Dolly Parton to visit WA in celebration of children's book program

Country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton has plans to visit Olympia on Aug. 15 in celebration of her children’s library program going statewide in Washington.

Parton’s “Imagination Library” allows children up to age 5 to receive a free, age-appropriate book each month.

Parton’s visit will include a fireside chat with the singer and a performance. The Aug. 15 event is invitation-only and will be live streamed on TVW starting at 2:30 p.m. Gov. Jay Inslee has proclaimed the day “Imagination Library of Washington Day.”

“It is important to get high quality books to children from a young age and ensure that their families, and their unique races, ethnicities and identities are well-represented among the selection of books,” Inslee said in a statement.

Parton launched her first Imagination Library program in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, inspired by her father’s struggle with illiteracy. Since then, the Imagination Library has been established in five countries, gifting over 2.4 million free books to children worldwide each month. As of March, Parton’s program had provided a total of more than 200 million books, according to the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

The Imagination Library of Washington was founded in June 2022 and is sponsored via a partnership with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and is operated by United Ways of the Pacific Northwest.