Category: Graceland

Shortly after we arrived at Graceland, I saw a lady talking to three Elvis Tribute Artists. She caught my eye because of the picture of Elvis on the back of her dress ran from the shoulders down to the bottom of the otherwise black, floor length dress.  While getting my picture with her I found out that she was from Shreveport, Louisiana.  She said this was her 19th straight Candlelight Vigil because she started coming in 2000.  A quick check of her math says that this was actually her 20th trip but I didn’t argue.  She that during one of the trips, she traveled in a black limousine with an ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist).  She said they had two blowouts on the interstate.  Her husband, who was taking our picture, said “And you know a limo only has ONE spare.”  As the lady continued telling her story, I noticed a slight lisp that I couldn’t help noticing when she said, “We were stranded on the side of the road until some sweet soul in an SUV stopped and saved us.” Go back and read that last line out loud with a lisp.  

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.

I was walking back to the entertainment tent at Graceland when I saw 4 people from Brazil.  I was in my Elvis Week element when I started talking to them and asking them about their visit. Only one of them had ever been to Graceland before.  One of the men did most of the talking.  He grabbed at the blue wristband on his arm and said, “I don’t like this.”  I said I didn’t like it either.  The wristband was a “Graceland Property Pass” that gave you access to various areas during Elvis Week.  It was also the only way you could get to the Candlelight Vigil this year. The only way to get this pass was to purchase one of the tour packages. The minimum cost of one of these packages was nearly $30.  This was a significant change for an event that has always been free. It didn’t affect us because we were already planning to tour the house and the new visitor’s center exhibits.  But it was affecting our Brazilian friends because they were spending the week in Memphis for Elvis Week.  They had done the tours and exhibits earlier in the week and had no reason to revisit them.  Each of them purchased an additional $30 ticket just to do the candlelight vigil and they didn’t like it.  These changes came up early in our conversations with most people and without me asking. Change has come to Graceland and the fans don’t like it. 

The rain started falling on us as we got to the edge of Memphis.  By the time we pulled into the parking lot at Graceland, the rain had stopped but there was rain and threats of rain all day. When we were getting out of the car, I suggested to Tina that we take the rain ponchos with us that I had purchased several years earlier for a previous Elvis Week. It was the right thing to do.