Now go, cat, go! Friday, August 8th, kicks off Elvis Week, and there will be plenty of Elvis sightings.
On Friday, there’s round one of the Last Chance Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest at the Hard Rock Cafe at 9 p.m. Winners of this round get a chance to compete in the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest semi-finals. The Ultimate Elvis finals are Thursday, August 14th, 7 p.m., at the Orpheum.
On Saturday, August 9th, it’s the annual Stumbling Elvis Pub Crawl. Participants don their best Elvis and Priscilla outfits and hit downtown bars. The crawl is free, but donations for the FedExFamilyHouse are encouraged. Donations of non-perishable snack food items and new stuffed animals will also be accepted. The crawl begins at the Flying Saucer at 7 p.m.
As far as parades go, a parade of Elvises ranks pretty dang high. It comes courtesy of the Images of the King Contest and is happening on Sunday, August 10th, at 4 p.m., on Beale Street. Images of the King is the original Elvis tribute artist contest, started way back in 1987 by a veterinarian named Edward “Doc” Franklin. Images of the King Contest events are at the Jerry Lee Lewis Cafe & Honky Tonk (irony!) and the New Daisy. The finals are Friday, August 15th, from noon to 4:30 p.m. at the New Daisy Theatre.
The Elvis Tribute Fest’s EPIC contest — Elvis Presley Impersonators Championships — starts Tuesday, August 12th, at the Hotel Memphis. This contest is open to everybody — kids, amateurs, and professionals. (Plus, there’s no entry fee!) The finals are Saturday, August 16th, and there’s plenty of action in between. Sam Thompson, Elvis’ bodyguard in the ’70s will give a couple of talks, and Champion vs. Champion, happening Tuesday, August 12th, at 10 p.m., pits Dwight Icenhower against Jess Aron in a battle to sing the most obscure Elvis songs.