When the Mardi Gras social organization called the Krewe of Dolly was formed in New Orleans in 2020, one of the first parades it participated in was a gay pride event. Some in the krewe remembered people in the crowd approaching them in tears.
“There was that much joy,” said Annie Wentz, a science writer and editor who is one of the group’s founding leaders. “It’s because of Dolly, it’s not us. We were just emulating her.”
…Performers at the Grand Ole Opry and other music venues are organizing tributes. The Krewe of Dolly is putting together a second line, a defiantly jubilant funeral tradition in New Orleans, for Sept. 25, or 9/25 — a nod to her song and film “9 to 5.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/us/dolly-parton-south.html
