Tupelo Elvis Festival 20th Anniversary Edition features added attractions

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A festival celebrating Tupelo’s most famous son kicks off this evening, and has some added attractions this year.

The 20th annual Tupelo Elvis Festival begins with a sold out concert at the singer’s Birthplace and Museum. That is followed by a screening of a movie about Presley’s famous 1956 homecoming concert in Tupelo.

There are events at the birthplace, and of course the Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist competition at the Bancorpsouth Arena.   This year,  several of the entertainer’s most famous concerts will be re-created Thursday evening with a free event at Fairpark.

Tom Brown emcees the tribute artist competition and says the late singer’s fame continues to grow.

“I think Elvis is still so popular because he continues to be discovered,  by young people, by other people that are just now discovering Elvis, there are so many different ways to find him for the first time, a lot of the new symphonic albums that are out, the HBO documentary that recently premiered called “The Searcher’ he continues to be here because he is of people’s family, he is of generations, he’s passed down like a family heirloom,” Brown said.

The Tupelo Elvis Festival runs through Sunday.  For a complete schedule of all of the events, go to tupeloelvisfestival.com