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The Elvis Presley Birthplace in Tupelo is gearing up for a birthday celebration. On Sunday, Elvis would have been 77 years old. Birthplace Executive Director Dick Guyton says the public is encouraged to attend the birthday party which will be held at 2 p.m. where the gift shop is located. They plan to sing "Happy Birthday" and serve cake and punch. Guyton says this annual event would have made Elvis proud. "I know there are other birthday parties in our community as well as Graceland is having one on Sunday and they're important as well, but the fact that the birthplace as a birthday party-that's key," Guyton said. Guyton says guests will find out about a new offering at the birthplace. They are now offering a new ticket which is an annual pass. For one fee, six people can visit the attraction six times a year. Source: WTVA

Year of Elvis - EPE pulls out stops for 35th anniversary of singer’s death Visitors line up to visit the Lisa Marie airplane at Graceland last week. The 35th anniversary of Elvis’ death comes in August 2012 and it’s going to be a big year for Graceland.  “Obviously this is an Elvis Week times two,” Kern said. The New Year promises to be bigger and busier for Graceland, one of Tennessee’s largest tourist attractions, averaging 600,000 visitors annually, but which can see those numbers escalate during a major anniversary year. During Elvis Week alone in 2007 – the 30th anniversary of Presley’s death – Graceland saw 75,000 visitors. With such high expectations, Kern said, the planning for the 2012 festivities began two years ago. “We traditionally have music events at the Orpheum or the Cannon Center, but this year they’ll be at the FedExForum, that’s the size and scope of a major anniversary year for us.” “When you get to that milestone date, it becomes bigger,” said Wayne ...

For all you celebratory types out there — and you know who you are — here’s an event that promises to be fit for a king. Or more specifically, for “The King,” thankyaverymuch. A musical tribute/birthday party for Elvis Presley (he would have turned 77 on Sunday) will be staged from 6 to 10 p.m. this Saturday at A. Schwab, 163 Beale. The Elvis-themed evening launches a new era for the store as part of what the proprietors promise will be an ongoing effort to spotlight artists from Memphis and the Delta region. Saturday’s musical entertainment will be provided by several artists, including Amy LeVere and the Tramps, the Jason Freeman Band and the Memphis Dawls. Admission is $5 at the door. The event marks the first weekend entertainment offering at the historic dry goods store since it was sold on Dec. 22 to a group of investors, led by Terry Corona Saunders, principal of Martin Group Realty, and her husband, Jake, a grandson of Piggly Wiggly founder Clarence Saunders. Othe...

Birthday party Sunday for Elvis Elvis' Angels fan club will host a "Birthday Party for Elvis" from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday in the gift shop at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, 705 Elvis Presley Ave. Cake and punch will be served, and local Elvis tribute artist Richard Cook will perform some Elvis songs. The gift shop has some new Elvis items for sale, and for a $5 donation, tours of the Municipal Auditorium and showcases will start at 1 p.m. For more information, call Dianne Harmon at 773-3776.

  Chuy's will pay tribute to Elvis with its annual Birthday Bash on Jan. 8, at all locations in Nashville and Murfreesboro. The King's 77th birthday party will have a Blue Hawaii theme, and Chuy's will offer special pricing on their longtime favorites — Elvis Green Chile Fried Chicken and the Elvis Presley Memorial Combo — all day. And for those who come dressed as the King (or his better-half Priscilla), the entree is free. The day will also be filled with party favors, including Hawaiian leis, Elvis sideburn tattoos and a special Big Kahuna cup, available when you purchase a margarita or Blue Hawaiian. Limited edition Elvis and Priscilla T-shirts will be available to commemorate the big day. When Chuy's first opened in 1982 in Austin, Texas, there was little money for restaurant décor. Chuy's founders hit the streets with $20 in search of something to put on the walls. The over-sized velvet painting of Elvis they returned with changed the course of Chuy...

Close friends and co-stars of Elvis Presley plan to join together as part of "A Celebration of the King's Life," honoring Elvis' music and legacy at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at The Club inside the Cannery, 2121 E. Craig Road. Tickets are $10 at the door. The commemoration is timed to coincide with Elvis' birthday weekend. Performances are planned by Johnny Fortuno and The Stamps Quartet. Special guests are set to include Darlene Tompkins, Cynthia Pepper, Sonny West, Steve Christopher and Sammy Shore. Visit cannerycasinos.com. Source: LVRJ

To celebrate what would have been Elvis Presley's 77th birthday Jan. 8, Potawatomi Bingo Casino is organizing a series of not-so-secret flash mobs around Milwaukee. Elvis contestants in the casino's 10th annual "Tribute to the King" competition Wednesday through Sunday will appear in full costume to sing and swivel to a yet-to-be-decided Elvis song at four locations on Wednesday: at 3:45 p.m. at Mitchell International Airport near the flight information board; at 4:45 p.m. at Milwaukee Intermodal Station Lobby, 433 W. St. Paul Ave.; at 5:15 p.m. at Red Arrow Park, 920 N. Water St.; and at 6 p.m. in the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Grand Lobby, 1721 W. Canal St. And, yes, all Elvis wannabes are invited to don a jumpsuit or cast off their parkas and join in the dancing and singing. You'll get a giveaway just for attending. Source: Milwaukee Journal

A celebration next weekend of Elvis Presley's birthday allows a few lucky and select people to recall when the King performed in northern Nevada.His live appearances at the Las Vegas International (now the Las Vegas Hilton) are the most famous, but his concerts at Del Webb's Sahara Tahoe (now the Horizon) between 1971 and 1976 were equally as noteworthy, selling out at fantastic speeds for the time. Long lines awaited what few seats may have become available after the show's start, featuring an Elvis not in the best physical shape – but few cared. Depending on the concert, he could be extremely dynamic or strangely detached. The showroom where he performed is no longer – replaced by a movie multiplex. The suite where he stayed is still available but little remains of the ephemera of the concerts. Menus can be found on auction sites and a book has been published with some photos, but the Horizon itself lacks practically any vestiges of the High Sierra Theater where not only ...

The new stripped down marquee The Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino officially changed its name to drop its hotel chain moniker on Tuesday after a license agreement expired at the start of 2012. Workers changed the hotel marquee to reflect the new name for the property east of the Las Vegas Strip: The Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Its new motto: "Same Fame. New Name." It's the second time Elvis Presley's former haunt has changed its name. Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian opened the property in 1969 as the International Hotel, then sold it to the Hilton chain. It became the Las Vegas Hilton in 1971. The hotel-casino sought to end the agreement last year as the property contended with financial troubles. It defaulted on a $252 million loan in 2010 and used operational expenses to make payments during three months last year while it tried to restructure debt. Casino name changes are uncommon, though not unprecedented in Sin City, said Michael Green, a C...

MORROW, Ga. — "You'd think the most popular item in all of the National Archives' holdings would be some important document from our nation's history, like the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution," said Mary Evelyn Tomlin, the public programs specialist for the Morrow-based National Archives at Atlanta. "No, it's the photograph of Elvis meeting Nixon (President Richard Nixon) at the White House." The local National Archives branch is preparing to celebrate what would have been the 77th birthday of the "King of Rock and Roll" — Elvis Presley — this weekend, with a birthday party. The free-to-attend party is scheduled to be held on Saturday, from 12:30 p.m., to 1:30 p.m., at the archives, located at 5780 Jonesboro Road, in Morrow. The public is invited to attend. The actual anniversary of his birth will be Sunday, but the National Archives is typically closed on that day of the week, Tomlin said. "It just seemed lik...