Imagine walking into a bar and seeing the famous face of legend Elvis Presley, alive and well. Then imagine turning around only to find him — again.
No, it’s not the rum-and-Cokes that have gotten you “all shook up”; it was the annual Elvis Weekend in Dewey Beach on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 22 and 23. The Elvistival hosted more than 20 Elvis impersonators, who graced the stage of the Rusty Rudder with hips shakes, pelvis thrusts and moves that some might have thought had been retired since the death of the King of Rock and Roll in ’77.
The Rudder was filled indoors and out with a new crowd. Elvis fans — the rebels of their era — flocked to the stage, sung and danced, proving they still could not get enough of the man and the legend.
Dark-lens sunglasses, jeweled jumpsuits and blue suede shoes that seemed straight from the closets of Graceland outfitted the numerous Elvii as they sang hits of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.
Mark Barczewski of Newark said he has been impersonating Elvis since he was 17. “My wife didn’t really like it, though,” he said. “So I stopped for a while.”
It was when a friend asked him to perform for a birthday party that he decided to reawaken his Elvis lip and unfurl the King’s cape that had been set aside for the past 28 years. Barczewski said he now performs for events like Relay for Life, University of Delaware’s Ag Day and Elvis competitions.
Barczewski said that, while he does it for fun, the Elvis fans are sometimes critical.
“I get a lot of criticism on not shaking it enough. What crowds don’t realize is that was Elvis in the early years, and in 90 percent of his concert years with the jumpsuit, Elvis didn’t do as much shaking.”
Barczewski said it was events like this week’s Elvistival that brought together impersonators of Elvis throughout years, each character represented the Elvis persona they loved and remembered most.
Event coordinator Nance Fox said that was what Elvis weekend was all about. Fox left her career in real estate seven years ago to be the manager for a young Elvis impersonator in Chicago. She soon learned that the supply wasn’t big enough to satiate the craving for the return of the King. “Soon there were so many gigs I had to hire impersonators to fill my client’s gigs,” she said.
Fox then created the Elvis Entertainers Network, going around the country, hosting events and competitions like the one in Dewey Beach. Fox said the EEN has even gone international, with events in Germany, England, Australia and Scotland. Fox admitted, however, of all the locations they hold events, “Dewey Beach treats their contestants the best.”
Contestants were given free room and board for the weekend at various locations in Dewey.
However, impersonator Jim Parsley, from Jacobus, Pa., said that, although he was treated well, his day was almost a disaster. The electricity went out in his hotel, proving to be a major concern for Parsely, being one of the impersonators with authentic hair. Luckily, he was able to go next door to the Hampton Inn in order prepare for the evening.
Because of the hair, Parsley, who has been rendering Elvis in competitions for three years, maintains his Elvis persona even while off-duty. “People always shout out, ‘Hey, Elvis!’ when they see me on the street,” he said.
But, to Parsley, it’s not just about being almost Elvis. He recalled a time when he felt he really made a difference.
“There was a woman whose husband had died soon after her son died, and she hadn’t smiled in months,” he said. Parsley said his show was the first time she had smiled since their deaths. “Nobody will ever be Elvis,” he said. “I do this to give tribute and make people happy.”
Be it the passion for his job or the natural hair, Parsley walked away as the winner of the non-pro competition Saturday night, a title that awarded him a $500 check. In the pro competition, for those performers that receive more than 75 percent of their income from impersonating, Justin Edwards from Springfield, Missouri, received the $1,500 prize.
Even after Elvis Presley’s throne had been filled, fans hung around, receiving autographs and talking with the many impersonators — until, finally, all of the Elviis had left the building, not to return until Sept. 21 and 22 of 2007.