As we stood outside the toy store, watching a dizzying
number of people walk up and down Hurontario Street, a street many towns would
refer to as Main Street, we spotted our first Elvis.
The unmistakeable jet-black hair, the bright yellow blazer,
set against black pants and two-tone dress shoes, he seemed to rise above the
crowd as he walked past. We were only five
minutes into our afternoon at the 18th annual Collingwood Elvis
Festival and already the kids, looking over toys they didn’t need, had missed what
we had come to see.
They were disappointed when they emerged from the store, but
we told them they had nothing to worry about, because this weekend Elvis was
everywhere.
He was on posters and on life-size cardboard cut-outs in
storefront windows, squished beside mannequins, vacuum cleaners and offers of great
savings on beach getaways. He was in the bank, waiting to use the ATM and
sampling hot sauces from a vendor at a temporary location on the street. He was
inside car dealerships and on cookies at Tim Horton’s. According to the banner
above the main entrance, he was at All Saints Church on Saturday, parishioners also
enjoying bacon on a bun in the parking lot from 10 am to 7 pm.
He was old, young, thin, heavy, wearing jewel encrusted jump
suits, capes and blazers of blindingly brilliant colours. There truly was an
Elvis for everyone.
If you’re wondering about a connection between Collingwood
and Elvis, and why this event has come to be held here, as far as I can tell
there isn’t one. But the Elvis Festival,
which celebrates the man, the music, and the nostalgia of Elvis Presley, brings
fans and tribute artists (the preferred term over impersonators) to Collingwood from all around the world for
four days each year, making this the largest Elvis Festival held anywhere.
Anxious to take in
the festival, we walked farther down the street, hearing Elvis songs played
over loudspeakers that lined the sidewalk. We passed an Elvis fan singing a
karaoke version of Love me Tender, surrounding most notes but drawing a good
crowd nonetheless. As we walked on, I heard the announcer say, “We have lots of
songs to choose from, not just Elvis, we have Johnny Cash...Patsy Cline...” his
voice trailing off, perhaps unsure if his song selection truly was very
expansive.
At the corner of
Hurontario and Simcoe Streets there was an area cordoned off for the different
Elvises to perform on the street. A female Elvis was set to perform, her white
SUV with Florida license plates parked nearby, pictures on the vehicle
indicating she called herself “Lady E,” a bumper sticker urging people not to re-elect
Barack Obama revealing that she is also likely a Republican.
Just as she was about to sing, Lady E realized her microphone
wasn’t working, causing the sound man and a giant Elvis, who moments earlier had
been standing behind me in the crowd, to try to fix the problem. While the 200
people watched and waited in the hot sun, I watched Lady E for any hint that
she was upset that she had driven all the way from Florida and now couldn’t
perform, but instead, saw her smile and pose for pictures. Knowing we had much more to see, we left before the problem
was resolved and only hope she was finally able to do her set.
Around the corner was
the main stage where both amateur and professional tribute artists were
performing for a panel of judges and a crowd of 1,200 people. The first three performers that we saw were
from Japan, Denmark and Brazil, removing any doubt that this had indeed become
an international event.
“The preliminary rounds were held at the curling club so you
know the people on the main stage can all sing,” said the master of ceremonies,
in the first of many offhand remarks we would hear.
Several other performers from near and far took the stage
and excited the crowd to varying degrees. One performer, singing The Impossible
Dream, stopped after the first line and asked if he could start again as the
song was too low and the judges allowed it without a problem. I assume the
performers have their songs on CDs and aside from simply not being prepared, it
was puzzling how the song could ever be too low, but to his credit he did a
great job of the song the second time around. Clearly, while the Elvis Festival
has grown to be a significant international event, the handling of situations
like this let you know that the focus is still on the performers and the fans
and it hasn’t taken itself too seriously.
The master of ceremonies took the stage again and talked
about the time, money and effort that each of the tribute artists puts into
their craft, in particular getting to Collingwood to compete against their
peers and to entertain all of the Elvis fans that assemble. Each has made
enormous sacrifices to be here, he told us, before adding the cringe inducing, “The
prize money is not that good.”
While better words could surely have been used to capture
the thought, he did make a good point – very few of the people we saw on that
stage were able to make a decent living, or a living at all, from their act,
but they do it for the thrill of performing, to pay tribute to Elvis Presley
and to take part in festivals such as this.
And as long as there are Elvis fans, tribute artists and
events like the Elvis Festival, there will be a special kind of entertainment in
Collingwood and I’ll try to attend every year.
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