Dolly Parton Valentine’s Day Tribute/Fundraiser for Breast Cancer Prevention

Nena Anderson as Dolly Parton.

With a heart blessed with kindness and generosity, Dolly Parton has always had the knack for spreading goodwill. This Valentine’s Day, at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, the popular country music singer, actress, and philanthropist will provide the inspiration for a special breast cancer awareness event and fundraiser.

The event will be an all-things Dolly extravaganza, with a Dolly Parton tribute concert and Dolly look-alike contest. The affair will also feature an art exhibit and auction. A portion of all proceeds will go to benefit the Keep A Breast Foundation, a Southern California-based nonprofit that promotes breast cancer prevention, education, and early detection.

Local singer-songwriter and breast cancer survivor Nina Anderson created the event to raise awareness of breast cancer while showcasing local artists, especially (but not solely) women.

“Keep A Breast was founded by two of my dearest friends, Shaney Jo Darden and Mona Mukherjea-Gehrig in 2000 in San Diego,” Anderson says. “When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, supporting their nonprofit became much more personal.” Since then, Anderson has become a breast cancer prevention and education advocate as well as the creative director for Keep A Breast.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer afflicts 13 percent of American women. Despite advanced diagnosis and treatment, thousands of women and hundreds of men (Breast cancer victims are not solely women) still die each year from breast cancer.

Dolly Parton look-alike contest.

Besides Anderson, honkey-tonk specialists Brawley and the Sure Thing Band will perform Parton’s hits, spanning from her beginnings with Porter Waggoner to today. Attendees will have the chance to win prizes as they compete in a look-alike contest. Contestants will vie for best resemblance to Dolly, Kenny Rogers, and best Dolly/Kenny couple.

Keep A Breast uses art as a means of raising cancer awareness. And their website features a gallery of plaster casts of breasts, all of which have been expressively and sometimes whimsically painted by Darden. Models for the plaster casts have been breast cancer survivors, athletes, musicians, and artists. Seven of these casts will be exhibited and up for auction during the event. All of the busts (not those kinds of busts, the other kind) are of women involved in this year’s fundraiser. The auction begins online on February 14, with the closing date and reception to be announced.

Anderson is looking forward to a successful fundraiser that promises a good time for all, saying, “It’s a special opportunity to combine my advocacy with music, in my favorite venue, and to be able to showcase so many talented artists in one joyous night. This event is close to my heart on so many levels.”

Nena Anderson’s Dolly Parton Tribute Fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness with Brawley/Laura Jane Willcock/Whitney Shay/Gayle Skidmore/Molly Jenson, and more. Friday, February 14 at the Belly Up, 143 S. Cedros, Solana Beach, 8:30pm.