It is because of people like Patty Ziesemer that Elvis impersonator Tyler Christopher and the Elvis Tribute Band have been booked for a return engagement at the Highland County Senior Citizens Center on March 23.
“My heart skipped a beat when he stared to sing. He has a beautiful voice. He sounds just like Elvis and dances like him, too. I enjoyed the show tremendously,” said Ziesemer, a senior center member who has watched Christopher there the last two years and plans to be there again this year.
The show includes dinner and a two-hour show with an intermission. Tickets are $24 for a front row seat, and $20 for seating elsewhere. Seating will be reserved in the order tickets are purchased.
The dinner, catered by Hillsboro Ponderosa, includes pulled pork on a dinner role, cole slaw, hash brown casserole, chocolate brownies for dessert, and tea and lemonade.
“He’s just so wildly popular,” Senior Center Executive Director Mechell Frost said of the decision to have Christopher back for a third straight year. “I don’t even have tickets ready yet and people are calling and stopping in to ask about him. He’s a really talented performer, his voice is beautiful, and I’m really glad to have him.”
The doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the buffet-style dinner will start shortly thereafter. There will be some trivia, a 50/50 drawing, and pitchers of drinks will be left on the tables throughout the show. Frost said Christopher will start the show singing Elvis hits from the ’50s dressed in a blazer, will change into another costume and sing Elvis songs from the 1960s, then after the intermission will come back on the stage dressed in an jumpsuit and sing hits from throughout Elvis’ career.
She said that toward the end of the show he will throw scarves into the crowd, and afterward will allow fans to have pictures taken with him.
Just before the show, Christopher will arrive at the center in limousine.
“We will alert the center when Elvis is about to arrive, courtesy of the Thompson Funeral Homes, and if people want to greet him and his entourage at the door, they usually do and that’s fine,” Frost said. “It’s like a real concert. People will be waving signs as he enters the center, music will be playing, and it’s like the real deal and it’s a lot of fun.”
Tickets go on sale Feb. 28. They can be purchased at the center, 185 Muntz St. in Hillsboro, or online with a small service charge at HighlandSeniors.com.
The event is a fundraiser for the center made possible by several sponsors. The primary sponsors are Merchants National Bank and Bell Gardens Place, with Crestwood Ridge Skilled Nursing and Rehab, Thompson Funeral Homes, Weastec, Adena Health System, FRS Transportation, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Ponderosa Steakhouse and Elks Lodge 361 serving as co-sponsors.
“I strive to find quality performers where people have a good time and this is the third year for Christopher, so that tells you something,” Frost said. “It’s the sponsors that make it possible for us to have it as a fundraiser.”
Call the center at 937-393-4547 for more information.
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522.
