You guys. Not only is “Elvis Impersonator” an actual job, but for some people it’s their only job. Isn’t that crazy? I mean crazy awesome of course, but still…what is it about Elvis Presley that, almost 35 years after his death, people are still so fascinated by him? Think about it, who else inspires the same kind of idolatry? There are quite a few Michael Jackson tribute artists, sure, but Jackson’s final years were tarnished by allegations that he could never quite recover from. Marilyn Monroe may enjoy status as a 20th century icon at a level close to Elvis, but to the best of my knowledge there’s no annual convention of Marilyn impersonators. So what’s the big deal with Elvis?

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I grew up in an Elvis household. To say that my mom is “a bit of a fan” is like saying that Napoleon was “sort of keen” on empire-building — i.e. both were completely obsessed. When I was sixteen, a friend of mine came to stay with my family in Singapore over the Christmas holidays, which is when my mom goes to town with her Elvis Christmas albums. Here is an actual exchange between her and our guest:

Spencer’s friend: “Mrs. Spence, Elvis is DEAD”.

Spencer’s mom: “Not in this house, young man. NOT IN THIS HOUSE”.

So there you go. I’ve been listening to The King since infancy. Thinfinn’s dad may rival my mother for the title of #1 Superfan, so he was raised on the standards as well. For the past few years we have been curious to check out Collingwood’s annual Elvis Festival, but the scheduling has always conflicted with another music festival that we attend. When my brother-in-law and his wife moved there last year, though, we decided it was time that we got our Elvis on and hightailed it to Collingwood.

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