It’s hard to put into words everything that Dolly Parton is. She’s not just a country singer. She’s an icon, a walking, talking, glittery billboard for following your passion and making no apologies. (Plus, look at how she addressed the gender/bathroom debate.) 

There’s so much to celebrate when it comes to the 70-year-old legend, and the 11^th annual Dolly Parton Hoot Night—on Saturday, June 25 at the Alberta Rose Theatre—is just the place to do it.

The event, hosted by Siren Nation, a Portland-based nonprofit that creates opportunities for women artists, will be emceed by comedian Amy Miller, who has a very public love of Miss Dolly. Artists such as Gerle Haggard and the Rocky Butte Wranglers will play some of Dolly’s many hits, and ticket proceeds will go toward Siren Nation’s annual women’s arts festival.

Ahead of Hoot Night, we found out from Siren Nation co-founder December Carson why the Alberta Rose is where the tide's gonna turn and it's all gonna roll your way. . .

Since this is the 11^th annual Hoot Night, what can we expect this year? Any surprises?

We have comedian Amy Miller emceeing. I can imagine that not only is she going to bring all of her comedic skills, but she’s also going to be bringing her love and passion for Dolly Parton to the evening.

And then we have a nice mix of Dolly Parton Hoot Night veterans and a lot of newbies. So it’ll be a mix of favorites that we’ve had, like Ashleigh Flynn or the Dolly Partners and the Rocky Butte Wranglers. But this year we also have Gerle Haggard and Lenore, and I’m really excited, because this is the first time that they will be performing at the Hoot Night.

What's the history of Dolly Parton Hoot Night? It’s 11 years old, which predates Siren Nation. Is it the first event you put together for Siren Nation?

It was the first event we did. Siren Nation was founded by me and my old partner, Siren Nation’s [former] executive director Natalia Kay. We did a series of fundraisers before we launched our first festival, and the Dolly Parton Hoot Night was the first one. That’s why it’s older than the festival itself.

So was Siren Nation born from Dolly Parton Hoot Night?

No. Dolly Parton Hoot Night was born out of Siren Nation, essentially. We came up with the concept for this festival, and we knew we would need to have fundraising events that would, year over year, fund this festival, and the Dolly Parton Hoot Night was the first one we did to raise funds for the first festival. And then we kept it as a legacy event.

Why Dolly Parton? Why do you think so many people love her so much?

Her songwriting is really honest, and people gravitate toward honesty in songwriting. I think nationally and internationally, it’s her sincerity and her honesty as a person. She loves her fans, and her fans love her. It just comes down to that sincerity and that honesty.

I think, as an organization, Siren Nation gravitates toward Dolly because she’s a self-made woman. She’s a one-woman empire. She not only writes her own songs, she owns all of her own music. She runs her own business. She runs her own charities. She’s someone that our entire board gravitates to as someone we see as a role model.

Why should people go to Hoot Night this year?

It’s my favorite night and our most fun night of the year. It’s generally pretty wild. A lot of people come in costume. We have a lot of people coming either as Dolly or as one of the iconic characters from her movies.

And everybody who performs there is performing because they love [Dolly], so they all are bringing their A-game. Everyone who is performing will be exceptional. So if you love Dolly, you’ll get to hear her songs performed at their best. These people are trying to pay tribute to Dolly and do justice to her songs, so they’re all going to be amazing.

Siren Nation presents the 11th Annual Dolly Parton Hoot Night on  Saturday, June 25 at the Alberta Rose Theatre.