The Windsor Elvis Fest, held the last weekend in June, recently celebrated its third successful year  -- drawing hundreds of fans and approximately 60 ETA's from Canada and the United States to enjoy Windsor's hospitality and a weekend of Elvis nostalgia.

Again this year, the Festival's ETA contest was a preliminary for the Ultimate Elvis® Tribute Artist Contest to be held in August in Memphis, while the Festival itself was a charity fundraiser for the Centres for Seniors, with proceeds  helping to fund much needed programs and resources for seniors.

Beautiful Dieppe Park overlooking the impressive Detroit River, was the setting for the weekend’s outdoor activities which included open mic singing, youth and non-professional contest preliminaries, and a terrific Sunday morning gospel show – all of which provided continuous Elvis music all weekend .

Although it turned out to be a slightly wet weekend outside,  the spirits of the enthusiastic fans and ETA's weren't dampened in the least. The Windsor Fest has become known as a friendly event with lots of camaraderie between fans and ETA’s, and this year’s event was no exception.

Just steps away from the park, the beautiful 1200-seat Chrysler Theatre  was the setting for the three exciting evening shows starting with Friday’s "Showcase of Kings" which featured Windsor and Collingwood 2007 champs: Pete Paquette, Chris Ayotte, Jon Cigan, Dan Granger, Doug McKenzie, and Jay Zanier.

Saturday night's spectacular headliner show starred 2001 Images of the King winner Stephen Kabakos, back by popular demand again this year, whose performance highlighted Elvis' '68 Comeback Special. This was followed by the professional division contest semi-finals.

The Grand Champion Finals on Sunday  rounded out the three evenings of stellar entertainment, once again providing an exciting showcase  and generating cheers and standing ovations.

Congratulations to the winners of each contest division: Jay Zanier, Chris Ayotte, Patrick McGuire, James Gibb, Brycen Katolinsky, and Brenen Katolinsky (full details on LLM's "contest results" page).

Special congratulations to Jay Zanier, with the highest overall point score, who was named the Windsor Fest's delegate to the Ultimate Elvis® Tribute Artist Contest in Memphis. Jay had the crowd in the palm of his hand during his stellar renditions of "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "The Impossible Dream" and the fans were clearly in agreement with the King’s Court judging panel’s decision!

Again this year, the world-renowned ExSpence Account Showband (the official band for  EPE’s Memphis contest also)  backed the ETA’s  throughout the weekend at each of the Theatre shows, while weekend host  Garyelvis Britt** was a charming emcee, adding just the right touch of entertainment and fun.

Special thanks must go to hard-working Centres for Seniors Executive Director, Ellen Hope; President of the Board of Directors, Lynne Adams; Entertainment Coordinator, Richard Rosenthal; ETA Advisor, Garyelvis Britt  – and the many friendly volunteers who gave of their time and energy all weekend.



Full Details: www.windsorelvisfest.com

**During the weekend, GaryElvis Britt, premiered his “non-Elvis” message song “Let The Candle Burn”  which can be seen on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcMzJ3mGBg0

The Windsor Fest's  Sunday Gospel Show can be seen on YouTube at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98xgYcXlXSA



CAROL@LADYLUCKMUSIC.COM