Dolly Parton visits Washington to celebrate expansion of her Imagination Library

Legendary country singer-songwriter and philanthropist Dolly Parton visited Tacoma’s Pantages Theater on Tuesday to celebrate the expansion of her Imagination Library across Washington.

The program provides one free book a month to children from birth to age 5. Children all over Washington can now register for the program.

Parton performed a short set during the celebration event, including the song “Coat of Many Colors.” The University of Washington drumline and the Tacoma Youth Symphony also performed.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal had a fireside chat with Parton before her brief performance.

“I came here because I am very, very proud of the Imagination Library,” Parton said.

She created the program because she wanted kids to feel special by receiving something in the mail, and because she has a love for reading and books, she said.

On a personal level, she said her family was very poor and that her dad had lived a hard life and wasn’t able to attend school. He was embarrassed because he couldn’t read or write, she said, and she often wondered what he could have been if he would have learned those skills.

Her dad helped her launch the program and was very proud of the work he helped Parton put in to start the Imagination Library, Parton said.

Reykdal asked what advice Parton had for students and educators.

“We’re not all supposed to be alike — remember what they say about variety being the spice of life — but that doesn’t mean we can’t be good neighbors, that we can’t be good people,” Parton said. “Everybody should just treat everyone the way they want to be treated, and the way that you would want your family to be treated, or your children, or your mom or your dad. ...

“I really think we just need to have a little more kindness, just think a little harder. Instead of just seeing what all we can do to each other, let’s see what we can do for each other.”

The singer was presented with a gift of flowers and a handmade vase made at the Tacoma Museum of Glass. Parton, in turn, presented the state with a large copy of her children’s book “Coat of Many Colors,” a book about growing up in poverty.

State House Reps. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, and Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, who sponsored the legislation to expand the program in Washington, were also in attendance.

Abbarno said he first heard about the Imagination Library from the Rotary Clubs and through the United Way of Southwest Washington.

“And instantly I became a huge fan — a way to prepare our children for school, and an activity that we can do together as a family,” Abbarno said.

State lawmakers expanded the Imagination Library in 2022 through bipartisan legislation along with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The program is administered by United Ways of the Pacific Northwest.

Aug. 15 was also proclaimed as “Imagination Library of Washington Day” by Gov. Jay Inslee and Lt. Gov. Denny Heck. Heck was at the event, but Inslee was not in attendance.

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

So far 65,000 children in Washington state are enrolled in the program. Before legislation passed, only certain areas of the state had access to the Imagination Library.

Parton first started the Imagination Library in her home state of Tennessee in 1995. Since then it has expanded to five countries. According to a news release from the Imagination Library, the program mails 2.5 million children books every month.

You can view the recording of the live-streamed event on the TVW website.