Terry Morrow: Brett Favre, Martina McBride play Dollywood tourists (but not together)

NFL great Brett Favre stopped by Dollywood with an entourage of at least a dozen people. He did not wear his helmet on the rides.

At 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds, Brett Favre never does anything small — even visiting Dollywood.

When the renowned National Football League quarterback, who retired earlier this year, decided to drop by the theme park recently, he brought quite the entourage: at least a dozen folks, including his wife and children. And as often happens at Dollywood when a celebrity is wandering the grounds, the public was all atwitter.

Or, as one source tells me: "A lot of people recognized him."

Favre should have worn a helmet to avoid being recognized.

Since he did not, Favre was bombarded by fans who wanted autographs and photos, another source says. The former Green Bay Packers quarterback was as accommodating as he could be. After all, the guy was there to enjoy Dollywood in its Christmas-time splendor.

"He saw the new Dollywood on Ice show, rode the roller coasters, ate at the Backstage restaurant and walked around to see the lights," a source says.

A native of Mississippi, Favre and his wife married in 1996. They have two daughters, Brittany (born 1989) and Breleigh (born 1999). Favre has a grandson, Parker Brett, who was born to Brittany in 2010.

Favre had called Dollywood in advance to alert them he was going to be there.

Photo by Mark Humphrey

Country music star Martina McBride, shown here in a 2010 performance, dropped by Dollywood recently as a tourist.

Meanwhile, another celebrity also walked the grounds of Dolly Parton's park recently. Country star Martina McBride came by to see the shows and absorb the Christmas festivities.

Unlike Favre, she wanted to keep her visit on the down low. A source at Dollywood confirmed McBride being there, though no official word was made on the visit.

McBride has visited Dollywood previously, so she knew the lay of the land.

Celebrities visiting Dollywood as tourists is not that unusual. Melissa Etheridge, Rose McGowan, Robert Rodriguez and Jodie Foster have passed through the turnstiles over the years.

Wedding plans

Sugarland lead singer Jennifer Nettles married "in the foothills" of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee recently. But sources close to her aren't saying exactly where.

Did she opt for a small, out of the way, spot in Townsend? Or, perhaps, did she walk down the aisle in the Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge area?

Nettles' publicist said she had no more information to dish out on the location.

Meanwhile, the folks at Blackberry Farms, which attracts a lot of celebrities to Blount County, deny she was married there (although, she might have been better off had she done it there, considering they handle celebrity clients often).

Maybe her Sugarland partner, Kristian Bush, pointed her in the direction of a classy wedding chapel? After all, he's a native of these parts. He'd have known of a place.

Bush attended the ceremony, held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The gathering had a select crowd of family and a few friends, according to reports.

Terry Morrow may be reached at 865-342-6445 or morrowt@knoxville.com.

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