In a heartwarming moment at this year’s Blue Suede Festival, Kiara Gauthier and Elvis tribute artist Fred Steen rekindled a touching connection that began more than a decade ago. The two first met in 2011 when a young Gauthier, then just a child, approached Steen while he was in full Elvis attire. Gauthier had innocently remarked, “You look sad,” prompting Steen to kneel down and embrace the young fan.
Fast forward to today, and the two were reunited at the festival, as they are every year because both are faithful attendees of the annual event. Gauthier’s heartfelt gesture in a moment of kindness as a child, has created a lasting friendship.
The sixteenth annual event, held at the Westlock Ag grounds from July 26 – 28, attracted Elvis tribute artists from across Canada and the U.S. They included Vic de Sousa, Sylvio Fontaine, Corny Rempel, Larry Tschekalin, Alessandro Votta, Sylvain Leduc, Will Humbarger, Mat Shank, Matt Cage, Jaedyn Pilon, Fred Steen, Paul Ellis, and Scott Coon. Logan Jones was the DJ.
The VIP guest was Charles Stone, who was Elvis Presley’s tour manager and flew with Elvis on his personal plane, the Lisa Marie, while on tour, said Trudy Taphorn, the event’s founder and coordinator.
Andrew Martin was a special guest. He has won three Albums of the Year, two Song of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and International Artist of the Year.
A food bank donation was mandatory, either a non-perishable item or a cash donation. The food will go to Westlock and Morinville food banks, as well as the Ripple Connection in Barrhead.
The event collected about 1,380 pounds of food, and raised $3,585 in cash, which included $925 from the live auction and $430 from the Sunday collection that Charles Stone initiated, said Taphorn.
Approximately 1,500 people attended this year's event from all over Canada and the U. S. but the weather did impact attendance this year, she added.
"I think it probably did to a certain extent. There were a lot of people that may have come Friday with their RV's but decided not to. I was still getting phone calls on Saturday asking if I it would rain again. I can't predict that but I did assure them that according to the forecast, Saturday and Sunday would be beautiful and it was. I think we probably lost some because of the rain Friday."
This year there were a lot of new people, added Taphorn.
"There are always the ones that come to every single one but there were a lot of new faces. The calibre of performers, my special guest on Sunday, Andrew Martin, and my VIP Charles Stone, made it in their opinion, the best one yet.
"A lot of blood sweat and tears goes into this," added Taphorn. "I'm a board of one. I do have a volunteer coordinator, Shawnna Andrews, that organizes the volunteers. Another person, Barb Jones, looks for sponsors and shuttle cars from the local dealerships. I have a village of volunteers that weekend. The biggest ones are my family. I have five kids. Their spouses and our grandkids, my husband, and my sister from Oliver, B.C., help. I absolutely could not do it without them."
