Thursday, August 18, 2011

Elvis Week 2011 Part 1

Look who's back from Elvis Week and being in Memphis! First of all, I had a wonderful time! I'm glad to be back though and blogging again. Let's recap the trip shall we? We shall! I was there for so many events and I did so many things, I'm going to have to break this into a few posts. So be warned!!


I pulled into Memphis last Wednesday and hit the ground running. My first stop after checking into my hotel was to hit up my favorite vintage store in Memphis: Flashback Inc. I've shopped there before and this time was another great trip because I found the matching butter dish to the canister set I got there last time. 

Once I got done shopping, I headed over to Graceland to pick up my event tickets and do the evening walk up to the Meditation Gardens. It's something really nice to do because normally you can't walk up the drive at Graceland. They have free morning and evening hours that you can walk up to the Meditation Gardens and visit the grave of Elvis. Since it was his favorite place on the grounds, it's a peaceful area for thought as well. 
(walking up to the gardens)

Thursday is when the real events really began to start. I'm a big fan of Elvis and I originally got interested in Elvis, his life and his music because when I was younger I saw an Elvis Tribute Artist. From there my love blossomed. One of the main ticketed events of Elvis Week is the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest
(inside the Hard Rock Cafe Meet & Greet)

Since I was a VIP, I got to attend the Meet & Greet held at the Hard Rock before Round 1 began. It was really nice getting to meet and chat with everyone who would be competing for the Ultimate title. These guys are the best of the best. They have to enter a sanctioned EPE (elvis presley enterprises) contest during the year and win that to be able to compete in the Ultimate at Elvis Week. 
Remember me mentioning seeing an ETA when I was younger? This is him! I was in shock when I saw him there. I hadn't see him perform since I was in grade school! Mr. Eddie Miles! 
 
Ben Klein & I. He ended up taking 2nd in the competition! 
 Ben Portsmouth and I. He is gorgeous and from England so he's got that great accent.

The guys were extremely nice, not to mention easy on the eyes. Once the Meet & Greet was over, I had a little bit of time to kill, so I walked down the street and toured the Gibson Guitar Factory. I don't know that much about Gibson or Guitars but the factory tour was really cool. You actually walk through the factory and get to see them making guitars. It was very neat getting to see them cutting wood, painting, sanding, etc. I really recommend it. 

After the tour at Gibson I headed down to the Orphium Theater for Round 1 and 2 of the competition (which I'll post pics of tomorrow with the final round). Once those were over and we were down to 10 guys, it was dinner time! Since I had spent all day on and near Beale Street, I figured I'd hit up the famous Dyers
And of course it was yummy! Best burger in town! It was a great way to end the day. I also popped into one of the most eclectic shops on Beale Street.... Tater Reds! 

That was my first 2 days in Memphis! Don't worry Theater Thursday will be back next week.

10 comments:

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

Yay for Elvis impersonaters!

krystal said...

That is so neat you found a matching butter dish to match what you bought last time around. So crazy! The 2nd place winner is kind of a hottie. ;)

JMJE said...

Looks like your trip got off to a good start. Nice Elvis impersonators.

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

Ha!! I loved the Elvis impersonators! How cool! I have to admit, you are turning me into an Elvis fan! :)

(I bet that makes you happy!) ;)

Did you and your bf go to Elvis week together? It looks like so much fun!

Cole said...

Yep, a few of those Elvis impersonaters are really easy on the eyes. :-)

Anonymous said...

That burger looks totally delicious! Soooooooooo yum!

Mrs. Pancakes said...

That looks like a whole lot of fun! Of course there would be an Elvis in Graceland.

Ashley said...

You know I've absolutely been waiting for this. :-) I saw my first Elvis tribute artist just this past year at the Hard Rock Biloxi. Unfortately, I think I knew the lyrics better than him! But it was still so much fun. LOVE Elvis!

Erika Peterson said...

Did you know that Elvis was a natural blonde?! That was one of the facts that totally sunk in when I visited Graceland :)

Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q8104 said...

This is my first time come here,..just hope all the best for you :)