Clumpies’ Dolly Days Features New Flavor and Story Time Fun

Dolly Parton’s birthday is coming up, and it’s only fitting that the people’s queen of Tennessee has a celebration like no other! In partnership with Signal Centers and local libraries, Clumpies Ice Cream Co. is throwing a week-long party with a special new flavor and reading activities as well as sign-ups for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. 

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library inspires a love of reading by gifting books free of charge to children from birth to age five, through funding shared by Dolly Parton and local community partners. Any Child enrolled will receive one high quality, age-appropriate book each month addressed directly to them at no cost to the family. 

From January 13-19, swing by our Northshore, Southside and St. Elmo scoop shops to register and enjoy Dolly-themed goodies. We’ll have coloring pages, bookmarks, stickers and a limited-edition flavor, Cup of Ambition, named after a favorite tune.  This hand-churned, in-house pasteurized ice cream is infused with locally sourced Velo Coffee mixed with a Velo Coffee ganache swirl and chunks of mocha brownies also baked in house. Perfect for a "Dolly Day” or a sweet reward for working 9 to 5.  

Clumpies joins other Chattanooga businesses in celebrating Dolly Days. Our Northshore and Southside scoop shops will host storybook readings on Dolly’s birthday, January 19, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Each session will feature two stories with books selected by Signal Centers, the local community partner for the Imagination Library in Hamilton County. While there, grab a Dolly Parton Birthday Passport to mark your activity visits with stamps to enter for a chance to win a free iPad. 

To enter the drawing, you must first get a passport and record stamps from participating Dolly-themed activities around the city. Some of the activities include sampling the Cup of Ambition at Clumpies, attending the UTC women’s basketball game versus Mercer, a meal at Texas Roadhouse in Hixson or Hamilton Place, or by attending a Dolly event at any of the five branches of the Chattanooga Library. When at least four of seven total passport stamps are collected, the passport can then be submitted at any of the activity locations in exchange for one drawing entry. Visiting all seven events merits an additional entry for the iPad drawing. 

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which began in 1995 simply as a program to share the magical wonder of reading to preschool children in her native Sevier County, Tennessee, now reaches children and their families across the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland. In its 30-year history, over 3,197,250 children have joined the Imagination Library, and over 264,181,752 books (and counting!) have been distributed worldwide. 

The program works with a specially selected panel of early childhood literacy experts on its Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee who review hundreds of titles yearly. This committee takes great care in choosing high quality books that meet the different needs of recipients as they progress from birth to age five. Participation in the Imagination Library is positively and significantly associated with higher measures of early language and math development according to recent studies. 

This international operation is supported by an ever-growing network of local affiliates, that help enroll children in their community and secure funds to cover book costs and shipping fees. Since 2021, Singal Centers, has partnered with the Imagination Library to ensure the program's sustained availability to children throughout Hamilton County, Tennessee.  

Signal Centers is a Chattanooga-based non-profit focused on early childhood education, assistive technology, and family development helping individuals of all ages with disabilities aim for a life of independence.  

Clumpies Ice Cream Co. is proudly Tennessee born and bred. We strive to source ingredients locally and support regional businesses to produce the highest quality ice cream in small batches. Keeping things local gives Clumpies its rich flavor. We are excited to be partnering with Signal Centers for the first time this year to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and are proud to be using another Tennessee brand, Velo Coffee, for our specialty flavor. Collaborations like this strengthen our community here in Chattanooga, Tennessee and beyond.