For decades, Dolly Parton gave the world unforgettable songs, unmistakable humor, and a personality so warm that millions of people felt as though they knew her personally. But among all the awards, rhinestones, sold-out concerts, and legendary recordings, one of the things Dolly cared about most had nothing to do with standing on a stage.
It was about putting books into the hands of children.
Now, just one month after Dolly’s death on August 25, 2026, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have announced a tribute that feels especially fitting because it does more than remember her.
It continues her work.
On September 25, Brooks and Yearwood’s Nashville venue, Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, will officially recognize the date as “Dolly Day.” And the date itself was chosen for a reason that longtime country fans will immediately understand.
September 25 can be written as 9/25.
A clear nod to Dolly’s classic “9 to 5.”
But the clever connection to one of her best-known songs is only the beginning.
Brooks and Yearwood announced that the venue’s entire income for the day will be donated to children’s literacy, honoring the cause Dolly championed for decades through her beloved Imagination Library. Even more importantly, the couple does not intend for this to be a one-time memorial. They plan to make “Dolly Day” an annual tradition at Friends in Low Places.
Trisha Yearwood explained the idea in remarkably simple terms.
Whatever the cash register shows at the end of that day, she said, will go toward Dolly’s passion for children’s literacy. For Yearwood, the event is entirely about honoring what Dolly loved and ensuring that the work continues.
That distinction matters.
There are many ways to honor an artist after death. Fans can play old records. Musicians can perform tribute concerts. Cities can issue proclamations. Flowers can be placed beneath statues, and television programs can revisit unforgettable performances.
But Brooks and Yearwood chose something different.
They chose to connect Dolly’s name with the mission she had spent decades building.
And to understand why that is so meaningful, it helps to understand where the Imagination Library began.
Dolly launched the program in 1995, initially in her home county in East Tennessee. The inspiration was deeply personal. Her father, Robert Lee Parton, had never learned to read or write, something Dolly said affected him throughout his life.
She knew her father was intelligent and hardworking. What he lacked was not ability, but opportunity.
So Dolly decided to create something that might help children receive that opportunity from the very beginning.
The idea was wonderfully straightforward: provide young children with free books delivered directly to their homes, encouraging families to read together and helping make books a familiar part of childhood.
What began locally eventually grew into an enormous international literacy effort.
By the time of Dolly’s death, the Imagination Library had distributed more than 300 million books to children, according to Brooks’ official announcement. The program serves children from birth through age five and has expanded far beyond the Tennessee mountains where Dolly first imagined it.
That makes Brooks and Yearwood’s decision especially powerful.
They are not simply preserving Dolly’s memory.
They are helping preserve the reason behind one of her proudest accomplishments.
Following Dolly’s death, her family even asked those wishing to honor her to consider donating to the Imagination Library instead of sending flowers. It was another indication of how closely the program had become connected to the legacy Dolly wanted to leave behind.
For longtime fans, there is something beautifully appropriate about turning 9/25 into Dolly Day.
“9 to 5” remains one of Dolly Parton’s most recognizable songs, an anthem associated with hard work, ordinary people, and the everyday struggles of earning a living.
Now, the numbers connected with that song will take on another meaning.
Instead of merely reminding fans of a famous chorus, September 25 will become a day when the money earned inside one Nashville establishment is redirected toward giving children books.
The symbolism is hard to miss.
A song about working for a living becomes the inspiration for a day when an entire day’s earnings are given away.
And the money will support a program inspired by Dolly’s own hardworking father.
In a sense, the story comes full circle.
Garth Brooks expressed the idea behind the tribute in another way, saying that Dolly may be the perfect example of how a lifetime spent loving others can allow someone to “live forever.”
That thought captures something many fans have been feeling since Dolly’s death.
Her physical presence may be gone, but the things she created are still moving.
Her recordings are still playing.
Her songs are still being sung.
Her stories are still being told.
And somewhere, another child is still opening a package and finding a book inside because of an idea Dolly Parton had more than three decades ago.
That may ultimately be one of the most meaningful forms of remembrance.
Dolly’s legacy was never only about being remembered.
It was about leaving something useful behind.
Brooks and Yearwood appear to understand that clearly.
Their September 25 celebration will take place at Friends in Low Places on Broadway in downtown Nashville, but the effect of the money raised that day could travel far beyond the building itself.
It could become another book.
Another bedtime story.
Another child discovering the joy of reading.
Another family sitting together with pages open between them.
And because Brooks and Yearwood intend to repeat Dolly Day every year, the tribute could continue long after the first September 25 has passed.
For a woman who spent her career proving that generosity could be every bit as memorable as celebrity, it is difficult to imagine a more appropriate tribute.
Dolly Parton gave country music some of its most enduring songs.
But she also gave millions of children something much quieter: their first books.
Now Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are making sure that part of her story does not end.
On September 25 — 9/25 — the registers will ring, Dolly’s music will undoubtedly be remembered, and every dollar earned that day will point back toward a mission she carried close to her heart.
Because perhaps the most powerful way to remember Dolly Parton is not simply to talk about everything she gave the world.
It is to keep giving.