Knoxville gay

It is operated as a partnership between Dolly and Herschend Family Entertainment, a company that manages several theme parks and attractions across the U.S. Dolly Parton’s involvement includes shaping the park's identity, with many attractions and events reflecting her personal story, music, and Appalachian heritage.

As a co-owner, Dolly Parton does profit from Dollywood’s success, though she has stated that her primary motivation is to create jobs and boost tourism in her home region of East Tennessee.

Regardless of whether we are celebrating Pride, marching for women’s rights in Market Square, or just enjoying a Sunday Funday downtown, our police officers and firefighters help keep all of us safe regardless of our background or identity.

Knoxville is one of the first cities in Tennessee (and the South) to have an LGBT Liaison for both the Knoxville Police Department and also the City Mayor’s Administration.

This little middle eastern restaurant is run by a Syrian refugee and has been declared to be the “Nicest Place in America” by Reader’s Digest and announced by Good Morning America in 2018. We're proud to have a network of excellent realtors in Knoxville, and we would love to help connect you with the right one. Both UT and ORNL help foster an environment that values education and diversity here in East Tennessee.

This Appalachian gem is about as geographically centered in the Eastern half of our country as you can get.

Mayor Rogero was an early supporter of marriage equality and was the only Mayor in Tennessee to sign the 2015 Amicus for the SCOTUS support of marriage equality. As the city has grown and changed and become more accepting of gay and transgender people our choices for places to find entertainment and meet friends has opened up to include most all of downtown Knoxville.

In 2018 the estimated number of people to attend Knox Pridefest was over 35,000. It’s one party that you'll definitely want to put on your calendar.

The Best Neighborhoods in Knoxville

If you’re thinking of making a move to Knoxville, you will find that the entire city is very welcoming. In fact, it was established as the capital of the Southwest Territory as long ago as the administration of George Washington.

I point this out because I feel it highlights how great Knoxville is at being the perfect road trip city you can get to within a day’s drive for a long weekend of fun with your friends or family. I can easily say that I know hundreds of gay people that live in Knoxville, and even after 13 years I meet new people every day that have lived here just as long as me and yet I had never crossed their path up until recently.

Even though the overall LGBTQ community is large for a medium-sized city, I would not compare Knoxville’s Queer population to cities much larger than us.

Those who live in Knoxville can expect to experience all four distinct seasons each year. In the first year of Madeline Rogero’s tenure as Mayor, Knoxville City Council unanimously passed a non-discrimination ordinance for all Knoxville city employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and ethnicity.

2018 Knox Pridefest attendees courtesy of Steve Soaringoak

So, I’d like to end with the thought that identity can be multi-layered and most of our identity is something we have built and worked on and created.