|
Dear Friends and Fans:
I am enjoying a week at home after a summer of non-stop traveling. I go
to the shows, come home, cut grass, pet the dog, wash my clothes and
take off again. If it wasn't for the wonderful friends I have made in
the ElvisŪ world, it would have been a tough summer. As it is, I look
forward to each and every trip.
August 20th and 21st found us just outside Detroit for the Profiles of
the King ElvisŪ Fest. Hosts Matt King
and Lorraine and Dick Renzulla chose a gorgeous converted church for the
event and all the ETA's commented on the wonderful acoustics in the
building. Special guests Irv Cass,
Dwight Icenhower,
Quentin Flagg, and
Chris Solano plus the
Exspence Account Showband rocked the house. Winners of the contest were
Johnny Loos - 1st,
Curt Lechner - 2nd, Don
Francis - 3rd, and GaryElvis Britt - 4th.
We left Detroit and traveled into Canada to stay with Marie White for
the week before Brantford. We had a fabulous week with Marie and her
wonderful family! We went to Niagara Falls and relaxed in Marie's pool.
We even got to watch Marie's son and grandson bathing their "show
chickens" and getting them ready for competition.
The following weekend, we drove to Brandford for Joan Minnery's ElvisŪ
Fest. It was a fun weekend with Irv's first Canadian showcase and the
contests. I loved the Junior Division - the kids were so cute!!!
David Lee and
Paul Ross were part of the
judging panel and did a really fantastic job. They took great care in
their judging also adding helpful comments to the judging sheets. Thanks
also to Tara Roseberry for the help in totaling scores. Results were:
1st - Johnny Loos, 2nd - Pete Paquette, 3rd - Shon Carroll, 4th - Marcus
Wells, and 5th - Tim Hendry. Joan runs a great festival and it was
enjoyed by all!
After spending time convincing my dog, Prissy, that I still loved her
and would be home soon, we left for
Ronny Craig's ElvisŪ Explosion.
This is one of the best contests of the year and it certainly didn't
disappoint. Ronny extended the weekend to 3 days this year and it worked
out very well.
A sad note to the weekend - Larry Hass, a much beloved ETA from the
LaCrosse area, died on stage during his performance on Friday night.
Larry had very serious heart problems but loved his ElvisŪ music. His
family said that he would consider himself blessed to be doing ElvisŪ at
the end. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and
fans.
The Saturday Mississippi cruises were a huge success. Both boats were
packed and everyone enjoyed the karaoke provided by the ETA's led by
Joe Tirrito. Great idea!
Rick Saucedo and Irv Cass, last year's winner, were the special guests
and the Exspence Account Showband backed up all the entertainers. The
winners were: Dwight Icenhower - 1st,
Jesse Aron - 2nd, Justin
Shandor - 3rd, and Kavan - 4th.
The rest of the fall will bring Dewey Beach, DE, and their Elvistival,
the ElvisŪ FANtasy Fest in Portage, IN, Dwight Icenhower's Blue Hawaii
ElvisŪ Fest in Marietta, OH, the Lake George ElvisŪ Fest in Lake George,
NY, and the Isle of Capri's Competition in Marquette, IA.
Irv Cass and Jim Barone
reported that the British fans are wonderful and they totally enjoyed
their time there. Promoters of the ElvisŪ Experience loved our guys and
want them back again next year. Their performances have already
generated calls from Glasgow, Denmark and Spain!
Our condolences go out to the fans, friends and families of both Al
Dvorin and Richard Davis. They will be missed....
Happy September birthdays to Jesse Aron and
Raymond Michael and many,
many more!
See you soon!!
Nance |
