The many events included the “First Hurrah” festivities, the awesome street party, ETA and classic car parade, professional Vegas-style shows, main event headliner show, multiple ETA venue performances, contest preliminaries and finals, gospel service, gospel contest, youth talent showcase, midway, memorabilia and food vendors,  pancake breakfasts, karaoke, nightly  Tim Horton sing-a-longs, and  the “Last Hurrah”  after-party.  Whew!

It’s Friday’s traditional 10-hour-long outdoor street party, however, that marks the official start of the festival, with fans arriving earlier each year to stake out the front row of seats.  Setting the 2008 record of 5:30 am was Harry, from Toronto, who wins the “Early Bird” award. By 7:30 am, the first 10 rows of fans were already in place, and by the start time of 1 pm the street was a sea of faces seated as far back as the eye could see.
 
Garyelvis Britt and Anthony Von (wearing a colourful red and white Maple Leaf tie) sang the American and Canadian national anthems respectively, and the 2008 festival was off and running with approximately 130 performers strutting their stuff – from beginners to professional headliners, and ages 3 to 70.  

Behind the stage, and on the jam-packed sidewalks, there’s always lots of fun and laughter too, as Collingwood quickly becomes the site of a huge family reunion – with fans and ETA’s meeting up once again, while also welcoming newcomers, such as Quebec’s l4-year old Matthieu Nardi,  arriving for their first Collingwood experience.

Saturday’s early morning  “classic cars and ETA” parade was held under overcast skies, but that didn’t dampen the sunny spirits of the ETA’s who took part or the fans who lined the main street to take pics and enjoy the “Elvis” sightings and vintage cars.  Once again, storefronts were decorated Elvis-style and Elvis music could be heard throughout the parade route.

The Festival’s arena shows provided the enthusiastic fans with stellar ETA performances, and spectacular multi-media visuals and backdrops.  Each outstanding show was professionally produced by Paco Danesi (whose work starts months ahead of the Festival), with sound, lighting and visuals provided by 3L Productions, headed by Gino Lentini.

Saturday’s afternoon arena show “The Elvis Experience” featured entertaining performances, along with a fun audience participation trivia contest.  Paying tribute to many landmark Elvis Presley performances, from the early years to movies, TV specials, and Vegas, this was an entertaining salute to Elvis which was clearly enjoyed by the large audience.

The first half of Saturday evening’s main event headliner show “Essential Elvis” showcased headliner Donny Edwards and past Collingwood champs Jay Zanier and Dwight Icenhower who each delivered terrific performances as they covered Elvis’ memorable television appearances  – ranging from the 1956 Dorsey Brothers Stage Show right through to the recent American Idol “Celine Dion/Elvis” duet.  Jay expertly  covered the later years with spine-tingling renditions  of songs such as  My Way, Unchained Melody, and Hurt.  Dwight delighted with beautifully rendered earlier songs such as Shake Rattle and Roll, Heartbreak Hotel, I Was The One, Blue Suede Shoes and Peace in the Valley. Donny, in black leather, impressively commemorated the 40th anniversary of the ‘68 Comeback Special as audience members crowded the front of the stage to take photos. In keeping with the theme, Donny, dressed in a white suit, also partnered with singer Michelle Berting to deliver a visually and vocally mesmerizing If I Can Dream.   Later, in a black tuxedo, Donny, was joined by a "Frank Sinatra" singer, as they sang Fame and Fortune and Stuck on You, bringing back memories of the post-army Frank Sinatra Timex special. Kudos to all involved for a thoroughly professional, enjoyable, and creative trip down memory lane!

In the second half, we were treated to a more informal performance by headliner Doug Church, as he sang a selection of his favourite Elvis songs.  He’s known around the world as “The Voice of Elvis” and Doug’s song set included flawless renditions of How Great Thou Art, Words, I Just Can’t Help Believing, American Trilogy, Let Me Be There ---and his tribute song, I’ll Be With You Always.  The appreciative audience responded with cheers and a well deserved standing ovation.  My only complaint is that I could have listened to Doug Church sing for at least another few hours!  Thanks, Doug!

The Sunday morning gospel service was organized by ETA Mike Bravener and featured heartfelt performances from Mike himself, along with Ray Guillemette, Spencer Bristow, Wayne Curtis, Jon Cigan, James Gibb, Ron Moore and David Muggeridge. Rev. Heather Stacey who has officiated  for the past several years provided, as always, just the right touch of humour and a light-hearted but relevant message.  Thanks to all the ETA’s who volunteered their time to perform and participate.

Sunday’s “Inspirational Elvis” invitational gospel contest has become one of the highlights of the Festival and this year was no exception as fans packed the arena.  Featuring last year’s winner, Anthony Von, as host, the invitational contestants were Kevin Mills, Ben Klein, Thane Dunn, Mike Bravener, Darrin Hagel, Jeff Marsh, Garyelvis Britt,  Roy LeBlanc, Doug McKenzie, David Muggeridge, Wayne Junior, and Jon Cigan. (Lance Dobinson’s sore throat meant that, unfortunately, he had to sit this one out).  Congrats to winner Roy Leblanc.  Words really can’t describe how very good this gospel showcase has become, and with the added video backdrop and screens depicting beautiful complementary visuals, this was another stellar concert.

Sunday’s Contest Grand Finals at the arena were again a preliminary for the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist contest to be held later in August in Memphis.   Roy LeBlanc was an outstanding emcee, adding his special brand of humour and flair. Congratulations to all the finalists and to  the winners of each category: David Muggeridge, Pete Paquette, James Gibb, JonCigan, Brycen Kalolinsky, and Anthony Carbone ( Full results on LLM’s contest  results page).  Special mention to David Muggeridge who was the overall Festival top point scorer, earning his ticket to Memphis to compete in the Ultimate Elvis Contest.

Cynthia Pepper, Elvis’ co-star in Kissin’ Cousins and always a welcome addition to the Collingwood Fest, was a special guest once again this year.  Another guest, making her first trip to Canada was the irrepressible Patti Parry, the only female member of Elvis’ Memphis Mafia.  Both Cynthia and Patti mixed and mingled with fans and ETA’s, having a good time, and sharing their special memories of Elvis.

Performing at other venue and festival shows in and around town were Lance Dobinson, Kevin Mills, Mark Anthony, Dwight Icenhower, Anthony Von, David Lee, Ben Klein, Darrin Hagel, Shon Carroll, David Muggeridge, Pete Paquette, Brian Roman, Roy LeBlanc, Ray Guillemette– with informal performances by many other ETA’s throughout the weekend.

Fans could also venture to the quaint and restored Gayety Theatre in downtown Collingwood (reminiscent of the theatre in “Loving You), which provided a weekend’s worth of sold out 45-minute showcases starring different tribute artists every hour.  Featured entertainers were:  Ben Klein, Thane Dunn, Roy Leblanc, David Muggeridge, Lance Dobinson,  Glen Aitchison, Paul Ross, Darrin Hagel, Joey Cundari, Larry Tschekalin, Corny Rempel, Chris Ayotte, Mike Bravener, Paul Ross,  Rick Duin, James Gibb, Dwight Icenhower, Doug McKenzie, Ray Guillemette, Shon Carroll, Jeff Bodner, Will Ganzon, Pete Paquette, Jon Cigan, Adam Scott, Jay Zanier.

Nearby, the busy Festival Gardens outdoor venue was the place to catch the contest preliminaries each day. And not far away, food and memorabilia vendors, family friendly entertainment, a tour of performers, and the Youth Talent Showcase were all provided at the Pine Street venue.

And, of course, what would the Collingwood Festival be without the informal after-hours fun each night at Tim Horton’s Coffee Shop – with ETA’s and fans packed in like sardines to enjoy Elvis music and sing-a-longs until the early morning hours.  This year’s crowds were even bigger at Timmy’s with lineups outside the door.  Kudos to Joe Zambri and the many ETAs who joined him over the weekend to raise  funds for the Tim Horton Children’s Fund.
Thanks for the fun!

For those who had missed anything and for those who wanted to relive their experiences, the  “Collingwood Elvis Festival Daily News” paper was available early each morning with photos and anecdotes from each day’s events.

Capping off the weekend, the huge “Last Hurrah” farewell party, with fans lined up on the sidewalk waiting to get in, was held at The Old Town Terrace, and was the perfect opportunity for fans and ETAs to mix and mingle, recap the weekend, and say their goodbyes before leaving for home.

Kudos and recognition must go to  Paco Danesi and The Casino Brothers Band (Marco Spadafora, Mike Burns, Rob White, Victor J. Hanson)  with vocalists Michelle Berting and Dawn Anne Steane, and Horn Section (Larry Gerow, Scott Marshall, Steve Crowe)  who worked tirelessly and professionally  all weekend competently backing the ETA’s during the street party, main shows, contest finals,  and at other events.  


Thanks to Festival General Manager, Rosemarie O’Brien, Peter Dunbar and the Collingwood Elvis Festival Municipal Services Board, Mayor Chris Carrier and the Town of Collingwood, Media Liaison, Karen Cubitt, and the hundreds of team members and volunteers for another successful year!

 Details: www.collingwoodelvisfestival.com



CAROL@LADYLUCKMUSIC.COM

The theme was “Essential Elvis” and once again thousands and thousands of fans journeyed to
Collingwood, Ontario for the l4th annual SIRIUS Radio Collingwood Elvis Festival held at the end of July. Internationally known as the largest Elvis Festival in the world, it attracts fans and performers from around the globe – many returning year after year.  As always, there were multiple events going on at any given time, both in Collingwood and outlying areas, and the entire weekend was a non-stop whirlwind of activity.
Enjoy a recap and memories of some 2008 Collingwood Festival moments.