackson Hole, Telluride or Aspen, but at least you get to go on vacation and ski or snowboard. Gatlinburg will never be able to produce that amount of natural snow. What you must remember is this is an alternative because of some circumstance out of your control. It will become more worth it once you notice the difference in price on lodging, gas/arifare and skiing cost. And in all honesty, at the end of the day you were still able to ski.

To help assist travelers interested in ski reports, Ober Gatlinburg prepare and post ski reports. To view the ski report, visit the following link https://www.obergatlinburg.com/.

For more information regarding our Gatlinburg cabins or for information regarding Ober Gatlinburg, call one of our reservation specialist at 1-800-684-7865.