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Sevier County delaying Winterfest start until after the autumn leaves have fallen

Pigeon Forge said tourists were getting mixed messages by seeing fall decorations next to Christmas lights.

Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville are pushing their annual Smoky Mountain Winterfest celebration back a few weeks this year.

For years, the annual celebration kicked off in early November just after Halloween wrapped up and lasted until early January. 

This year, they are pushing it back to November 22 so there's no longer overlap with Gatlinburg's Smoky Mountain Harvest Festival, and they will keep the winter festivities going until February 17.

The city of Pigeon Forge said the fall leaves have been peaking in November for the last several years, so they decided to push back the winter celebration until after the leaves fall to ensure tourists weren't getting mixed messages.

"The leaves have peaked in November the last two or three years. So if that allows us to have more people here for a longer period of time, we're all about it. Tourism is what floats the boat in Sevier County,"  Pigeon Forge tourism director Leon Downing said.  

More than 15 million lights go into the massive display.

Before Winterfest, Gatlinburg will be holding its annual Smoky Mountain Harvest Festival from Sept. 6 to Nov. 22. It was originally planned to go until Nov. 25 this year, but the city shaved a few days off to smoothly transition into Winterfest.

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