Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede drops 'dixie,' citing attitude change
Change is coming to a southern staple.
"Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede," a long-running dinner show attraction, will drop "dixie" from its title, officials announced Monday.
World Choice Investments, who operates the show alongside country music legend Dolly Parton, said the event will now be known simply as "Dolly Parton’s Stampede."
In a statement, Parton, 71, said the change was made in an effort to update the shows for a planned worldwide expansion. Currently the shows are featured at dinner theaters in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and Branson, Missouri.
The eight-time Grammy Award winner also notes a cultural change as one of the reasons behind the renaming.
“Our shows currently are identified by where they are located,” Parton said. “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.”
“There is interest in several parts of the United States and internationally to host one of our unique dinner attraction shows,” Jim Rule, World Choice Investments CEO, said. “We provide spectacular family entertainment at a great value. We continually listen to our guests and our desire to expand coupled with our desire to stay relevant in today’s changing world led us to simplify our shows’ names."
While some are applauding the 'dixie' drop, some feel the show is becoming too "politically correct."
"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 Tennessee Mayor Tim Burchett told . "What's next? Are we going to change the name of Dixie cups and the Dixie sugar company?"
The name change has already taken effect, with all Dixie references wiped from the stampede's website and social media pages.