Senior Living Communities (and a Pony in a Wig) Pay Tribute Around the Country to Dolly Parton on Her 80th Birthday

“She’s an inspiration to all of us — and still showing that at 80 years old, we can still participate and have meaning”

You better believe 76-year old Linda Cooper got her cowgirl hat and Western garb well in advance of Dolly Parton’s birthday this week.

It’s an occasion that Cooper and her fellow residents at Waltonwood Twelve Oaks, a senior living community in Novi, Mich., have looked forward to celebrating once again.

“Throughout the year, we have so many activities that our calendar’s full,” Cooper tells PEOPLE. “In fact, my daughters have to make appointments sometimes to see me because [Waltonwood] keeps me so busy. So I love the activities here [and] this … is one of our favorites.”

Donna Kuneman, 84, with Macho the Pony at senior living community Waltonwood Twelve Oaks in Novi, Mich., marking Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday.Credit : Waltonwood Senior Living

NEED TO KNOW

For the third straight year, Waltonwood senior living communities in Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia are celebrating Dolly Parton’s birthday
“Waltonwood to Dollywood” features festivities themed to the country music icon’s life and career
Linda Cooper, 76, says the event is a “favorite” of her and other residents

From left: Heather Laskos, Linda Cooper and Casey Hess at Waltonwood Twelve Oaks in Novi, Mich., celebrating Dolly Parton’s birthday.Waltonwood Senior Living

In what has now become a tradition since 2024, Waltonwood seniors communities in Michigan, North Carolina, and Virginia are paying tribute to Parton with festivities featuring food, music, dancing and attire tied to the country music icon’s life and career.

This year’s installment of “Waltonwood to Dollywood” will be particularly special on Monday, Jan. 19, when Parton turns 80, organizers say.

“We are celebrating a huge milestone for Miss Dolly herself,“ says Casey Hess, Waltonwood’s marketing manager.

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Included among the celebration will be a Parton impersonator and meals with “some of Dolly’s favorite foods,“ Hess says. “We’re just so excited to celebrate Dolly’s legacy again.”

There’s one more thing: Marking his return to the Waltonwood senior communities in Michigan for this year’s celebrations is Macho, a pony donned in a Parton-like wig to evoke Dollywood’s famous stampede.

A resident with Macho the Pony at the “Waltonwood to Dollywood” event at Waltonwood Twelve Oaks.Waltonwood Senior Living

“He’s a local celebrity,” says Sara Bailey, Waltonwood’s senior regional director of sales. “The residents just love him. He brings so much excitement to the events.”

“We really do,” Cooper agrees. “We all wanna have our picture taken with and posing with him, and he’s just very patient while we’re all gathering around and enjoying it.”

The idea of “Waltonwood to Dollywood” originated from Lindsay Charlefour, Waltonwood’s senior living life enrichment director.

She read Parton’s book Behind the Seams and knew what the center’s next theme week would be.

Sara Sapp, a resident at Waltonwood Twelve Oaks, with Macho the Pony during the “Waltonwood to Dollywood” celebration.Waltonwood Senior Living

“I started thinking Waltonwood, Dollywood — a whole week of nothing but celebrating, honoring, learning about her,” Charlefour told PEOPLE two years ago. “I ran out of space on the calendar because there was so much we could do.”

Heather Laskos, Waltonwood’s marketing manager, says Waltwood and Parton have similar goals when it comes to giving back to the community: A part of “Waltonwood to Dollywood” is a community-wide children’s book drive inspired by the Imagination Library, the singer’s children’s literacy campaign.

“The values of Waltonwood and Dolly line up with our mission [through] her philanthropy, and she is very down to earth in her giving,” Laskos says. “Here at Waltonwood, that’s a big core part of it. And we like to carry on those values.”

Waltonwood life enrichment manager Basma Jirjis with Macho and residents (from left) Myrtle Jackson and Catherine Johns.Waltonwood Senior Living

“She’s so inspiring,” Bailey adds of Parton. “I think that resonates with our residents is how inspiring she is to bring good into the world and sprinkle that kindness.”

Last year was the first time that Cooper and her late husband, Paul, participated in the celebration at Waltonwood Twelve Oaks.

“He absolutely loved it,” Cooper remembers. “We did the line dancing, we did the trivia, which is where I found out more about Dolly than I ever knew ”

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Partygoers at Waltonwood Twelve Oaks celebrating Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday.Waltonwood Senior Living

Cooper admits that while she is, personally, a Fleetwood Mac fan her experience at last year’s “Waltonwood to Dollywood” ended up expanding her interests in Parton and country music.

“My husband was into country western,” she says, adding, “All of a sudden, [I] discovered how much I really did like country western. And I loved her songs and I loved her messages.”

Cooper says she and her husband used to ”go to her movies together [like] 9 to 5. I’m a retired secretary, so I could really relate to that movie. I am a big fan now of her music, but even more of her lifestyle and what she represents.”

“She’s an inspiration to all of us,” Cooper says, “and still showing that at 80 years old, we can still participate and have meaning.”