Dolly Parton heading to Washington state to celebrate expansion of her Imagination Library

Legendary singer, actress and philanthropist Dolly Parton is coming to Washington state to celebrate the expansion to every county of her Imagination Library program, which provides books to children ages 5 and younger.

While in the Evergreen State on Aug. 15, she will hold a fireside chat, perform and recognize those who helped the initiative cover the entire state, according to a Wednesday news release from Imagination Library.

Gov. Jay Inslee and Lt. Gov. Denny Heck will proclaim the day as “Imagination Library of Washington Day.”

“We welcome the great Dolly Parton to celebrate our statewide program and promote registration for our youngest learners into the Imagination Library,” Inslee said in the news release. “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.”

The invite-only event can be viewed on TVW, in addition to being available to watch on both the Imagination Library of Washington and TVW social media channels beginning at 2:30 p.m. on the day of the event.

Washington’s Imagination Library program was expanded in 2022 and has gifted more than 1.6 million books so far to approximately 65,000 enrolled children in all 39 counties.

The Imagination Library of Washington received $2 million from the state Legislature for the 2023-25 biennium.

Because of her own father’s illiteracy, Parton was inspired to start the program in 1995 for children in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee, according to the Imagination Library’s website. Today, the program spans five countries and gives away more than 2.4 million books each month to children around the world.