Later we saw lady breaking line ahead of us in one of those glitter tanks. I thought I recognized her from previous years. When her family showed up to join her, I recognized her son as a young tribute artist that I had met often in previous years. He was always in an Elvis costume but this year he was dressed like a normal teenager. It looked like he was moving on from his mother’s Elvis obsession.
Standing in line for a long time on a hot August night was the main reason that I thought my wife wouldn’t enjoy Elvis Week. She stuck with the program to get the experience, but the heat and the extended waits made it something not worth doing again. At the same time, there were a lot of people that stayed at home this year because of changes to the ceremony and changes to Graceland. Many of these fans were there from the beginnings when the Elvis Country Fan Club held the first vigil ceremony on the eve of the anniversary of his death. They embraced Elvis Presley Enterprises creating an International Elvis Week in 1983 around their ceremony. They watched tents spring up with performers, bootleg Elvis merchandise was replaced with officially licensed products and stayed at a real Heartbreak Hotel at the end of at Lonely Street. And last year they reluctantly paid to attend a ceremony they helped create. It didn’t feel right, so many of them stayed at home. Those fans will return to Graceland but maybe not during Elvis Week. If they are devoted enough about Elvis to mourn his passing every year, they are devoted enough to Elvis Week to mourn it’s passing too. And what they loved about Elvis Week is gone. What’s left isn’t theirs anymore. Yes, Elvis Week will continue. But this tribute to a beloved entertainer can only last so long. The appeal of the event for me has always been the zealous fans. Someone that loved Elvis enough to wear a flag as a cape, wear a glittery tank top or buy and wear an expensive Elvis costume. I don’t think those fans will be around forever. Go see them while they are still around.
