JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Today is September 25. Numerically, that's 9-2-5.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "9 TO 5")
DOLLY PARTON: (Singing) Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living. Barely...
SUMMERS: "9 to 5" is famously a song and movie about working, but today people from San Francisco to New York City to Portland are out celebrating the queen of country - that's right - Dolly Parton. And nowhere are the fans more dedicated than in her home state of Tennessee. WPLN's Marianna Bacallao is in Nashville and has been taking in the sights and sounds. Hey there.
MARIANNA BACALLAO, BYLINE: Hey.
SUMMERS: First of all, I'm super jealous. So tell us what it's like there today in Nashville.
BACALLAO: Well, as Nashville was Dolly Parton's home for a lot of her life, and Nashville is also home to the country music industry, this was a pretty big day here. The lyrics of "9 To 5" are written across a few downtown intersections. Coffee shops have stocked up on plenty of edible butterflies, an iconic Dolly symbol. And at a honky-tonk, they were serving up a drink called a cup of ambition while musicians covered all of Dolly's hits.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We are here celebrating Dolly. We lost a great one. What a life she lived. What a legacy she left. We're going to do a little "Jolene" for you.
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Singing) Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene...
BACALLAO: That song played for a mix of local superfans and tourists downtown decked out all in pink. And we have more official celebrations. Mayor Freddie O'Connell hosted the kickoff for Dolly Day by acknowledging everything she's contributed to the economy and culture of Nashville.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
FREDDIE O'CONNELL: Dolly tried to do as much good as she could, and today is an opportunity for us to grow her impact, so happy 9-2-5.
BACALLAO: O'Connell officially designated today 9 to 5 Day. He also started off a kindness pledge at the visitor center downtown. That's where folks can write down one thing they plan to do in honor of Dolly. These are, of course, written on butterfly-shaped sticky notes, and people can hang them up in the visitor center.
SUMMERS: What types of pledges are people making?
BACALLAO: Mostly to be kinder today than they were yesterday. Love God, love people was a big one. I talked to Anita Travis (ph). She grew up in Tennessee but lives in Denver now. She says she came back when she heard that Dolly had passed so she could be here with family. She made that trip with her dog.
ANITA TRAVIS: I have a 3-year-old goldendoodle named Dolly. She's blonde. I adopted her from Tennessee, and I think that's a tribute to how much I love Dolly.
BACALLAO: Her pledge was to model Dolly's generous spirit.
TRAVIS: Dolly just really makes me proud to be a girl from Tennessee, and she taught me that I can do anything, being from Tennessee. And my pledge is to give back, to be kind and give back. I just love her.
BACALLAO: She says her family will have their own Dolly celebration on Sunday, where they'll watch her movies and sing her songs.
SUMMERS: Many of us know and love Dolly, and since her death, we've talked just so much about her contributions to causes like childhood literacy. But in Nashville, where you are, what's her legacy like?
BACALLAO: In life and in death, Dolly Parton has been this state's great unifier. People across the political spectrum love Dolly. Nashville is a Democratic-led city in a red state, and our city and state lawmakers are often at odds. A few years ago, a state senator tried to rename Nashville's airport after Donald Trump and received a lot of local pushback. Now, the same airport is in the process of being renamed for Dolly Parton with overwhelming bipartisan support. The one thing everyone here can agree on is their love for Dolly.
SUMMERS: WPLN's Marianna Bacallao. Thank you.
BACALLAO: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOLLY PARTON SONG, "9 TO 5") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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