Weekend: Hot Ticket: All shook up in Tampa

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Hot Ticket: All shook up in Tampa

By SHANNON BREEN
Published May 19, 2005

This weekend's third annual Elvis Festival in Tampa comes amid a new wave of Elvis mania, including a new book, Elvis by the Presleys, and a CBS miniseries.

Presley first breezed through Tampa when he was 21, a month before his historic appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. He performed at Fort Homer Hesterly Armory on Aug. 5, 1956, and at the Florida Theater in St. Petersburg two days later.

In 1961, Presley visited Weeki Wachee Springs during a break from filming the movie Follow That Dream, which was shot in Citrus and Levy counties.

Presley returned in 1977, performing at Tampa's Curtis Hixon Hall and St. Petersburg's Bayfront Center. He died a few months later.

Tampa's Elvis Festival kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday with Viva Las Vegas Casino Nite at the TECO Atrium, 702 N Franklin St. Tickets are $25 and include appetizers and a one-hour Las Vegas-style concert.

Saturday's events include a free street festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. along Franklin Street downtown. Expect plenty of Elvis' favorite peanut butter and banana sandwiches, karaoke, arts and crafts, games and dancers. Brent Howell and his four-piece band, the Catillacs, will perform.

Other Saturday events: 5K Hound Dog Dash at 8 a.m., Lykes Gaslight Park, 410 Franklin St., $15 advance, $20 onsite; Shake Rattle & Roll Pet Stroll and Elvis Look-Alike Contest, 9 a.m., Lykes Park, $10 per pet; A Tribute to Elvis 50 Years Ago in Tampa Concert, 11 a.m., Tampa Theatre, 711 Franklin St., $10; and Southern Style Sock Hop, 6:30 p.m., Barksdale Center, 1801 N Lincoln St. $10.

The festival wraps up with the Hunka Hunka Burning Love Vow Renewal & Brunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at the Courtyard by Marriott, 102 E Cass St. $20.

The Elvis Festival pass costs $50 and includes admission to all events. For information, call (813) 274-8615.

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Hot Ticket: All shook up in Tampa