HACKETSTOWN is ‘all shook up’ this week as the countdown for the town’s very first Elvis Festival gets underway.
It’s now or never for the organisers as they launched their Elvis Festival last Thursday evening, outlining plans for an action-packed weekend on Saturday and Sunday 18-19 October to celebrate the life and music of the king of rock ’n’ roll.
“It’s amazing the amount of interest out there still for Elvis Presley – we’ve had enquiries from all over the country about this,” enthused Mary Doyle, one of the organisers.
The idea for the festival came about following the discovery that Presley’s ancestors hailed from the Hacketstown area, with records indicating that his great-great-great-grandfather William, along with his brother Andrew Presley, left Eagle Hill, Hacketstown in the 18th century. Now it’s hoped that The King can do for Hacketstown what Barack Obama did for Moneygall!
The town is set for carnival atmosphere, with an influx of Elvis Presley lookalikes and soundalikes, American vintage cars and rock ’n’ roll dancers.
The Elvis Festival begins on Saturday morning, 18 October at 10.30am, when historical and genealogy experts discuss Elvis Presley’s Hacketstown roots in the local community centre. At 2.30pm on Saturday, Hacketstown’s budding Elvises will strut their ‘blue suede shoes’ onto the stage for a children’s talent contest, aptly titled The Elvis Factor. With two categories – U16 and U10 – there’s a chance for all to sing, dance, play an instrument and generally grab the judges’ attention.
Later that night at 8pm, also in Hacketstown Community Centre, adults, too, can prove they can jailhouse rock with the best of them for an Elvis Impersonator of the Year competition.
Would-be Elvises from all over Ireland will be gyrating and rockin’ and rollin’ their hearts out to win the title, with huge interest already shown in the bid to become Ireland’s answer to The King.
All weekend there’s music and entertainment on the street, stalls, an Elvis parade, a craft and food fair, a funfair and lots of fun and frolics for all, with all of Elvis’s favourite hits guaranteed to be in huge demand.
The Elvis Festival is a community event that’s being hosted in conjunction with the CRISP Centre and Carlow Tourism. Entries for The Elvis Factor and the adult Elvis Impersonator of the Year contest are currently being taken at the local CRISP Computer Training Centre, which is also the booking office for Elvis weekend.
Full details of the programme are available on the website www.hacketstown.ie and by calling the CRISP Centre on 059 6471733.
