Happy Birthday, Elvis!

Elvis fans pay tribute: Spend time reminiscing about the King at local celebrations
By Molly Gilmore
The annual Elvis Birthday Bash celebrates Elvis Presley’s birth, not his death.This year, the bash - a celebration as much about Elvis impersonators than the man himself - includes a sneak preview screening of a new documentary called “How He Should Have Died.”"One man paid the ultimate tribute, by leaving this world in a blaz e of glory, the way many top El vis fans say Elvis should have,” press material trumpets.The man, Larry Hass, was an Elvis impersonator who died in 2004 while performing at the Elvis Explosion in La Crosse, Wis.

The documentary focuses on him and his passion for Elvis.

“La Crosse has really no connection to Elvis, except it’s become a big draw because of this festival,” said David Ross, a co-producer of “How He Should Have Died” as well as “Almost Elvis,” about the impersonators.

“It’s the home of the world’s largest Green Bay Packers sports bar, so it’s kind of a funny cross section of America,” he added.

After Hass’s death, Ross said, people kept asking the filmmakers if they wanted to do a documentary about him.

Through time, they realized that they did.

“It became more and more appa rent that it could be a really interesting, heartwarming, fun story to tell, just hearing from his friends and family and Elvis fans,” he said.

Saturday’s screenings of both films will include performances by world-champion Elvis impersonator Robert Washington, a costume contest and fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches.

You also can see Washington on Friday night at The Brotherhood and Sunday morning at Plenty.

Washington is known in the Elvis world for his onstage flips, his athletic dancing and his powerful voice.

Fans definitely get excited about his performances.

“You get the screams and stuff, but I’m sure it’s not the same magnitude as Elvis got,” Washington said in a past interview for The Olympian. “A little bit, and I’m happy.”

Elvis birthday bash 2008

What: The eighth annual celebration features a performance by Elvis impersonator Robert Washington; a 6 p.m. screening of the documentary “Almost Elvis;” a sneak preview of the new “How He Should Have Died” at 9 p.m.; fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches and birthday cake; a costume contest; a velvet Elvis art show and more.

When: 6 p.m. Saturday January 19th
Where: Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. S.E., Olympia

More info

Revered as a modern day saint of pop culture and King of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley has long enjoyed a place in the American psyche as a kind of touchstone. He means many things to many people, but he is without a doubt one of the most electric personalities to ever hold a microphone.

Immortalized in many formats, he is not without his fans in science fiction (rock ‘n’ roll author Mick Farren practically anointed Elvis as a saint of the American Dream) and comic books (Pope Elvis’ robes are clearly revered in Matt Wagner’s Grendel series).

And who can overlook the marriage of Star Wars and the King that is the Elvis Trooper?

But this Elvis Celebration takes the cake.

Man… I wish I could be there just to see King’s audience take over the town.