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.
The festival kicked off on Thursday evening, and we were supposed to drive up Friday but I got stuck at work until 10pm on Friday night, so we didn’t arrive until the next day, thus missing the Saturday morning Elvis Parade. Luckily my sister-in-law Aisha was on-hand to capture some of the amazingness on film:
A truck full of Elvises? Why not?
Y'all, that is a Wedding-Day Priscilla. I soooo wish I had thought of that.
Upon our arrival in town, our first priority was slipping on our Elvis and Priscilla outfits so as to better blend in with the other festival-goers. We then moseyed on down to the Olde Town Terrace where we happened upon a gaggle of adorable ladies in matching sunglasses:
Srsly, gold rock 'n roll guitar shades? Obviously I need to own a pair of these.
We enjoyed the performance of an ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist, as they call themselves) underneath the tented stage at the Olde Town Terrace, and then took to the streets to mingle with the street performers, vendors, and a bevy of Elvis fans.
That's it. Sayonara to Thinfinn's "Blue Hawaii" Elvis -- I'm upgrading to this dude. Check out the sparkly jumpsuit action happening here. Amazing.
"I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love".
One of the local vendors. We had a great conversation with her and her friend about the rockabilly aesthetic. Their take: "The guys look like guys and the girls look like girls. None of this androgyny business". Very true.
Our intrepid photographer goes incognito.
King Cookies courtesy of Tim Hortons Collingwood.
Why don't they make cars like this any more?? WHY???? Now THIS would be worth getting your license for...
"Love me tender…"
Along the way, we stopped in at a local bar, Casbah, that opened in downtown Collingwood about six months ago. One of the owners is a friend of mine, and if you ever get a chance to stop in there do it! It’s got an awesome vibe, and the food is amazing (my brother-in-law swears by their burritos).
Not only does this guy run a kick-ass bar, he is also the person who, many years ago, gave yours truly a copy of "Mötley Crüe: The Dirt". Without which, I may never have had the idea for this site. So thank you, friend!
Casbah. Go there now for some rock 'n roll goodness. And while you're at it, get the nachos.
Next post: we take in a performance by Shawn Klush, America’s top Elvis tribute artist and winner of numerous awards including Elvis Presley Enterprises’ first ever Ultimate Tribute Artist Contest. We then enjoy an Elvis Gospel breakfast as the festival winds down.
Let Them Eat Vinyl 
October 10th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
Will it certainly sounds like fun, I will be there next year for sure. I can start now preparing for myt costume. I will never come close to the beautiful SR, how lucky I am to have her for my daughter-in-law.