I’m going to go with you to Elvis Week this year.” This is what my wife told me moments after I let her know that my jury duty wasn’t going to interfere with my annual trip to Elvis Week at Graceland. She had never expressed much interest in going on this trip until this year. Our visit to Graceland last year during one of her education conferences had gotten her interested. Her conference was held at The Guesthouse at Graceland, the hotel next door to the mansion. We did the tours and she got a small taste of what Elvis Week could be like. But it pales in comparison to the experience you get during Elvis Week.
Now if it could only hold up to its reputation. Last year, I heard many devoted attendees of Elvis Week tell me that it would be there last time to come. And that was before a near complete breakdown of organization during the candlelight vigil ceremony. Would these people hold true to their word and stay at home during this event that had become such an important part of their lives?
The earliest sign was the parking lot. The lot immediately in front of the new visitors center has been the main place to park for years. We arrived around noon and the parking lot was significantly less full than at about the same time in years past. Comparing to last year is probably unfair. That was the 40th anniversary of Elvis’ death and the first Elvis Week with the new hotel and new visitors center. Last year we had gotten there early and had to park in the grass in an overflow area. This was going to be a significant drop in attendance. Could this be the demise in Elvis Week that I had predicted for years? Hopefully, there would be enough of the types of experiences I had in the past for my wife to see what I found fascinating about these trips.
I didn’t take us that long to have our first experience with an extreme Elvis fan. We met Jim from Massachusetts on our way to the visitor center to buy tickets for the exhibits. He was hard not to notice because he was wearing a cape with a picture of Elvis. It looked like an Elvis banner with a makeshift tie to keep it around his neck. He was also wearing an Elvis cap, an Elvis shirt and lots of buttons with pictures of Elvis. He said he comes to Elvis Week regularly. I find it hard to believe that I haven’t encountered him before. The cape must be a new for him because the way he was dressed would make him a natural for me to seek out. I asked to get my picture made with him because I was afraid that a description wouldn’t do him justice. We would see him several times throughout the day.
Our stop at the main gift shop resulted in meeting a family that was also from Massachusetts. They were looking at Elvis themed Christmas decorations. We noticed the father, Adam, when he was getting an Elvis TCB emblem Christmas tree topper off the shelf. Adam was the main Elvis fan of the family. They drove down for a family vacation and didn’t realize they were coming during Elvis Week. While they did purchase the tree topper, they also seemed to have an appreciation for the kitsch element the Elvis Christmas decorations. Adam introduced us to his teenage son Rocco but we didn’t get a chance to meet the mother or daughter. This was their first trip to Graceland. They didn’t know about the Candlelight Vigil. I described it to them and encouraged them to stay for it.
Seeing celebrities is always a highlight of these trips. I had looked at a schedule of events and noticed that Steve Binder was going to be there. Binder is best known for being the director of the ’68 Comeback Special. He has written a book about the special and was signing copies in the main gift shop. My interest in meeting him went beyond his association with Elvis. He was also the director of one of the greatest rock and roll movies ever The T.A.M.I Show. It’s worth searching out if you haven’t seen it. He’s also known for directing The Star Wars Holiday Special, a show that George Lucas has disowned. Even for fans of bad movies, this is one is hard to watch. I didn’t mention either of these when I met him. I did tell him I had heard him on a recent episode of a podcast hosted by Gilbert Gottfried and how much I enjoyed it.
While we were in line at the book signing, we met a man from Canada who is a member of the Elvis Country Fan Club. This is the club that conducts the Candlelight Vigil ceremony. When I found this out, I knew he was a regular at Elvis Week. I told him that I thought I had seen him in previous years. He said he would be easy to remember because of his hair. His white hair cut in a style that would have been fashionable in the late 1970’s made him easy to spot. We would notice him later that evening while he was serving as part of the honor guard, the people that tend the torches used to light the candles during the vigil.
“Yes, she did buy a t shirt. For herself.”
Facebook post from 1:42 PM
I usually buy a cap and a t shirt every year and this was no exception. I didn’t expect my wife to get anything, so I was surprised when she picked up a shirt for herself. It didn’t have a picture of Elvis on the front but does say that it is from Graceland. We also picked up some Dinstuhl’s chocolate. They are a Memphis company and had a tasting in one of the other gift shops. I have seen their product on the shelves there before but had never gotten any. It was worth getting. In another shop, I noticed an Elvis glitter tank top that I told my wife that she should get. While she didn’t get this shirt, we did run into someone who had purchased one as we were returning from our car where we stored our purchases. The lady wearing the shirt was at least 70 years old. She was from Myrtle Beach and was there with her daughter. They were on a girls’ trip, but the daughter said her husband is a big Elvis fan. When they said they had shopped for him, they held up three very large and what appeared to be very heavy bags from some of the gift shops.
