This weekend, August 2, 3 and 4th, is the Tax-Free Weekend in Tennessee, and the Smoky Mountains are a great place to send quality time and to save money.

Shopping, Dining, Theaters and Attractions abound in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville, so its a great place for couples and families to come for fun, food and savings. And fellows, I will give you a list of things to do if you are not a shopper. But for shopping the East Tennessee Smokies can’t be beat!

Tanger Five Oaks Outlet in Sevierville is a great place to start. Over 100 stores featuring name-brand apparel, shoes, jewelry, accessories, restaurants, Starbucks, gift stores and many more stores to experience and enjoy. Even though this could be an all-day experience, there’s more!

The Old Mill Square features the Old Mill Pottery House, the Farmhouse Kitchen, the Candy Kitchen, Creamery, Toy Store, Sassafras and the Old Mill General Store where you can get old time fixin’s and flours and grains ground on property. And while you are there have lunch or dinner at the famous Old Mill Restaurant. Another good place for kitchen and home accessories is the Apple Barn, where you can also enjoy lunch or dinner and a famous apple fritter

Around the corner is Old Time Pottery and around another corner is the Incredible Christmas Place. Both are experiences not to be missed!

You can restock your dining room, kitchen and bedrooms at Mr. Tablecloth & More and Lid’l Dollys Factory Store which are located close to each other on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. Little girl clothes and doll clothes are available at Lid’l Dollys and American Girl Doll with two locations on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge.

There is no shortage of different and unique shopping and things to experience in the Smokies including Smoky Mountain Guitars, the home of high quality stringed instruments and the Bluegrass Opry live shows on the weekends. You can take the Rocky Top Wine Tour, shop in one of the largest fireworks stores in the southeast at Fireworks Supermarket, get your picture taken at Old Time Photo, and hit two big flea markets – Great Smokies Flea Market and Flea Traders Paradise. For more info on shopping go to https://www.bestreadguidesmokymountains.com/shopping.html. 

You can’t shop and eat all of the time so take time to visit one of the top-quality theaters in the area. For comedy there’s The Comedy Barn and Bob Nelson Theater; country music is playing at Country Tonite, The Smoky Mountain Opry and Smith Family Theater; dinner shows include Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Show, the Lumberjack Feud and the Great Smoky Mountain Murder Mystery Dinner Show; The Blackwoods perform gospel at the Smoky Mountain Opry in the mornings, and Terry Evanswood performs at the Wonders of Magic Theater at WonderWorks; there is Soul Music at the Soul of Motown and music from several generations at America’s Hit Parade, both at the Grand Majestic Theater. For mor information on theaters go to https://bestreadguidesmokymountains.com/theaters.html.

Guys, I didn’t forget you. There are marvelous golf courses in the area especially the two-eighteen hole courses at the Sevierville Golf Club. Afterwards stop into Mulligans Pub for food and drink. You could also do an ATV ride, go ziplining, rafting, horseback riding or go-carts at The Track or NASCAR Speedpark. If you want to just chill you could go to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and hike or sit by a mountain stream.

And after a day of shopping or a night at the theater, drive up to Gatlinburg and enjoy a little late night rendezvous with your spouse or significant other at the Melting Pot. Or, if you are in the rock mood, hit the 11:00 pm The Big Rock Show at the Bob Nelson Theater in Pigeon Forge. A guaranteed rockin’ good time!

For more information and coupons for theaters, attractions, restaurants, shopping and rockin’, go to www.bestreadguidesmokymountains.com. Click on the Coupon page for coupons and info and the Video Showcase to see videos of area theaters, restaurants and attractions.