It was Aug. 25 when the world lost a lot of its shine with the tragic news of music icon and philanthropist Dolly Parton\u2019s passing. From the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to the highest stages of stardom, she kept the world in a sparkling trance from the moment she arrived. Sisters of Sound Records and other local businesses in Manhattan unofficially designated Sept. 25 as \u201cDolly Day,\u201d a day that the record store described as full of \u201cmusic, film, art and acts of kindness.\u201d They\u2019ve reserved this day not to mourn \u2014 but to celebrate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When visitors walked down the alley leading to Sisters of Sound, Parton\u2019s voice greeted them before anything else. From spinning records to watching her award-winning movies and television shows, Sisters of Sound made the entire day all about Parton. Sarah Cunnick, co-owner of Sisters of Sound, said she saw Manhattan as the perfect bright spot to celebrate Parton\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew there was something about Dolly in this town,\u201d Cunnick said. \u201cIt was easy for us to go, \u2018Let\u2019s do a Dolly Day.\u2019 She was something for everybody \u2026 not just record stores, but so many people from so many different walks of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cunnick and other local participating businesses, such as The Dusty Bookshelf, Thread, Coffee Pott Co., Olson\u2019s Shoe Service, On The Wildside, ACME Gift, Happy Hippie, Varsity Donuts, Sunflower Pets, Switch Wicked, ANW Gallery, Auntie Mae\u2019s, Manhattan Brewing Company and Rock-A-Belly Deli, crafted special punch cards just for the occasion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really wanted it to be a town endeavor,\u201d Cunnick said. \u201cYou go to all of these different places \u2026 and hopefully you experience something new.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Participants filled out their cards and brought them back to Sisters of Sound, where they got to choose from a plethora of prizes. Though Dolly Day was on Sept. 25, punch cards last until Oct. 2, giving the Manhattan community plenty of time to enjoy local businesses and remember Parton.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cunnick said she had a specific goal for Dolly Day. She wanted not only to celebrate Parton, but also to remind others how they could emulate her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all need a bit more Dolly,\u201d Cunnick said. \u201cWe have forgotten what it means to help your fellow human \u2026 no matter where they\u2019re from. Hopefully Dolly would see what we\u2019re doing and appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton\u2019s impact went global in 1967 when she released her debut studio album, \u201cHello, I\u2019m Dolly.\u201d Instantly, she became America\u2019s favorite superstar and later climbed the ranks to global sweetheart. However, what most remember about her isn\u2019t just her star-studded vocals, but her ceaseless kindness and altruism.<\/p>\n
Sam Creagar, manager of The Dusty Bookshelf, spoke from the heart about Parton as both a bookstore leader and a father.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a bookstore owner, [Parton] setting up the Imagination Library for people to have access to books that they couldn\u2019t have, and feel seen and heard by her \u2026 is huge,\u201d Creager said. \u201cThen as a father, my kids both got Imagination Library books all through their growing up. \u2026 It\u2019s just an incredible, generous thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton\u2019s Imagination Library, founded in 1995, offered over 300 million free books to young children around the world, with over 40 million mailed out in 2025 alone. Parton\u2019s love for literature, coupled with her millions in charitable donations, including the My People Fund and contributions to COVID research efforts, solidified her as the beloved cultural icon she is \u2014 and forever will be \u2014 today.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter she died, I think she made a lot of people remember how they really felt about her,\u201d Cunnick said. \u201cIt felt like it changed some people.\u201d<\/p>\n
That feeling extended throughout the businesses participating in Dolly Day. Parton and her efforts moved the people of Manhattan so deeply that participating businesses affixed the acronym \u201cWWDD\u201d on all their flyers and punch cards, short for \u201cWhat Would Dolly Do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everyone, every single day of their life, should try to be more like Dolly,\u201d April Wagnon, curator at ACME Gift, said. \u201c[Being] giving, open-minded, funny \u2026 not taking things too seriously and still having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton\u2019s last gift to the world was to remind others to sing, laugh and love unconditionally, just as she did. Her incessant wit and efforts do not go unnoticed, and the people of Manhattan will continuously celebrate them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was Aug. 25 when the world lost a lot of its shine with the tragic news of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-361586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}