Satisfy burning love for Elvis
Strong pro field expected for annual Penticton Elvis Festival this weekend
Feeling all shook up? So are thousands of other people ahead of the Penticton Elvis Festival this weekend.
Through three days of competition, 29 amateur and professional Elvis tribute artists will sing their hearts out as they vie for trophies. The pros are also competing to represent Penticton at the Ultimate Elvis competition later this year in Memphis.
Terry Michels, chairman of the festival society, said the pro category may be the strongest yet in the 17-year history of the event.
“We’re getting so well known, they want to be here,” he said.
In between the songs, fans will get to hear from special guests Dave Hebler, who worked as Elvis’s bodyguard, and Mindi Miller, who starred with the King in several movies. Both are visiting Penticton for the first time.
They’ll be joined by Darwin Lamm, publisher of Elvis . . . The Magazine, who has appeared previously.
Michels said ticket sales are “up a little bit” over last year, but he expects a last-minute rush.
“Come the weekend, it just gets crazy,” he said. Fans “get to town, they feel the atmosphere and we sell a lot of tickets at the gate.”
The preliminary competition unfolds over two days — today and Saturday — in Okanagan Lake Park, with the top seven from each division moving on to the finals Sunday at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.
Saturday night will see a Las Vegas-style show on the outdoor stage featuring comedian Patrick Maliha opening for ETAs Dean Z. and Johnny Lee Memphis, who will be backed by a full band.
Sunday will see the return of the gospel show in the park with $2 admission, proceeds from which will be donated to the Agur Lake Camp Society.
Environment Canada is forecasting unsettled weather for the weekend, but festival-goers shouldn’t be discouraged.
“We’ve only been rained out once in 17 years,” noted Michels.
“I think Elvis does his thing up there — he kind of protects us. That’s what we want to believe, anyway.” Gates open today at noon. Tickets are available at the park at a cost of $15 each day, or $25 for a weekend pass. Tickets for the Sunday finale are available at the South Okanagan Events Centre box office.