City of Tupelo will celebrate Elvis 75th birthday in style

Very good news from Tupelo. Last time I heard from a Mayor that plans were afoot there, a statue of Elvis materialised.:-)

Many people have been hoping the City of Tupelo itself would come up with something special, centre stage, so we shall wait till January 8th 2010, with baited breath.

http://irelandtoo.blogspot.com

I'm surprised they have taken so long to capitolize on Elvis tourism

or that EPE hasn't rebought the property and taken it over

The City of Tupelo has been slow to capitalise on Elvis Presley tourism out of a lack of confidence and a fear of failure. That's what Dr Vernon Chadwick thought when we spoke about the poor state of the Fair ground in Tupelo September 1999.

One of the reasons I seriously set about contacting the media and goverment there, after meeting with an earlier success on Tupelo Wizard FM radio,1997.

People on Elvis Forums will know I have continued to encourage the City of Tupelo to erect a major memorial to Elvis and Tupelo's history in Main street. Maybe we will get one in January?

I'm sure such an investment will pay off in the future. Tupelo after all is not the richest city in the USA.

EPE will also benifit and may be investing in the latet project?

http://irelandtoo.blogspot.com

MauricePColgan wrote:

The City of Tupelo has been slow to capitalise on Elvis Presley tourism out of a lack of confidence and a fear of failure....

probably shouldn't read too much into that

as having meaning for Elvis' psyche

We saw what was obvious and then acted accordingly.

As for Elvis' psyche I leave that to others.

http://irelandtoo.blogspot.com

MauricePColgan wrote:

We saw what was obvious and then acted accordingly.
...

sometimes it takes someone outside of the immediate circumstances to see the opportunity

I think it was appalling how Elvis did that 1957 concert to raise funds for a youth centre -$27,000 in 1957 dollars - that they never broke ground on

Sorry for double post on this, just a mistake.

Interview about Tupelo and Elvis with Roy Turner on:
"EIN - Many fans ask what happened to the 'Elvis Presley Youth Recreation Centre' which the proceeds of his 1957 Tupelo show were supposed to go to. There was a park created around 1960 I believe, but did the possible $20,000 (a lot of money in its time) that came out of the benefit ever get accounted for?

Roy: As a child in East Tupelo - and hearing my parents and other adults talk about the subject, we all felt the city had taken the money and used it on the park on the west side of town. I do not know if that is the case or not. But I do know, Elvis placed a call to Mayor Ballard at one point and said, "if dirt isn't moving by the end of the month, somebody is going to pay." When I interviewed Ike Savery's son Bitsey, I found it interesting that he stated, "You know they built that park in a day. People came from Amory and all around donating trucks to haul dirt. It was a community effort." For whatever reason, the time Elvis donated the funds in both 56 and 57 and the time things finally started happening were way too long. I am glad it did happen as I had my first dance in the youth center. She was about a foot shorter than I and I think I stepped all over her feet.(Laughs)" For the full interview search EIN.

http://irelandtoo.blogspot.com

but relevant on both threads

Thank goodness local newspapers have been covering the Elvis Birthday news. The National American press has yet to give it the attention it deserves. But what's new?

We disseminate the Elvis Presley news ourselves.
:-)

http://irelandtoo.blogspot.com

I haven't seen anything on the local Mississippi news about the upcoming celebration. Is there a website for the event?

Joy, Search the Daily Journal MS or just Tupelo on google.com news.