Volume 2, No. 16. August 23, 2002
Kings
for a day
In the weeks surrounding
the 25th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s August 17 death the King seemed
to be everywhere, even, amazingly, on Top 40 radio playlists. Guests at Paramount’s
Great America in Santa Clara, California, that Saturday truly were sighting
Elvis everywhere during an all-day Elvis tribute, including free admission to
anybody dressed as Elvis.
“You had to look like Elvis from head to toe,” said Timothy Chanaud,
the park’s manager of communications. “You couldn’t just have
a pair of glasses. You needed the jumpsuit and the sideburns and the glasses.
You needed more than just a pair of blue suede shoes.”
He did not know how many Elvises entered the park, but he said there were a
“large number,” including a family of four from Chico, California,
all dressed as Elvis: mom, dad and the two kids. “Most of the impersonators
were late Elvis, the Vegas sequined jumpsuit Elvis,” Chanaud said. “There
were a number of people who clearly made their own costumes.”
The day’s events included an Elvis-only karaoke contest featuring four
impersonators. The winner, Hector Lucido of Stockton, California, won the privilege
of performing as the opening act for that evening’s Mike Albert “Ultimate
Tribute” concert, an Elvis impersonator show that attracted an audience
of 1,500 people, Chanaud said.
The promotion not only generated press coverage on every local television station,
including two morning shows broadcasting live from the park, it also gave members
of the Paramount’s Great Adventure staff a chance to dress up as Elvis.
“It was definitely one of the more fun promotions we’ve done,”
Chanaud said.
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