Hundreds of people gathered at San Francisco’s Union Square on Friday to celebrate Dolly Parton Day.
Sept. 25, or 9/25, was dubbed Dolly Parton Day in cities across America.
In San Francisco, the celebration featured blonde wigs, pink sparkles and fans channeling their inner Dolly.
“It’s really especially good when you’re a middle-aged woman and you kinda get to that point where you feel a little bit invisible,” Santa Cruz resident Robin Searles said. “Then you throw this bad boy on and you are no longer invisible.”
Several people also competed in the first-ever Dolly Parton Day look-alike contest. Even a parakeet joined in, wearing a hot pink hat.
Oakland resident Linda Dardarian said she doesn’t know anyone who doesn’t like Parton.
“In such divisive times, it’s almost miraculous that one person can have so much crossover appeal,” Dardarian said. “And I think it’s because of her love and positivity.”
The celebration also included firsthand stories from a man who drove Parton’s limousine around San Francisco, a “Tonight Show” musician who met her several times and an anthropologist who teaches a college course on Dolly-ology.
“I think it’s really inspiring for students right now in this day and age when they’re being pulled in so many directions, when social media wants them to be A, B and C, they look at Dolly and say, I can be who I want to be,” Indiana University anthropologist Sarah Phillips said.
The San Francisco Public Library also participated as a partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
People can donate to help fund the program, and parents can sign up their children to receive free books through the project.