Elvis Presley fest coming to Southfork Ranch

Southfork Ranch is known, of course, for being the home of the Ewing family from Dallas Tv fame. But for three days in March, it will be the base for a celebration of Elvis Presley, who left the building — er, the planet — before anyone had even heard of J.R.

From March 4 through 6, the ranch will host “Texas’ Tribute to Elvis,” the state’s official Elvis Presley Enterprise-licensed festival. Expect an international celebration of King.

The festival will include performances by winners of EPE’s “Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest,” including 2011 world champ Cody Ray Slaughter (star of Broadway’s Million Dollar Quartet) and 2009 winner Bill Cherry.

In addition, the festival includes Texas’ only official preliminary heat of the latest Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest. Artists from all over the world will compete to be crowned Texas’ 2016 champion and be qualified to enter the contest finals, which are held during Elvis Week in Memphis in August 2016.

Per a release, judges for the Texas contest will be Elvis’ friend and bodyguard Sam Thompson, Elvis’ friend and tour producer Charles Stone, Elvis’ friend Greg McDonald (who also served as the personal manager of legendary artist Ricky Nelson), and former Elvis background singer Ginger Holladay. All four judges will also take part in the festival’s “Conversations on Elvis” on-stage interviews.

Special guests appearing throughout the weekend include the Blackwood Quartet and Elvis’ original backup singers, The Holladay Sisters. Backing the headline shows will be the EAS Band. Songwriter and former actress Linda Thompson, who had a four-year relationship with Elvis, will also take part in “Conversations on Elvis.”

Elvis’ musical versality will be celebrated with four Elvis-themed shows: Friday’s “Long Live the King” (honoring his entire career), “Rockin’ across Texas” (greatest hits), and Sunday’s “Spirit of the King” (gospel) and “Elvis Country.”

Single-day tickets start at $85 for adults and $40 for children; three-day festival tickets start at $185 for adults and $85 for children. The full festival schedule and ticket information are available at http://texaselvisfestival.com.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Elvis Presley fest coming to Southfork Ranch."