Dolly Parton’s famous “Dixie Stampede” just got trampled by a politically correct mob.
The popular dinner show with locations in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and Branson, Missouri, will now be called, “Dolly Parton’s Stampede.”
For nearly 30 years, the Dixie Stampede has been a family-friendly dinner show attraction — featuring great food and expert horsemanship — steeped in Civil War history. The Starnes family has attended on numerous occasions (we sat on the Southern side).
It’s unclear what – specifically – Miss Dolly will be stampeding in the culturally-cleansed revision. And it’s also not clear why the sudden name change (but I have a suspicion).
“Our shows currently are identified by where they are located,” Miss Dolly said in a press statement. “Some examples are Smoky Mountain Adventures or Dixie Stampede. We also recognize that attitudes change and feel that by streamlining the names of our shows, it will remove any confusion or concerns about our shows and will help our efforts to expand into new cities.”
Last year, Slate sent a Yankee reporter to Pigeon Force to write a scathing review of the Dixie Stampede – described as the “Lost Cause of the Confederacy meets Cirque du Soleil.”
The writer went on to call the show a “lily-white extravaganza” that celebrates the “Old South.”
Again, Miss Dolly did not say what influenced the decision to culturally cleanse the Dixie Stampede — but others share my thoughts.
“Well, like everybody else, I love Dolly, and I love all that she’s done for our community, which is her community, and I’m disappointed that they’re yielding to political correctness,” Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett told the Knoxville News Sentinel. “What’s next? Are we going to change the name of Dixie cups and the Dixie sugar company? You know, I just hope they don’t change their Christmas program.”
I reckon somebody ought to give the Dixie Chicks a call…