Dear Friends and Fans:

Happy Spring!

My brave little crocus are popping their bright purple and yellow faces through the ground (and yes, the snow) to welcome Spring.

All of us are finally recovering from the most exciting 1st Annual King of the Windy City! We could not have asked for a better event! Friday night, the contestants performed their first songs in the fabulous Sabre Room backed by the Change of Habit Tribute Band. Twenty talented and exciting ETA's took to the stage under the close attention of our panel of celebrity judges. Ronny Craig and Irv Cass were charming hosts, as usual.

Saturday afternoon, Sara Derfler, our Stage Babe, led a group of ETA's and fans to Chicago to enjoy the view from the top of the Sears Tower and on for authentic Chicago pizza! They rode the train, and strolled the deep canyons of our windy city. What fun!

Saturday night, the ExSpence Account Showband took to the stage to back the contestants. The band gifted the Windy City contest by providing horns for the event and we thank them very much! The 20 contestants were joined by Levi Teitsworth and Nick Gutierrez, most talented young ETA's. At the conclusion of the evening, we decided to take all the contestants to the finals!

Sunday's finals were held in the fabulous Zanzibar Lounge at the Empress Casino in Joliet. This glittering nightclub, wonderful sound system (manned by Marty Bilecki of Performance Sound), and great stage provided an exciting atmosphere for the finals. Once again, the Change of Habit Tribute Band provided the background for the ETA's who were ALL at the top of their games! I had to turn away many people at the door as we could not have fit another person inside without a shoehorn.

I thought the Friday and Saturday night audiences were hot - but - Sunday's was unbelievable. I had people, on their way to the boat, hearing the clapping, screaming, and whistling coming from the club, stop and ask me if we had the "real Elvis" in there. I, of course, said, "Almost!"

Ronny announced the winners with all contestants on stage. First place went to Dwight Icenhower from Orlando, Florida; second place was Matt King from Leslie, Michigan; third to Joe Tirrito from Countryside, Illinois; fourth to Johnny Loos of Cheyenne, Wyoming; and fifth to Chris Wilson from Cincinnati, Ohio. Dwight led the entire group in an emotional rendition of "If I Can Dream."

Sunday night, several of the contestants and fans gathered at Jerome Marion's for a karaoke party and lots of good fun and conversation. It was a nice ending to a perfect weekend.

I want to thank everyone for all the help at the contest. Shirley Lyday and Michelle Marion - thanks for handling the raffles - Ronny - you're the best - Irv, congrads on the baby and thanks for being a wonderful co-host and entertaining while we totaled the winners - Frank and Doris Hobbs - you two are the greatest - I never want a show without you - Paul Lipps and Sean Hood - thanks for handling all the minutia and being your charming selves - Kay Lipps, Bobbie Clayborn, Mary Cash, Dan Lentino, Patty Carol, Steve Christopher, Phil and Laura Klaverweiden, Jerome Marion, and Mark for their careful judging, Charlie Hood for his fine work with the spotlight - Marie White and Beth Cass for totaling all the scores, and most of all, Kathy Hood for being my right hand and doing everything I can't get done.

Lots of other things to talk about! Many of you have asked me about the FANtasy Fest Cruise. This coming year, we are cruising to Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios. So far, the performers are Irv Cass, Dwight Icenhower, Quentin Flagg, Robert Washington, and Ronny Craig. We have 2 or 3 wonderful shows during the week and enjoy the sun and fellowship the rest of the time. Last year, at our welcoming cocktail party, Matt King and Dwight Icenhower discovered a piano in the lounge and, joined by the other ETA's, entertained us for hours with their musical talents. It was great!!! Remember that you do NOT have to pay for your cruise up front - a small deposit will hold your cabin and you can pay throughout the year. It's a fabulous time and there's something to do at all times or, as we do, time for visiting with old friends and enjoying the wonderful sun and sea. These ships are so big that there is hardly any movement and you feel like you are on land. Please join us in 2007! Elvis Fantasy Fest

"Elvis Meets the Beatles" is our next event. It takes place on Friday, May 5th at the Lexington House in Hickory Hills, IL. This is a wonderful event benefiting the Animal Welfare League. This organization does wonderful things for abandoned and lost animals - they even drove down to rescue some Katrina dogs. All proceeds from this great show go to helping them in their wonderful work. My little Trouble came from the show last year. This year the American English teams up with Irv Cass and Dwight Icenhower for a fabulous trip through the history of Rock and Roll. There will be a couple of surprise guests and the show will be great! Call for tickets at (708) 636-8586 #227.

The morning after "Elvis Meets the Beatles" we will fly to Ft. Myers for the Elvis Invasion. Elvis Wayne and Donna Thompson put on a fun event and, of course, the weather is wonderful. Kathy and I love it because, not only do we get to help with the event, we also get to visit with Marie White and visit my Mom. This is one not to miss - (239) 849-9875.

We are happy to report that we got to place an ETA in an after-Oscar party for Matt Dillon. His brother appreciated our work for his wedding several years ago. It's nice to get return business....

The end of May brings us to the Elvis Explosion of Branson and the Lake George Elvis Fest. Both of these contests are filling up fast - if you plan to enter either of them - time to hustle! Enter Branson by calling (888) 748-9989 and Lake George (518) 796-4986.

2006 is shaping up to be a great year for Elvis fans and ETA's. I have faith that the new owners of EPE will do wonderful things to uphold Elvis' legacy and we will all enjoy working with them. Our ETA's keep Elvis' memories alive and for that, the fans and I are forever grateful!

See all of you soon ( I hope!)

Nance