Dolly Parton made her first public appearance since her husband Carl Dean‘s death earlier this month.
Parton celebrated opening day at Dollywood over the weekend with hundreds of season pass holders, marking the theme park’s 40th anniversary.
The country superstar said she didn’t want to miss the opening because her husband would have wanted her to be there, ABC Knoxville affiliate WATE reported.
Parton thanked her fans and parkgoers for their support over the past few weeks since Dean’s death on March 3 in Nashville.
“I just wanted you to know that of course, I will always love him. I will miss him, and of course, I will always love you,” Parton said.
With four decades of the park now under her belt, Parton said hard work paired with people who show up is what’s helped keep her dream alive.
“You never know how your dream is going to grow,” she said. “You just got to keep working, pushing and feeding them, and just doing whatever you have to do to make them work.”
She continued, “If they don’t come, then you don’t have a park — but if you do everything you can to make people want to come back or to tell other people about it, that’s how you grow a business, so I will always love people for that.”
Fans have continued to show love for Parton in recent weeks, particularly for her latest single, “If You Hadn’t Been There,” a tribute to her late husband that has already reached No. 1 on iTunes charts.
The country singer penned a “love note to family, friends and fans” following Dean’s death earlier this month, which thanked them for their support.
Parton and Dean were married for nearly six decades, tying the knot in 1966.
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