BY LOREEN BERLIN: The mood for the recent Elvis Festival on Historic Main Street?
Enthusiastic.
The verdict for the jam-packed event?
"You might say we had a massively, hugely, wildly successful event," said Azteca Restaurant Owner Jennifer Stewart. "We had many more people on Main Street than any of us as business owners expected and it was one rockin’ party until we finally shut down at 6 p.m. as planned.”
BY LOREEN BERLIN: The mood for the recent Elvis Festival on Historic Main Street?
Enthusiastic.
The verdict for the jam-packed event?
"You might say we had a massively, hugely, wildly successful event," said Azteca Restaurant Owner Jennifer Stewart. "We had many more people on Main Street than any of us as business owners expected and it was one rockin’ party until we finally shut down at 6 p.m. as planned.”
The 17th annual Elvis Festival was moved from its former location in Costa Mesa to Historic Main Street in Garden Grove this year.
"The promoter of the event was an awesome woman named Jill Lloyd," said Stewart. "She is the media and public relations event manager with Jill Lloyd and Associates."
The top three winning Elvis tribute artists were Martin Anthony (first place), Ken Elsner (second place) and Lloyd Aron Douglas (third place).
"Seriously, we are over-the-moon happy about the success of our… festival, and as you know, we have not had this event on Main Street before so we could not have not known what to expect as far as a crowd," said Stewart.
Stewart said one half-hour before her restaurant opened, there was a line of 30 people waiting to get in.
"And I heard from other restaurant owners on the street that they were extremely busy as well all day long; what a fun day!"
Historic Main Street in Garden Grove in conjunction with the Local Harvest Farmers Market, and presented by the Garden Grove Downtown Business Association, hosted the full-day tribute to the King of rock 'n' roll.
Making it all happen were the Azteca Restaurant and the Garden Grove Downtown Business Association, which organized and underwrote a plethora of events leading up to the Elvis Festival, bringing Historic Main Street alive with people from all around town and other communities.
There were Karaoke competitions presented by the Garden Grove Downtown Business Association and Karaoke Scene Magazine and held in conjunction with the Local Harvest Farmers Market.
Then last month, competitions began with Karaoke-style Elvis singing competitions on Fridays in conjunction with the reportedly longest-running Friday Night Car Show, also held on Main Street.
The final Karaoke competition was called the "Crème de la King," said Stewart, about the Karaoke contestants singing on Main Street in an event that was likened to their own "Garden Grove's Got Talent," matching that of TV's America's Got Talent show with top-notch talent.
"The event attracted some of the best Elvis singers in the country and all right in Garden Grove on Historic Main Street," said Stewart.
Lloyd said as the Elvis Festival event producer, she deems the 17th annual Elvis Festival a success.
"Because of the cooperation and support of the city of Garden Grove, the Local Harvest Farmers Market, the Garden Grove Downtown Business Association members, the nearby colleges and several merchants and restaurants on Main Street and generous supporters it all came together smoothly in a very short period of time," said Lloyd.
Lloyd said relocating the Festival from the OC Fair and Event Center after 16 years was a challenge and that it took a lot of creative
"But it really fell into place nicely," she said. "The Elvis fan community came out in force and that makes all the difference because they add so much to the event. This included the Jailhouse Rockers of California, the biggest Elvis fan club in the state. And, I also had so much help and the support of Larry Vance and Jennifer Stewart of Azteca Restaurant who were the ones I initially contacted when I was looking for a new festival location. It just seemed like a natural place to go with Azteca's Elvis theme, reputation and notoriety in the community," said Lloyd.
Azteca, which has been around for decades, is known for its incredible decor — Elvis memorabilia is everywhere! It started with former owner J.J. Jauregia, who believes he’s got one of the biggest Elvis collections in the country.
When you walk into Azteca, it feels like Graceland.
Lloyd said the part she loved best about the festival was the hometown feel it had just by moving it to Main Street.
"It was like an old-fashioned community fair with people getting together to share a common interest, and in this case a love of the king of rock 'n' roll," she said.
Other restaurants joining in and making a difference were Doug's Downtown Grill, Louie's, the Wharf and daKuppe.
Doug's and da Kuppe joined in the spirit by decorating their window displays with — who else? — Elvis.
"I do think this is just the start of something bigger for the future and I look forward to having the 18th annual Elvis Festival on Main Street again. It will be the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death which will be a major milestone in the Elvis fan community and that would be a great foundation for next year's Festival,” said Lloyd.
