NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton is not done yet. The estate behind the icon, who died of cancer last week at age 80, has announced Dollyfest, a two-day festival to be held in Nashville and London across two consecutive weekends in 2027.
According to a press release Monday morning, the festival was originally scheduled to take place in January 2026 — around her 80th birthday — and was going to feature Parton as a performer and host. Now, it will serve as a celebration of her legacy.
“We had the venue booked and we had the announcement ready to go. And then, in August 2025, Dolly had to take a step back after her initial health challenges. A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, Dollyfest is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!),” organizer Danny Nozell, founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises, said in a statement.
“We are not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in the ways they choose. However, as far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted,” he continued. “So, instead, it feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly.”
There was a private service for Parton on Friday attended only by immediate family, The Associated Press has confirmed. There will not be a public ceremony, per Parton's wishes.
Parton's great-niece, Lainey Parton, posted a tribute on Instagram on Saturday, writing in the caption: “This is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words. From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough. She never made my dreams feel too big or made me feel like I couldn’t do something. She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself.”
Ticket information and dates for Dollyfest are forthcoming. Fans can sign up to receive additional details at www.dollyparton.com.
A visitor walks through a Dolly Parton exhibit at the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Camden Hall)
Kennedy Ojala sits in a Dolly Parton exhibit at the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Camden Hall)
A portrait of the late Dolly Parton surrounded by flowers and cards in a memorial sits outside her home Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Brentwood, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A'ja Wilson and Kelsey Plum will miss the FIBA Women's World Cup for health reasons and will be replaced by Washington teammates Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, USA Basketball announced Monday.
Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP, has shouldered quite a workload in the first part of the season for the Las Vegas Aces and needed a break to rest and get ready for the playoffs. She was voted the most outstanding player of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 World Cup. She will be sorely missed by the United States.
Plum has been dealing with a calf injury for most of the WNBA season and it still hasn't 100% healed. She was a catalyst in the Paris Games gold-medal contest against France and sparked the Americans to the one-point victory.
In a statement posted Monday to Instagram, Plum said: “I did everything I could to be back on the court, but just ran out of time. After careful consideration and conversations with my family, team doctors, coaching staff, and front office, the decision has been made to shut it down through (the) remainder of the season and focus on getting my body back to 100% ... This is not an easy decision as I love to compete, but I know it’s the right one for the long term.”
Iriafen and Citron were both part of U.S. camps this past winter. Iriafen played on the American team that went to Puerto Rico and won the World Cup qualifier. Citron had to miss that tournament because of an injury, so she'll be making her national team debut in Germany.
The Americans have won every World Cup since finishing with the bronze medal in 2006. That World Cup saw American star Lisa Leslie pull out at the last minute because of a car accident that her uncle was in. Without her, the U.S. fell to Russia in the semifinals.
Without the two veteran players, the U.S. will rely even more heavily on its youth movement. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers will make their World Cup debut. The young stars will be joined by Olympic medalists Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kahleah Copper.
Rhyne Howard and Aliyah Boston will also be making their World Cup debuts to round out the team.
The U.S. opens against China on Friday. The Chinese team has a huge front line with 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu, 6-10 Han Xu and 6-7 Li Yueru. The two teams played for the World Cup title in 2022 in Australia.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron (22) tries to drive past Phoenix Mercury guard-forward Kahleah Copper during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Washington Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen, left, drives past Phoenix Mercury forwards Alyssa Thomas (25) and Maddy Westbeld (21) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson (22) shoots over Toronto Tempo guard Ornella Bankole (33) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
