November 27, 2012

Elvis has left the Tilt-A-Whirl

Once, or at most, twice a year a traveling midway comes to Penticton, setting up shop either in the community centre parking lot or down by the Lakeside Hotel at the east end of Okanagan Lake.

On the toasty summer evening when went to visit earlier this year, it  was at the community centre, which to my mind is the most traditional of the two, and where I've been heading down to the fair here ever since I was a little girl (as a child it was within walking distance of our house and right across the street from my elementary school).




{Me in front of the Sugar Shack at last summer's traveling fair. Image snapped with Tony’s iPhone.}


As we stood in line for the Tilt-a-Whirl, the ride operator (perhaps picking up on the vintage vibe of my outfit) starting telling Tony and I a story about how once, many years ago, while filming a movie in Vancouver, Elvis Presley had spent time enjoying this very same ride.

Though I couldn't help being a tad sceptical, I eagerly went along with the fellow's tale and asked if we could sit in the same seat that Elvis had (after all, it's not every day here in Canada that one gets to come in direct contact with something the that King of Rock and Roll himself might once have touched!).

The operator was happy to oblige and so for about the next five minutes, we spun around and around happily, the sizzling July sun streaming over our faces, as my mind wondered constantly if I really was whipping through the air in the same spot that Elvis once occupied.

Later that evening when I got home, I did a bit of Googling to see if I could find out anything about an Elvis film being shot in Vancouver, but didn't unearth anything and so filled the experience away in my memory. Then a few weeks later, in the comment section of this post, a lovely reader (who goes by the username pigsmightfly) and I got into a discussion about Elvis (she's an Elvis fan club member) and I relayed my story from the fair.

She quickly wrote back and shared with me the fact that on August 31st, 1957, Elvis has held a concert and press conference at the Empire Stadium in Vancouver after completing the movie Jailhouse Rock, and shared this link all about Mr. Presley's time spent in British Columbia that year.





{Norm Pringle of CDKA Radio, Elvis and Elsie Pringle at the press conference Mr. Presley gave in Vancouver on August 31, 1957. Image source - which even includes an audio recording of Elvis from this conference.}


While the article doesn't specifically mention The King attending a midway, it certainly does place him in Vancouver (though, not to film a movie, as the operator had said, but rather to promote Jail House Rock), and - if we assume that the Tilt-a-Whirl Tony and I were on is at least fifty-eight years old (it very well could be, quality carnival rides, if well maintained, can last for decades), then the ride operator might really have been telling the truth: Elvis and I may have shared the same seat (pictured below).





We may never know for sure, but I rather adore the idea and have no qualms with telling people that, on a warm, gorgeous summer's evening one July, I got to sit in the same carnival ride seat that Elvis may very well have enjoyed himself nearly sixty years ago.

30 comments:

  1. Now that is cool!! I'm not a real Elvis fan, but how cool! I know it would be nearly impossible to have any contact with where the King of rock n roll was especially with you being so far north. So glad you have that experience!

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  2. I love carnival rides. It's just that over the last couple of years they have gotten over priced.

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  3. Even if it's embellished a bit, what a fabulous story!

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  4. oohhh so cool! Sounds like an enchanting experience, lucky woman :) I LOVE Elvis !

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  5. You should be the Sugar Shack's poster girl! You look so cute in front of it! My grandpa would love this post. He is the biggest Elvis fan I know, but unfortunately not a computer fan. ;-)
    -Jamie
    http://chatterblossom.blogspot.com/

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  6. That is fantastic!! I totally understand being hesitant to believe such a claim, but it's just swell!

    xoxo
    -Janey

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  7. Wow, that is very cool!! And how I love a good fair midway!
    My great-grandfather was apparently Elvis' dentist, pre-fame. According to family lore, the King spent his very first paycheck buying false teeth for his mother from great-grandfather Doc Clement. I often wonder how much of that tale is true, haha.

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  8. Wow, that is really neat how you could get such detailed information about Elvis. I hope you had fun sitting in the same seat as the King:)

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  9. Ohhhh beyond cool!!!! What a fun story! I bet ya it is true! I mean anything is possible, right? xox

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  10. That's a wonderful story! you look so cute xx

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  11. fantastic! awesome!
    and your denim pants are cotton candy, too! they lok so great on you.

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  12. Very cool that is! :) I love it. Tilt a Whirl was always my favorite carnival ride. (I prefer the tamer ones.) So fun, and a little romantic if done with a boyfriend or at my age, my husband. lol. Same seat as Elvis. Fabulous! There has never been a person any cooler than The King himself. In fact, right now, i must go to YouTube and listen to his version of Blue Christmas. I don't get sad when i hear it. I love his smooth voice too much!

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  13. My husband is a ride inspector and he has heard many stories about how Elvis loved rides. He would pay for a park to open just for him and ride the same ride over and over again. It's very possible that the story is true and you sat in the same seat. Or at least on the same ride.

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  14. Such a shame so many of the great singers like Elvis and John Lennon are no longer with us. Must not get maudlin because they have left us with a great legacy in music and films. Thank you for including my alter ego :o)

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    1. You're very welcome. Thank you so much for the helpful information on Mr. Presely's potential presence in my little corner of the world, I really appreciate it, dear lady. I completely agree that it's such a shame great talents like the two men you mentioned left us so quickly.

      ♥ Jessica

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  15. What a fun tale, true or not! Either way you got to ride a Tilt-a-Whirl and that is worth a memory file in itself.

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  16. I don't see any reason why it might not be true that Elvis rode that particular ride, if not sat in that particular seat. No matter, it makes for a cool story anyway! The Tilt-a-Whirl still stands the test of time doesn't it? It's still a fun experience stacked up against newer and faster ride designs. Fun post! :)

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  17. You know I remember where I was when I heard Elvis had passed away. At the time my daughter was 3 months old and I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the sad news on the radio. A real shock because it had been rumoured Elvis would be doing an Australian Tour and my friend and I were going to go. Would you believe my daughter is not an Elvis fan but her daughter, my grand-daughter is an Elvis fan. :o)

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  18. I enjoy thoughts like this, too. Links to the past.

    I had an almost mystical experience when visiting Sun Studio in Memphis three years ago. The recording-studio hasn't been touched since Elvis sang there with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis (an event celebrated in the fun musical, "Million Dollar Quartet"). The sense of history, when I touched the walls, was palpable.

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  19. Ooh, you lucky gal! I wish it was me. :) Great story.

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  20. What a Princely story...or should I say "king-ly" story. It doesn't matter that you may never know for sure if the king sat in that same exact seat....it is a gem of a story and I think that the romance of it is beautiful...bless you carny man for sharing it with us.
    I must say that I have loved travelling carnivals...especially the smaller, old fashioned types since I was a little girl. My Dad used to take me to them every Summer when I visit him and they visited the town where he lived...it brings back a feeling of happiness and carefree times. Thanks for sharing that story. xxx Shauna

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  21. I'm not an Elvis fan (I like the odd track), but Andy really likes him so I'm going to show him this post if that's okay xxx

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    1. Absolutely, my dear, please feel free to share whatever you like here with your chap anytime.

      Many thanks for your comment,
      ♥ Jessica

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  22. What a great story, Jessica! I think it is spectacular!

    I remember hearing the news on the radio in my bedroom that August day when Elvis Presley died. It was shocking since he was only 42...died the same age his mother did.

    My two Elvis favorite songs are:

    Can't Help Falling in Love
    Love Me Tender

    ♥Hope

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  23. First of all, Jessica, you look great in your capri's. I know you don't often wear pants, but it's fun to shake things up every now and then, isn't it? I, too, have begun wearing pants a bit more often these days.

    Next, I think the Sugar Shack is such a vintage-sounding name. I used to love cotton candy when I was a kid...now, forget the sweets, just give me greasy, salty fries!

    Finally, I love the story about Elvis and the Tilt-A-Whirl. It IS a fun thought to think that you might have occupied the very same seat he did. I felt similarly about Jimmy Stewart and the Egyptian Theatre here in Boise. When Jimmy was stationed at Gowen Field in Boise (as an Army Air Corp instructor) in 1943, he played the organ for the Egyptian Theatre's silent film showings. Stands to reason that he may even have attended viewings of other films there. So, when I have been to the Egyptian (built in 1927), I fancy that I am sitting in a seat Jimmy Stewart once occupied.

    Have a wonderful day, my sweet friend..

    Love,
    Patti

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  24. How awesome is that! Great story!

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  25. That's a great story! I would definitely be telling people I rode with Elvis! I would love to see more of the vintage carnival rides, it's sad when I see articles about them in old abandoned theme parks, gone to waste.

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  26. There is usually a basic truth to these stories, so I think it is entirely possible that you sat in the same seat as Elvis! How cool is that. Fabulous outfit to do it in too.

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  27. What a great story and a awesome outfit!

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  28. Love love love vintage fun fairs!! x

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