TUPELO — The city of Tupelo will celebrate Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday in January with special exhibits, art displays and concerts.
Presley was born in Tupelo and moved to Memphis when he was 13. Presley died at Graceland on Aug. 16, 1977, and is buried in a small garden on the grounds. His 75th birthday is Jan. 8.
The Tupelo festivities will kick off Jan. 7 when 14 metal guitars painted by students in the local public schools will be unveiled in downtown Tupelo. The 6-foot guitars will be a permanent display in downtown Tupelo.
Debbie Brangenberg, executive director of the Downtown Tupelo/Main Street Association, tells the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that the celebration will continue that night, with a concert by Elvis tribute artists Bill Cherry of Collinsville, Ill., and Brandon Bennett of Ponchatoula, La.
Bennett won the tribute artist competition at the Tupelo Elvis Presley Festival in 2007, and then won the title of Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist in 2008.
Cherry, of Collinsville, Ill., who won the Tupelo competition in June, went on to win the Ultimate Tribute Artist competition a few weeks later.
On Elvis’ birthday, a special exhibit will be unveiled at the Tupelo Convention and Visitors Bureau. Details have not been announced. Linda Johnson, executive director of the CVB, says it is a special project the city is working on with Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Also, country music star Marty Stuart will open “Sparkle & Twang: Marty Stuart’s American Musical Odyssey” at the Tupelo Automobile Museum. The exhibit includes photos, costumes, lyrics and instruments belonging to musical legends.
Stuart also will perform and have a book signing, but details have not been confirmed, Johnson said.
Rounding out the day’s events is the birthday party for Elvis at his Tupelo birthplace, which is now a museum.
State News
Elvis birthday salute kicks off Jan. 7
- State News
-
- Miss. high court hears arguments over pardons Feuding attorneys asked the Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday to determine the validity of pardons that Haley Barbour gave to convicted killers and other convicts during his final days as governor. Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. said the court would not rule Thursday, but he didn’t say when a decision would come.
- Senate votes to merge 3 Sunflower school districts The Mississippi Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would merge Sunflower County’s three school districts into one, easing into the politically sensitive topic of consolidation by focusing on a single area in the impoverished Delta.
-
Kansas, Missouri fight to keep Marine data center
Kansas and Missouri officials are working together to fend off New Orleans’ effort to lure a Marine Corps data center and its 400 high-paying jobs away from Kansas City.
The congressional delegations and governors from both states have written to Marine Corps Commandant James F. Amos, arguing to keep the center where it is. -
Judge temporarily blocks Mississippi execution
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the execution of a Mississippi inmate who killed two men during a robbery spree in 1995. The man’s attorneys asked for the order, not arguing guilt or innocence, but that corrections officials prevented Edwin Hart Turner from getting medical tests that could prove he is mentally ill.
-
New rules, tests proposed for public aid in Miss.
People who receive public assistance would be subject to random testing for drugs or nicotine and would have to perform community service under new requirements being considered by Mississippi lawmakers.
-
Home strengthening may lower insurance
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said he is working with legislators on a bill that would require insurers to offer discounts to homeowners who have strengthened homes against wind damage.
State officials told the Sun Herald that they hope the reinforcement of roofing, doors, windows and other components also will qualify homeowners for insurance discounts, although there are no guarantees. -
Inmate asks courts to stop execution
Condemned inmate Edwin Hart Turner’s lawyer told a federal judge Friday that a corrections policy prevented Turner from getting tests that could prove he’s mentally ill and ineligible for execution.
-
Pardoned killer to fight return to Mississippi
A convicted murderer who left Mississippi after being pardoned by former Gov. Haley Barbour seems poised to fight attempts to force him to return from Wyoming. Joseph Ozment’s attorney, Robert Moxley, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he will defend Ozment’s freedom if he decides to try to stay in Wyoming.
-
Universities say financial aid fund running short
Recipients of state scholarships could see their aid packages trimmed unless the Mississippi Legislature puts more money into financial aid. That includes the more than 20,000 students who receive the Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant.
-
Bad info infuriated kin of pardoned man’s victims
In another twist in the often confusing aftermath of pardons granted by former Gov. Haley Barbour on his way out of office, Mississippi corrections officials said Tuesday that victims’ relatives were given bad information by the state that fanned their outrage.
- More State News Headlines
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
