Tom Adkinson
Tom Adkinson has been involved in journalism, travel writing and travel industry public relations for more than 35 years. He lives in Nashville, Tenn.
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Articles by Tom Adkinson
November 05, 2009
The Blue Ridge Parkway is ready to start celebrating 75 years of scenic drives just as the neighboring Great Smoky Mountains National Park wraps up its own 75th anniversary.
October 19, 2009
The expansive Duggar family from TLC's "18 Kids and Counting" reality TV show will help kick off the 20th anniversary of a winter festival in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. Their job: Turn on the festival's five million winter lights.
October 05, 2009
Two major crafts events in Pigeon Forge and the Dollywood theme park are extra attractions when fall color comes to the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee.
August 31, 2009
Summer's not quite over, and autumn's not quite here, and many visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee find this in-between time appealing.
August 14, 2009
Savannah, Ga., is old, odd, quirky and fun. It's a place to wave at ships, enjoy a cocktail and learn about "haints."
August 06, 2009
Bluegrass and other traditional music enlivens Pigeon Forge, Tenn., during StringTime in the Smokies, a two-day festival Aug. 14-15.
June 28, 2009
Small-town Fourth of July festivities have special appeal as America celebrates Independence Day. Whether the setting is the Great Smoky Mountains, Lake Superior, the Idaho wilderness or the Texas Hill Country, the good vibes are there.
June 23, 2009
Pigeon Forge, Tenn., is celebrating the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park by choosing 75 families to receive $75 of gas, $75 of attractions tickets and a Dolly Parton soundtrack CD to a musical about the Great Smoky Mountain region.
June 23, 2009
New diversions, some of them truly thrilling, are around almost every corner in Atlanta. One is even up in the trees.
May 29, 2009
The 18th annual Smoky Mountains Storytelling Festival is June 4-6 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The event is on the official calendar of the national park's 75th anniversary celebration and is a Southeast Tourism Society "Top 20 Event in the Southeast" for June.
May 06, 2009
The Duggar family from TLC's "18 Kids and Counting" reality TV show is getting a jump on summer travel with a visit to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. A vacation highlight is meeting superstar entertainer Dolly Parton. The vacation will be shown in a summer episode of their TV show.
April 22, 2009
Great Oak Manor is a quiet retreat on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Among its surprises is a bedroom that used to be a gambling den.
March 31, 2009
Local superstar Dolly Parton will be the center of attention at the 24th annual Dolly Parton Homecoming Parade in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., on its new date for 2009--May 8.
March 10, 2009
Quilters from 11 states and Canada are competing for a $2,500 prize at A Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. The pattern they used honors the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
March 14, 2009
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a three-week blast that transforms Houston into "the Cowboy Capital of the World" every March.
February 02, 2009
Pigeon Forge, Tenn., offers two days of traditional storytelling in the wake of last weekend's entertainment overload produced by the Super Bowl.
January 31, 2009
Mayor Bill White regularly proves that sprawling Houston has its appeal to urban bicyclists.
January 28, 2009
An animated TV commercial for about the vacation destination of Pigeon Forge, Tenn., has won an Emmy Award. The spot is believed to be the first fully animated tourism commercial.
January 27, 2009
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (January 2009)—Wilderness Wildlife Week, a Top 20 Event in the Southeast according to the Southeast Tourism Society, tallied a cumulative attendance of more than 25,300 in almost 300 classes, presentations, musical programs, hikes and excursions.
The week included 47 hi...
January 08, 2009
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Jan. 8, 2009)—Two animated television commercials promoting tourism in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., have been nominated for Emmy Awards, continuing a multi-year stretch of Emmy attention for this tourism-oriented city. Pigeon Forge commercials have won Emmys for the last two years...
January 06, 2009
Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains ranked #1 as the "Best Weekend Getaway" in Southern Living Magazine's annual "Readers' Choice Awards."
January 02, 2009
Pigeon Forge, Tenn., helps celebrate the 75th anniversary year of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a night of traditional music called AppalachiaFest.
December 13, 2008
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (December 2008) — Smoky Mountains Winterfest—a winter tourism event with activities in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville, Tenn.—is fourth on a list of the nationīs top 10 holiday light shows.
The list appears on the Americaīs Best & Top 10 Web site (ww...
November 20, 2008
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (November 2008)—Pigeon Forge, Tenn., hundreds of miles from the nearest saltwater, is about to become a cruise port of sorts. The reason: Titanic Pigeon Forge, a towering ship-shaped museum/attraction devoted to the world´s best-known ocean liner.
Christening of ...
November 18, 2008
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. Wilderness Wildlife Week is Pigeon Forge´s annual tribute to its neighbor, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the 2009 event has special meaning because it is the first major program marking the park´s 75th anniversary.
Wilderness Wildlife Week, Jan. 10-17,...
November 18, 2008
HOUSTON—On Sept. 13, Hurricane Ike whomped Houston "up side of the head," to use an expression any down-home Texan would understand. It was a body blow that to a large extent put America´s fourth largest city out of commission.
Now, just a few weeks later, the casual visitor would be...
November 11, 2008
Pigeon Forge, Tenn., a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has begun a four-month celebration called Winterfest. The off-season program attracts visitors for light displays, musical entertainment, shopping and themed festivals.