On the same day as her 66th birthday, country music's beloved icon Dolly Parton has announced a partnership with Gaylord, the owners of the Grand Ole Opry and Opryland Hotel and Resort to open a themed water and snow park attraction.

The attraction will be situated near the former Opryland theme park which now houses Opryland Hotel and Resort and the soon to re-open Opry Mills mall and Opryland.

Gaylord Entertainment and Dolly Parton’s Dollywood Company are entering a 50/50 joint venture to develop a 114-acre family entertainment zone adjacent to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The Dollywood Company will serve as the operating partner of the as-yet-unnamed outfit.

Phase one of the project is an approximately $50 million water and snow park, the first of its kind in the United States. A late 2012/early 2013 groundbreaking date is expected, with the park opening slated for summer 2014.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean joined Parton and Gaylord Entertainment Chairman and CEO Colin V. Reed at today’s announcement at the Grand Ole Opry House at Gaylord Opryland.

In other Dolly Parton news, her just released film Joyful Noise earned a respectable 13 million dollars at the box office last weekend (to place 4th) while the soundtrack from the film debuted at #1 on the Billboard Soundtrack charts, thanks in large part to Dolly's three original tunes on the project. The Soundtrack (enter here to win a copy) also scored a #1 debut on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart and a solid #2 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart.

(Note: Photo ©Warner Brothers Films and used with permission)