n l OUT & ABOUT

PHOTOS BY RACHAEL SANTILLAN

Nearly 30 years since Elvis Presley performed in Fayetteville, and almost 29 years since ‘The King’ left us, the spirit of his music and sartorial style returned in the form of Elvis ‘tribute artist’ Kraig Parker. NEXT! photographer Rachael Santillan and art director Jamie Pham visited the performer backstage at the Crown Center Theatre, and then hung around for the rockin’ performance and after-show.

Kraig Parker practices thefamous Elvis smirk prior
to taking the stage,

Love him tender …

It was the summer of ’76, and for a teen who couldn’t decide whether she was a hippie or a disco queen, the news that Elvis Presley was coming to town, well, it didn’t exactly get me “all shook up.”

But my boyfriend worked at a radio station, and he could get free tickets. Imagine that. No camping out in front of the Cumberland County Memorial Arena. The photos that I had seen in The Fayetteville Observer depicted desperate fans in mile-long lines, braving the heat to buy tickets for shows on Aug. 3, 4 and 5.

“I don’t understand what the fuss is all about!” I whined.

“What’s the big deal?”

And then the night of Elvis came, and we were seated in the packed stands. Darkness turned to light onstage, and the figure in a flashy white jumpsuit emerged.

A fan presented Elvis Presley with a stuffed animal during one of his three shows in Fayetteville in August 1976. A young photographer named Johnny Horne captured the moment, just when Deputy Carl Sanborn looked on. Horne is now the veteran photo editor of The Fayetteville Observer.

“Eeeeeeee!” I squealed, grabbing the binoculars, which were hanging around my boyfriend’s neck, almost choking him in the process. (Sorry, Bill W.)

“Ha! I thought you weren’t excited about this,” he rightfully replied.

For an hour or so, I sat mesmerized. Sure, Elvis was a bit bigger physically than I remembered him in the movies, his gyrations were not quite as smooth, and I couldn’t make out all of the words in his songs.

Left, Stephanie Wood is bestowed a scarf by ‘King’ Kraig. Right, the Elvis impersonator meets with adoring fans and signs an autograph for Gertrude Fulturer of Hope Mills.

But I knew this was a magical moment.

His last song was, “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You.”

And just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared — escorted off the stage by six bodyguards.

On August 16, 1977, I was in the family garden when my dad came out with the news: “Elvis has died.”

Shock. Sadness. And then gratitude — hey, I had seen Elvis!

I felt so lucky.

And I always will.

— Janet Gibson Uffinger

PHOTOS BY RACHAEL SANTILLAN

Steve Thomas and Donna Drum-Thomas enjoy the atmosphere of The Wine Cellar and Tasting Room during Blues Crawl.

Blue-eyed soul man Billy Price gets down with his band at the Sunrise Theater during the annual Blues Crawl in Southern Pines. Originally from Pittsburgh, Price has been entertaining for some three decades.

Joel Martin of Seven Lakes and Sharron West of Pinehurst take it easy during Blues Crawl.