Wigwam Jones

I shall begin at the beginning.

I appreciate Elvis Presley, I really do. I like his music and I understand his historical significance. But I'm not really a 'fan' as such. I don't have any Elvis Presley recordings, and I would not ordinarily be drawn to attend an ElvisFest.

However, since I am here alone in Michigan while Mrs. Wiggy and I attempt to wrap up our lives in North Carolina and move Castle Wiggy up north, I have to find things to keep my busy on weekends. I've discovered that Michigan has a plethora of festivals. In fact, every single weekend, there are so many festivals going on that a person could not attend them all. Take a look:

Michigan Festivals & Events Association

And I read on the news that it has been thirty years since Elvis Presley died. So somehow, it seemed appropriate that I go and record this Elvis Presley Enterprises approved festival. I loaded up the cameras and headed south in search of The King.

I learned a few things before I left. The event is held in Ypsilanti, which is a small town to the south and east of Detroit. It is held annually at the Riverside Park in Depot Town, the beautiful restored commercial area of the city.

Of course, there were signs up everywhere.

I also learned a bit about these Elvis Festivals. Seems they are held all over the country, they're more popular than ever, and there are many hundreds of people who impersonate Elvis. Oh yes, and some of them do not wish to be called 'Elvis Impersonators'. They prefer to be called "ETAs," which stands for "Elvis Tribute Artists."

I arrived about ten in the morning, but unfortunately, the festival didn't open until eleven. Fortunately, I discovered a totally cool coffee shop, Cafe Luwak. It was here that I enjoyed a most lovely cup of real unflavored strong coffee, with real 'raw' sugar and a homemade cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting. Oh baby. I knew it was going to be a good day. I could keep an eye on the line forming down in the riverside park:

When the festival finally opened at eleven, I walked on down and got in line. I have to say, I didn't know what to expect at all, having never been to an Evis Festival before. I had the vague notion that I'd be surrounded by ladies of a certain age, ladies who had once, in their younger days, screamed in delight at the sight of their heartthrob and hurled articles of their apparel on stage. Oh, I just gave myself a bad mental images. Sorry.

Well, there were plenty of elderly folks there (and they remained fully clothed), but plenty more were people my own age and lots of college-aged students as well. Cost $18 to get in, though. And parking was $10. I noticed that lots of folks were prepared - they brought folding lawn chairs and coolers. Glass bottles were not allowed, nor were pets. And it looked like rain, so I anticipated that the crowd would be somewhat diminished. And to begin with, it was. I was beginning to think the show would be a bust.

However, I wandered over to the car show. You know, Michigan has a lot of festivals, but every single one of them has a classic car show as part of it. I guess that's because they made them all here. Nice cars! This is Roland Walling and his 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. I believe that's his daughter in the driver's seat, but she was on the phone pretty much the whole time Roland and I were talking.

The show started at noon, with no rain yet, but it still looked like the clouds might open at any moment. The first ETA was Duke Mason, who is known as a 46-inch tall Elvis Tribute Artist with a full-sized voice. He really does sound like Elvis - and it is startling to hear that voice and see Duke belting it out. I really enjoyed his set. I may not be an Elvis 'fan', but I do like his music, and like most Americans, his songs are part of our culture - we all know them.

Duke was followed by a young man named "Kavan," who was dressed in an authentic-looking US Army outfit from the time when Elvis was in the Army. He's a young man, but he looks and sounds the part. I really enjoyed his set as well.

Next up was Chris Ayotte:

Chris Solano:

Matt King:

And others:

I've put the various ETA's all on my Flickr page in a set here:

Elvis Really *is* Everywhere!

More interesting than the Elvii and the cars, though, were the fans. It was overcast and rained on and off all day long, but the crowd just kept growing and growing. I'd estimate it over a thousand, easily.

And there were all kinds of people. Yes, the oldsters were representin' but so were men and women of every age group. Many of the guys dressed up like Elvis, some apparently take it fairly seriously. I spoke with a couple who had driven up from Rockford, Illinois to attend; it was their second visit. They also make an attempt to visit different Elvis-related events around the country, promising to make it to Memphis next year. They seemed perfectly normal, not at all what one might expect an Elvis-worshipping groupie to be like. In fact, they were perfectly normal, and so were most of the folks I met. Nice people who just happen to enjoy Elvis' music and enjoy reliving recreations of Elvis shows.

This woman just got an Elvis tattoo on her ankle. Here she is showing it to her mother and daughter, all Elvis fans:

I spoke to them later - all perfectly normal people enjoying a fun time at the festival. OK, so the youngest one doesn't look happy - but I think that's their thing. Goes with that age. She'll grow out of it.

A close-up of the tattoo in question:

The ETA's were very gracious about having their photos taken with fans:

And there were the people who dressed like Elvis. Or like something, anyway.

The rest of my 'people' photos of the event are here:

Elvis Fans

You know what? I had a good time. It was rainy, but the various acts were fun - the performers were talented and enthusiastic. The music was excellent and stirred memories of my childhood, and the people I met were universally friendly, kind, decent, and fun-loving.

I think I'll go again next year. I can spare The King a day a year.

Uh, thank you very much.

Wiggy