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The very best Elvis judges anywhere Toronto 2009 Review of Toronto’s 1 st Annual Elvis Festival at StageWest Hotel & Dinner Theatre by veteran attendees since 1994 of Elvis Festivals & Entertainment Events Mike & Ev Grosz, Listowel, Ontario Let it be known that Toronto’s StageWest certainly has officially mastered the art On April 3 rd, 4 th & 5 th, 2009 StageWest hosted their very first ever Elvis Festival and Entertainment weekend, and WOW!! what a magnificent weekend it was. Having attended Elvis Tribute Festivals, Legend shows, Fundraisers and numerous Elvis Tribute Artists from as far as the U.K., Australia, the U.S. and Canada convened atStageWest to compete for the coveted award of the 2009 Toronto Elvis Festivals “Grand-Champion”, with the chance to continue on to Memphis, Tennessee to compete at the2009 Ultimate Elvis Contest in the United States competition held during Elvis week in August this year, coordinated by Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. StageWest Hotel and Dinner Theatre in Toronto was an amazing destination for the Elvis Competitions and Festivals are an actual culture of devoted fans, family, friendsand especially tribute artists who gather to share their unwavering love for the memory of Elvis Aaron Presley, and his unique style of music and entertainment. Songs such as “Viva Las Vegas”, “Good Rockin’Tonight” and “Burning Love” are just a few trade-mark tunes of Elvis that we enjoyed over the Festival weekend. Our favorite part of the weekend was probably the Friday night “Open-Mic” session in the “Haida” lounge with a “ Memphis” style buffet. This very casual evening of shared Elvis music was an absolute delight. Each tribute artist performed in a very relaxed atmosphere, and it was such great fun to just openly sing-along with each artist, and laugh at all the jokes and funny moments of the evening. Elvis would have loved this, as he always enjoyed evenings of closeness with family, friends and music. For us it was a great way to start the weekend off. A special thank you goes out to Doug and Patti McKenzie, from Shakespeare, Ont for organizing this evening of fun. COMPETITION: Our Festival Hosts were Nevin Grant (former music and program director for Oldies 1150 CKOC) and Shelly Marriage, both renowned radio personalities. They did a fantastic job keeping us entertained between each act, and moved the weekend along with such style and grace. At the opening of the competition Saturday morning it became immediately apparent that the judges would have their work cut-out for them. Each performance was powerfully executed, with such flawless energy, masterfully perfecting Elvis’s trade-mark moves. Every tribute artist thru-out the day demonstrated respect to Elvis’ memory, through the care and appearance of their clothing, their mannerisms with fans, and their appeal on stage. Elvis would have been proud of the way the tribute artist conducted themselves, and as spectators and fans, we truly appreciated this demonstrated respect. One thing that never ceases to amaze us, is the talent of the younger Elvis tribute artists. To experience young men 10 to 17 years of age conducting a strong stage presence, and an obvious comfortable nature with their audiences is totally amazing. Their interest and desire to keep Elvis’s music alive is such a pleasure to watch. Thanks to these youngmen, we will continue to enjoy Elvis Festivals well into the future. The adult Elvis tribute artists welcome these younger artists with open-ness and encouragement which is wonderful to witness as a spectator and fan. The judges for this Toronto Elvis Festival truly experienced a highly stressful and difficult job. Each tribute artist knew his stuff. The Elvis moves, the look, the music. We are almost certain that this Elvis Festival had to have proven to be their hardest job to date. We’re sure that the scores were extremely close. Here’s a big thank you to the judges for a great job. It can never be easy. SATURDAY NIGHT SHOW: Saturday evening’s “Superstar Tribute Show” and “Tim E Hendry Headliner Show” was a wonderfully entertaining evening filled with a variety of exceptional talent. To experience a live show, with the live band “Rudy & the Angels” in this cozy Intimate theatre setting was very exciting. Each “Superstar” performer was astounding. We experienced performances by: Barbra Streisand, Conway Twitty, Wynonna Judd, The Blues Brothers, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Ritchie Valens, Garth Brooks, and also Elvis (in many stages of his career). This evening of entertainment proved to be a winning contribution to the whole weekend's package of fun. Not only did we get the best of Elvis all weekend, but then we received the “Superstar” treatment on top. “FANTASTIC” SUNDAY GOSPEL: Sunday mornings gospel service held in the old StageWest ball-room proved to be spiritually up-lifting. Even though a lot of the participants were weary from the late night before, everyone enjoyed the service. In true Elvis form, this service was a free venue. Elvis believed that all church services and gospel gatherings should be open and have no charges to all who want to attend. The audience enjoyed an inspirational collection of Elvis’ favorite gospel music, performed in a unison group setting, with all the tribute artists singing as back-up to each individual artists' performance. Special thanks goes out to Doug and Patti McKenzie, from Shakespeare, Ont for their hard work in co-ordinating this event. Excellent Job, Doug! THANK YOU: Mike and I wish to personally extend a “Huge” Thank you to Nevin and Heather Grant. The founders and driving force behind this extremely successful first Annual Toronto Elvis Festival at StageWest. Your relentless hours of hard-work, and sleepless nights have proven to be the pay-off of a wonderful weekend of sold-out shows, re-newed acquaintances, fun, laughter, friendships and pure entertainment. All in true Elvis fashion. Additionally, we wish to thank each and every individual who helped the Grants to provide such an enormously entertaining weekend. Without your help this weekend would not have been the same. WINNERS: It is no doubt that this Elvis Festival was an extremely huge success. Each tribute artist gave their all and at the end of the weekend we awarded our “Grand-Champion” at the first Annual Toronto Elvis Festival. This young man was Pete Paquette, from Vankleek Hill, Ont., with the highest total weekend score. Pete’s dynamic energy and unforgettable stage presence makes him the ideal selection to send on to the Memphis Competition in August of this year. Pete also was the winner in the Adult Early Years Division during this Toronto weekend Festival. Additional Congratulations goes to Darrin Hagel, of Chesterfield, Michigan for winning the top position in the Adult Vegas Years Division. And a Huge Congratulations to Brenen Katolinsky, of St.Catharines, Ont for winning the top spot in the Youth Division, an exceptionally talented young man just ten years old. FINAL THOUGHTS: To wrap things up on the weekend, we had a “BLAST”, and we truly think most people joined us with this feeling. We had a great time, we loved seeing all the enormous talent in one place for a whole weekend. It was great to reconnect with all of our Elvis friends and families, and create new Elvis friendships. Heather and Nevin Grant did a tremendous job. We hope they continue with this New Elvis Festival , as we look forward to many more. Once again, Congratulations to all the ETA’s. Your talent is incredible. In Memory of Elvis Aaron Presley, we would like to share Elvis’ speech from 1971 when he received his Jaycee award, he learned this very early in life: “without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain’t got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend - without a song” So keep singing your songs…….. Ev and Mike Grosz, Listowel, Ontario TOTAL WEEKEND RESULTS: Youth Division:
Adult Early Years:
Adult Vegas Years Divison:
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