ICelebrating a new year and Elvis' 75th birthday made for a magical mixture at this year's Cavalcade of Champions 3 at Stage West in Mississauga (Jan. 4th).

The set up of the dinner/ theatre reminds me so much of the Las Vegas showroom where Elvis played for so many years. The sound system is amazing and makes me realize the talent of these ETA's, which is perhaps occasionally lost when we are hearing them at various outdoor festivals in sometimes inclement weather.  This is how they were meant to be enjoyed!

Seven troubadours portraying various aspects of Elvis' career (from early; to movies; to gospel; to leathers; to Vegas) wandered through the crowds, while the audience enjoyed  the spectacular Stage West buffet.  It included a huge peanut butter and banana cake, specially made for the King's birthday party! This year, the entertainers were : Brycen Katolinsky, Bruno Nesci, Danny Granger, Larry Tschekalin, Anthony Carbone, Kevin Bezaire and Marcus Wells.   They had the crowd warmed up and ready to rock for the three main attractions.

Anthony Von burst onto the stage doing "early years" and did a high energy set of all the rocking ballads plus some love songs and gospel.   Later that evening, Anthony was inducted into the ETA Hall of Fame for his many years of doing Elvis' tributes in such a classy way.  A portrait of Anthony , done by ETA Chris Cooper, will hang at Stage West .

Next up was Ultimate Elvis contestant Jay Zanier doing "leathers".   He performed all the power numbers from the iconic 1968 special and it was equally great to hear lesser heard songs from that time frame, like "All I Needed Was the Rain". Raw power, with a voice that can shake the rafters...and did!

David Muggeridge came all the way from North Carolina to headline the show portraying Elvis in the Vegas years.  It was a great entrance when David backed by his own "Mississauga Mafia" lead him from the back of the theatre to the stage.  Accompanied  by Gerie and the Koasters, whom I thought brought a special enthusiasm to the night, David took us on a musical journey of the 70's.  "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling", " Burning Love", "Suspicious Minds", then .David invited all ETA's in the showroom to join him on stage for a rendition of "American Trilogy".  As always, he left us wanting more.

Congratulations to Heather and Nevin Grant for planning, arranging and orchestrating another wonderful night for Elvis' fans.
Can't wait to see what you dream up for Cavalcade of Champions 4!

Wendy King for the  Kings Court