Graceland Preps for Elvis Presley's Birthday
By: Julie Musbach Dec. 26, 2017
Music fans from around the world will travel to Elvis Presley's Graceland® next week to celebrate the King of Rock 'n' Roll's™ birthday. Numerous events are scheduled for January 4-8, 2018, including The Auction at Graceland, the opening of the new "Hollywood Backlot" exhibit in the Elvis Presley's Memphis™ entertainment and exhibit complex, the annual Birthday Proclamation on the front lawn of the Graceland mansion and a performance by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Many of the birthday celebration events will be held at The Guest House at Graceland™, the new AAA Four Diamond-rated resort hotel located just steps from Graceland. For a complete day-by-day schedule visit the King of Rock 'n' Roll's birthday. Highlights include:
THURSDAY, JANUARY 4
Graceland Excursions: Musical Landmarks of the Mississippi Delta Tour
New this year, the Graceland Excursions Mississippi Delta tour will trace the influences that inspired the creation of rock 'n' roll music. Expert tour guides will narrate this day-long adventure that includes stops in the city of Clarksdale, the Delta Blues Museum, the Grammy Museum Mississippi and Southern Sounds at Dockery Farms. This is the official launch of weekly Graceland Excursions tours to the Mississippi Delta (weekly tours start on Saturdays beginning January 13).
FRIDAY, JANUARY 5
The Auction at Graceland Preview
10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. The Guest House at Graceland Rock Meeting Room. Several of the Elvis lots up for auction will be on display.
Club Elvis with DJ Argo
8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. The Guest House at Graceland Grand Ballroom. Elvis fans will party as DJ Argo from Sirius XM's Elvis Radio spins Elvis records.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 6
Elvis Birthday Brunch
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. The Guest House at Graceland Grand Ballroom. A classic Memphis breakfast buffet at The Guest House with special Elvis programming, hosted by Tom Brown, including Elvis videos and special guest speakers.
The Auction at Graceland
12:30 p.m. The Guest House at Graceland Theater. Following the record-breaking Auction at Graceland this past August, fans and collectors from around the world will participate on-site and online for this auction, featuring artifacts authenticated by Graceland Authenticated. All of the items in the auction will be offered from third-party collectors and none of the items included in the auction will come from the treasured Graceland Archives.
Elvis' Memphis featuring Terry Mike Jeffrey and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra
7:30 p.m. Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, 255 N Main Street. Terry Mike Jeffrey joins the Memphis Symphony for a salute to the Elvis music made in Memphis, at Graceland, Stax and Sun Studio.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 7
Fan Club Presidents' Event
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. The Guest House at Graceland Theater. Elvis fans will celebrate the charitable work of Elvis Presley fan clubs. Special guests include: Larry Domasin, who co-starred with Elvis in "Fun in Acapulco"; Victoria Paige Meyerink, who co-starred with Elvis in "Speedway"; plusEvelyn Helms, who was in Elvis' sixth-grade Milam Junior High School class in Tupelo.
Archives Show and Tell
2:00 p.m. The Guest House at Graceland Theater. Director of Archives, Angie Marchese, and host Tom Brown will give a special presentation and up-close look at some treasured pieces from the Graceland Archives.
Graceland Evening Tour and Reception at Elvis Presley's Memphis
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Elvis Presley's Memphis. This special event will feature an evening tour of Graceland Mansion decorated for the holidays plus a reception with special guests across the street at Elvis Presley's Memphis.
MONDAY, JANUARY 8
Elvis Birthday Proclamation Ceremony
9:30 a.m. Graceland's North Lawn. A special ceremony with Graceland/EPE officials, a birthday cake cutting and proclamation of Elvis Presley Day by Memphis and Shelby County officials. Following the event, complimentary birthday cake and coffee at Vernon's Smokehouse, Elvis Presley's Memphis.
Opening of the new "Hollywood Backlot" Exhibit
11:00 a.m. Elvis Presley's Memphis. The all new exhibit features production sets and artifacts from the acclaimed television series "Sun Records," produced by Thinkfactory Media, which aired on CMT in 2017.
Graceland Excursions: Tupelo, Mississippi - Birthplace of Elvis Presley Tour
11:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. The five-day celebration will conclude a tour to Tupelo, Mississippi. Guests will experience the rural setting of Elvis' upbringing and see where it all began in the two-room house where the King of Rock 'n' Roll was born on January 8, 1935, the church he attended in his youth and see artifacts from his modest beginnings. The tour includes Elvis' Birthplace, Tupelo Hardware and a driving tour of Tupelo. This is the official launch of weekly Graceland Excursions tours to Tupelo (weekly tours start on Fridays beginning January 12).
About Graceland and Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.
Elvis Presley's Graceland, in Memphis, is music's most important and beloved landmark, with hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world visiting the historic home each year. Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) manages the operations of Graceland and its related properties, including Elvis Presley's Memphis, Graceland's new entertainment and exhibition complex over 200,000 square feet in size; the AAA Four-Diamond Guest House at Graceland 450-room hotel; and the Graceland Archives, featuring thousands of artifacts from Elvis' home and career. EPE also produces and licenses Elvis-themed live events, tours and attractions worldwide. Graceland Holdings LLC, led by managing partner Joel Weinshanker, is the majority owner of EPE. Auction A Circle and Graceland Auctions TNGL#5967 is the entity that manages Auctions at Graceland. In 2015, Graceland was named the world's "Best Musical Attraction" and "Best Historic Southern Attraction" in the USA Today 10 Best Reader's Choice Awards and in 2013, voted the #1 "Iconic American Attraction" in the same poll. For more information on EPE and Graceland, visit www.graceland.com.
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