Festival Fever: The LakeGeorge.com Elvis Festival, 6/3-6/10

Got Elvis?

Oh yeah!

America’s Vacationland is once again gearing up to shake, rattle ‘n’ roll with the seventh annual Lake George festival dedicated to all things Elvis.

This year’s fest kicks off at 7:30pm on Thursday with the free opening ceremonies in beautiful Shepard Park. Ronny Craig will serve as master of ceremonies, and you’ll get the opportunity to hear many of the fest’s sideburned headliners free of charge, including last year’s LakeGeorge.com Elvis Festival grand prize winner Matt Joyce and New England Elvis Festival champion Jim Barone. Among the other performers will be Jesse Aron, James Begley, Robert Washington, Steve Bobbit and Irv Cass.

According to organizers, Lake George’s Presley party is now the second-largest Elvis Tribute Artist Competition in the world. (Yeah, please don’t call ’em Elvis impersonators. They’re Tribute Artists.)

The festival’s centerpiece is the three-day competition which begins on Friday, featuring more than 50 professional, non-professional and youth division competitors. And in the truly international spirit of Elvis, eight of the professional competitors come from Canada, two from Australia and one from Brazil.

There are also two big, Las Vegas-styled Elvis concerts on the calendar, both of which take place at the Lake George Forum. At 8pm on Friday, it’s the “Tribute to Rock and Roll” concert featuring Elvis tribute artists, as well as harmonious homages to such R&R pioneers as Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, James Brown, Tom Jones and Rod Stewart – all backed by the Change of Habit Tribute Band. And at 8pm on Saturday, Elvis Tribute Artist Shawn Klush recreates the Presley of the Vegas years with “Elvis Is Back.”

In addition, you’ll also find the Elvis Pancake Breakfast, the Elvis Collectibles Sale, the Elvis Classic Car Parade, the Elvis Cruise onboard the Minne-Ha-Ha, the Elvis Sunday morning gospel concert and lots of Elvis After-Hours Parties.

PREVIOUS FESTIVAL FEVER ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mountain Jam @ Hunter Mountain, Hunter, 6/4-6
Rhythm On the Ridge @ Maple Ski Ridge, Rotterdam, 6/12
Clearwater Great Hudson River Revival @ Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, 6/19-20
The Old Songs Festival @ Altamont Fairgrounds, Altamont, 6/25-27
Beacon Riverfest @ Riverfront Park, Beacon, 6/26
Freihofer’s Jazz Festival @ SPAC, Saratoga Springs, 6/26-27
The WGNA Countryfest @ Altamont Fairgrounds, Altamont, 7/10
The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival @ Walsh Farm, Oak Hill, 7/15-18
The Green River Festival @ Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, Mass. 7/16-18
The Solid Sound Festival @ MASS MoCA, North Adams, Mass., 8/13-15
moe.down @ Gelston Castle Estate, Mohawk, 9/3-5
Lake George Jazz Weekend @ Shepard Park, Lake George, 9/18-19/10