'Elvis' rocks in Portage

October 12, 2008

BY CHARLES M. BARTHOLOMEW Post-Tribune correspondent

PORTAGE -- This year's string of festival weekends with perfect weather continued Saturday, bringing out a record crowd for Porter County's most widely known visitor event, the 16th annual Elvis FANtasy Fest.
"Of all the festivals in the county, this one has the highest expenditure per person per day, according to a survey we did," said Lorelei Weimer, executive director of the Porter County Convention, Visitors, and Recreation Bureau.

Mixing with the hundreds watching the Elvis Tribute Artist contest preliminaries or strolling through the car show were some of the volunteers from Porter County Special Olympics, the driving force behind the annual celebration of Presley and his interest in charitable causes.

"This festival has raised over $200,000, with over $180,000 going to Special Olympics," said Kay Lipps.

With husband Paul, she is chairwoman of Taking Care of Presley, the memorial benefit committee in Carmel that stages the festival under the wing of the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation in Memphis, Tenn.

"The rest of the money goes to the Elvis Presley Trauma Center there and Presley Place, a housing development in the inner city where the homeless can live and get assistance to get back on their feet," she said.

Beyond the charity, the weekend serves to satisfy the passion for Presley that has grown among old and young since his death in 1977.

"What's particularly important is that we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of his 1968 comeback TV special, recreating it here (Saturday) for the fans.

"We have D.J. Fontana, Elvis' drummer, and Patti Parry and Sandi Miller, members of his circle who had front-row seats at the concert," Lipps said.

"I'm so passionate about Elvis; it's his music and the way he treated people," said Carol Hopp of Oak Lawn, Ill., who was 25 years old when she first saw Presley on the "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1956.

Hopp is president of the "Elvis -- That's the Way It Is" Fan Club, one of three fan groups with tables of Presley memorabilia.

She said her group publishes a quarterly 50-page newsletter.

"I never met him or saw him in concert, but I have an Elvis collection in two rooms and my living room," she said. "That includes 500 CDs."

Article Source: http://www.post-trib.com/news/porter/1216457,ptgelvisfest.article