We had the privilege of visiting Silver Dollar City for the start of their newest festival, the Spring Exposition Festival. This new springtime festival invokes the color and energy of the season through its entertainment offerings, specialty menu items and craft vendors.
Spring is my favorite time to visit Silver Dollar City. The park is lush and clean with its many trees, and oftentimes, the crowds are lower. With the shorter hours, the park feels fully staffed and operations tend to fly.
As marketed by the park, the all-new festival introduces the Parasol Sky (of Dollywood fame) and a semi-new park expansion.
The Plaza is a section of the park utilized during the Harvest Festival for dancing, food vendors and meet-and-greets. While it’s unclear if this will become a mainstay for the park in the future, it is open for Spring Exposition Festival.
Highlights of the Spring Exposition Festival
True to Silver Dollar City culture, this section offers Bluegrass music, a master gardener demonstrating tips and tricks and Taste of the City snacks. These food and beverage options come and go throughout the year and are usually themed to whatever festival is running.
We of course wanted to try a few of these, so we purchased the Spring Tasting Passport. This card runs for $36 (plus tax), allowing you to choose five “tasting-size” items from the limited-time spring menu. These items vary depending on location and are spread throughout the park. So even if you don’t visit The Plaza, you can still use it.
We used all five of our “punches.” The following is a ranking, location and description of everything we picked:
Strawberry Mason Jar Dessert (The Plaza)
This dessert is just as the title describes. I’ve had this dessert at previous festivals and looked forward to getting it again. It’s a glorious layering of strawberries, whipped cream, and shortcake. 10/10 would recommend.
Shrimp Po’Boy Sandwich (Fest House at Red Gold Heritage Hall)
This tasty sandwich was served on a delicious hoagie bun, and the serving was quite filling. The sauce provided the perfect amount of kick. I would definitely get this again if I could. I’d give this an 8/10.
Peach & Mint Mash (Hugo’s on Hill Street)
This fizzy soda might be one of my favorite drinks at a theme park. This drink was a combo of peach syrups and mint leaves with a mix of Sprite. I probably could have drunk a gallon of this stuff. If you’re a fan of a mint julep at Disneyland, then you’ll love this. It’s another 8/10.
Carolina Gold BBQ Pork (Fest House at Red Gold Heritage Hall)
This sandwich was just kind of meh to me. I only had a bite or two since another member of our party really enjoyed it, but I thought it was fine. There were much better options to choose from. It’s a 6/10.
Wildberry Berry Lemonade (The Plaza)
One of many of the lemonades available, I found this far too sweet and didn’t finish it. It caters more to fans of sweet drinks than myself, who lives for a bit of fizz. It’s around a 4/10.
Note: We wanted to try the heavily marketed BBQ Brisket Roll Up at the Rivertown Smokehouse, but the line was always too long for us to commit.
Silver Dollar City has been praised for its food in the past, and I am so thankful that that sentiment remains true. I was quite pleased with what we tried with the Tasting Passport.
Of course, food is only one part of what makes this festival great. Alongside the park’s established and world-renowned rides and attractions, there is also the long-storied entertainment tradition. While we did not watch a whole show, we recognized that this park was alive with entertainment.
Live music was found in both of the festival sections (The Plaza and the Fest House at Red Gold Heritage Hall). We loved listening to Hunter Courville & Cajun Fever while we were eating our meal in the Fest House.
These entertainment options made the park feel energetic and fresh. This is something Silver Dollar City has never struggled with, but it was so refreshing to feel their special kind of magic again after such a long time of not visiting.
The festival is just a special topping on an already great experience. There is so much more to explore outside of the seasonal options.
One thing that I will always encourage people to do is take a free tour through Marvel Cave. Spring is a perfect time to tour the cave because the rainy season gives way to a glistening and adventurous version of the experience that you do not want to miss.
After this visit, my thoughts on Silver Dollar City in the spring remain the same; –it is an incredible time to go. The Spring Exposition runs April 10-May 2, 2025, so get to Silver Dollar City and experience it soon.
About the Author:
Elora Maxwell is a writer based out of Missouri. She writes mostly fiction novels, but also loves to write about her travel experiences in her free time. She enjoys parks that provide great food and even greater roller coasters. Her dream is to one day be on a social media team for a theme park.
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